Swag Award February 2-8

On paper, the matchup was one that bookmakers and sports enthusiasts alike salivated over. The first time since 1994 that two #1 seeds faced one another in the Super Bowl. Two of the games most prolific offenses and two of the games most accurate quarterbacks duking it out for one of the most coveted prizes in all of sport; The Lombardi Trophy.

On paper it appeared that the Indianapolis Colts were the better team. Led by 2009 league MVP Peyton Manning, and well-rested after a 14-0 start the Colts seemed poised to win their second title in four years.

Outcomes are not decided on paper, and that my friends is why we play the game.

For the first 15 minutes of the game the New Orleans Saints, the laughing stock of the NFL for many seasons, the expansion team that hadn’t reached a Super Bowl in its first 43 years of existence looked every bit less experienced than their counterparts from Indy.

New Orleans could have rolled over at the end of the 1st quarter when they were down 10-0 and didn’t show any signs that they were capable of slowing down Peyton Manning’s methodic passing attack. New Orleans could have rolled over in the 2nd quarter when Indy stopped back-to-back runs on 3rd and 4th and goal, but they didn’t.

A wise man once told me that “a true champion prevails despite the circumstances,” and that is what the Saints did coming out of halftime. Despite being a slight underdog, and facing a 10-6 deficit at the half, the Saints put together an impressive 30 minutes of football; starting with a recovered onside kick to begin the second half.

That play, the first time an onside kick was attempted in a Super Bowl before the 4th quarter, was a game-changer and the catalyst the propelled the Saints to a 25-point second half and their first ever Super Bowl title.

It’s hard to not to root for a team like the Saints. There’s no way to measure what a Super Bowl title does for the spirits and emotions of the city of New Orleans, and the surrounding gulf region that is still recovering from the devastation of Hurricane Katrina. I think sports fans around the league won’t mind yelling out a resounding “Who Dat!??” in honor of the Saints’ tremendous season.

Any successful person will tell you that winners take risks, and the New Orleans took the necessary risks in Super Bowl XLIV to be crowned World Champions at games end. To the victor goes the spoils. Swagger!

Swag Award January 25-Feb 1

It’s often been said that love knows no boundaries, and ever so often you see a couple who makes you really makes you believe that saying may have some truth behind it. Ever so often, you see a couple who makes you feel like they would do anything for their partner; travel the to the ends of the earth, profess their undying love for another, whatever it takes.

Jeff Wong and his fiancée Erin are proof that true love is not dead. Now we all remember the creative “Soul Train wedding line” that was a sensation on You Tube.. This couple blows those jokers out of the water.

Mr. and soon-to-be Mrs. Wong are set to wed on October 9, 2010, the eve of 10-10-10. Instead of sending out cheesy invites on cheesy stationary, this duo took a little less conventional route and instead decided to produce a trailer for the event of the year, AKA the wedding in October. Taking scenes from many of your favorite movies and spoofing them, the Wong’s most certainly made an unforgettable event reminder for what promises to be an unforgettable event in their lives.

Props to Jeff & Erin for overcoming the odds, thinking outside the box, and having the swagger to do something so incredibly original, so incredibly awesome. Best of luck to you guys in the future.

Swag Award January 18-24

As we draw to the close of the first month of a new year, renowned ghost-writer and Virginia representative Skillz has released his annual “Rap-Up.” For those of you unfamiliar with Skillz or his rap-ups, take this time to familiarize yourself. For as far back as I can remember, Skillz has been releasing these songs every January recapping all the major events of the previous year. Skillz cleverly touches on everything from the music world, to politics, to pop culture. By now, we’ve all seen retrospectives on the events of last year, but no one does it quite like this guy. I’ve always enjoyed these and I’m sure you will too.

Click on the video below and let Skillz take you back through 2009 and the year that was…

Swag Award January 4-17

One week after the catastrophic earthquake that rocked Haiti, the magnitude and sheer impact the quake had on the fragile island nation is becoming more apparent with each passing minute. News outlets have been covering the disaster for days, and I’m sure none of us will soon forget the images of the homeless families, injured Haitians, corpses littering the streets, and people helplessly crying out for help.

When tragedies on this scale occur, something is triggered within the human heart that causes us to feel an insatiable desire to help. Call it compassion, call it sympathy, call it love for your fellow man, but in the face of tragedy people come together this week’s Swag Award goes to one such helper. I’m not talking about a Non-Governmental Organization here. Not a celebrity-led relief effort, but an individual act from a celebrity of sorts removing himself from his job to do something courageous amidst widespread chaos. The celebrity is Anderson Cooper, and today we celebrate his heroism.

As Cooper reported from the streets of Port-Au-Prince, he encountered a throng of Haitian looters scouring a store for much needed essentials. This wasn’t a normal smash & grab however. As looters tried to enter the store, other Haitians who were perched on the roof threw rocks and concrete blocks down onto the people below.

As Cooper reported from the scene, a young boy was struck in the head by one of the concrete blocks. As the boy wandered through the street bloodied and bewildered, Cooper put his camera and microphone down and literally carried the boy down the street and out of harm’s way. The entire exchanged occurred in about a minute, but in that one minute we saw Anderson Cooper’s human side. That split-second decision to help that child and not let him wander aimlessly down that street may have saved a life.

Swag Award December 28-Jan 3

As we transition into a new decade, the United Arab Emirates continues to assert its fiscal muscle and penchant for ostentatious displays of wealth, despite the economic turmoil that continues to plague most nations. Dubai, the same country that constructed three palm-shaped, man-made islands in the Persian Gulf a few years back introduced its newest architectural feat to the world yesterday in grand fashion.

Towering more than 160 stories over Dubai and the surrounding desert, the Burj Khalifa as it is called is now the tallest building in the world at 2,717 feet. It’s 50 stories taller than the next closest building in Taiwan. For those of you familiar with New York architecture, the Burj Khalifa is as tall as both the Empire State Building and the Chrysler Building stacked on top of one another.

The building will include a mix of office space, nightclubs, mosques, luxury suites and boardrooms. It will have the world’s fist Armani hotel, the world’s highest swimming pool on the 76th floor, and the highest mosque on the 158th floor. The observation deck on the 124th floor will offer panoramic views of up to 60 miles.


Now I know what you’re asking yourself; “how the hell was Dubai able to afford this undertaking in this global economic downturn?” Thanks to a $10 billion donation from Sheik Khalifa of Abu Dhabi last year, Dubai was able to avoid economic unrest and complete the project. For his generosity, the name of the building has been changed from Burj Dubai to Burj Khalifa in his honor. The Burj Khalifa has already sold 90% of its space to tenants, but it remains to be seen if it will be the catalyst that revives Dubai’s economy still recovering from the real estate crash a few years ago.

I haven’t made it to Dubai yet, but I’ve heard some good things from friends who have visited. I need to get over there. I think we can all agree that spending $1.5 billion in a global recession to construct the tallest building in the world, and quickly selling out 90% of the space is a power move, any way you slice it. Swagger!