by Digger

Children in two small Nicaraguan communities, San Gregorio and Buena Vista, were happy recipients of donated 19-0 Super Bowl Champion Patriots hats and shirts.

In major sports, it is custom for leagues and teams to produce merchandise before championship games are actually decided. However, the billion dollar industry known as the National Football League decided to quietly unload historically inaccurate items instead of stepping up and supplying deserving children with authentic apparel.

The humanitarian organization known as World Vision arranged for this donation from the NFL. The NFL would have been better served offering correct merchandise instead of unloading what they couldn't sell. Player jersey's, sweaters, t-shirts, sweats, rain gear... you name it right down to footballs and bobble head dolls could have been donated instead of gear misrepresenting actual game results.

Yes, the children of Nicaragua were thankful and the NFL did bring many smiles to these youngsters faces... but this was hardly the correct way to promote our sport. As an American, this seems more like a lame way to unload an unwanted inventory instead of showering derserving youths with authentic gear.

Is the billion dollar NFL enterprize really this cheap and selfish? The Super Bowl is the worlds greatest championship venue for revenues and all the NFL could muster up was 290 categorically inaccurate hats and jerseys. Perhaps, this is why the NFL, full of promotion tradition, remained relatively silent with this move here in the States.

Commissioner Goodell is full of surprises when it involves the "Spygate" Patriots. New England is hardly the team our national sport should be promoting at this time. Granted, this donation wasn't about promoting football. However, it can be perceived as a flat out cheap move which managed to fly below radar screens and American news organizations.