SI Swimsuit Issue

Ah, the annual SI Swimsuit Issue. Yesterday I got mine in the mail & Dan Patrick was lamenting it's "virtues" on ESPN Radio. When you were in Junior High it was a right of passage. Now, it's toeing the line between pathetic and normalcy. Apparently 3 times as many people buy the SI Swimsuit Issue than a normal week. Of course, there are no sports in an Swimsuit Issue, just half naked chicks. So, from a male perspective it's pretty natural. And for those of us in the Lodge that don't subscribe to Playboy, it's our annual brush with risqué material. (Related poll: Vote for your favorite SI cover model)

But I wonder... is the SI Swimsuit Issue outdated? Does Al Gore's invention of the World Wide Web creating readily available free smut on the internet and newstands, not to mention the advent of Maxim & FHM flooding America's mainstream... does this make the SI Swimsuit Issue obsolete in today's society? Just curious what you all thought.

This year's issue brought back a bunch of the oldies but goodies in Elle Macpherson, Rachel Hunter & Rebecca Romijn. This might bring back our old chat room discussions of Top-5 over 40 lists for the near future. Maria Sharapova was also featured. I'm not sure if I'm excited about that inclusion or a little bit grossed out since she only turns 19 on April 19 of this year.