Yesterday's 'Observer' included an article that I noted with a somewhat jaundiced eye. Apparently, we men are being made to feel less than adequate by comparing ourselves with men like David Beckham and, especially for my old friend and irredeemable Gooner, Sara Bedford, Freddie Ljungberg in their expensive designer underwear. Hmmm... perhaps we might understand how some young women feel when they look at fashion magazines...
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| For all Gunners fans out there... |
Well, no, not really. David and Freddie, to take two of the most prominent examples, are professional athletes. They are paid to spend their time training, working out etc, and they have no other professional obligation. Had I been a professional footballer, I would probably had a body like that. Instead, I have the muscular power of a bureaucrat, largely centred on my fingers and designed for pen pushing and telephone dialling. The rest of me needs work, that's true, but I prefer pork to press-ups, cheese to cross training.
So I'm one of the lucky ones. When I see a vast poster of David Beckham in his stylish but hugely expensive underwear, I think, "Heavens, he's been putting in the hours!", not, "I wish that I had a body like that.". There is something to be said for being realistic...
