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Five TV commercials from yesteryear with a football theme. Click the titles to view the ads...

Penguin (1977)

The unlikely tale of a kids football team playing a Flightless Bird XI from the Antarctic and losing – in humiliating fashion. Having presumably exhausted all other options where local teams were concerned, the children in red-and-white stripes played off on a never-more-Seventies muddy pitch in front of a baying crowd that strongly support the birdy outfit (judging by their hats and scarves). The kids never stood a chance. The referee and various members of the crowd were heavily influenced by the allure of chocolaty Penguin bars and before you knew it, our feathery friends had put the ball in the back of the net. Cue rapturous scenes and a guard of honour as the winners waddled their way off the p-p-p-pitch. Exciting stuff.



Sugar Puffs (1996)

Kevin Keegan, playing sensation of Newcastle United and, in 1996, a manager of equal renown lived for footballing glory. The secret of his success?  The deployment of a seven-foot furry monster as the kind of Supersub that would make David Fairclough feel inadequate. From the comfort of a Wembley TV studio overlooking the famous hallowed turf, Big Kev explained the reason for his most recent success. With a Cup Final heading into extra time, only one monster could win it for his team. On he went and instantly leapt like a salmon to head the ball in from close range. Jonathan Pearce's shouted commentary conveyed the feeling of excitement all around as The Furry One finished a quick bowl of Sugar Puffs and grabbed the trophy from out of Kev’s hands. An extraordinary finish to an extraordinary match.

Tottenham Hotpsur (1984)

In 1984, Tottenham Hotspur won the UEFA Cup beating Anderlecht 4-3 on penalties after a 2-2 draw on aggregate. This should come as no surprise to anyone studying the video footage that remains from the era, including this TV advert which is enlightening to say the least. In it, we see Ossie Ardiles leading out the team at White Hart Lane, resplendent in their clean white shirts… but what’s this? Not only do we find the likes of Clemence, Crooks, Brazil and Archibald but also the elderly Mrs Riddlington, a new wave band called The Sharks, comedian Peter Cook and a cast of thousands. Thirty-five thousand according to the voice-over. No wonder they had a successful side back then, and they were still asking for more people to join in. Then again, Queens Park Rangers were never likely to be a big draw under any circumstances.

Hamlet Cigars (1977)

In this day and age of £140 million lottery jackpots, it’s difficult to remember the weekly ritual that was the Football Pools. Every week, you’d pick up your coupon, scribble an ‘X’ next to the ten matches you thought would end in a draw, pay your money and wait for 5pm on a Saturday. It’s at this point we join the becardiganed hero of our story, played by Brian Glover, listening in to the classified results on the radio. Amazingly he needs only one more score draw to win the jackpot, but when the final result begins “Stenhousemuir 5…” his hopes appear dashed. Thank heavens, then, when the radio announcer finishes the result with the words “…Cowdenbeath 5.”  Elated, our common man reaches for his coat to take a celebratory Hamlet cigar out of his pocket – but in doing so reveals the unposted coupon as it falls to the floor. At least he still had his cigar…

Long Life beer (1985)

If you think FIFA like to tinker around with the beautiful game in all its detail, we can let you into a little secret. Many of their ideas come from Ind Coope, the makers of Long Life beer. Proof of this can be seen in a television commercial where various potential improvements to football are pondered through the narration of Jim Rosenthal. Bigger goal nets, smaller goal nets, square balls, bendy balls, odd balls – all of them are demonstrated here, and amazingly some of them even work. None of these ideas, however, can hold a candle to Long Life beer – the only beer brewed especially for the can (so we’re told). Whether that means it contains extra chemicals to counter-balance the metallic taste, we’re not sure, but either way it must have had more people turning to alcohol out of admiration for its humour and creativity.

Ten minutes with Steve Addazio

A Tuesday sit down with Steve Addazio recently that sheds light on camp approach.

Preseason magazines clueless about Owls

  Both Athlon and Phil Steele have the Owls in the basement.

In the same category of a somewhat older guy playing fullcourt basketball with 20-year-olds, falls the wisdom of putting too much faith in preseason college football magazines.
Both are pretty dumb.
I learned the former the hard way on Sunday shooting around on the neighborhood courts. I've always been able to shoot a basketball so every so often I like to take that skill for a spin around the block, like an cherished antique car sitting in the driveway, in order to keep the battery charged.
This Sunday, on the court next to me, there were seven 20-year-olds shooting around. They stopped to watch me as I hit nine three-pointers in a row.
One of them said they needed me to go a full four-on-four.
Against my better judgment and all the good voices inside my head, I said OK.
Shirts and skins, the oldest rivalry in sports. For mostly aesthetic purposes, they put the "old head" on the shirt team.
Since I've been running five miles a day this summer, I thought I could handle it. And I did for three hours of pure fun. I felt fine afterward, fine going home and fine going to bed.
The hard pounding and stopping on the basketball court took its toll and by 3 a.m. the next day, I could not get out of bed. Result: Knee injury.
Common sense said I should have told the kids no, but my pride said yes. Pride goeth before the fall, they say.
Same thing with college football magazines.

Local edition of Lindy's has Silas Redd on cover.

Every time I see one at the local Giant Super Market, I pick it up with the intent to buy it. I look for the Temple references. Giant had Lindy's and Athlon (both $7.99) and a much thicker Phil Steele Yearly ($8.95). One of them, the Lindy's edition in the store (not the one pictured left), had Silas Redd on the cover in Penn State uniform.
I know the Redd thing is a deadline issue, but it was still clueless to put him on the cover knowing that Penn State was hanging under a very dark cloud by presstime.
Just as clueless, they all say Temple is going to finish last in the Big East and they all point to the loss of the starters on both sides of the ball.
None of them say that, in many cases, the replacements are better. Sean Boyle, in my mind, is a better center than John Palumbo (no offense intended, Mr. Palumbo).
They all mention that Bernard Pierce is gone. They just give passing reference to both Matty Brown and Montel Harris, who could be (and empirical evidence shows is) better than Bernard Pierce. None of them mention that Brown was Temple's No. 1 all-purpose runner last year (and Pierce was No. 2 in that category).
They all mention leading tackler Stephen Johnson leaving. None of them talk about his replacement, Nate D. Smith. I'm going out on a very strong limb here and writing that Nate D. Smith will have an outstanding year at MLB for the Owls. If he doesn't lead them in tackles, it will be because all of the Big East running backs will be tackled by the linemen before they get to the linebackers.
None of them mention the Owls know what they are doing on offense this year, running a true spread with three true spread quarterbacks, after fumbling around a year trying to find an offense that best suited the needs of two QBs with limited skill sets.
None of them mention that the Owls have a great kicking game, with maybe the best punter and placekicker in the nation (Brandon McManus). None of them mention that Chuck Heater is considered among the best defensive coordinators in the country, which he is. None of them write that a great running game, quarterback and defense and kicking game are prime ingredients for championship teams. The current Owls appear to have all of those ingredients. A running game shortens the clock and a kicking game wins the battle of field position and maybe steals a close game or two with a long FG.
I know the Owls will be way better than last place in the Big East. I'm hoping for first. If they finish second, it will only be behind Cincinnati, not preseason favorite Louisville. I don't think they will go any lower than that. Pride says I should buy the magazines and shove it in their faces at the end of the season.
Common sense says I should leave them on the rack.
This time, I listened to common sense.
I should have done that Sunday.

Rich Nelson's Top 5... World Cup Shirts

Rich Nelson from Nelson's Column and Escape To Suomi has kindly sent us his Top 5 World Cup shirts...

France (1986, Home)

A more refined version of the Euro 84 effort, yet to be replicated (unlike 1998’s copy of '84). The perfect shade of blue, matching with the shorts and socks to complete the Tricolore. Unfortunately this was the beginning of the end of the great French team, along with some really dreadful threads.

Zaire (1974, Home)

Worn in West Germany in 1974, this announced Zaire on the world stage. While they have become a parody as a result of THAT free kick, this shirt was simple yet different. The fact that the picture of the Leopard needed a caption is such a humble, understated notion. Plus that free kick was hilarious.

West Germany (1990, Away)

While it feels wrong to appreciate the battle garments of certain rivals (Argentina, Scotland, Germany), this one belongs in the history books. Taking the classic late '80s Adidas template and running with it, it also made light green work - so much so that an Adidas re-release this year sold out within days (according to a reputable online store). Let’s just forget the penalties…

Cameroon (1990, Home)

Beating the world champions in the San Siro is the stuff of dreams. Wearing what looks like a hand-me-down, they made it work by adding an indomitable lion and a striker of questionable age and gyrating hips. The shirt’s oversized crest worked. Future attempts by Puma to remove sleeves and add rips down the sides just took it too far.

Holland (1974, Home)

The premiere of Total Football on the world stage, and subject of a petty contractual dispute. Another shirt to spawn retro knock-offs, it was a simple design to allow the football to do the talking... except for Johan Cruyff and his contract with Puma, leading to him removing a stripe from each sleeve. Great colouring, and a reminder of the tempremental Dutch we all love to hate.

Rich J's Favourite 5... World Cup Shirts

Following on from Chris' Top 5 World Cup Shirts, I present my choices. Just missing out were Denmark '86 (Home) as Chris had chosen the away so I thought I'd find an alternative and West Germany 1990 (Away). A great shirt from a classic design, but just didn't quite make the cut... so, here they are:

1. Argentina (1986, Home)

It’s obvious Mexico 86 would rear its (none too) ugly head with anything I do, but this kit has been more than just a shirt to me - it’s been a lifelong quest. In the same way I spent most of my youth and adulthood trying to track down a Subbuteo World Cup Trophy, a parallel quest was to own this, or more likely, a replica of this shirt – a quest that has mostly been achieved.

There are several things about this shirt that set it above all other Argentina outfits. The centre stripe is white... big deal you say, but Argentina always have the centre stripe blue (I am deliberately ignoring Adidas’ shameless attempt to ape this iconic design at the 2010 World Cup). Big deal, I hear you repeat, but that’s me - I like the small details of these things.



Secondly, the shirt was made in that tea-bag material so common at the time and reminiscent of the airtex shirts worn by England in 1970, both times brought about by the stifling Mexican heat and the need to play games at midday for European TV audiences.
Last, but not least, it just looked so good in the blazing sunshine, with the contrasting black shorts and white socks... a fine ensemble.

As a final point: I nearly went for the change shirt worn against England, which could almost be referred to as a 3rd shirt, given it was a one off, but the home shirt just edged it as it made the final look so colourful with West Germany in their green away shirts.

2. Italy (2006, Home)

I’ll say it here and now: despite blue being my favourite colour, I have just never liked Italy shirts. Not quite sure why, but they’ve just never done it for me. That all changed however, in 2006. The gorgeous blue, contrasting with the dark side panels just seemed to really work. Add in the gold numbering / logos and that was it... SOLD! And sold it was as it was the first ‘new’ football kit I’d bought for years (I’d been buying mostly older ones off eBay until then) and one which sparked an avalanche of kit buying.

One huge downside of this shirt was that, when worn in matches, because of the design which was supposed to wick sweat away from the players, within seconds of the match starting, the players all looked like they were in a wet t-shirt contest...only one where they were doused with sweat...men’s sweat. Grim.

Italy went on to have another great shirt combining blue and gold at Euro 2008, a fascinating light blue one with brown shirts at the 2009 Confederations Cup, then ruined it with the robot face abomination at WC2010. Their Euro 2012 shirt was also rubbish. So there.

3. Argentina (1998, Away)

Though this is one of my favourite kits of all time, I was originally going to go for the Yugoslavia home kit from the same world cup as it’s in the same style and I was trying to avoid two kits from the same country, but when I saw this one again, I just had to choose it.

Again it’s the details I like with this one. Argentina have long worn blue away shirts and these have mostly been in a dark shade, which can often lead to them being rather drab looking with some bordering on black. This one however is lightened by its two key features:

1) A classic v-neck. For me, there’s no better neck on a shirt than a good old V. Crossover V’s are good, but just a classic, joined in the middle is better and this one sets off the dark blue of the shirt perfectly, finished in sky blue with white trim.

2) The side panels. White side panels with two sky blue stripes (oh wait, it’s an Adidas shirt so that’s basically light blue side panels with three white stripes) running from the base of the shirt to the sleeves.

This was worn of course, in the match against England in which two stars effectively showed two different career paths with Owen shining brightly only to fade away and Beckham going from effigy No.1 to all time great (and then fading out as well). Oh, and Ian Wright sulked on national TV afterwards...

4. Ireland (1994, Away)

One cannot see this shirt without also picturing a furious John Aldridge threatening to take on the whole of the USA if he wasn’t allowed on that ‘damn’ pitch, Jackie Charlton having handbags with the 4th official alongside him. The shirt itself was a masterpiece in away design in that it retained the usual colour scheme of the away shirt, thereby not straying too far from tradition, but did something interesting with them instead. Three stripes (on an Adidas shirt???) in green with orange pinstripe borders that faded out halfway down the shirt.

I’m sure this will be a controversial choice, but may I also remind you that this was a World Cup when approximately 97.3% of the teams present had the same identikit Adidas design with the three truncated stripes rising diagonally from either side of the kit, so to see something with a touch of originality was rather refreshing.

5. Brazil (1986, Home)

Brazil’s kits never really used to change, did they, save for a slightly different collar. Nowadays, there’s all manner of crap invading what is essentially an all time classic shirt, the low points of this being Umbro’s 94 shirt with large shadow pattern badges across the thing and 2002’s craptacular Nike effort with thin triangles of green forming some kind of frame... ugh!

But back in 1986, there were still all about the classic look. Made by Topper it was, as stated, a simple affair. Plain yellow, no shadow patterns, no flashes of green, just plain yellow. Dark green cuffs and matching collar, but not a round one like '70 and '82, a v-neck with collar flaps.

Finishing this all off nicely was their badge, which had replaced the usual CBF crest with one featuring the Jules Rimet Trophy, celebrating the three World Cup wins. Showcased in the quarter final against France, one of the best matches at a World Cup Finals, this shirt is a true classic. Also, Socrates wore it and he was a dude!

Chris O's Favourite 5... World Cup Shirts

1. South Africa (1998, home)

I know my taste in virtually everything represents the minority view, but I absolutely loved this kit when it appeared in the 1998 World Cup. Kappa, the manufacturers, showed brilliant originality in weaving together four colours into a mad tapestry the like of which has rarely ever been seen.

Rather than go for an intricate pattern, South Africa’s white home shirt featured large stripes of yellow and black with a splash of green on the collar and sides. The colour scheme extended further onto the green and black shorts and white socks. A fabulously inventive creation, but one that admittedly will generate more negative comments than positive ones.

2. Scotland (1990, change)

In a not dissimilar way, Scotland’s change shirt for the 1990 World Cup also made virtue of yellow stripes on a white background. Even as an England fan, I loved it – so much so that my 18-year-old self went out and bought it.

There was something about the simplicity of those lemon-coloured bars evenly spaced from top to bottom, broken in sequence only by two in navy blue straddling the team badge and the Umbro logo. Throw in a navy blue button-up collar and you had a shirt that was bordering on perfection to my mind, especially when worn with the navy blue shorts and socks that went with it. It’s just a shame it was only worn the once in the 1990 tournament – a lamentable 1-0 defeat to Costa Rica.

3. Nigeria (1994, change)

Yet another white strip, but this was a complete one-off. Nigeria made their World Cup debut in 1994 and did so in eye-raising fashion by wearing a kit so distinctive as to be utterly unique.

Against Bulgaria and Greece, Nigeria had the opportunity to show off arguably their most distinctive shirt ever. It was white and decorated all over in a regular pattern of ethnic African symbols coloured black. It remains one of the finest Adidas strips ever seen in a World Cup and shows how, with a little imagination, a shirt can break all the rules and still attract worldwide admiration.

4. West Germany (1990, home)

How often have you seen a stripe wandering across a shirt of its own free will in a seemingly random direction? That’s what you got with the shirt West Germany wore in the 1990 World Cup. Upon yet another white background, the colours of the German flag – black, red and yellow – meandered their way from one arm across to the other. The shirts worn by the West German national team hadn’t featured much red and yellow prior to the 1990 World Cup, but this signalled a turning point the effect of which lasts to this very day.

The design was very nicely executed. Each of the three coloured tapes were punctuated by white diamonds in two places which, through a cynics eye, could have been seen as an accidental nod towards Umbro on this Adidas shirt. As it is, they helped to prevent the coloured bands from being too bold on the eye and, like the overall design, looked entirely appropriate and stylish to boot.

5. Denmark (1986, change)

Football shirts with a ‘half-and-half’ design have been commonplace since the origins of the game. Think of Feyenoord and Blackburn Rovers and you’ll soon get the picture. Denmark, however, are not famous for wearing such a distinctive design, but that didn’t stop them donning a fabulous first-choice shirt during the 1986 World Cup.

Hummel were the company that added a fresh twist to an old look by representing one half of the Danish away shirt as a series of red pinstripes to complement the other half in white. With Hummel’s distinctive chevrons running down both sleeves (one of which had red pinstripes, the other in white) this design looked wonderful in the glorious sun-baked hues of Mexico. Worn with red shorts against Scotland and white shorts against Spain, this was a shirt that looked good in any colour, be it two-tone red for Denmark’s home strip, claret and blue for Aston Villa or sky blue for Coventry.

What would be your favourite five World Cup shirts? Leave us a comment below, or better still, explain your choices in a guest post on The Football Attic. Drop us an email at admin [at] thefootballattic [dot] com and we’ll do the rest.

Addazio: 'We know exactly what we're doing'

Love the Daz quote at the 5:50 mark.

Keith Pompey does a great job covering Temple football for Philly.com, but he wrote something that had me shaking my head (or smh as the kids write on social media).
To paraphrase him, he passed on head coach Steve Addazio's concerns about the wide receiving corps "not making plays" but also added that Addazio praised both Ryan Alderman and Jalen Fitzpatrick, writing "that's not a good sign because Fitzpatrick is a converted quarterback and Alderman is a walk-on. ..."
Huh?
Converted quarterback?
Brian Broomell was converted from starting safety to starting quarterback and he only led the nation in passing efficiency for a 10-2 team in 1979.
Walk-on?
Some of the best players I've ever seen at Temple were walk-ons.
Err, does the name Matty Brown ring a bell?
I thought so.
I don't remember Keith writing about the same thing visa ve Brown last year. Matty was by far the runaway winner of a poll on this website that asked who was  the No. 1 running back in Temple football history who epitomizes the term "Temple TUFF."
The Rock has proved his worth in a stellar career at Temple. His touchdowns count for the same six points as Bernard Pierce's.
The last time I checked, Alderman and Fitzpatrick were wide receivers and no one has questioned their ability to get separation and catch the ball.
So what, other than depth, is the problem here?
Chris Coyer's touchdown passes to Ryan Alderman and Jalen Fitzpatrick will count for the same six points other Temple quarterback TD passes to Willie Marshall, Gerald "Sweet Feet" Lucear and Rod Streater have in the past.
I wonder if the lack of separation and "catching the ball" has anything to do with the fine play of the cornerbacks?
Probably.
The best quote I heard out of  the first week of two-a-days came from Addazio about the difference between last year and this year:
"We know exactly what we're doing and how to do it," Addazio said, referring to the offensive approach.
The quote appears on the 5:50 time stamp on the above video.
Last year, Daz "spent an awful lot of time last year with that" (his words) tailoring his offense around the skill set of Chester Stewart and Mike Gerardi, skill sets which were limited.
Now he has three quarterbacks who can do the same things in Coyer, Juice Granger and Kevin Newsome. All can run the spread and know how to do it and, as a result, the Owls are much farther along than they were last year.
That has me shaking my head up and down, not side to side.