Louisville sticking with Adidas
by Mike Rutherford on Jun 21, 2010 3:36 PM EDT
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PrintOpting to shun giants like Nike, Reebok, Vans and Sperry, the University of Louisville signed a five-year contract extension with Adidas on Monday.
The company will continue to outfit all 23 of Louisville's varsity sports, including football and men's and women's basketball. U of L has been with Adidas since 2001.
I'm sure this is far more significant than I'm giving it credit for since Nike essentially runs amateur basketball and governs over 1/4 of Asia, but there are areas of sport where I choose to play the ignorance card, and this is one of them.
I wish we'd make a statement and just wear Umbros.
Could be you, Swop.
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Swop going to have to dye his hair
to get that golden red sheen
by Chris Redman is my hero on Jun 21, 2010 3:39 PM EDT reply actions
This is actually guyngreen
I have no idea why he sent it to me.
by Mike Rutherford on Jun 21, 2010 3:46 PM EDT reply actions
haha
My parents DO have that couch, but there’s no way in hell I could match that auburn shag.
The closest I got to that long hair is the butt-cut grunge hairdo I had up until junior year of HS.
I also hate to admit… I never have owned a pair of Umbros.
It's not a huge issue in the long run
But I’m slightly bummed by this extension with adidas. Nike’s corporate hegemony notwithstanding, from a fan perspective, I’d much rather be aligned with them simply due to their quality/availability of merchandise, not to mention the company’s overall visibility.
Any Louisville fan who ever tried to find quality authentic and/or replica jerseys, bball shorts, etc. from adidas has probably come up disappointed. To my view, Nike’s selections and overall merchandise support for their schools is drastically better.
/two cents
Absolutely
I couldn’t agree more. This really sucks. Nike is just head and shoulders above Adidas. Adidas may not even be in the top five of athletic apparell companies.
by P.A. CardsFan on Jun 21, 2010 9:52 PM EDT up reply actions
In College sports, probably not.
But I know they make all the uniforms for the NBA, and I’ve seen lots of Adidas gear at the World Cup. Top 5 easy.
by CardinalDude on Jun 22, 2010 6:53 AM EDT up reply actions
They're #2 (behind Nike) in the U.S. and #1 outside the U.S.
They also own Reebok and TaylorMade. I personally have no problem with it. I think they make good quality apparel and from what I understand we have a pretty good deal with them.
by Cool Hand Cards on Jun 22, 2010 9:43 AM EDT up reply actions
Reebok does all the uniforms for the NFL.
So that’s two major US sports.
by CardinalDude on Jun 22, 2010 10:49 AM EDT up reply actions
Look at the other schools with exclusive Adidas deals.
Michigan, Tennessee, and Notre Dame. Not too shabby.
Wow
All those teams on the list and Louisville have one thing in common. They all use to be pretty damn good at football and are all now much better at basketball.
by P.A. CardsFan on Jun 21, 2010 9:50 PM EDT up reply actions
Seems like Nike is the way to go.
What all goes in to these pitches from the different companies? It’s probably fairly interesting.
"Few things are harder to put up with than the annoyance of a good example." ~ Mark Twain
Should have gone with Nike.
Nike merchandise is better and more readily available. You almost have to live in the city of Louisville to get Cardinal merchandise.
by don'tshootmei'macard on Jun 21, 2010 5:59 PM EDT reply actions
So it's zero backing on the Umbros then?
by Mike Rutherford on Jun 21, 2010 6:06 PM EDT reply actions
From someone who had those exact blue checkered Umbros for our high school soccer kits
For the record, my mom said I looked cute in them. But I wore them to the Jefferson Mall once and got zero numbers. That had never happened before.
by UL is my hot hot sex on Jun 21, 2010 6:52 PM EDT up reply actions
Solid black guy
Never had the balls to attempt the brighter colors.
by Mike Rutherford on Jun 21, 2010 7:05 PM EDT up reply actions
Our school colors were blue and gold
and our mascot was the “Wildcats.” Pretty much screwed.
Also: I had to re-read the subject line of your post three times before I realized what you were trying to say. “Is he calling me a solid black guy?…What does that mean?…ohhhh wait…”
by UL is my hot hot sex on Jun 21, 2010 8:35 PM EDT up reply actions
Should have gone with Under Armour
"Young men, I have no doubt that you're gonna do well today. But I have 1 favor to ask of you... SAVE JIMMY JOHNSON'S ASS FOR ME!" Lou Holtz
by TheRealSlimShady on Jun 21, 2010 10:39 PM EDT reply actions
I personally like Adidas lines better
but I know I’m in the minority. Living here in Phil’s back yard makes me like them even less than I did before-haven’t bought Nike gear since high school a la ‘91. (really just about the style). Adidas also has their US HQ here and I get 50% off all items through my job. Can’t beat that. Nike is the hometown company and doesn’t offer that. Nike is everywhere, but so is McDonalds. Doesn’t make me want to buy it anymore. They do some good things and some bad things, but ultimately they just want every team in the world to wear their gear (obviously) and I’m always happy that not everyone does (diversity is a good thing). Plus I like the three stripes over the swoosh. Lines are better than curves (except on women).
Maddie in PDX
Stupid move? Why is this not a no brainer?
Incredibly dissapointing! I’m sure this is a money i$$ue, but think about this. If you take the best athletes in any sport and look at what shoes or apparel do they wear, what is the first thing that comes to mind….NIKE!!! When you think NIKE you think Michael Jordan, Lebron, Kobe,DWade,Ray Allen,Paul Pierce, Kevin Durant,Scottie Pippen,Barkley Football…A.Peterson,Tomlinson,Polamolu,Bo Jackson(old school),Schools,Florida,Alabama,USC,LSU,FloridaST,
Baseball, Griffey Jr,Jeter,Puljos,……GOLF!!!!!!for crying out loud TIGER WOODS!
Cycling…Armstrong
Ok the best athletes choose NIKE or NIKE goes and gets them.
Adidas who do they have signifcant? KG, Tin Duncan or Dwight Howard? GOLF: Sergio Garcia R U kidding me!
Point is if you dont think shoes and apparel doesnt matter to young kids you definetly need to get out more and get a clue. Take a trip to the mall and look at what all young men wear .. JORDANs, NIKE, old school NIKEs its cool and its a pop culture thing for youth to wear nikes or Jordans its an image thing. sorry for the rant but i still love my CARDS but man this seems to be a no brainer to me if you want to be like other schools and want to move merchandise increase your popularity nationwide why would you not pick the best. NIKE
It's an old cliche but I'm going to use it anyway.
What’s popular is not always best; what’s best is not always popular.
I admit that in basketball Nike is king, and it seems to have at least some sort of effect on young recruits who care about such things. But in the world of football, Nike’s pull is not the same. Adidas, Reebok, and UnderArmor are all prevalent. In soccer Adidas is generally tops.
I personally prefer Adidas. I’ve always thought their products were higher quality. They may be harder to come by, but I think it’s worth it. Of course, I generally prefer Reebok, but Adidas takes 2nd.
by CARD_G6 on Jun 22, 2010 12:05 AM EDT via mobile up reply actions
I'd still argue that Nike has the bigger imprint in football, as well...
Especially on the college level. The vast majority of “big-time” programs go with the swoosh. The only reason Reebok ponied up the money for the NFL license is because its basically a last-ditch attempt by their brand (which is now owned by adidas) to stay relevant.
Just look at the fact that media publications considered it “news” when Nike had teams wear the specially designed unis, gear, etc. for a few games. The ancillary media impact for the schools just for being affiliated with Nike can’t be dismissed. Does anyone ever hear of any unique promotions or special concept unis from adidas, Reebok or Under Armour? I haven’t. The fact that Nike is do dominant from a media perspective gives its member schools that extra value, which yes, matters to a lot of recruits, at least on some level. Image, image, image… unfortunately.
by quiet cardinal on Jun 22, 2010 9:29 AM EDT up reply actions
Fine by me
Wasn’t the decision to go with Adidas over Nike made because Nike refused to outfit the entirety of the atheletic department and wanted only basketball? That’s reason enough to rebuke Nike.
In addition, the reason that schools like Notre Dame and Michigan select Adidas over Nike is that the former will allow investigations into the conditions of its overseas manufacturing plants and will guarantee the exclusion of child labor. Nike makes no such guarantees or offers of transparency.
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