New balance

"You were in a relationship with running, a love/hate relationship. Running kicks you out of a warm cozy bed and into a cold hard world. Running calls you at all hours of the night. Running gets you up at the crack of dawn and keeps you at practice long after play has left the building. Everyday with running is a question of your commitment and running is not afraid to ask. Yes, my friend, it is a complex and torrid affair; it is a constant balance, a balance between joy and pain, work and play. A balance between love and hate. Everything we do is geared towards tipping the balance. This is the new balance."
-Love/hate. the new balance ad campaign.

I absolutely love this commercial. Not many commercials are necessarily memorable the first time I view them, but this one was an exception. It really draws a connection with an athlete - the target audience of the ad. Not many ads do that anymore, try to draw in an audience with some deep connection to the product.

It's pure genius. New Balance offers a product that appeals to athletes. They excel in running shoes, and despite the good feeling after those endorphins start pumping during and after a run, it is an utter pain in the ass sometimes to roll out of bed at 5 or 6 a.m. to exercise. To push your muscles and keep your body motivated to go just a little further than yesterday. NB nails it dead on the head: it creates a balance. You may hate it for a moment, but you will love it the next. It creates a state of euphoria.

Running truly defines your commitment, to more than just exercise. If you are committed to something like waking up at the crack of dawn to go for a jog in order to stay fit and keep a healthy body and physique, you will find yourself committed to more things during your day and excelling in more than just the distance you ran that day. It's a balance...between love and hate. Pure genius, utter inspiration.

Favre packs it in

On Tuesday, March 3, Favre - at age 38- announced that he is packing it in and retiring from the NFL. The announcement also came one day after Randy Moss re-signed with the New England Patriots. Although the Packers weren't begging Moss to come play for them, Favre publicly was encouraging him to do so last season.

Brett Favre has completed more passes than any quarterback in NFL history. Ironically, his last throw of his career was an interception that would ultimately cost the Packers the game and a trip to Super Bowl XLII.

Although the Packers lost in the NFC Championship game this season, Favre at least has one NFL Super Bowl victory under his belt from 1997. And although he ended his career with an interception, he still had a resurgence of a year, and took his team into the post-season, as well as broke Dan Marino's touchdown and pass completion records. He also passed John Elway's record for most career victories by a starting quarterback (nbcsports.com).

His reason for retiring is that he is simply worn out, mentally and physically. And who could blame him? Since joining the Packers and becoming the starting quarterback in 1992, Favre has started every single game, making him the record holder in the NFL for 253 consecutive (regular season) starts at QB.

I have to be honest, despite being from Pittsburgh and an avid Steeler fan, I always had a soft side for Favre.; ever since he and the Packers were brought to my attention in my middle school days when my favorite show was Step-By-Step. My favoritism was heightened when I read an article in my SI for Kids magazine about Favre and he admitted to being afraid of the dark and snakes. I can relate.

But seriously, he has certainly left his mark in NFL history, and will be remembered for quite sometime. And although I'm sure he feels he has made the right decision in hanging up the cleats, I can about guarantee come next fall when he is watching the games he is going to have a strong sense of regret. Who knows, maybe he'll pull a Michael Jordan, change his mind and, come preseason, want to rejoin the team. I have a feeling the Packer's would have a hard time turning him down.