sporty spice (a.k.a. my adidas)

the sports-related internets are all a-flutter (a-twitter?  help me out here.) with the impending arrival on this continent of the sixth spice girl and the requisite accompanying media blitz.  naturally, much of this attention has fallen - and negatively - upon adidas' new advertising campaign "futbol v. football," which pairs beckham with new orleans saints star reggie bush.  apparently, professional sports had heretofore been unsullied by the stain of advertising dollars and this craven attempt at consumerism on the part of adidas threatens to forever tarnish the purity of soccer.  or something.  i can't tell for sure because i'm too busy laughing.

i made my peace with my sports heroes shilling for products long ago - right about the time i learned what sports and/or advertising were, actually.  (it helps, i guess, that one of my early heroes was involved in what has become widely regarded as a classic.)  so naturally, i hope this ad campaign goes on for at least a thousand years.  seriously.  i can't get enough of it, and here's why: if i had a stake in professional soccer in this country (and thank god for me i don't), the last thing i'd want is some uppity shoe company deciding to feature some pasty british fop in a series of advertisments that will serve as a constant and very public reminder of how much better athletes are football players than "futbol" players.  this could very well be the end - one would hope - of our long national nightmare that is soccer in the united states.  i just might have to buy some adidas in honor of the occasion.