Detail of the tie used by Toronto Mayor Rob Ford during a press conference where the admitted he smoked crack. Toronto November 05, 2013.Fernando Morales/The Globe and Mail
Rob Ford's actions yesterday provided punch lines aplenty for social media's peanut gallery and veteran comedians alike. As for his patterned football logo tie: Well, all signs point to a mayor gone rogue.
For political figures, neckwear is a particularly deliberate statement. A tie is widely considered a non-verbal means to convey party affiliation, temperament and taste. No adviser in his or her right mind would approve or encourage a novelty print – let alone one that football fans instantly dated back to 1995, the last year the Philadelphia Eagles used the logo that appears on Ford's tie.
The Toronto Star's Robyn Doolittle was also able to capture a full-length shot of the mayor, revealing his equally questionable choice of footwear. Yes, that's right: cowboy boots.
As if Torontonians aren't already saddled with enough embarrassment by association, he had to invite even more ridicule.
It's no wonder that within moment of the statement, someone started a parody Twitter account, @MayorFordsTie. Too bad it wasn't funnier. Sample tweet: "I will only give interviews to other ties."
Ford was wearing the tie when he made his impromptu confession to smoking crack cocaine earlier in the day. But there was ample opportunity – roughly four hours – before his official statement for someone on Ford's team to insist that he should not make the most important appearance of his political career looking like a hoser dressed up for a date (although technically, a hoser would be wearing an NHL tie).
Ford is certainly no Kate Middleton whose every wardrobe choice corresponds to stores selling out of the identical items. But on the off-chance you want to get a head start on Halloween 2014 (or desire a souvenir from yesterday's debacle), the same tie is available on eBay for $24.99. Warning: It is pre-worn.
Then again, one final thought; in wearing a tie that dates back 18 years, was Ford subconsciously trying to turn back the clock to a more innocent time? He would have been 26, an age when most young men begin to outgrow the tendency to end up in drunken stupors. Perhaps it was his talisman – one that unfortunately, ultimately backfired. Because a political figure can be a sports fan while knowing full well that, when faced with such ridiculous and ruinous circumstances, only sober neckwear will do.
Amy Verner