I noticed a new fad at Thursday’s Missota Conference Championship track and field meet at Tiger Stadium – giant umbrellas. When I was in grade school, our track coaches would tell us to find a shady spot under a tree when we had a couple hours between races. My high school team became seemingly the last one in the country to get its own tent when my dad finally bought one in the late 90s.

Now every athlete seems to have their own tent-sized umbrella. A quick Googling of “sports umbrella” reveals that there is, apparently, a huge market for these things. This product, which didn’t exist for the last 6 billion years or so, is now essential if you’re planning on spending more than 45 minutes outside.

Check these jumbo umbrellas (I call them Jum-Brellas) out…