Wise Ideas

Little League to the Restaurant Rescue?

Since eating out was one of the first discretionary expenses to go when the recession hit, it's not news that restaurants are seriously struggling -- if they're even still open.

Even mid-level "casual dining" restaurants like Applebee's, Chili's, and The Olive Garden are facing a new threat.  As AdAge reports, "as consumers increasingly trade down to fast food, several players such as Wendy's and McDonald's are working to cement their status as the value players" by eating away at their higher-end competition with lower prices.  Meantime, some other fast-food places like Burger King and Pizza Hut are  "going the other way entirely, marketing higher-end offerings designed to lure the Cheesecake Factory and T.G.I. Friday's faithful."

But while big league ad agencies and marketing executives pitch these kind of business strategies -- it may be Little Leagues who actual rescue mid-level chains, fast food places and local mom-and-pop restaurants from this recession.

As the Rankin Ledger newspaper in Jackson, Mississippi reported this weekend -- youth sports leagues, especially during local tournaments, can - in one weekend - bring in the kind of traffic restaurants need to hang on another quarter or two.  "Our parking lot was full and there's more than one person in those cars," a local restaurant manager reported during a Little League tournament this weekend.  "I would say it has a huge impact." 

In fact, the impact youth sports leagues has economically is much wider than just the restaurant business.  ""The revenue that's generated off concessions stays in our programs and helps with improvements in our parks," the local Parks & Rec directer says. "We started practice the first week in March, and you know that a parent will say 'while I'm out' or 'let's eat something on the go.'"

Unfortunately, as the Pasadena Star News reports, there has been a drop in membership in youth sports leagues, as parents deem even that kind expense expendable.

But back to the restaurant biz -- there is one behemoth that recognizes the power of Little League and youth sports even during times of recession.  McDonald's tells Reuters that it has no plans to cut back on sponsorships during the down economy - especially those involving youth teams at the local level.

"McDonald's is not backing away because it sees sports, whether on a large scale with the Olympics or at the grass-root level with youth programs, as a way to tap into consumers through something they feel passionate about," McDonald's Corporate VP in charge of Global Marketing tells Reuters.

This may be one time when - instead of grimacing when you bring a group of dirty, hungry kids into a restaurant -- those waiters and waitresses will welcome you in with open arms. 

All Apologies

The Michael Phelps Bong Atonement Tour made a stop at The Today Show this morning, where Matt Lauer, as expected by  The Baltimore Sun, lobbed The Human Dolphin some soft balls.  Lauer asked Phelps if he was smoking pot, Phelps never answered the question directly, Lauer never followed up.  

"It was a bad mistake," Phelps told Lauer -- using more "you knows" per second than Caroline Kennedy. "I mean, we all know what, you know, what you and I are talking about.  It's a stupid mistake.  You know, bad judgment.  And it's something that, you know, I have to, and I want to teach other people not to make that mistake."  

Sound familiar?  It's what we all said to our parents when we were caught in a similar position at his age.

Except this kid has a couple of million dollars riding on his performance and behavior.  And although Phelps told Lauer "it's not about the money," and that he's more upset about disappointing family, friends and fans - he's still being advised to appear on TV's top rated morning show to apologize for something we've long since forgiven OR forgotten about -- if we cared that much in the first place.

Advertising Age is reporting this week that corporations are steering clear of young celebs precisely because they tend to get into trouble and tarnish their image (along with that of the corporation).  But AdAge lumps the Phelps pot smoking incident in with the alleged girlfriend-beating case of hip hopper Chris Brown.  "The rise in botched endorsement deals with the likes of Michael Phelps and Chris Brown has marketers rethinking recruiting young, megawatt stars as brand ambassadors, celeb watchers said today at a gathering of top advertisers," the online edition of the magazine reports.  

Phelps lost his multi-million Kellogg's endorsement -- while Brown, who actually faces felony criminal charges, only seems to have suffered the voluntary "withdrawal" of his nomination from Nickelodeon's upcoming Kids Choice Awards. 

I'm sorry, but the Phelps thing is soooooooo not in the same league as pummeling a woman's face to a pulp.

And while I'm ranting, why is it that the A-Rod-on-steroids revelation and admission -- when he actually admitted cheating at his sport -- has gotten far less fan outrage than Phelps toking up during his off-season with a drug that definitely doesn't enhance anyone's athletic ability.  What's the deal, there?

The best thing to come out of the Phelps incident wasn't a teach-able moment for your kids or yet another Today Show "exclusive," but rather what happened at a San Francisco Food Bank recently.

Inexplicably, two tons of Kellogg's  Frosted Flakes and Corn Flakes with Michael Phelps on the front, were mysteriously donated to the facility --- which, as you can imagine, is in desperate need of donations. Kellogg's wouldn't own up to the donation, as The SFChronicle reports.  But food bank officials say its a logical conclusion that's where the cereal came from, especially since for the past 8 years, cereal has been "a very tough item to get" for human service agencies.

And no one seems to care if Michael Phelps is on the front of the box - or what he got caught doing in his own free time.  As SF Food Bank executive director Paul Ashe says, "the boxes have kind of flown off the shelves." 

Put that in your pipe and smoke it, Kellogg's. 

Far From Quitting Time

There have been loads of lessons to be learned this week thanks to a dopey decision Michael Phelps made during a frat party in South Carolina last November. 

Lessons like what not to do in a world where everyone has a cell phone camera, and anyone can be a paparazzi.  Like how quick a once-fawning media can turn against you especially if they've got a picture!  Like taking responsibility for your actions.  Like who your friends really are, and who are just your hanger-on-ers. 

But please, let this NOT be a lesson about quitting. 

In his first interview since the story broke last weekend, Phelps tells his hometown newspaper, The Baltimore Sun, "that the intense public scrutiny has him contemplating whether he will swim in the 2012 Olympics."

"This is a decision of mine that I'm not going to make today and I'm not going to make tomorrow," Phelps tells The Sun.  "It's going to require a lot of time and energy and a lot of thinking for myself - but also talking to Bob (Bowman, his coach) and talking to my family and just deciding what I want to do."

I can only imagine the nightmare that Phelps has lived through this week -- having tabloid types and probably a dozen Today Show producers camped on his lawn 24/7 shouting questions from megaphones, and last night having Kelloggs drop him and USA Swimming slap him on the wrist with a suspension from competition for three months. 

But even more disturbing for anyone, much less a 23-year old kid, is having what seems like an entire nation sit in judgment of your admittedly stupid actions.  But quitting?  Of ALL the messages I DON'T want my kids to learn from Michael Phelps, it's that the easy route to take during tough times is just giving up. 

There's another well-known public figure who's been going through a tough patch this week as well, whose honeymoon with a once star-struck media seems to be over and is facing rejection from his peers.  But I don't see Barack Obama announcing that he's quitting work on the economic stimulus package because it's just too hard to get done under the critical glare of the media, which is obviously relishing the partisan political fight this has become.

Granted, America's entire future does not rely on Michael Phelps swimming in the 2012 Olympics (although it's medal count does).  But like it or not, this ordinary boy from Baltimore has an extraordinary talent that has been honed to perfection by a dedicated coach and a loving family.  And that talent, which won't last forever, is best showcased in an event that only occurs every four years. 

Swimming, the very thing he would be giving up, is what gave Phelps solace this week.  "It makes me happy," Phelps tells The Sun. "I like getting up in the morning and having something to do. On Monday we get back to two-a-day [practices], and I'm looking forward to that. I feel more comfortable here. This is my home."

Taking a bong hit at a party with people you don't know and can't trust is stupid.  Quitting the thing that brings you peace and happiness is even dumber. Especially when you're as good at it as Michael Phelps. 

Don't Bank on Marketing To Save You

Memo to Bank of America, CitiGroup and all the other banks I'm bailing out:  Traditional marketing isn't going to get you out of the hole you've dug yourself this time. 

I hate to be the one to break it to you B of A, but throwing a $10 million, five-day long Super Bowl "Fun Fest" last weekend does absolutely nothing to restore my confidence in you.  Neither does running a full-page ad in The NYTimes claiming that you're "taking the trust and faith that America has put in us and getting to work-by lending and investing and innovating with broad-reaching purpose." 

You call a multi-million dollar Super Bowl bash "innovating with broad-reaching purpose?"  I call it wasteful spending.

In fact, I'll bet I'm one of the few people who even bothered to read the ad, (which cost somewhere around $150,000 to run).  That's because your customers aren't wasting their time reading ads anymore, because the news on the front page and the business section is what matters to them. 

Your actions - AKA "business as usual" - are crippling any attempt at image repair you banking types might be considering.  Take for example reports like this from Reuters, saying that CitiGroup, who taxpayers bailed out to the tune of more than $45 billion, is moving forward with its controversial $400 million dollar baseball stadium naming rights deal with New York's hapless Mets - a marriage most certainly made in hell.

Angry?  You bet I’m angry, as are millions of other bank customers who are watching their taxpayer dollars bail-out banks – so they can what?  Loosen up the credit market and get the economy going again. NO.  So they can throw parties and have their name put on a stadium.  And don't even get me started on the salaries and bonuses, which this AP report says probably won't stop, despite the pay caps imposed by President Obama. 

The bottom line is that customers would rather see their money put toward keeping people working -- or helping people get back to work!

But the bizzarro bank spending goes on, spurred on by marketing and advertising execs like those quoted in this Associated Press piece, who continue to argue that stadium deals and other similar marketing efforts can prove even more effective and valuable in tough economic times. 

But the climate has changed.  The world has changed.  Quit paying Keifer Sutherland to tell me that “This is America.  We keep moving forward,” and put that money toward actually helping the country move forward.  (Besides, I never understood why B of A picked the man who immortalized torture-loving, gun toting Jack Bauer, for a warm and fuzzy campaign).

But before your go off and add to the unemployed roles by firing your entire marketing division, think about how their expertise could be used to actually benefit struggling Americans by using strategic social marketing techniques.  Don Sexton, a professor at Columbia Business School, has the same idea.  He told the AP that it "would make more sense if banks spent money on ads and efforts at the branch level to educate consumers about how to handle their finances in a downturn."

“It’s a reflection of the times we’re now in,” said Marc Ganis, president of a marketing company called Sports Corp. tells the Boston Herald.  “Banks better expect more scrutiny.”  More scrutiny, and NO sympathy.  At least not until they realize the damage done down here on Main Street. 

The Buzz on Michael Phelps

I'm shocked, shocked to learn that a 23-year old man kid with a penchant for partying and who recently had tens of millions of dollars thrown at him and who's entire life has been lived for the past four months under a media microscope -- got "caught" smoking pot last November at a frat party. 

You'd think it was "the bong hit heard round the world," as Jon Xavier puts it on the San Jose State University Spartan Daily website.   And despite the breathless media coverage of Michael Phelps' fall off the proverbial pedestal --- I'll bet you're just as "shocked" as I am.

"I am deeply embarrassed and disappointed by the errors....and profoundly regret that you have had to devote time to them."  WHOOPS.  That was Tom Daschle's apology yesterday. Let me see here, I'll find it.  Ahh, here it is:

"I engaged in behavior which was regrettable and demonstrated bad judgment," Phelps mea culpas in an official statement. "I'm 23 years old and, despite the successes I've had in the pool, I acted in a youthful and inappropriate way, not in a manner people have come to expect from me. For this, I am sorry. I promise my fans and the public it will not happen again."

So.....mega Olympic Gold medalist Michael Phelps, who has devoted most of his chlorine-filled life to watching a black line on the bottom of a pool, "demonstrated bad judgment" and "acted in a youthful and inappropriate way, and not in a manner people have come to expect from me.?" 

Does this sound familiar, parents?  Not just coming from the mouths of your kids, but from your mouth when YOU were a kid.  People make mistakes, particularly young people.  That's how our species learns....not from successes but from mistakes.  Despite what USA Today sports columnist Christine Brennen said today on NPR's Talk of the Nation - as a parent I would argue that Phelps - who was held to impossibly high standards - has gained status in the role model world, rather than lost it.  Even role models and champions make mistakes.  It's how they handle those mistakes that becomes a "teachable" moment. 

But the "shocked" talk is coming from the hypocritical media and marketing world, not from kitchen tables across America.  CBS' Early Show asked "Is Michael Phelps' Golden Image Tarnished?"  "It's going to really hurt him in terms of his marketability now," Robert Tuchman, president of New York sports marketing agency Premiere Corporate Events said on The Early Show.

CNBC's story, meantime, bluntly states "Phelps' Mistake Will Cost Him."  A sports attorney told CNN's American Morning this morning that "he could lose a lot of money on this."  And AdAge snarkily joked, "Perhaps Michael Phelps should have endorsed White Castle instead of Subway."

What isolation cell have these marketers and media types been living in?

Any of the dozen or so corporations that have thrown money at Michael Phelps following the Beijing Olympics KNEW exactly who they were dealing with.  His life in and out of the pool has been an open book since he was 16.  Plus, as I wrote waaaaaayyy back in 2007 in reference to Marion Jones' steroid trouble, "the problem with putting athletes up on pedestals instead of medal stands, is that sooner or later they're bound to fall off."

The Wheaties Hall of Shame alone should be enough evidence of the risk companies knowingly take when signing up an athlete as a spokesperson. 

In statements released by two companies, Speedo, probably Phelps' longest sponsor, and watchmaker Omega seem to realize how ludicrous it would be to abandon a champion swimmer because he acted, well, human. 

Yet the mainstream media continues to appear alarmed, despite the fact that the "story" was broken by a British tabloid, and that somebody out there was undoubtedly PAID for the photo of Phelps - as Forbes points out.

Still, MSNBC couldn't get enough, even asking a Maryland congressman during a discussion about the Obama stimulus package, what his reaction to the Phelps news was.  Democratic representative Elijah Cummings responded evenly saying "I know Michael Phelps, and he's a good kid.  He made a mistake.  He took responsibility and that's the end of it."  It's the most eloquent explanation I've heard yet.  And from a politician, no less.   

Meantime, as The WaPost reports, swimming's national governing body, USA Swimming, has taken the tact many a parent has taken when faced with a misbehaving, but basically good, kid. "We are certainly disappointed in Michael's behavior. . . . That said, we realize that none among us is perfect. We hope that Michael can learn from this incident and move forward in a positive way."

After a four month break from training, I'm pretty certain Michael is glad to be back in the pool --- safely separated from the talking heads and the chattering class who are debating his future.  The life of a champion swimmer is an odd one.  Sally Jenkins of the WaPost certainly seems to understand this, as she writes this morning, "It's absurd to expect Phelps to maintain his brand of physical and mental discipline 24-7, while the rest of us privately anesthetize to our hearts' content."

Besides, the one person who has the most impact on Michael isn't a corporate president, a swimming official or even his coach.  It's his mom, Debbie.  And there's no doubt she's already given him a piece of her mind.

Showing Advertisers Who's "Boss"

If this were your average blog about marketing and media, today's post would be all about the winners and losers of yesterday's most-talked about competition.  No, not the actually football game played on Super Bowl Sunday, but rather the competition among TV commercials played in between the action on the field.

However, this isn't your "average marketing blog."  It's a blog that about marketing, media and everything mom.  And if there's one thing most moms don't really have time to do, it's sit still for six-plus hours on a Sunday afternoon in front of the TV.  Even if it's Super Bowl Sunday.

The SFChronicle's Baby Blog, called The Poop, blogged about the ads live during yesterday's game - even "posting videos from some of the best and worst commercials of Super Bowl XLIII."  But without trying to be too sexist, I should point out that the writer of The Poop is a man (as well as The Chronicle's "Cultural Critic")....and that he obviously was NOT in charge of taking care of the kids during the game, because if he was, he wouldn't have the time to be blogging about anything, much less live.

So here's my not-very live take on yesterday's ads ("Mom, come here....you gotta see this,"), from your average mom on Super Bowl Sunday.

**Saw the last 10 seconds or so of the SoBe lizards/dancing football player ad.  That was $3 million wasted. (Or is that $6 million for a 1 minute spot?). Does SoBe even sell $3 mil worth of product?

**What's the story with Will Ferrell and Matt Lauer?

**I liked what I saw of the Bob Dylan/Will I. am Pepsi ad.  But Dylan hawking Pepsi still seems unseemly to me.  And tying soft drink sales to Obama-esque optimism seems opportunistic.  But hey, that's the "beauty" of marketing.

**Loved the Star Trek movie trailer...but obviously am out of it because I didn't even know they had made a prequel. 

**Why did I get weepy during the Peter & the Wolf Coke ad?  Hormones, or just an insatiable craving to be happy.  Note:  I cried during last year's, Stewie vs Charlie Brown Coke ad too.  Must be the classical music.

** CareerBuilder.com?  How about SaveMyJobFromTheManEatingEconomy.com!

**One word:  Cash4Gold.com.  This is what it's come to.

And finally, the winner of best Super Bowl ad of 2009, was the commercial right smack dab in the middle of the game for Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, who is - not coincidentally - launching a new tour this week and has a new album out.  ("It's not rocket science" he told Bob Costas, as The NYTImes reports). Not only did The Boss get a whole 12 minutes to promote himself and his band - but the NFL paid HIM for it. 

Now that's showing everyone who's "Boss."  And moms can really appreciate that.

"G" Whiz

Like most average moms busy with hosting and child disciplinary duties during the New Year's holiday -- I did not have the pleasure of popping a beer, plopping down and watching any of the bowl games at any great length. 

This explains why I am so late jumping into the "What is G?" discussion.

In fact, I'd been unaware there even was such a discussion until Tuesday night, when while watching a rerun of House, an intriguing 60 second black-and-white commercial aired, ending with just a big capital G on the screen.

"What the (bleep) is G," I asked my husband, who didn't make it through any bowl games, either.  "I don't know," he responded.  "What endorsement does Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods, Billy Jean King, and Usain Bolt have in common?"  he asked. 

My first guess was Google...and though TOTALLY WRONG, it was the place I turned to for some answers along with hundreds of thousands of other people.

It turns out G is for Gatorade, minus the familiar lightning bolt logo and the actual spelling out of its name.  As The Wall Street Journal reports this week, PepsiCo is using this mysterious ad to create buzz in a rebranding and redesigning campaign aimed at creating new Gatorade customers from outside the traditional sports drink sector.  That is, people who don't watch, or participate in, sports.

To rebrand and redesign such a successful product is a huge risk - especially since Gatorade still controls 76 percent of the sports drink market (with Coca Cola's Powerade far behind).  "Our strategy is to create consumer intrigue and ensure everyone stays tuned for more in our quest for G," a Gatorade exec tells The Journal.  

But while the G-spots (as AdAge cleverly calls them) may be intriguing people enough to search online for who's behind them --- they apparently aren't getting people to actually join the "quest."  According to AdAge, "five days after the (New Years Day) launch, despite plenty of online inquiries, the commercial had garnered barely 70,000 views on (YouTube). A second version of the spot, featuring a new cast of athletes and posted on Jan. 4, had less than 900 views after two days."

One marketing guru even told AdAge he thinks the G spots are too subtle.  But while Matt Cutler, VP-marketing and analytics at Visible Measures, tells AdAge it's too early to count out the G campaign yet, he says if the viral video doesn't catch on soon, it never will.  

Which explains why a middle-aged couple like us discovered the G-spot on House, and not on the Rose Bowl. 

Still, there's a huge difference between watching a viral video -- and buying a product that you've survived without so far, (especially in such financially-tight times).

So what is "G?"  For Gatorade it seems, G stands for "Gamble."

America's EveryMom

Michael Phelps, Usain Bolt, Shawn Johnson, Nastia Luikin, Kerri Walsh and Misty May-Treanor may have left the summer Olympic games in Beijing with gold medals.....but the person who may end up proving more financially golden as a result of the games didn't even compete.

The superstar of these games in the eyes of advertisers as well as millions of women - was Debbie Phelps, Michael's mom.  And I couldn't be happier for her.

Anyone who watched any of the swimming events (a record 209 million according to NBC's ratings), knows the Phelps family story, and would instantly recognize Debbie Phelps in a crowded grocery store.  She's one of us. 

Johnson & Johnson recognized that months ago when they signed Ms. Phelps to a deal to be a spokeswoman for a group of so-called ADHD Moms, as part of a promotion for the ADHD drug, Concerta.  Michael, as we all know by now, was diagnosed with ADHD when he was 9.  And what better person to represent your product than a mother who struggled for years with an overly-active non-focused boy ---  that is until he found therapy in his local swimming pool. 

As The Wall Street Journal's Health blog points out, it's no surprised that J&J is expanding its "relationship" with Ms. Phelps.  The company named her "Mom of the Olympics" at the close of the games, and is airing a new TV commercial featuring her.  "It seems rather unique on one term and weird on another that they’d be interested in the mother of Michael,” Debbie told the WSJ last week as she shot the ad as "two PR people and assorted family members buzz(ed) about."

Debbie Phelps is also enjoying being the new face of women's clothing retailer Chico's...whose outfits she wore every single night at the Water Cube as she cheered on her son.  Chico's is now promoting a "Debbie Phelps Collection." "Customers have been coming in and asking for what she's wearing," Chico's Michele Cloutier told USA Today. "They're saying, 'I want that jacket,' and they can describe it perfectly."

BTW, Chico's did NOT have the foresight to cut a deal with Debbie prior to the games.  According to USA Today, Ms. Phelps didn't even get a discount on the clothes she wore in Beijing.  She did, however, get a $100 gift card from Chico's, and a note wishing her good luck. 

As you can imagine, Debbie has been offered book and movie deals, speaking engagement opportunities and numerous other promotional gigs.  And although Forbes magazine says Ms. Phelps is, indeed, planning to write a book, she has no plans to quit her job as a middle school principal. 

Debbie Phelps is the most authentic product to come out of the Olympics in years.  And while few, if any, of us can relate to the super-human athletic achievements of the actual Olympians....millions of us can relate to the long hours and weekends we parents have spent at swim meets, soccer games, and other sport venues...the pre-dawn carpools to practices...and the disappointments and joys that are all part of the deal when a child dedicates him or herself to an athletic pursuit. 

She is one of us.  And I get the feeling that no matter how much money she rakes in with endorsements, she will remain EveryMom. 

The Estrogen Olympics

If you hadn't already noticed by all the Johnson & Johnson, L'Oreal, and Evista commercials, NBC's televised coverage of the Summer Olympic games was aimed straight at you --- the woman of the household.  "It could be considered the Sisterhood of the Traveling Olympics," said Stuart Elliott of The NYTimes.

This became particularly clear to me during the first week of coverage, when Michael Phelps and all those other amazing male (and female!!) specimens were tearing up the Water Cube.  During the commercial breaks, viewers were treated time and time again to a Chevy ad featuring a shirtless hunk ironing a women's blouse and on his knees cleaning a bathroom.  That's right ladies, for those of you who remember the ad but can't quite click on what it was trying to sell -- it was a car ad.

The blogs, particularly those on marketing and branding, have been all abuzz about the ad.  Many (mostly male BTW) ad experts like those mentioned in this business blog from the Portland Oregonian say the spot is "easily one of the worst ads I have seen in some time." Michael Gaizutis of San Jose, Calif.-based branding and marketing consultant rule no.1 is a bit more blunt.  "This commercial fails at every attempt to make any connection with it's target market(s), or any market(s) for that matter," Gaizutis writes.

And what, may I ask, do women's breasts have to do with selling beer?

And that's the thought I'm going to leave with you today -- as the Olympics and summer vacation simultaneously wrap up.  Curiously at this point, I'm just about as fed up with beach volleyball as I am with my own kids.  But I spent 70 straight days with my kids....and only about 10 consecutive evenings with Kerri Walsh and Misty May-Treanor. I'm sure they are great women, and fabulous athletes --- but enough NBC!

So have a great weekend.  I hope you are able to relax and enjoy yourself, while your husband cleans the toilets.

Golden Dreams

We interrupt your marathon viewing of the 2008 Summer Olympic Games in Beijing to bring you this blog.

My son has decided he's going to be an Olympic swimmer, and my daughter is set on being an Olympic gymnast.  Whew!  I'm glad that's settled.  I was worried my kids would never set goals or find their passions. 

But when, if ever, do I inform my 11-year old boy and 7-year old girl that those endeavors - though admirable - are a bit unrealistic, to say the least.  Especially considering that Michael Phelps was 11 when he was identified by his then-and-current-coach as an aqua-phenom.  And apparently from what I've heard, most Olympic gymnasts, particularly those in China, start training in utero. 

The fact is, as talented and driven as my darling children may (or may not) be, the Olympic window may have already closed for them - if it was ever really open in the first place.

The Wall Street Journal's Juggle blog asked recently "Do We Set Impossible Standards for our Children?"  "The pursuit of excellence is one thing," The Juggle's Stefanie Ilgenfritz writes.  "I encourage my children to strive to do their best in everything. But the pursuit of perfection is something else–-destructive and fool-hardy."  I couldn't agree more. 

But in the case of my children, the pursuit of perfection isn't the problem.  It's the pursuit itself.  What if, to put a new twist on The Juggle's headline, our children set impossible standards for themselves?  

It's probably not an exaggeration to say that every four years during both the summer and winter games, millions of children are inspired by the Olympian feats they see on TV, not to mention the Herculean marketing efforts behind those athletes, who reach their lofty goals only after years of hard work and sacrifice. 

Every local TV station - as well as all the networks - sent their cameras to the closest pool in recent days to find countless kids who wanted to be "just like Michael." Incidentally, these are kids who weren't even born during Nike's highly successful "Be Like Mike" campaign, centered around former World Greatest Athlete, Michael Jordan.

However, the vast majority of those kids will probably forget about their Olympic dreams within about a week of the closing ceremonies --- moving quickly onto their next goal of winning the World Series or Super Bowl. 

But there will be a select group of kids who actually do start to seriously train on the track, beach volleyball or badminton court, gymnastics gym or swimming pool.  And only a handful of them (and their parents), will actually be able to give what it takes to climb to the elite level of their chosen sport. 

For the past week, as our family has watched the miraculous Michael Phelps or the determined Nastia Luikin triumph by achieving their own Olympic dreams - I have been hesitant in responding to my kids promises to "someday bring home a gold medal."  Do I buy into their dream.....or play the down-to-earth realist who discourages them from setting their sights so high?

"Moving from a difficult goal to another, more attainable, one can create a greater sense of well-being, both mentally and physically," according to University of British Columbia psychologist Gregory Miller - who talks about the art of knowing when to quit in a recent NYTimes article titled "Winners Never Quit.  Well Yes, They Do." 

Try explaining that to an 11-year old who's already had a taste of victory in the pool - as my swimming son has this past summer.  Or to my 7-year old daughter - who blissfully still believes that she can not only do anything, but can do it better than anyone else - even if they've been working at it longer and harder than she.

Both my kids claim they understand what it takes to be an Olympic champion.  But that "knowledge" is based on those sickeningly-sweet yet somehow inspiring athlete profiles sprinkled throughout NBC's Olympic coverage. 

"In this age of instant gratification, we don’t want to teach our children that just because something is difficult means it’s not worth pursuing. We want them know the joy of mastery, of accomplishing an arduous task," writes Alina Tugend in The NYTimes.  "But allowing your child to quit can be the right move if you understand the reasons behind it."

In the end, I'm not going to be the one to burst my kids' Olympic bubble. Besides, I'm planning on being the next Dara Torres or Constantina Tomescu Dita come 2012.  Heck, I'll only be 53.