Archive for July, 2011
Painting Vinyl Tire Covers
Vinyl tire covers are a great way to protect your spare from the elements so it will be in good working order in an emergency. Still, most spare tire covers are boring. You can jazz up your spare tire cover easily with some acrylic paints, brushes, poster board, and imagination.
Hold the poster board up to the tire and trace the outline of the tire to give you an idea of scale. On the poster board sketch out what design you want to paint. At this point, you can cut out your design like a template, or you can place it next to the tire cover as a reference while you freehand paint. Either way, use the acrylic paints on the vinyl tire cover. Let it dry overnight and then cover the paint with a clear coat of sealant.
Sanzenbacher Signs with the Bears
Dane Sanzenbacher has signed with the Chicago Bears. The Ohio State receiver is considered one of the prizes of the undrafted free agent class. According to Sanzenbacher’s agent, 25 of the 32 NFL teams pursued the receiver for their teams.
Not surprisingly to Buckeyes fans, Sanzenbacher turned down a $20,000 signing bonus to another team because he envisioned himself a Bear. He believes that he will thrive under Mike Martz’s offense. While all of us sporting Ohio State Buckeyes tire covers on the backs of our cars will be sad to see him go, it is certainly the right decision for him personally at this time.
Destination Imagination Global Finals
Starting in middle school, one of my best friends started participating in Destination ImagiNation. Essentially, it’s an international creative-solutions club for kids and teens. Challenges are distributed and the solutions are presented by teams at regional, state, and global levels. Typically only the top two teams from states in each age group advance to the global level.
For four consecutive years, my friend and her team qualified for global finals. The global competition is held in Knoxville, TN each spring. Thousands of participants from across the U.S. and 30 nations descend on TN. My friend would tell me that she would always get really excited when she saw all of the Tennessee Volunteers tire covers as the crossed the border into the state. Her team did fairly well each year, and in her last year of competition her team placed sixth in the world. Quite an accomplishment!
Connecticut Curiosity
Connecticut does not have much in the way of professional sports. The Whalers left a long time ago (although people still proudly wear their Whalers fan gear around town). Technically, the New England Patriots are the home team, as are the Bruins for hockey, the Celtics for basketball, and the Boston Red Sox for baseball. In reality, it’s not that cut and dry.
While the rest of New England states (Rhode Island, New Hampshire, Vermont, and Maine) are all on the Boston bandwagon, a lot of people in Connecticut have loyalties that lie elsewhere. I’ve driven around plenty and mentally taken notes on the various sports team tire covers I see in driveways. Not surprisingly, I’ve noticed there are a lot of New York fans. Knicks, Yankees, Mets, and Giants have a pretty sizable fan base in the Nutmeg state.
Boilermakers Mourn Matti
Walk-on running back for the Purdue Boilermakers, Sean Matti, accidentally drowned over July 4th weekend. Friends, family, and fans gathered at a memorial service later in the week to honor Matti. All who spoke of him highlighted his character and service.
His coaches called him a “coaches dream” and the head football coach at Matti’s high school vowed that no one would wear the number 22 jersey, the number Matti wore, for as long as he was head coach. After the service, guests viewed photos of the young man and shared their stories. When fans break out their Purdue Boilermakers grill covers in the fall, I hope they take a moment to remember a remarkable young man who undoubtedly left a positive mark on the school’s football program.
Sooners Brush Off Preseason Hype
Several preseason polls place Oklahoma Sooners at number one. Despite this seemingly good news, the Sooners don’t seem too enthused. “I don’t buy into it because nobody has played, yet. Everybody is 0-0. At the end of the season is when it’s the real No. 1 and real No. 2,” said wide receiver Dejuan Miller.
Miller may have a point. Having a preseason top ranking can be a hindrance. For instance, Alabama when ranked number one lost three games and Florida when ranked number four lost five games. Meanwhile Auburn and Oregon, the two teams who vied for the national title last season, were ranked No. 22 and No. 11, respectively. Still, as a fan the ranking excites me, and I fully intend on buying Oklahoma Sooners tire covers, flags, grill covers, and whatever other Sooners fan gear I can get my hands on for a reasonable price.
When is a Tire Cover More than a Tire Cover?
As I think I’ve alluded to before, I’m a big fan of rivalry sports games. Expectations and emotions are high which lends itself to a great competitive atmosphere. The downside is that if emotions don’t cool off by the time fans leave the stadium, trouble can start.
I’ve heard plenty of horror stories about fans being harassed well-beyond the usual “our team rules and your team drools!” In fact, I’ve even heard stories about cars with a tire cover sporting an opposing team’s logo being a target for vandals. That’s flat-out bad sportsmanship, and I applaud the many universities that have campaigns to promote friendly rivalries, emphasizing “friendly” and not “destruction of property.”
The Toughest USC Trojans
Today I read an interesting article about the top ten toughest players on the USC Trojans football team. The author factored in both mental and physical toughness to come up with a list of ten players. Number two on the list was tailback DJ Morgan. The redshirt freshman tore ligaments in his knee at the end of his senior year of high school. DJ worked hard to get through rehab and wound up earning the offensive service team’s offensive player of the year.
Number one on the list of tough guys was Chris Galippo. He suffered through a herniated disc in 2007 and underwent two surgeries to repair his back. Despite of his surgeries, Chris went on to appear in all 13 games in 2009 and 2010, and it looks like he’ll be anchoring the Trojan linebackers in 2011. With tough as nails players like these two, it’s no wonder I drive around town showing my team pride with USC Trojans tire covers.