Some of it really works

Have a favorite team? There are plenty of products to promote it.
By MICHAEL PRECKER
KNIGHT RIDDER NEWSPAPERS
ORLANDO, Fla. -- In such a sports-loving country, how can we -- and our kids -- have such a weight problem?
Take a walk around the Super Show, the annual exhibition-celebration of the Sporting Goods Manufacturers Association held early this year, and gradually the convention center becomes a metaphor for our national conundrum.
There are lots of things to help you get fit -- some familiar, some innovative, some silly.
Boxers smack punching bags in the familiar rhythm; pingpong players lunge and grunt; instructors combine aerobics, thumping music and tennis lessons into a new workout called Cardio Tennis.
"Tennis isn't a constant cardio workout," says Kathy Laub, a teaching pro at the Oakwood Swim and Racquet Club in Mobile, Ala. "Each point is probably 15 seconds or so, then you stop. This is constant movement. People are going to love this."
Team paraphernalia
But there are lots of things under the Sporting Goods umbrella to help you just sit back and identify with people who are fit -- which, of course, is a lot easier. What really gets your attention here -- and the lion's share of floor space -- is the ever-expanding universe of ways to incorporate love of team into every cranny of your life.
From hammocks to Christmas ornaments, earrings to baby clothes, grill covers to Tiffany lamps, ice scrapers to iPod cases, your favorite college or pro team is everywhere.
The focus isn't just on the fellows, although they can look forward to a new line of team-themed leather recliners, complete with twin cupholders.
Kim Shea, a designer for ProMark in Boulder, Colo., recently tacked NBA team logos onto fuzzy hip-hop apparel -- scarves, headbands and handbags.
"We can't make them fast enough," she said. "Girls are into this just as much as guys."
So, apparently, are babies, who can ride around in strollers in their parents' college colors. When they get a little older, the same company, Fan Creations of Cumming, Ga., can supply a toy box with your alma mater's name and colors.
"We call it a storage bench," corrects Kevin McClary, the company founder. "About 40 percent are sold to adults for their rooms, not for their kids."
One big trend in the logo business is stuff you don't just buy once to wear or collect.
"We're looking for consumables," says Dave Brandsen of 3D Multi Dimensional Marketing, whose NASCAR line includes toothbrushes, sunscreen and little cars that dispense dental floss. "We want to have something that you use up and buy another one."
But that's not why we're here at the Sporting Goods show. Isn't there anything new to get our nation in shape?
Sure there is. The 21st and last Super Show featured 400 companies and 1,000 booths. It's still a place for somebody with a good idea -- well, an idea -- to show up, get noticed and start a fitness revolution.
Highlights
Here are some of the best examples:
Ben van den Heever, a civil engineer in Orlando, knew he needed to exercise when he came home from work but didn't always feel like it.
So he rigged up a seat suspended from a metal frame, with a bar at one end for your legs to push your body weight, and handles at the other end for your arms to do the same.
"It's fun and relaxing, and you're exercising," says Susan van den Heever, the inventor's wife, who takes turns with their two children demonstrating the Swing Gym for passers-by. "You can watch TV and get a workout."
Van den Heever has a deal with a factory in Taiwan to manufacture Swing Gyms, and says TV shopping networks and big discount stores are interested.
"It looks easy and fun," one buyer tells him. "That thing's going to fly. But you have to make it UPS-ible."
William Ruud, a retired Pennsylvania businessman, liked to work out but didn't like carrying a little towel.
"It's inconvenient," he says. So he took a piece of absorbent cloth shaped like the back of your hand, fashioned elastic loops to slide over your fingers, and voila! The Sweathog.
"You don't have to stop in the middle of your workout to wipe off sweat," he says. "This is always there, and it doesn't get in the way."
Olaf Hartmann used to play beach tennis with rackets. "One day we were tired, so we used our shirts to hit the ball," says the German entrepreneur. "It was more fun that way."
So he designed a piece of spandex you wear like a bib and invented Flingo, which is being sold in Europe, and hopes to find a U.S. distributor. You hold the bottom of the cloth to serve and volley.
"The ball is soft, so if you miss and it hits you in the head, it doesn't hurt," he says. "I've done it lots of times."
What else
Not every innovation here seems to promote fitness. Razor, the scooter company that used to make kids use their legs for propulsion, already has a line of electric scooters. Now they're building electric go-karts and kid-size all-terrain vehicles so you don't even have to stand up.
A competitor, a California company called Exkate, makes an electric skateboard with a hand-held remote control. An attractive model (in high heels, no less) zips around to demonstrate the easy and effortless journey.
But if the lack of fitness damages your child's self-esteem, Jon Hart has the solution. The former accountant founded That's Me Sports, which produces personalized CDs of fake sportscasts.
The announcer mentions your kid's name over and over again as he or she scores the winning touchdown, sinks the winning basket or launches the winning homer for your favorite team, and the fake crowd roars.
"For the kid with low self-esteem, we make that kid a hero," Hart said. "Fathers call me with tears in their eyes when they hear it. We combine two big passions -- kids and sports teams."