The Astros have changed their uniforms and color schemes many times over the years, far more than the average franchise.  Here are most of the major uniforms and logos…    Astros uniform history link

Let's comment on each one.  This excludes the original Colt .45's uniform, which is awesome, and greatly influenced the first Astros uni.  They will be wearing the old Colt .45 uni's this year, but with a minor, lame adjustment, read more about that here.

The first Astros logo and uniform.  These are awesome. Simple, fun, original color schemes that link these Astros to the Colt .45's.  Orange and Navy Blue.  These are the franchises original colors and they look great together.  This scheme is easily recognizable as "Astros".  Totally original and unique.

Next up is the the last minor change in uniforms the Astros would ever make. After this the changes would become major. This is the uniform they wore from 1971-1975. It keeps the basic design from the first Astro uniform, but inverts the colors, making orange more prominent. While it's a change, it keeps the same "feel", and is a good transition.  This uniform sets the stage for the boldest uniform change in sports history (not hyperbole).

In 1975 the Astros got very creative and very fun, this was the result....

And  the accompanying logo....

These uniforms are insane. Insanely great, or insanely terrible, depending on who you are. Regardless of what your personal opinion, these are the most unique uniforms in sports. Literally every person in Houston that I know would like to own one of these uniforms. Thanks to the internet you can.  They are so memorable that they transcend sports. People who don't follow baseball could see this unifrom from a distance and know instantly that its an old Astros uniform.  It's very difficult to manufacture that kind of brand awareness.  Yet, for the past 15 years the Astros have barely acknowledged this era. They almost never wear these uni's (even on "throwback days").  While other franchises have trotted out their "old school" uniforms with great regularity, the Astros rarely officially recognize that these even exist.  However, there is a huge following for this classic look.

In the 80's the 'Stros kept the Rainbow uniforms, but added some other uniforms that incorporated the orange rainbow....

These uniforms add a nice complement to the rainbow jersey. They still incorporate the rainbow, orange and navy blue... the three things that are the "style" of the Houston Astros.  The 1986 team that won the Western Division title wore these. If you can ignore that they are basically softball uniforms (no belt, no buttons, pull-over tops) which was the style at the time, then they are awesome.  Also, they had 4 different uniforms. I like the variety. More options to buy, more options to sell. You listening to that Jim Crane?

Next we get to the big departure. The radical change.  The Astros ownerships changes, and here come the new uniforms that go in a totally different direction...

This begins the Drayton McLane era that severes the attachment to Astros history, and in my opinion makes the Astros just another MLB team (in terms of brand marketing, recongizablity, and coolness). When this was introduced I remember people being favorable towards it because it was a departure from the old stuff. The Astros sucked pretty bad at this time too, so this felt like a fresh start.  But these uniforms lasted only 6 seasons, and frankly are so completely average in every way. They are embarrasing compared to the stuff they wore for their previous 30 year history.  When Drayton got his new ballpark (Enron, errr, Minute Maid) they changed the uniforms yet again, and once again jettisoned all connection to any historical Astro uniform, logo, or theme.

Now the Astros colors are Rust and black?  Seriously? These have been the uniforms for 12 seasons now, and they are utterly and totally forgettable. The color is boring, the uniforms are boring. Yes, the Astros have been very good (and very bad) during this era, but no one is imitating these uniforms. No one in other cities is saying, "Wow, the Astros uniforms are cool."  This color scheme is lame, and they should punt it for the move to the American Leauge.  The good thing about the current unis is that there are numerous uniforms that do get mixed and matched, I like that.

Here’s my observation.  The Drayton McLane era of Astros baseball was very successful (hooray for that, seriously) but it was also very predictable, unimaginitive, averse to risk, and lacked any creativity, especially as it pertains to uniforms and marketing.

Here are my suggestions for Jim Crane and his team...

1. Keep the name.  Astros is a totally unique name, there is no other team with a name that is both nonsensical and makes perfect sense at the same time. It is totally original, and not copyable. Keep it. Milk it. Houston totally identifies with it, and since the Oilers left, we have become far too generic with our sports names and logos.

2. Bring back orange. The orange that the Colt 45’s and the Astros wore was what helped make them unique. The old forgotten Astros theme song was all about the “orange fire” ... give it a listen at the bottom of this post. Get behind the color, celebrate it because it's different.  Yes, orange can be ugly. It's also completely loud and outrageous, but that has proved to be a good thing when marketing to young people. Take advantage of the strangeness.  Here is the logo they are using for the 50th season. I like this way more than anything the ‘Stros have worn in the past 15 years. Because it celebrates the actual creative things the Astros used to be all about. Heck, make that the permanent logo, replace the 50 with a big orange "A" or "H".  

3. Become the Oregon Ducks of the MLB. Come up with 8 different uniforms that include all the colors in the 50th Anniversary logo, and wear them all. Interchange them. Go crazy. Orange and Navy Blue should be a major part of each uniform, but get creative, have fun. The team sucks, and will for several years, so make them at least look fun. Sure it's risky. People might mock the new crazy ideas, but at least it will connect with older fans, and possibly win over new fans. More importantly it will help the Astros have an identity again. Especially right now, the team (and the fans) need a new identity, with some connection to past greatness. 

If you like cool ideas for uniforms, check these out. Not all of them are good, but most are, and some are really awesome....  

Here come the Astros, breathing orange fire!

There are several things that make Young Life unique amongst other ministries that seek to reach high school folks. Unique doesn’t necessarily mean better, it just means that these are things we do that differentiate us from other ministries. I firmly believe that Young Life is just one small part of the body of Christ that fulfills a specific purpose.

Today I want to point out something that makes YL unique that we rarely talk about, and is almost never mentioned in any YL training. But first, let’s cover a few other things that make YL unique.

In most Young Life literature and training you’ll discover that what makes us unique is our focus on relational ministry. Our goal is to develop trusting, no strings attached, relationships with high school folks so that when we share with them about who Jesus is and what it means to follow him, they are hearing from a trusted source, instead of someone who is just a religious leader on a stage. While this is true of Young Life, it’s not terribly unique. Most evangelism and outreach is somewhat relational, even if that isn’t readily evident at first glance. What makes Young Life unique relationally is that we befriend the non-Christian. That’s who we want to get to know.

Another thing that makes Young Life unique is that we have the luxury of organizing ourselves the same way that kids do, by school. When I talk to youth pastors I’m always overwhelmed at what their job entails. They are trying to know and reach kids at many, many schools. They don’t have the laser focus on one school that a YL leader has.

However, the most overlooked thing that differentiates Young Life from many other ministries is this….

It is totally and completely voluntary.

What do I mean?

Pretty much every student who shows up to a Young Life club is there voluntarily. There is no one forcing them to go. They aren’t there out of obligation. They chose to show up. Their parents didn’t force them to go (there are rare exceptions to this), they didn’t have to be there to get credit for something at school or church, and they came to YL because they made their own independent decision.

This is the heartbeat of what makes YL successful. The entire premise of Young Life is that it is voluntary. Whether or not you show up at YL is voluntary. Whether or not you believe the gospel is voluntary. High school folks are independently mobile. What that means is that they can decide when and where they spend their time. So they can choose to be a part of YL on their own, or choose not to. They aren’t dependent on their parents to get from one place to another. So if they want to be a part of something, they are, and if they don’t want to be a part of something, they aren’t. This is in contrast to your average church youth group, where a much higher percentage of the attendees are there whether they want to be or not.

The decision to show up to YL club (or Campaigners or any other YL event) actually is a decision that oftentimes costs kids something. It costs them time away from studying, or other activities that they could be doing. Because high school folks have more choices now than they ever have before, it is potentially more costly than ever.

It’s incredibly encouraging that every kid who is involved in Young Life really wants to be involved! What a gift, and what a testimony to the effectiveness of “earning the right to be heard” and living incarnationally among young people.

There seems to be a large percentage of Astros fans that are upset about the Astros move to the American League in 2013.  These fans are mistaken in their angst, and should in fact be excited for the move to the American League.  Here is why….

1. The Astros will finally get a true rival, the Texas Rangers.  Texans fans, think about how much you hate the Cowboys. Wouldn’t it be awesome if the Texans played the Cowboys 2 times every year. Those tickets would be outrageous, and the whole state would stop to watch. Well, the same kind of atmosphere will develop with the Rangers in a few years. Especially once we eliminate them, or they eliminate us from the playoff race with a sweep in September (this obviously won’t happen any time soon).  Imagine the division championship comes down to a final weekend series against the Rangers in Arlington. That would be awesome, and it will develop into a truly great rivalry.

Many Astros fans think we already have rivalries with the Cubs and Cardinals. We don’t. Cubs fans hate the Cardinals and to a lesser extent the White Sox. The Brewers are another potential developing rivalry with the Cubs (Milwaukee is ridiculously close to Chicago) now that the Brewers are in the NL and aren’t a joke franchise anymore.  The Cardinals hate the Cubs, and to a lesser extent the Royals (who are unbelievably terrible). While Astros fans may see these two teams as their rivals, the Cubs and Cardinals don’t see it, and never will. Why, because the Cubs and Cardinals have been rivals for over 100 years!!!!   The Rangers don’t have a natural rival, so adding the Astros to their division creates one, and it will be awesome.

2. I know many Houstonians were upset when Albert Pujols signed with the Angels, because now he’ll be able to torture Astros fans for the rest of his career. True. But at the same time, we will get to see Albert destroy all kinds of records in the next few years. I think Astros fans will be glad he’s in our division, especially once his skills start to deteriorate and his contract remains huge, thus handcuffing the Angels.

3. If the Astros ever end up with a guy like Carlos Lee, he wont’ have to play the field again. Sadly, we have to wait a year to move to the AL, and after this year Carlos Lee will be but a bad memory. However, the Astros could use that DH spot to bring back an aging veteran who can hit to finish his career in Houston at a reasonable rate. Yes, I am talking about Lance Berkman, or someone like him who can still hit, but is a liability in the field. Carlos Lee should have been a DH 5 years ago, probably the city of Houston’s worst signing ever (besides Scottie Pippen).

4. You get to see the Yankees, Red Sox, and Rays play in Houston every year. Yes, the Rays are really, really good.

5. This one is personal, but it applies to many Houstonians.  There are lots of poeple in Houston who moved here from other places, or their parents taught them to be fans of other National League teams before they moved to Houston (namely, the Cubs, Cardinals, and Braves). I am a huge Cubs fan, which wasn’t a problem before 1994 because the Cubs and Astros were in different divisions and never once met in the playoffs. However, once baseball created the stupid, 6 team, NL Central, my loyalties were constantly divided, as were many other fans.  Now, I can be an unabashed Astros fan knowing that there is almost no chance of an Astros v. Cubs World Series. I’ll probably go out and stock up on some Astros gear for 2013 once they announce the new uniforms, logos, etc.  (Bring back the orange caps!)

So get excited Astros fans, we are gonna own the American League……. in 5 years.

The big question for college football next year is this…..

Will Texas A&M change their fight song, now that it makes absolutely no sense?

If you aren’t familiar with the Aggie Fight Song (aka Aggie War Hymn) Below are the lyrics:

Hullabaloo, Caneck, Caneck

Hullabaloo, Caneck, Caneck

All hail to dear old Texas A&M

Rally around Maroon and White

Good luck to dear old Texas Aggies

They are the boys who show the real old fight

That good old Aggie Spirit thrills us

And makes us yell and yell and yell

So let's fight for dear old Texas A&M

We're gonna beat you all to Chigaroogarem

Chigaroogarem

Rough, Tough, real stuff Texas A&M

Good bye to texas university

So long to the orange and the white

Good luck to dear old Texas Aggies

They are the boys who show the real old fight

'the eyes of Texas are upon you'

That is the song they sing so well

Sounds Like Hell

So good bye to texas university

We're gonna beat you all to Chigaroogarem

Chigaroogarem

Rough, Tough, Real stuff, Texas A&M

Saw varsity's horns off

Saw varsity's horns off

Saw varsity's horns off

Short! A!

Varsity's horns are sawed off

Varsity's horns are sawed off

Varsity's horns are sawed off

Short! A!

The lyrics are weird, but it was written a long time ago, and some of the stuff that seems like nonsense now, actually made sense back then. If you’re interested in what it all means click here.

Basically, most of the song talks about beating the University of Texas (full disclosure, I have a degree from said University of Texas). Now this was moderately weird before, because even when the Aggies were playing other teams besides UT, they would sing about beating Texas. But at least then, they knew they would actually be playing Texas at some point during the season (usually the last game) so you could kind of play it off.

Now, however, Texas A&M and the University of Texas will not be playing against one another in any sport, period.  Barring both teams making it to the National Championship game of any given sport (ha!)  there is no chance they will play one another in anything until 2018. It is beyond ridiculous to be singing about a school you hate that you won't even play in the forseeable future.

The Aggies chose to move to the SEC, which may turn out to be a great move for them. Personally, I think they will end up regretting this move, but I could easily be wrong on this one. With that choice they more or less abandonded the relationship they had with Texas, so it's probably time to start developing some new traditions.  This is the knock though. If you've ever been around Aggies, or gone to College Station, then you know that tradition is a huge part of their modus operandi (I think that's Latin, or maybe Chinese).  Once you buy into the importance of tradition so thoroughly it is very difficult to start new traditions that do away with the old.

So, will the Aggies change their fight song?

I think they should. What do you Aggies think?

I set a goal to read 30 books in 2011. I didn't reach that goal, I never do. I did read 25 books (mostly because I was on sabbatical for a good chunk of time). Below are the books I read, a brief blurb about them, and on what medium I read them(Kindle app for iPad or iPhone, Paper copy, iBooks app). I'm including how I read them because so many people are discovering the joys of reading on a digital device.  I like it so much I don't even consider buying books made of paper anymore. These are the 25 books I read. You can buy all of them at amazon.com or on the ibookstore on your iDevice. 

I've included links to all of them to their goodreads pages, you can get a link to Amazon, Apple, Barnes & Noble, etc from there.

1. Baseball Between the Numbers: Why Everything You Know About the Game Is Wrong by Baseball Prospectus - this is a series of essays by super baseball statisticians that prove that many of the statistics baseball fans rely on are very flawed, and how many of the adages and strategies that baseball people believe in do more to lose games than win them. If you like baseball this is fascinating, regardless if you're a stat junky or not. Read it on the Kindle app for my iPhone, yes the whole thing on my phone! This is what helped me become a digital reader.

Baseball Between the Numbers: Why Everything You Know About the Game Is Wrong

2. Crazy Love: Overwhelmed by a Relentless God - by Francis Chan  - this book is great! Very challenging, and will spur you on to examine and change your life and how you think about your life. In a good way. Don't be afraid, read it. You'll be glad you did. Found it for $5 at a used bookstore, so read it in paper.

Crazy Love: Overwhelmed by a Relentless God

3. Save the Cat! The Last Book on Screenwriting You'll Ever Need by Blake Snyder - a friend of mine who is a screenwriter turned me on to this book as a way to understand movies, and storytelling. Since I'm essentially a professional storyteller I read it and really enjoyed it.  Started it on the Kindle app for my phone, finished it on the Kindle app for  iPad, thank God, it was formatted terribly on the iPhone, and looked much better on the iPad. This is the only book that I have ever had formatting problems with.

Save the Cat!: The Last Book on Screenwriting You'll Ever Need

4. The End of Reason: A Response to the New Atheists by Ravi Zacharias  - the author takes on some of the arguements of Sam Harris and Richard Dawkins in this very short book. I love Ravi, and really enjoy his speaking and writing. I'd love to see him and Dawkins actually debate face to face. Read the paper version from a used bookstore.

The End of Reason: A Response to the New Atheists

5. Identity Theft: Reclaiming your Freedom in Christ by Ken White - The author is a friend of mine and a fellow Young Life staffer. I really enjoyed his book. He did a fantastic job. I read it on iBooks for my iPad.

Identity Theft: Reclaiming Your Freedom in Christ

6. Infinitely More by Alex Krutov - Alex was abondoned by his mother in a dumpster in the winter in Russia when he was 3 days old!  This is basically his autobiography, it's amazing. My friend Kit Sublett publisehd this book (as wll as Identity Theft by Ken White) and I've been promoting it all year, because it's a great story that needs to be shared. I've met Alex and his ministry to orphans in Russia is phenomenal. Read on iBooks for iPhone.

Infinitely More

7. Velvet Elvis by Rob Bell - his newest book (Love Wins) caused a bit of a controversy this past spring, so I thought I would check out the book that made him famous before I read that one.  I never got to Love Wins, but I really enjoyed this book. There wasn't too much revolutionary thinking in it, but he does subscribe to some great ideas about how to live out the Christian faith in modern times. Borrowed the paper copy from a freind.

Velvet Elvis: Repainting the Christian Faith

8. Just Do Something: A Liberating Approach to Finding God's Will - by Kevin DeYoung - One of my favorite books of the year. Very short. Very to the point. He expressed very clearly what I believe about "finding God's will for your life". Everyone under the age of 40 should read this!!!!!!!!!!!  I read it on the iPad and iPhone.

Just Do Something: A Liberating Approach to Finding God's Will

9. Torches of Joy by John Dekker - Jon Dekker's son is a christian horror author who lives in Austin. Weird. Long before his son was a writer though, Jon Dekker and his wife were missionaries in New Guinea and have an amazing story!  These are amazing people and their lives of faith are a testimony to how awesome God is.  Their story is incredibly ecxiting, filled with danger and turmoil, but with incredibly rewards. Read the book, I bought it a few years ago before I went digital.

Torches of Joy

10. Which Real Jesus?: Jonathan Edwards, Benjamin Franklin, adn te arly American Roots of the Current Debate by Steve Bateman  - The title is a bit intimidating. A friend of mine gave me this book and it sat on my "to read" pile for over a year. I didn't think I would like it until I read the first chapter, then I was hooked and I really enjoyed it. He does a fantastic job of comparing the debate about the nature and existence of God and Jesus in Jonathan Edwards and Ben Franklin's era to the debate about the same topic in our own time. It's amazing to see that people are essentially still debating the same topics 300 years later regarding Jesus. His research was impressive and enlightening, and he does a great job of creating a list of Founding Fathers who were serious Christians and which were more on the Deisitic end of the spectrum. Highly recommended.  I read it on paper.

Which "Real" Jesus?: Jonathan Edwards, Benjamin Franklin, and the Early American Roots of the Current Debate

11. The Book of Harold, the Illegitmate Son of God by Owen Egerton - Owen is one of my very good friends from college. He and I agree on very little, which is highly entertaining. He is a very gifted writer. This is the first novel I read last year, and I had a very strong emotional reaction to it. Mostly because I knew the author. It's a very interesting book that will make you think, and evoke an emotional response. Would also make for some good discussions.  I read it on the Kindle app for my iPad.

The Book of Harold, the Illegitimate Son of God

12. A Prisoner of Birth by Jeffrey Archer - I've read almost all of his novels. I needed something fun and relatively mindless to read over the summer. His stories are always really enjoyable but at this point in his career he has become totally formulaic.  It's a good formula, but after reading 10 or more of his novels, the act is kinda wearing thin. Any big time offer like Archer is making so much money cranking out books, that they probably don't care if it's formulaic any more, because the money is obscene. If you want to read a great, fun Jeffrey Archer book from his early days, check out Not a Penny More, Not a Penny Less. If you have never read any of his books, you'll enjoy this one thoroughly. I read it on the Kindle app for iPhone and iPad.

A Prisoner of Birth

13. The Classic: How Everett Case and His Tournament Brought Big Time Basketball to the South by Bethany Bradsher - Bethany is another friend of mine who writes books. This is a fascinating story that you probably know nothing about unless you are over 50 or from North Carolina. If you like basketball or good regional history, you'll love this!

The Classic: How Everett Case and His Tournament Brought Big-Time Basketball to the South 

14. Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson - I'm an Apple zealout, so I had to read this book. I blew through it. It's fascinating stuff and you get all sides of Steve Jobs, the good and the bad. Of course I read this on my iPhone and iPad wih the Kindle app.

Steve Jobs

15. Wired by Douglas Richards - This is a high tech thriller with a little bit of philosophy and quasi religion thrown in. It's entertaining. You'll read it in less than 48 hours, it's fast-paced to say the least. The reason I bought it is because it's only available digitally and the price fluctuates wildly. Basically the author sells it for super cheap (I bought if for 79 cents!) until it gets in the top 10 books on the Kindle store, then he raises the price to $2.99, sells a ton of copies at that price until it falls out of the top 10, and then starts the whole thing again. Pretty cool way to make a couple of hundred thousand dollars a year. Obviously I read it on my iPhone and iPad Kindle app.

Wired

16. - 18. The Hunger Games, Catching Fire, Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins - This Young Adult Trilogy is all the rage, and there is a movie coming out in a few months. I read them for a couple of reasons: 1. to get my book count up before the end of the year, they're short and fast 2. Because I try to keep up with what the young people are reading so I can be relevant (I drew the line at Twilight though, won't go there). 3. I like to read the book before I see the movie.  They are exciting, and the movie should be fun. Read on the Kindle app for iPhone and iPad. Strangely they weren't available on the iBookstore.

The Hunger Games (The Hunger Games, #1)

Catching Fire (The Hunger Games, #2)

Mockingjay (The Hunger Games, #3)

19. Why Men Hate Going To Church by David Murrow - I read it in one day. Couldnt' put it down. Spot on. Amazing, I loved it!!!!!!! Everybody should read this book immediately. Seriously, this dude nails so much about why guys aren't terribly comfortable or excited about church. He also provides good, doable solutions! Read it on iBooks for iPad. Got if for free from www.booksneeze.com  

Why Men Hate Going to Church

20. Heaven if for Real by Todd Burpo - Huge bestseller, really short, totally crazy, a great read that will make you think about Heaven and will also get you really excited to go there. I loved it. Read it on my iPhone Kindle App. Yep, the whole book on the phone.

Heaven is for Real: A Little Boy's Astounding Story of His Trip to Heaven and Back

21. Scream Free Marriage by Hal Edward Runkel  Another one of my college roommates who turned into an author. Hal is very successful, and this book is his followup to ScreamFree Parenting. I loved this book, and Jessica (my wife) can attest to its effectiveness. Get it. Read it. Live it. Read it on the Kindle for iPad.

ScreamFree Marriage

22. A Feast for Crows by George RR Martin - this is the 4th book in the Song of Fire and Ice Series. HBO made this series into a very successful TV show (Game of Thrones). The first 3 books were amazing, some of the best fantasy ever. The story was derailed quite a bit in the 4th book, but little did I know how bad it would get, read below. Read on iPad/iPhone Kindle app.

A Feast for Crows (A Song of Ice and Fire, #4)

23. A Dance with Dragons by George R.R. Martin - book five in the series.  It took him 5+ years to write this book, and it basically sucked.  The 4th book dragged, this one came to a screaching halt, and took 1,000+ pages to do so. I'll keep reading the series, but this dude needs and editor, badly. Read it on the iPad and iPhone.

A Dance With Dragons (A Song of Ice and Fire, #5)

24. The Case for the Real Jesus: A Journalist Investigates Current Attacks on the Identity of Christ by Lee Strobel - this was my favorite book of the year. Lee investigates common arguements that are raised by people on the web all the time, who quote "scholars" for their proof. He dives in deep with experts in each field, and it's very enlightening. I learned a ton about the New Testament and the study of ancient documents. If you're into apologetics, or have questions about who Jesus really was, this is a great book for you! Read it on Kindle for iPad.

The Case for the Real Jesus: A Journalist Investigates Current Attacks on the Identity of Christ

25. Wholehearted by Roger Wernette - Roger is an old friend of mine. A very funny guy, and a very gifted communicator, both in speech and in the written word. This book was a great encouragement for me in my walk with Christ, and I've given it to about 30 people this year. Read it on iBooks for iPad. I believe it was the first book I read on the iPad.

Wholehearted

Here is a gift for you iPhone junkies.  This is how to always have the newest, freshest iPhone availalbe, without wasting a bunch of money. In fact, it will barely cost you any extra money at all. Of course, just by owning an iPhone you are paying a wireless company a ridiculous amount of money.

1. Check your availability for upgrade.  Check it often.  Get all OCD about it.  Here's why: you will be eligible for a phone upgrade well before your 2 year contract is over.  The cell phone compaines (AT&T, Verizon, Sprint) want you to remain a perpetual customer, so they will offer you an upgrade before your contract is up. When you excercise the option to upgrade your phone, it extends your contract for another 2 years.

2. Buy the new iPhone as soon as it comes out.  Be an early adopter. I know you don't need the newest iPhone, but buying it immediately will payoff for you in just a few days. Here is how. This of course assumes you are getting it at the discounted price, because you were eligible for an early upgrade. If you aren't eligible, keep checking, because they don't tell you you're eligible right away. Let's say you go top of the line, and get the biggest and best iPhone, with the subsidized price, you'll spend $300.

3. Once you get the new iPhone and activate it, your old iPhone is now contract free! This means you can sell it to someone as an "unlockable" iPhone.  This is a big deal. A new, non contract iPhone costs about what it costs to actually make an iPhone. A lot.  $600+, depending on which country you live in.  So if you have a relatively new (less than 2 years old) iPhone in good shape for sale, you can get $300-$400 for it.  That's roughly the same amount you spent in step 2 to get a brand new subsidized phone.  BAM! You just upgraded your phone for $100 or less.  

4. If you sell it on ebay or craigslist, be careful and make sure you know what you're doing so you don't get screwed over. 

I've done this numerous times, and have several friends who have as well. That's how you keep with the latest and greatest without spending irresponibly.