February 15, 2007

Sports Illustrated

My son moved away from home eight years ago. It seems like most grown kids store things at their parent’s home when they move on. My son’s move was paid by a corporation, so he was able to take everything except for one large, heavy box that got missed because it was stored away out of sight when he was packing. He’s coming to visit next month. He’ll drag that box out while he’s here. He’ll revisit the memories stored in it and say once again that he really needs to ship it to his own home. He’s done that a few times in past years and it’s become a pattern. One day he’ll actually do it. Each time he visits he always asks: “Mom, do you still have my Sports Illustrated collection?” On one visit he went through the collection and culled out a few issues that were damaged or didn’t meet his criteria for “collectable issue.” There are certain issues that he will never get rid of, even if he could sell them on eBay for a thousand bucks. Those are the issues that feature LSU (any sport,) the Super Bowl issues and the Annual Swimsuit Issues.

Elle Macpherson (’87, ‘88, ‘94) and Kathy Ireland (’92, ‘94) were the top models that first enamored him to those special issues. Before that he subscribed strictly because he’s a sports fanatic and Sports Illustrated is the best of the best in sports reporting. I suspect that Elle was his first celebrity crush, and the magnet that originally drew him to the SI Swimsuit Issues.

Now he can get current or past favorite Sports Illustrated Swimsuit models as wallpaper for his cell phone. Did I say can? He’s probably already done it. I’ll have to ask him next time he calls. The only question in my mind is whether he’ll choose wallpaper featuring a model (or models) from the current issue or one of his early favorites.

Beyonce is the 2007 cover girl. The new issue (which comes out, appropriately, today, Valentine’s Day) also features other top models, including Bar Refaeli (who recently broke up with Leonardo DiCaprio), Victoria’s Secret model Heidi Klum, Marisa Miller, Ana Beatriz Barros, tennis star Maria Sharapova and Molly Sims. Since the cell phone wallpapers are only $1.99, I suspect he’ll download several. It’s a good thing that Sports Illustrated sponsored this post so I would know it too, just in case he’s been living under a rock & needs Mom to tell him.