Hollyman’s World blog

While watching TV the other day, I happened to see something odd in one of the Sonic commercials. I’ve been paying attention to the Sonic commercials lately, becuase I wanted to see the one where they discuss “bits vs. bytes” where they guy goes into the whole 8 bits in a byte (bite) spiel.

The particular commercial that came on was the one where the two guys order the mini-banana splits and the passenger tries to pay for it with “mini-money.”

Something seemed really odd about the show, so I took full advantage of Tivo and rewound the commercial again. Sure enough, this is what I saw:

I think it is pretty obvious that the seatbelts used in the commercial car are fakes! The guy in the passenger seat moves all around with what looks more like a crossing guard stripe from gradeschool than a seatbelt! Here is another photo:

If you zoom in on the corner where the belt should be attached to the car, I think you can see the real seatbelt has been pulled back into the rear seat and strapped down out of sight:

Call me crazy, but I can’t imagine why they would put fake belts on for the commercial, unless they needed to move around for the camera and the real belts made that difficult. Anyway, thanks to Tivo for making TV useful and thanks to Sonic for making some really funny commercials!

While tending to my daughters needs today, by giving her a bottle, I had a moment of clarity. Children are the purist form of “on demand” needs. They are completely dependant upon us, the parents, to meet all of their needs. We feed them any time they are hungry, put them down to sleep when tired, change their dirty diapers when soiled and sooth them when they are upset.

These needs are acceptible to us and we gladly, if not tiredly, try to fullfill them on-demand. This got me thinking about how many needs we have in todays fast-food and instant gratification society. Has life always been like this? It seems that in the past, people were more accepting of lines and taking their turns while being considerate of others. Today, that does not seem to be the case.

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On a recent business trip to San Diego, CA, I found this flyer for a mexican restaurant. It caught my eye for a number of reasons.

1. Flames and Healthy don’t seem to go together
2. You gotta love places that emphasize they don’t serve pets

I have been to many sporting events, amature and professional, and have yet to see a cheer that is less offensive than at the Denver Broncos stadium. You would never notice it on TV, unless you have actually been to a game in person.

The first Denver Bronco game I attended was Denver vs. Chicago Bears a couple of years ago. It was a great day for football: freezing cold (the high was like 19 degress) and grey skies. I believe it was the first posession by the Bears when I was shocked at what happened.

When the opposing team throws a pass that is incomplete, the stadium announcer leads the crowd in a cheer. The announcer starts out with:

The pass from “insert quarterback here” to “insert receiver number and name here” was…

Then the announcer stops talking and the crowed collectively yells:

IN-COM-PLETE!!!

I couldn’t believe that:

1. The announcer would lead a cheer
2. The cheer would be so obnoxious
3. The cheer would be used for every play and not just red-zone plays

Where has our decency gone? You can call me old and stuffy, which I am becoming, but this is just rude behavior to exhibit, especially at an event that is attended by many children. The same kids that we expect to treat others with respect. The same kids that we punish for talking back. The same kids that will be the future for our society.

Here they witness it is OK to make fun of and even attempt to humiliate another person for their failed attempt at success. Where does this garbage come from?

Other sporting teams use cheers to *support* their teams, not attack the opponents. I guess I should not expect so much from the Denver fans. These are the same fans that are quick to boo their own players. I do expect more from the Denver Broncos management, however.

Next time you watch on TV as the Broncos play at home, listen carefully, you can still hear it at home. Maybe you too will join me in our own little cheer:

The Denver Broncos Management morals are: IN-COM-PLETE