1836er said:

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The Porkchop Express said:

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1836er said:

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swc93 said:

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W said:

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this is very true.

my grade school teachers were impressed that I could spell Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, etc..,at a young age...thanks to the NFL and MLB

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The NFL #2 pencils helped me with that.

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Oh... I loved those pencils

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Wow. Rediscovering these pencils is my early leader for post of the year. I used to trace the helmets with them too.

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I used to collect the little plastic football helmets (that were also made into pencil sharpeners) from gumball machines too.

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I had the plastic football helmets as a kid (not pencil sharpener version), and still find one at parents house occassionally.

My wife got me an updated set about 15 years ago, and while watching RedZone or a game, would have my kids set up helmets of the teams playing each other while we watched so that they would all be able to recognize NFL football teams by helmet.

We don't watch as much football, and the kids have mostly grown, so they don't do that anymore. For the playoffs, we still set them up before the weekend and dump the losers back into the bucket after each game. I think out of nostalgia, the youngest just set up the 8 helmets on Monday night during the Cowboy game (although jinx possibilities did cross my mind).

that has crossed my mind with regard to college football.

why not play your college rival twice in one season.

would be great for ticket sales and probably TV ratings as well

The Porkchop Express said:

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1836er said:

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swc93 said:

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W said:

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this is very true.

my grade school teachers were impressed that I could spell Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, etc..,at a young age...thanks to the NFL and MLB

---

The NFL #2 pencils helped me with that.

---

Oh... I loved those pencils

---

Wow. Rediscovering these pencils is my early leader for post of the year. I used to trace the helmets with them too.

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This. Post can't be blue star'd enough. I totally forgot about those pencils.

MSFC Aggie said:

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The Porkchop Express said:

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1836er said:

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swc93 said:

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W said:

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this is very true.

my grade school teachers were impressed that I could spell Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, etc..,at a young age...thanks to the NFL and MLB

---

The NFL #2 pencils helped me with that.

---

Oh... I loved those pencils

---

Wow. Rediscovering these pencils is my early leader for post of the year. I used to trace the helmets with them too.

---

This. Post can't be blue star'd enough. I totally forgot about those pencils.

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I also had this hardback book, Portrait of a Season, that was a gift from my great uncle who used to work as a spotter for the Oilers. Complete story of the 1980 football season with pictures of every single game and recaps as well. I had this book memorized by the time I was 10 or 12.



Had giant two-page spread photos of great players and plays, a few in color for each "fourth" of the season and the rest in black and white.

One of my favorite photos from it.

W said:

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that has crossed my mind with regard to college football.

why not play your college rival twice in one season.

would be great for ticket sales and probably TV ratings as well

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If you had 4 16 team conferences, you'd play your own division twice, one other division, and one division from another league. That's 14 games. You have an 8 team league playoff.

MSFC Aggie said:

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The Porkchop Express said:

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1836er said:

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swc93 said:

---

W said:

---

this is very true.

my grade school teachers were impressed that I could spell Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, etc..,at a young age...thanks to the NFL and MLB

---

The NFL #2 pencils helped me with that.

---

Oh... I loved those pencils

---

Wow. Rediscovering these pencils is my early leader for post of the year. I used to trace the helmets with them too.

---

This. Post can't be blue star'd enough. I totally forgot about those pencils.

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Anyone remember the NFL team stickers in the loaves of Rainbow Bread?

swc93 said:

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W said:

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this is very true.

my grade school teachers were impressed that I could spell Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, etc..,at a young age...thanks to the NFL and MLB

---

The NFL #2 pencils helped me with that.

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Thought of this thread when I saw this tweet, and yes it was true.

Call it superstition if you want, but when you needed that little something extra on an exam it totally mattered which team pencil you used:

“Math test? Didn’t study for it at all but I’m bringing Earl Campbell into battle with me so I got this.” pic.twitter.com/BO9cD0nCXv

— Super 70s Sports (@Super70sSports) January 31, 2023

Back then, the Raiders, Steelers, and Oilers were the prized pencils. You could count on them. Even the Cowboys wouldn't be freely given away or used for a mere social studies assignment.


Now a days, god forbid you try to use a Dallas Cowboys pencil in January. That's just asking for disappointment.

Pencil fight? Sure; Chargers, Cardinals, Colts...always the first to go.