Marlins Mermaids: Episode 2 (Attack of the Mermaids)

I'm been involved in a lot of M&A activity in my career, so it pained me to realize that I had violated one of the fundamental principles before jumping into the highly charged SoSG debate about the Florida Marlins Mermaids. Don't place your bet until you've done your full due diligence. Whoops.

What began as simple admiration for the 2009 Mermaids advertising campaign quickly morphed into an all-out knock-down drag-out comment-fest, culminating in head-to-head showdown post just to stop everyone's yipping. And I, probably like many of the SoSG readers,..."judged a book by its cover."

So let me repent. The fine Mermaids of the Florida Marlins, who were kind enough to respond to our email inquiries, actually helped direct me toward some links that can help educate all of us on the fine women of the original poster:

Chelsea hails from Portland, Oregon. She likes fettuccine alfredo and describes herself as humorous, intuitive, and loyal. In other words, if you betray her, she'll know about it before you tell her, and will be laughing all the way to the bank (after sending you to the hospital).

Alessandra is a hometown Miami girl and likes the fast cars (citing a Lamborghini Diablo; how lucky am I that she loves my wheels?). She describes herself as lovable, ambitious, and cute, which I suppose is like a type-A Beanie Baby.

Glenda is not only the good witch, she is another local Miami resident who fondly recalls childhood memories of going to baseball games with her grandfather (funny how 1993, the Marlins' first year, suddenly seems so long ago). She has "classy trendy" style and describes herself as unique, adventurous, and ambitious.

Ariel was 16 years old back in 1989, which makes her 35 now, though she doesn't look like she's aged that much. She is the youngest of seven sisters and has a pretty close relationship with her sometimes demanding father, and has had problems in the past hanging out with the wrong crowds. Her fashion style is pretty understated, making use of common items as clothing. She describes herself as musical, adventuresome, headstrong, and, most recently, biped.

The links also lead to some galleries meriting further scrutiny. Enjoy.

I have to confess that a week ago, I had cast my vote one way, but now that I have done more due diligence, my priorities have shifted. If asked to re-vote today, I would choose differently...

Let the debate continue!

UPDATED 12n to include the obvious joke. My bad, I don't know how I could have missed this.