Football Robot Toy

What do you do when facing a crushing amount of work?

If its Sunday, I hunker down, climb into bed and watch football, putting off all my work.

We all have coping mannerisms, you're no better than me.

This Sunday I saw on Fox's NFL pre-game game show that there will be a new way to disappoint people this holiday season. And it'll only cost you twenty dollars.

Starting November 30th, the animated robot that dances around before and after commercial breaks during Fox’s NFL games is being turned into an action figure.

Fan feelings about the robot are mixed. There is blogger Tom Sherman's potty mouthed disdain for the fella. Then there is this Fox Sports Board that loves it, though, I assume the posts are made by Fox employees.

I doubt there was a groundswell of fan outcry for this toy. It doesn't even have a Wikipedia entry. I remember the robot from when Fox first started televising football. From what I can gather on the internet the robot took a few years off, then was resurrected last year. And this year they're going to answer all the questions you've had about him like:

You see it on Sundays on NFL on FOX and you may have wondered where it came from, How big is he? What is his name? Where do I get one? Well, it's finally come to life. However, we need your help to Name the Robot!

So, I guess it's not a him, per se, we'll see what name they confer upon this thing.

My first reaction to this news was immediate dismissal. It think the robot is dopey and so does everyone I know that watches football. But, I might live in something of an Ivy Tower* so what do I know? Maybe they'll sell a few of these things.

As long as there are people who ask questions on the internet like:

My friends and I were watching NFL football games on Fox channel and my friend said the robot jumping up and down was a real man wearing a robot costume and I said it was a computer animation. What do you think?

There will be people buying this toy.

And I guess this odd marketing ploy will work.

*I know its supposed to be Ivory, I just happen to prefer Ivy.