I guessed college athletes aren’t the only ones getting sponsorships these days?
Because LSU women’s hoops head coach Kim Mulkey — known for making the wildest of sartorial sideline choices — walked into the Tigers’ much-anticipated game against South Carolina wearing an outfit that sparkled on the front and had animal prints in the back along with a depiction of a very colorful tiger.
That wasn’t the quirkiest thing about it. That would be the Coca-Cola logo down the side of the front of it. As expected, there was a lot of buzz over this one, as there usually is with whatever the coach wears:
Jacob Monk gives us his best “Mean Joe” Greene impersonation.
You remember that Coca-Cola commercial with Pittsburgh Steelers legend “Mean” Joe Greene, don’t you? Or maybe your parents remember it. Or maybe your grandparents remember it – in the way Captain America understands references to flying monkeys.
Anyways, it’s a classic. The ad made its television debut on Oct. 1, 1979, and shows the hobbled Hall of Fame defensive tackle walking down a tunnel after a game. He’s approached by a young pint-sized fan, who tells Greene he’s the “best-ever” and offers up a Coke to soothe his postgame woes. Greene chugs the soda – somehow without burping – while the “Coke and a Smile” jingle plays, and then he tosses the kid his jersey.
It’s an understatement to call the commercial iconic. It aired again during Super Bowl XIV – where Greene’s Steelers won their fourth championship – and has been parodied by Sesame Street, the Simpsons and Family Guy. Coca-Cola even recreated it with another Pittsburgh defensive great, Troy Polamalu, in 2009.
And now, 43 years after the original aired, Duke football is getting in on the fun.
The Blue Devils dropped this video Thursday night, ahead of their game on Saturday at Georgia Tech in Atlanta – the birthplace of Coca-Cola.
A young Duke fan and senior offensive lineman Jacob Monk stuck to the script and gave us a pretty perfect recreation, but opted for a Coke Zero instead of the classic Coca-Cola.
If you look closely, the video is also a uniform reveal. Duke will wear black pants, white jerseys and matte black helmets on Saturday against the Yellow Jackets.
The Blue Devils are off to a hot start this season under first-year head coach Mike Elko – who was 2-years-old when the original “Mean Joe” ad aired. The former Texas A&M defensive coordinator has Duke sitting atop the chaotic Coastal Division in the ACC with a 4-1 record, with the Blue Devils’ only loss coming at Kansas.
Duke is a 3.5-point road favorite on Saturday at Georgia Tech, which just won at Pitt after firing head coach Geoff Collins. The point total is set at 54.5.
Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James is making a switch of beverage partners for the first time in his NBA career.
Ever since LeBron James opted to skip going to college and go straight into the professional ranks, he has had a few longstanding brand partnerships that have followed him from Cleveland to Miami, back to Cleveland, and now to Los Angeles. However one of those longtime partnerships that James has helped him build a business empire is now ending, as James will be leaving Coca-Cola after over 17 years as an endorser for the company, most notably, Sprite.
A.J. Perez and Michael McCarthy of FrontOfficeSports reported on Friday that James will be signing a deal with Coca-Cola rival PepsiCo to become the face of Mountain Dew’s new energy drink and also potentially be the pitchman of the brand’s signature drink, Pepsi. ESPN’s Brian Windhorst, who very recently wrote a book on all of LeBron’s business deals over the years, “LeBron Inc.,” confirmed the deal.
The move is a massive one for James as far as his on-court partnerships. He signed a lifetime deal with Nike but it seems clear that he and his reps either wanted more out of the Coca-Cola deal or Pepsi simply offered them more than Coca-Cola was willing to give them. Either way, we may have seen the last of LeBron James in Sprite commercials.
