Stinky Sports Gloves

It's that time of the year again and the gloves are getting real stinky. Let's revisit this post from last year...

My son's football gloves REEEEEK when he gets into the car after practice.  It's a horrible sour, stinky smell that could be a weapon of war.

It doesn't help that he usually strips them off all sweaty and stuffs them into his helmet after practice to sit there until the next night.  Soon the smell is all through his helmet and all over his face after a few days.

I try to keep on top of it during the week and pull his gloves out of his helmet, rinse them under water and stuff rolled up newspapers into the bottom.  Prop up with his water bottle and cooler so we don't forget them the next day. (warning: the kids will playfully arrange the fingers to make several rude gestures when you are not looking!)

For a super stinky pair that has been hanging out for awhile, I turn them inside out and really scrub the inside, then flip them to dry normally.  After they are dry, I fill them with baking soda and let sit overnight.  Pour out soda and wear as usual.

For SUPER SUPER smelly gloves, pour in some vinegar to let them fizz up after sitting overnight, then rinse and dry with the newspaper. This is a 2 day process with all the rinsing and drying but well worth it.

Show Your Team Spirit!

When attending a Pittsburgh Steelers game, you will notice everyone in the crowd waving gold flags to support their team. The "Terrible Towel" was invented by Pittsburgh radio broadcaster Myron Cope in 1975, and has become one of the most recognized fan symbols of any national sports team.

What better way to make our little guys feel the fan support during their Superbowl game than to have the stands full of their own Terrible Towels! You could easily make your own version with your own team colors the next time you want to rally fan support. Soooo...

Let's Make Terrible Towels!

Supplies:

Blank stencil plastic (found in your local craft store)
Exacto knife
Plain white washcloths (24/$9.99 at Costco)
Rit dye
Spray adhesive
Spray paint
Rubber gloves

Begin by dying your washcloths your team color. Rit dye and a big pot on the stove was the method I used. Follow the directions on the package.

While the dye is brewing, let's make our stencil! Print out your team name or saying on the computer using "Stencil" font. Lay the print out under the translucent plastic and cut out the letters with an Exacto knife.

You will end up with a stencil like this:



To protect the rest of the towel from over-spray, I taped old school papers around the edge. To make sure the whole stencil made contact with the towel, I used repositionable spray adhesive onto the back and pressed down. Then I spray painted the design.



It's 39 degrees, so I spread out a tarp and worked in the garage...shhhh, don't tell the Big Guy! I made an assembly line and worked really quickly - 48 towels in under 30 minutes.



Peel off the stencil and tada!



Repeat 47 more times and you are good to go!



Let's go Rams!

**Edit** WE WON!!! The boys played hard and shut out their rivals 14-0!



You will have an opportunity to share your own tutorials tomorrow at my linky party. Come on back and Teach Me Stuff!

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Sports Customs - Feedback Friday

First of all, let me tell you that my middle son's youth football team has made it to the Superbowl!!! Yahoo! We are so excited! We are making decorations! We are planning parties! We are inviting family!

Hold on...there is one small order of business I need to mention. Here is a portion of an email I received from a team mom following our playoff win:

"Middle Gold families are asked to bring 1-2 dozen cookies to share, and the Big Gold team families will bring snacks. The night should be a fun and exciting time to get the boys pumped up for the big game, including a burn in effigy. Anyone want to lend a hand on that piece, please let me know!"

An effigy is a representation of a person, especially in the form of sculpture or some other three-dimensional form. (Wikipedia)

An Effigy burn would have looked like this:



Our sons on this team are 9-10 years old.

It's Feedback Friday and I have to know:

Is a "burn in effigy" common for sports teams with children of this age?

Do you think this activity is appropriate?

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