Do you remember getting a participation ribbon when you were a kid? Yeah, it went like this: your last tee-ball game just ended. You get your miniature barrel of juice (I preferred the purple flavor), you get your Little Debbie Oatmeal Cream Pie, and you get a ribbon or some lame trophy proving that you got off your couch and did something. The ribbon, blue with gold(ish) leaf print, is a thing of beauty. It probably cost about five cents. You appreciate it, but it is kind of lame. Let's take a look a look at your childhood finances to see how insignificant that ribbon really is monetarily. (I'm not completely heartless. I realize it has all sort of sentimental...blah blah blah).

Let's say your summertime lemonade stand is your only source of income. Let's say you earn about $40 for the summer. Not bad for an 8 year old. That ribbon is valued at .125% of your income. So while you appreciate it, its not really a big deal.

So, when is a car not a car? When it is a lame blue ribbon. Peyton Manning won the Super Bowl MVP award and was given an $80,000 Cadillac. He reportedly makes about $60,000,000 per year. Therefore, the car is about .133% of his income. A nice gesture by the NFL, but hardly appropriate. Why does he need a new car? Wouldn't it be cool if he could have the money go the charity of his choice. In fact, many MVPs have auctioned off the car for charity, but why not just eliminate the whole charade?

A car is not a car when it is a blue ribbon. You didn't play tee-ball for the ribbon, and Peyton doesn't play football to win a car.

NOTE: No Chicago Bears were injured during the writing of this blog entry.