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Hbtham

Ronaldo,Marketing and Me

Cristiano Ronaldo. He is a metrosexual Portuguese right winger who plays for Manchester United. Everyones sister, girlfriend their mothers mother wants him and countless young players look up to him. Yes, i am one of those young players who wish and of having such talents, and sadly my sister, girlfriend and mother seem to want him (not sure about my grandma, but lets just say she does). When I really got to see him in action was at the Euro. I had known about him but never really saw him play a full match. I saw him blaze down the wings, doing stepovers and moves i had never ever seen before, let alone know how they even made any sense. Seeing him make defenders fall with ease was stunning,especially in those gold boots! He is so quick...It HAS to be the boots.

The boots I find out, are mercurial vapors. I remembered seeing them at my local shop, but that was a black pair, and I had never seen any pro wear them before, which is probably the only reason i had never even tried them on.But these gold ones, I had to have them. A few months pass and ding dong, gold vapors are at my door. A good way to waste a hard earned paycheck. What made me buy these boots? Was is because the way the looked? Was it beacause a player i adored wore them, or was it because i thought they were gonna make me THAT much better? The answers to all of these questions are yes, maybe and no, but maybe a little bit.

My mom tells me to put away all her jewellery. Thats how gold they are. They seem to be the gleaming boots of a God. The shape of them can only be described as sexy, the curves remind me of a some sort of exotic car. From the television set to my feet, I finally had my vapors. Looking in my bag, I toss my Air Zoom Total 90 II's and my Mystics into the corner of my room. Take care Roberto Carlos and Ronaldinho, say hello to Cristiano. Yeah, I bought them because he had them.I was, like many, are influenced by what I saw in the media. Or was I ? By all means i would like the boots if no one wore them. But since I saw my hero, my idol wearing them, they had to be mine.

Take Ipods for example. They are amazing, useful devices, with a heap full of competitors that have products equal in quality. Yet you dont see any famous fashion companies making high priced cases for your silly iRiver. That is because Apple, like Nike and Adidas have done with football, have won the heart of celebrities. We all of celebrities we adore. For many of us, those celebs happen to be footballers. Beckham fans can be spotted with preds that have the tounges pull down to the toes, and ronaldo fans can be spotted with vapors and too much white tape around the ankles.(Although i know not everyone is like this, im just trying to make a point).

Having said that, i expected to play like him in a way. I show up to practice and did one , make it five too many stepovers. I felt like i could run past anyone with my new super boots that were supposed to make me fly. Long story short, i got benched the next game and I had blisters. I did find however my 20 yard sprint was .8 seconds faster, consistently. My coach told me it was me being fit, but a part of me suspected the vapors. I felt like i was faster, I felt like i could dribble better and i felt overall more confident. This helped me greatly, as in all sports, your mind is your biggest weapon. With high confidence, you can play smarter, faster and more effectively, which is in turn how I played. I felt more professional because I looked more professional. You wouldn't show up at work in street clothes would you? Your boss would say " Now that doesn't look professional, does it?". My team always looks at the other team for players with the nicest boots, because they are either into boots, or they are the better players. I am almost positive there are people out there who have done this.

New boots (for me anyways) ,really dont make me play any better, but they make me think im better.And I will probably continue to buy the boots my heros wear. But if Ronaldo shows up at his next game with pink and yellow boots and green hair, well, lets just say I am not gonna dye my hair green...but I will have to check the boot room on when i can get my hands on those pink and yellow vapors. Kidding!