No Bulls sales strategy must go; USF offers Oct. 31 treats
By ERNEST HOOPER
Published October 21, 2003
Wal-Mart often touts its donations to various local organizations and rightly so. That's the company's way of saying hey, we're part of the community.
Of course, there's more that it could do, like carry a large supply of University of South Florida gear in the Dale Mabry store near Raymond James Stadium, also known as the Mons Venus Wal-Mart.
I stopped by on Saturday afternoon so I could get a fresh green-and-gold golf shirt to wear to the USF-Charleston Southern football game. The first sign that the search might go awry? There was an inflatable Albert the Alligator just inside the entrance.
Don't get me wrong, I'm sure the University of Florida merchandise sells well, along with the Florida State and Bucs T-shirts that Wal-Mart had on its racks. But there's something wrong when University of Miami shirts outnumber USF shirts. The only Bulls gear I could find was one warmup suit.
School officials tell me merchandise sales have hit new highs thanks to the new logo, and plenty of shirts, hats and T-shirts can be found at mall stores such as Sports Fan-Attic, Dillard's and JCPenney.
Still, if Wal-Mart can find room for Dale Earnhardt Jr. shirts, they should be able to keep a steady supply of USF shirts. This isn't some mom-and-pop stand, this is mighty Wal-Mart. Get it done.
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Speaking of the Bulls, the school is doing what it can to make its Oct. 31 homecoming game against Cincinnati attractive to those who would just as soon take the kids trick-or-treating in the neighborhood.
A Bulls Roast starting at 4:30 p.m. in Lot 5 will feature barbecue pork and chicken sandwiches and mechanical bull riding. There also will be a Halloween Village set up for kids 12 and under, with face painting, trick-or-treating and a costume parade.
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You might never guess who is trying to reach out to the under-served R&B folks looking for a nighttime diversion. Malio's (301 S Dale Mabry) has begun an old school Friday with '70s and '80s funk plus jazz and disco.
Actually, Malio's has always had dancing in its lounge with an array of top 40 and R&B bands. This latest effort should only enhance what is one of the city's best-kept secrets.
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Any politician claiming to appeal to both sides of the aisle has been one-upped by Dr. Mario Garcia.
Last week, Garcia's Tampa-based international information design firm launched its redesign of Liberation, a French newspaper that is a favorite among left-wing intellectuals. His charge was to make the publication "more funky."
Call me crazy, but those were not the instructions the conservative American Spectator gave to Garcia and his designers. Dare I say, I'm not even sure those folks know the meaning of funky. Still, Garcia's company handled that redesign project earlier this year, meeting the company's desire for a more "mature look."
To handle two diverse publications like American Spectator and Liberation says a lot. Maybe we need Garcia at the United Nations.
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Is it just me, or does someone else find it terribly annoying to get spam e-mails that promise to get rid of spam e-mails? It's like a termite-owned pest control company. There is only one insidious Internet agitator worse, and that's the pop-up ad promising to eliminate pop-up ads.
Such hypocrisy should be illegal.
And by the way, spammers, I'm not wiring any money to a foreign bank account, and I don't need any Viagra.
