MID CENTURY MODERN DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION IS THE MOST HIGHLY FAVORED AND DESIRED TODAY AMONG FURNITURE ENTHUSIASTS AND COLLECTORS. WITH THE EXCEPTION OF BEAN BAG CHAIRS AND LAVA LAMPS, MOST FURNISHINGS OF THE PERIOD WERE MANUFACTURED WITH STURDY, HEAVY METAL OR SOLID, NATURAL WOOD. THAT ERA WAS THE LAST BASTION OF GLORY FOR GENUINE, NATURAL PRODUCTS. DO YOU REMEMBER WHO FIRST SAID:
"THEY DON'T MAKE 'EM LIKE THEY USED TO"
WELL, WHO EVER SAID IT, MAY HAVE WATCHED "THE GRADUATE". IT WAS A MOVIE THAT PREMIERED IN THE MID-CENTURY WHEN BENJAMIN BRADDOCK (DUSTIN HOFFMAN) WAS GRADUATING COLLEGE. BEN WAS CLUELESS ABOUT WHAT TO DO WITH HIS LIFE GOING FORWARD. AT HIS GRADUATION PARTY, HE WAS ENCOURAGED BY AN ELDER TO ENTER THE FIELD OF "PLASTICS" AS A CAREER. LITTLE DID YOUNG BENNY KNOW AT THE TIME, THAT PLASTICS AND OTHER MANMADE PRODUCTS WOULD RULE THE UNIVERSE. NATURAL PRODUCTS WERE ON THE VERGE OF EXTINCTION, TOO EXCLUSIVE OR EXPENSIVE TO ACQUIRE. LONG LIVE MOTHER NATURE.
IT WAS ALSO THE MID-CENTURY WHEN WE FIRST SAW FRED FLINTSTONE CREATIVELY, MAKE AND PRODUCE EVERYTHING FROM ROCK. THEN, ON THE OTHER HAND, GEORGE JETSON FLEW AROUND IN HIS SYNTHETIC SPACE CRUISER WITH JANE, JUDY, ELROY AND ASTRO. EVEN THE IMAGINARY, FANTASY WORLD OF CARTOONS HAD OUR FUTURE FULLY FIGURED OUT.
GOSH, FOOTBALL ENTHUSIASTS, ESPECIALLY THOSE WHO LOVE GENUINE SPORTS, MAY NEED TO TAKE A TRIP THROUGH THE TIME TUNNEL OR GET OUT THE VIDEO TAPE TO SEE NATURAL WONDERS. THE PRODUCT NOW BEING SOLD COULD BE CONSIDERED QUITE "FAUX" LIKE THE SYNTHETIC TURF THEY PLAY ON. HOWEVER, DON'T BLAME THE MANUFACTURERS, IT JUST HAS TO BE THAT WAY TO PASS CURRENT SPACE-AGE STANDARDS. THE NEW PRODUCT IS SAFER, AND MORE SALEABLE TO CONTEMPORARY CONSUMERS. THOUGH, NOT NECESSARILY LESS EXPENSIVE TO PRODUCE, NEW AGE FOOTBALL HAS REPLACED RB&B&B AS THE "GREATEST SHOW ON SYNTHETIC TURF". THEIR BEARS HAVE ONLY TWO LEGS AND THEIR LIONS ARE BEGINNING TO GROWL AFTER YEARS OF SILENCE. IT HAS BECOME A GREAT SPECTACLE THAT ATTRACTS ENTERTAINMENT STARS IN THE STANDS TO WATCH THE STARS ON THE FIELD, WHO REALLY ARE, THE AMERICAN IDOLS.
THEREFORE, THE PRODUCT BEING PROMOTED IS A DIFFERENT QUALITY OF ENTERTAINMENT TO BRING THE WHOLE FAMILY TO ENJOY. AND LET'S BE REAL, OLD-SCHOOL FOOTBALL WAS A BRO-MANCE, A GUY THANG. LIGHTLY REGULATED, THE MID-CENTURY MACHO PRODUCT MADE PLAYERS ABOUT AS SAFE AS A TEST CAR DUMMY. ASK ANYBODY HIT BY DICK BUTKUS. WITH GROWING TESTIMONIES AND CONCERNS OF INJURIES, ESPECIALLY OF THE CRAINAL VARIETY, PRECAUTIONS INVADED THE WILD AND WRECKLESS ABANDON OF THE BUTCH AND SUNDANCE SCENE.
THUS, THE RULES HAVE CHANGED AND THE GAME HAS CHANGED. THOUGH, UNEXPLAINED IS THE AVERAGE LIFE OF A RUNNING BACK, WHICH HAS DWINDLED ALONG WITH THE PREMIUM SALARY THAT CAME WITH FIRST ROUND DRAFT STATUS BACK IN THE DAY. MAYBE THEY GOT CAUGHT UP IN THE NEW, NON-FLAGRANT LEAGUE, WHICH IS MORE FREE WHEELING AND HIGH-FLYING FUN FOR FLINGERS AND FLY CATCHERS. THE TWO-LEGGED BEARS, LIONS AND TIGERS HAVE NEW COSTUMES, AND ARE NOW TASKED TO PERFORM THE BOUNCING AND JUGGLING ON THE HIGH WIRE AND THE SIDELINE.
THOSE TODDLING SPECTATORS AND THEIR OLDER SIBLINGS WITH A FEW YEARS ON THEIR DRIVER'S LICENSES WANT TO ENTHUSIASTICALLY ENJOY THE GAME. YES, JUST AS MUCH AS THOSE OLE BOOMERS WHO NEED SPECTACLES OR CAN'T FIND THEIR KEYS TO MAKE IT TO THE GAME. AS SUCH, PRO FOOTBALL HAS DONE A GREAT JOB AT PRESERVING THE FUN, BUILDING AN INDUSTRY THAT IS EMPLOYING MILLIONS.
TO ADD, MID-CENTURY NEVER HAD INSTANT REPLAY, RED FLAGS, INDOOR STADIUMS, GUEST SUITES, HUGE TELESCREENS, ARTIFICIAL GRASS, FIVE MINUTE COMMERCIALS, GATORADE, END ZONE DANCES, TALKING HELMETS, ELECTRONIC CLIPBOARDS, NOR THINGS CALLED PODCASTS....AND YES PETE ROSE, BETTORS CAN ENTER THE HOF...THERE'S GAMBLING IN THE NEW NON-FLAGRANT LEAGUE!
HOWEVER, MID-C IS DIGITALLY PRESERVED ON NUMEROUS MEDIA PLATFORMS AND IDEAL FOR CATCHING MUCH OF MACHO MADNESS WE GREW TO LOVE. BESIDES, EVERYBODY IS SAFE WATCHING OLD MOVIES AND NFL FILMS, RIGHT? FOR THOSE ENTHUSIASTS, ALL GENs WHO VALUE THE NATURAL SPORT AND YEARN FOR THE GENUINE MID C FLAVOR OF VINTAGE WARRIORS, THERE COULD BE NO ONE GREATER TO PAUSE THE REMOTE AND REFLECT ON, THAN RB, JAMES NATHANIAL BROWN, "THE GLADIATOR".
BROWN SPLASHED ON THE SCENE IN 1957 WHEN SPUTNIK SET SAIL IN ORBIT AND THE CHEVY BELAIR SPROUTED FINS. ALL WOULD BE HAILED AS STARTLING EVENTS. UNFORTUNATELY, THERE IS NOT AS MUCH FILM, TAPE, NOR DIGITAL RECORDS OF JB, YOU JUST HAD TO BE THERE. IF NOT AT THE STADIUM, YOU COULD HAVE BEEN AMAZED BY THAT IRONMAN BOUNCING HIS FOE, SEEN ON THIS NEW GADGET CALLED A TELEVISION SET. YES, THAT GADGET CAME IN NATURAL WOOD. THE ELECTRONIC AGE HAD DAWNED AND THE FIRST NFL CHAMPIONSHIP TELEVISED IN '58. HIS APPEARANCE ELEVATED THE NFL STANDARD OF FOOTBALL.
AS A ROOKIE, HE SET AN NFL RECORD STANDARD OF (237) YARDS RUSHING IN A SINGLE GAME....IT WOULD BECOME AN UNDISPUTED ROOKIE RECORD FOR OVER (40) YEARS ...BROWN POSSESSED TOUGHNESS AND POWER IN HIS GAME, ALONG WITH FINESSE, QUICKNESS AND SPEED, NOT SEEN BEFORE IN THE NFL AND WAS THE "GREATEST SHOW ON TELEVISION"...HE BECAME THE GOLD STANDARD AS HE POUNCED FOR OVER A THOUSAND YARDS FOR SEVEN SEASONS IN A (12) GAME SCHEDULE FOR FOUR SEASONS, AND THEN A (14) GAME SCHEDULE FOR FIVE YEARS...
HE WOULD AMAZE ONLOOKERS AND TV VIEWERS FOR (9) SUCCESSIVE SEASONS. HE WOULD WIN THE RUSHING CROWN (8) SEASONS. HE HAD NO EQUAL, OTHER THAN MAYBE, JUST MAYBE, "THE HARDEST WORKIN' MAN IN SHOW BUSINESS", ANOTHER NAMESAKE. BUT TALK ABOUT SHOW BUSINESS, JIM CAUGHT THE ACTING BUG AND PLAYED A BUFFALO SOLDIER IN HIS SCREEN DEBUT AS SERGEANT, BEN FRANKLIN IN THE 1964 WESTERN "RIOS CONCHOS"...
1964 WOULD BE A VERY GOOD YEAR, THE SAME YEAR HE LED THE BROWNS TO THE NFL CHAMPIONSHIP. AFTER WINNING HIS THIRD NFL MVP AWARD, JB WAS HAVIN' A BALL AND LOVIN' HIS THEATRICAL PASSION. AFTER HAVING HELPED USHER THE NFL INTO THE MODERN ERA OF SPORTS, THERE CAME CONFLICTS OF PARTICIPATION. BROWN WOULD ULTIMATELY CHOOSE THE GLAMOUR OF HOLLYWOOD AND THE MOVIE SCREEN, LEADING TO A DIFFERENT KIND OF STARDOM AND EARLY FOOTBALL RETIREMENT. MR BROWN WOULD LEAVE BELIEVELAND AND LAND IN EUROPE ON A "SUICIDE MISSION"
HE PARTNERED WITH TWELVE HEARTY COMMANDOs AND LEADERS, WHO HAD INFILTRATED ENEMY TERRITORY IN A DARING UNDERCOVER OPERATION TO "TAKE OUT" OPPOSITION LEADERS. AS THE CAMPAIGN OF THE GROUP COMMENCED, THEIR CLANDESTINE ACTIONS HAD BECOME UNCOVERED, FORCING AN ABRUPT SEQUENCES OF EVENTS...