That Thing About The Ring

Ever since Patriots owner Robert Kraft gave Russian President Vladimir Putin his Super Bowl Championship Ring, to look at, Bostonist has been resorting to our childhood phrase: "see with your eyes not with your hands." Kraft made a statement on patriots.com yesterday afternoon that the ring was, in fact, a gift to the Russian President, and not a misinterpreted gesture. No word from Vladi on how he might return the favor to Kraft. Perhaps with something used, with someone else's name on it, given unwrapped? When Kraft handed his ring over to Putin he didn’t give him a velvet-lined box, and the ring had Kraft’s name emblazoned on the side. Unlike the opening day ring ceremony at Fenway, the Patriots were given their rings at a party at Kraft’s mansion. The Sox were awarded their hardware encased in black velvet-lined wooden boxes, and Bostonist assumes a similar presentation was made to our NFL friends. Is there a protocol for giving away such a ring to a foreign dignitary? Kraft certainly could have been craftier* in his method. If, that is, it was a premeditated gift.

Though interesting for its international appeal and ring* of celebrity misfortune, what has captured Bostonist’s attention is the creative headlines appearing all over the world to discuss the event. Pre- and post- Kraft statement coverage has produced some real gems*.
We’ll run down a couple of our favorites here:
"Illegal use of the hands" –Boston Globe.
"Russian to judgement about the ring" -MSNBC title for WaPo column
"Putin is lord of Kraft's title ring" –Seattle Times.
"Putin pockets a ring with 'bling'" –Concord Monitor (via Hartford Courant)
"For Putin, it's a gem of a cultural exchange" –Boston Globe.
"Glitzy gift or bobbled diplomacy?" –Duluth News Tribune, retitled "For Putin…" article from Globe.
Countless other media outlets used the opportunity to rhyme "ring and bling" in a lead in or headline. Way to go guys!

*Sorry about the poor puns