Needless to say, as a lifetime fan of the New England Patriots, I enjoyed this weekend's Super Bowl. For those of you non-sports-types that might be reading this, the Patriots defeated the Seattle Seahawks (props for the bird-themed name, though) thanks to a miraculous goal-line interception. It was fantastic.
During a cutaway shot of the Owner's Box, Patriots owner Robert Kraft lifted binoculars to his face to look, presumably, at some action on the field. As a birder, this was an extra little bonus, as I enjoy seeing what looks like people birdwatching. I jumped to Twitter to register my delight:
However, the binoculars were only on screen for a moment, and my screenshot wasn't detailed enough for me to see what kind of equipment Mr. Kraft was using. Again, Twitter was my ally (this is the next morning, as I was too busy celebrating the win that night):
I got a couple responses. Some were of the wiseacre variety:
Others were actually helpful, and illustrated a good birder's attention to detail:
Finally, there was confirmation, in the form of #BrandInteraction:
Yep, Kraft is using Swarovski's CL Companion binoculars, which received an "Outstanding" mark from the Best Binocular Reviews website. They retail from Swarovski online for a cool $1,110. A little out of my price range, but pocket change for a guy who is literally wearing Super Bowl rings as cuff links. Go Patriots. Go Birders.