Thursday, March 17, 2011

Happy St. Kovas Day


A lot of people don't know this, but March 18th is also known as St. Kovas Day.

St. Kovas is the patron saint of sporting goods.  As early as 1902, the Rawlings Manufacturing Company was inscribing "BBSK" (or "Blessed By St. Kovas") on most of the equipment the company manufactured.  This equipment is still highly sought after - In a recent report, Mann, Lee & Korn Ltd., a leading broker of sports collectibles, stated that "early and mid 20th century sporting goods marked with "BBSK" are currently fetching an auction price of at least 46.2% more than identical equipment without the mark."

Over the years, many star athletes including Wayne Gretsky, Phil and Steve Mahre, Mario Andretti and Tonya Harding have inscribed St. Kovas' prayer on their equipment:
"Oh Saint Kovas, please bless and protect this sporting equipment so that I may humbly perform epic feats of sporting prowess.  I pray that this equipment keeps me well throughout my sporting career, or at least until the next shipment of free gear arrives as a result of my endorsement deals." 
Though St. Kovas Day is not widely recognized in the United States, March 18th is a national holiday in many countries including Liechtenstein, Burma and Malawi.  However, the connection between the holiday and sporting goods is usually very minimal.  In Gabon for example, March 18th is also known as the "Day Of The Soon To Be Changing Weather", which is roughly analogous to Ground Hog Day.

HAPPY ST. KOVAS DAY!!!

20 comments:

Stephanie said...

Wait a minute...I'm confused..the date of this post is March 17th..yet it appears that you tried to proclaim St. Kovas day the very SECOND it turned March 18th. Just wanted to make sure that as I inspire to be a super athlete that I'm celebrating the right day. The 18th, right?

Amanda@runninghood said...

A Happy St. Kovas Day to you St. Kovas!

KovasP said...

Stephanie, many cultures celebrate it for weeks on end and the rules on when the celebrations begin are very flexible. The most important thing is to go out and take a crack at your competition.

Thank you Amanda, as always I will celebrate it with my family at the Outdoor Retailer Expo.

Caratunk Girl said...

Oh cool, I think I should buy some gear today to celebrate!

BabyWeightMyFatAss said...

This day will be marked on my calendar for ever more! St. Kovas!

Johann said...

Now I have a reason not to work ever again on 18 March. Thanks and happy St Kovas day!

Jim ... 50after40 said...

Ah, "Always after me lucky (insert eastern European trinket here).

Unknown said...

And with this I think I need to review some gear on my blog to properly celebrate the day and ST KOVAS!!

Christi said...

YAY, Happy St. Kovas Day! I hope he blesses my gear this year!

Tri-James said...

Happy St. Kovas Day!

What color beer do we drink?

Aimee said...

Love it! Happy St. Kovas day!

Kate Geisen said...

Too funny. :)

Lindsay said...

happy st. kovas day indeed! i'm sad he doesn't have his horse anymore though.

Lucas R. Tucker said...

Happy St. Kovas day P! May your balls be plentiful!

Big Clyde said...

Happy St. Kovas Day! I will celebrate by running 4 miles tonight.

Unknown said...

So I tried crossing my eyes on this picture like I did with the St. Patrick picture on Kovas' sight. I didn't get a 3-D effect, but I did get a feeling I can't explain! Happy St. Kovas Day!

Anonymous said...

Happy St Kovas Day to you as well!

Jess @ Blonde Ponytail said...

hahahaha! I always thought this day was a myth.

Chris K said...

Ah yes, the most joyous day of the year to be sure.

Just yesterday, on this glorious day, Jamoosh had posted a question on his Blog about who are the 5 bloggers you'd want to meet up and hang out with. I said, "I'd pick Kovas for all five occasions". He is a God among men.

Unknown said...

Happy (belated) St. K Day!! Is there drinking involved during this happy time?

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