Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, January 13, 1995 TAG: 9501130092
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B5 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: CHANHASSEN, MINN. LENGTH: Medium
A snorer's lament has produced a new accessory for the pro football player who wants to stay in style and breathe a little easier.
Along with the earrings, gold chains and dew rags, wide receivers, running backs and others are sporting sticky strips on the bridge of the nose. This fashion statement, though, might actually help the players' performance.
Breathe Right's the name, and it's stuck its beak right into the huddle as the NFL prepares to determine its two Super Bowl teams this weekend.
The brainchild of a college dropout with a deviated septum, the little plastic patch adorns the schnozzes of stars such as wide receiver Jerry Rice of the San Francisco 49ers, defensive lineman Jim Jeffcoat of the Dallas Cowboys and running back Herschel Walker of the Philadelphia Eagles.
Bruce Johnson invented the thing to help those with stuffy noses stop snoring and breathe easier, so they could get a good night's sleep. There's certainly a market for it - surveys show 90 million Americans snore, and 37 million of those have a chronic problem.
But because the device opens nasal passages by pulling up on the outside of the nostrils, players such as Rice have taken to using them even when there's no cold or cough around and no thought of catching a catnap at the bottom of a pileup.
CNS Inc., a medical services company based in this Minneapolis suburb, sent samples of Breathe Right to each NFL team in the fall. Otho Davis, the longtime trainer for the Eagles, put one on his nose as a lark while watching television at home, about two months ago.
``And lo and behold, I instantly could breathe better,'' Davis said.
The trainer read the manufacturer's claim that it increases nasal openings by up to 31 percent. So he passed some around the locker room and Walker, suffering with a cold, tried one in the next game against Washington. When several Redskins players asked if his nose was broken, Walker replied: ``No, it helps me breathe better.''
Word spread. Rice saw Walker wearing a Breathe Right on TV and had his agent find out more. The NFL's all-time touchdown leader and teammates such as running back William Floyd have been sporting them ever since.
Rice ``feels like it helps keep his nostrils clear,'' said Lindsy McLean, the Niners' trainer. ``He likes it.''
Rice has become a walking - and running - billboard for Breathe Easy. A day after he was spotted with the nose patch during a Monday night game, CNS' stock jumped 11 percent.
CNS, which specializes in medical equipment for sleep-disorder diagnosis, makes no claims that Breathe Right can give athletes a boost.
by CNB