As I watched the Cowboys and Bears play on ESPN’s Monday Night Football, I was struck by the incongruity of big burly men wearing pink shoes and gloves in honor of National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. It’s the fourth season that the Bears and the NFL have worked to “put a hurtin’ on breast cancer” by pinking up the players’ uniforms, the stadiums, and the goal posts. Did you notice that even the coin tossed at the beginning of the game was pink?
I don’t know anyone who hasn’t been touched by cancer in some way; we’ve certainly had our share of it in my family. And, I believe in supporting cancer research and cancer awareness for all types of cancer. But today, my thoughts are leaning more toward the new definition of ‘manliness’.
With NFL players doing the salsa and the quick step on Dancing with Stars, with linebackers wearing pink shoes and gloves, what about us “regular” guys? Where do we fit in? Heck, actor Ben Affleck is a spokesman for L’oreal. Do “real men” eat quiche, wear pink, use moisturizer and fox trot–or not?
As for me, I’m still a bit conservative. As I mentioned in a previous Thought for the Weekend, I put away the groceries, cook dinner on occasion, babysit, and carpool the kids. Yet, I don’t own a pink shirt or tie and would probably only don one if wearing it specifically to promote Breast Cancer Awareness.
Maybe Greg Olsen wearing pink will be brushed off by many as a token gesture, but if it convinces one woman to get a mammogram to prevent breast cancer, it’s good enough for me. According to the Chicago Bears official website, Bears Care “recently awarded $160,000 in grants to ten Chicago area agencies that provide care and support to breast cancer patients and their families.” Kudos to the NFL for getting involved in this very important fight.
Meanwhile, I couldn’t help but laugh at these NFL-related observations on a site called: “Manly Jokes for Manly Men”. They come from a piece entitled:
If Men Ruled the World:
- The only show opposite “Monday Night Football” would be “Monday Night Football from a Different Camera Angle”.
- Instead of an expensive engagement ring, you could present your wife-to-be with a giant foam hand that said, “You’re #1!”
- When your girlfriend really needed to talk to you during the game, she would appear in a little box in the corner of the screen during a time-out.
- Each year, your raise would be pegged to the fortunes of the NFL team of your choice.
- Instead of beer belly, you’d get “beer biceps.”
This weekend, grab a beer, watch a game, and think pink:
~Bob
