The story behind the Superman duct-tape

So I've had my fair share of equipment problems, as every skier will. During one workout toward the end of this past season, the side clip on my skate boot caught on my pole and snapped right off, so the support strap that leads across my foot was just hanging out flapping around in the wind, acting pretty useless.

My dad and I are both pretty stubborn.
We had differing opinions on the solution to the boot-astrophe.

Dad: "Well, does the boot work without the strap?"
Me [sassy]: "I mean yeahhh, it's just obnoxious and looks dumb." (Which it was, and did.)
Dad: "Okay well go buy a new boot then!"
Me: "Are you kidding me, do you realize how much these things cost?" (Ski equipment is NOT cheap people.)
Dad: "I'll pay for it."
Me: "That's ridiculous. I'll fix it with duct tape or something. Innovation at its finest."
Dad: "I don't want equipment malfunctioning to be the reason something goes wrong in a race. It's my money. I choose how I spend it. Go buy the boots."
Me: "I only  have like, 5 skate races left in the season, Dad. I'm not going to buy new boots for 5 races. I already had to buy a pair of boots this season anyway."
Dad: "Paige Elizabeth, just go buy the damn boots."
Me: "Ugh, fine, I'll figure it out, BYE."
("click", this was a phone conversation)

So.  Little sassy stubborn me heads off to Target to run some errands, and what do I stumble upon but the duct tape aisle. I don't know if you've ever bought duct tape at Target but oh my gosh they have like 15 different colors and patterns. It's so overwhelming.  So I pick up this awesome flowery roll and then I see the Superman duct tape.  And I think, well Superman is fierce, and flashy, and has attitude (cough, BeFAST), AND he's a superhero so he basically flies. Perfect for racing!

After proudly showing off the tape to my mother and heading off to ski for the afternoon, my dad calls.

Dad: "So did she go get the boots?"
Mom: "Well, she fixed the problem, that's for sure."
Dad: "Cool, how much did it cost me?"
Mom: ".... Only $12.50!"

Needless to say, Dad was a little skeptical that the tape would hold up in the snow and ice. But it did, and before each and every skate race I would wrap two layers of Superman tape around the arch of my boot to hold the strap down.  It quickly became my pre-race ritual and my lucky charm, and when I raced at NCAA's my entire family showed up in bright blue superman t-shirts to channel the luck.

As I order my boots for next season, I'm thinking of ways to keep the tape in the race, because although I'm hoping these boots are a bit sturdier, the tape IS my lucky charm...