Under Armour's Big Day

For the last couple of years Nike and Adidas have been the kings of college football apparel, but on Saturday afternoon another company will have their coming out party before a national TV audience. South Carolina will meet Auburn in the SEC Title Game, with the winner moving on to a BCS Bowl game, but the game means a little more to Under Armour.

Both South Carolina and Auburn jumped on the Under Armour bandwagon a couple of years ago and it appears to be paying off.  For the last couple of years, Under Armour has been making waves in the college football apparel industry but Saturday marks the first time that two Under Armour wearing teams will be meeting on this type of national stage. 

In 2009, Under Armour notched its first really big win when Utah beat Nike wearing Alabama in the Sugar Bowl. The brand could continue to grow if Auburn won and gave Under Armour their first BCS National Title Game appearance. 

This type of exposure will do nothing but sell a ton of jersey and other for both schools and Under Armour. The game should be a money making experience for all involved.

The future is now for some

During the course of the long holiday weekend I have been able to watch a couple of different soccer games and came away impressed by a pair of young midfielders.

On Wednesday, I watched United play Rangers in the Champions League and came away very impressed with Rangers six foot two inch 19 year old midfielder Kyle Hutton. Despite being the youngest player on the field, he played with a calmness that is shown only by older players. The Scottish midfielder is going to continue to grow and has the potential to be one of the best midfielders around.

Then on Saturday, I watched the Arsenal Aston Villa game and loved what I saw from Ciaran Clark (picture above) and also came away impressed. During the game Clark scored Villa only two goals in the 4-2 loss. Clark, who stands six foot two inches tall, is a commanding presence in the middle of the field to go along with the smallish Barry Bannan. The duo is going to team up for the next couple of years to give Villains face something to cheer about. Clark has played at various levels for England but has recently committed to play for Ireland at senior level. Clark has all of the tools to be a great box to box midfielder in the Premier League.

Both Clark and Hutton are tall figures and show that playing midfield is no longer a small man's game.
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