Code Four soccer car makes first parade appearance of season

A couple weeks ago, the 77th annual Daffodil Parade took place under the sunny skies of south-central Washington state. There were ponies, princesses, cars and clowns. Floats, furry animals, musicians and magic. And smack dab in the middle of it all was our Code Four soccer ball car, strolling down the street with players and parents of the Orting Soccer Club (Orting, WA).

The kids were all sporting their Code Four soccer jerseys, while doing their best ‘parade wave’ to the crowd and handing out candy. Lots and lots of candy.

All of us on the Code Four crew appreciate taking part in this event, a terrific example of small-town spirit and community pride that just makes you smile. Many thanks to the folks from Orting for inviting us, and to everyone who helped make it such a fun day. We’ve included some pictures of the festivities – enjoy.

Why Bozo's On Our Blog

This week we decided it was time to do a little Spring cleaning in our Code Four warehouse. Amid the presentation boards covered in dust, long-forgotten soccer jersey prototypes and sketches of warm-up jackets that seemed like a good idea at the time, we found a gem: a life-size cardboard cutout of Bozo The Clown.

He was one of several cutouts we bought many years ago, as part of a display at a local auction. We dressed up Bozo, along with James Dean and the Three Stooges, in Code Four Athletics soccer uniforms to be sold off during the event. Not only did the soccer gear go to the highest bidder, but at some point so did Moe, Larry and Curly.

Bozo’s return got us to thinking: What size shoes did he wear? (Hey, we don’t think about soccer ALL the time.) Turns out size 83AAA, according to an old interview with the late Larry Harmon, one of the most prolific Bozo portrayers in history. NBC weatherman Willard Scott also played Bozo from 1959-62 on local TV in Washington, DC.

We’ll leave you with those tidbits of trivia, and let you know if we turn up anything else of interest.


 

Hoops and Hoodies

Did you know we do more than just soccer uniforms and gear? We also provide great team and fan apparel such as hooded sweatshirts, T-shirts and more….not only for soccer teams, but other sports as well.

Case in point: the mighty Mustangs, a girls’ basketball team from Kent, WA. The players recently completed their second season together, compiling a 16-0 record along the way. Rather than go with the standard trophy, the parents decided a nice, warm customized team hoodie would make a great year-end gift. (We didn’t argue.)

So while they put it all together on the hardwood, we took care of business off the court from logo design, to printing to delivery. Way to go, Mustangs!

Another cool Code Four customer.

Darek Stuj realized a long time ago that the real route to happiness was helping other people. Over the years he’s assisted homeless people, worked in orphanages in Belarus and Poland, and sponsored several Maasai Tribe children in the Kimana Village of southern Kenya. It was in this village where he conceived the ‘Kenya Project’ to bring clean drinking water to its inhabitants.

More than a dozen workers from Darek’s company, Rainbow of Magnolia Landscaping of Seattle, WA, agreed to donate an entire week’s wages to the cause. With its initial mission accomplished, the project quickly expanded to procure property and supplies for the village’s school system. Accordingly, the local community re-named the project ‘Rainbow of Magnolia – Fountains of Life.’

Along the way, the organization helped establish track and soccer teams for the village’s youth, which is how we came to meet Darek. He recently supplied the kids with our Code Four Athletics brand of soccer uniforms.

The Fountains of Life folks continue to work tirelessly, focusing on education reform and improving local living conditions. Driven by Darek’s vision, they have singlehandedly renewed the hopes and dreams of these Maasai families. All of us at Code Four applaud them and their efforts.

What's the right height? Study says taller soccer players draw more fouls!

According to a new study by a couple of researchers out of the Netherlands, soccer referees forced to make quick decisions on questionable foul calls are more likely to rule against the taller player.

Niels van Quaquebeke and Steffen Giessner, researchers at Erasmus University's Rotterdam School of Management, reached the conclusion after studying 123,844 fouls from seven Champions League and German Bundesliga seasons, along with the last three World Cups.

Among the information presented in the full story reported by the Associated Press, the researchers surmised that human nature was to blame. "Humans throughout evolution needed to be more afraid of bigger animals because bigger animals usually have more potential to harm us," said van Quaquebeke. "We are human beings, we are not objective information processors...we are very subjective, especially if we don't have all the information available. We've got to make the best guess."

Our guess? Shorter players get the calls by being better actors!