Tag: Nike

Why the Chunky Dunky’s had Nike’s SNKRS app trending again

The L’s were abundant this morning.

Welcome to FTW Explains: a guide to catching up on and better understanding stuff going on in the world.

Being a sneakerhead has its perks, for sure. As a sneakerhead myself, I can vouch for that.

Generally speaking, you have to have pretty good taste in fashion to be this way — yeah, I’m tooting my own horn this morning. You also get pretty good at finding deals on just about everything which becomes useful on birthdays and holidays.

But, if we’re being honest, it’s mostly an existence filled with contempt. You wake up on some mornings asking yourself “why am I like this?” as you wait along with thousands of others in a virtual line for a shoe that will probably sell out before you get a chance to get it.

Tuesday morning was one of those mornings. And that’s why Nike’s SNKRS app is trending again.

Wait, what’s the SNKRS app?

It’s a platform Nike uses to market and sell “exclusive” pairs of shoes that are limited in supply. You can read all about it in this story I did earlier this year.

Why was it trending on Tuesday morning?

Because — and I mean this quite literally — everyone and their mother was trying to get the Nike SB Dunk “Chunky Dunky” this morning in a special drawing on the SNKRS app this morning.

Did anyone get it? I have no idea. I can tell you I didn’t. Yes, my Tuesday is going just fine. Thanks for asking.

The Chunky Dunky? What? That sounds like an ice cream flavor.

That’s because this shoe was specially made for a collaboration between Nike’s skateboarding arm (hence SB) and Ben & Jerry’s — yes, the ice cream company.

Here’s what it looks like.

Is that why Ben & Jerry’s is trending too?

Yup. Sure is.

Why couldn’t everyone buy this shoe?

Its simple supply and demand, basically. There are thousands and thousands of people across the country who ended up wanting this shoe after seeing it on Twitter or Instagram or wherever they saw it.

The problem is, Nike didn’t make enough pairs of this shoe for everyone to be able to get one. And, in turn, a lot of people came up short.

Basically, this.

Alright, so what? Why is anyone mad online? It’s just a shoe!

IT IS NOT JUST A SH—Ok, ok. *Takes a deep breath*. I’m sorry for yelling. But this isn’t just any regular old shoe. I mean, it has cow print on it!

Aside from that, you have to think of it as a collectors item you have a choice in wearing. It’s a rare pair. You can’t just buy it on resale, either — it is literally being sold for thousands of dollars right now as we speak.

It only retailed for $100. Getting this shoe would be a come up.

Whoa, that’s a lot of money!

It is!

Why would anyone pay that for a shoe? That’s crazy.

It … It is.

Why are you like this?

¯_(ツ)_/¯

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See an epic, inspiring new Nike ad narrated by LeBron James

This is awesome.

During a charity golf match between legends Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Tom Brady and Peyton Manning on Sunday, Nike will air an incredible new spot called “Never Too Far Down,” which is narrated by LeBron James.

The “film,” as Nike calls it, focuses on some of the greatest comebacks we’ve seen in sports, from LeBron’s Cavaliers overturning a 3-1 deficit in the 2016 NBA Finals, to Tiger Woods returning from a back fusion surgery to win the 2019 Masters, to Paul George’s return to a superstar level following a devastating leg injury.

“Right now, we’re fighting for something much bigger than a win, a championship. But if we’ve learned anything from sports, it’s that no matter how far down we may be, we are never too far down to come back.”

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‘Feel Free to Comment’ Episode 5: ‘Out of the Past’

In the fifth episode of season one, Cam Calloway continues to negotiate with sneaker companies to make the best decision for him.

This week we will finish covering season one of the STARZ/SpringHill Entertainment’s basketball-themed comedy “Survivor’s Remorse,” which will focus on Cam Calloway continuing to negotiate with sneaker companies, including Nike, whom have offered him more money but have not offered him the equity that he’s been promised from the fictional Chinese upstart brand Da Chen Bao.

In addition to the sneaker negotiation storyline, we have a cameo from Lil Romeo! Lil Romeo plays a friend, Jay, from Cam’s home in Boston, who made a bad decision and ended up in jail, ruining what was a promising basketball career and losing a scholarship to Syracuse. Now that he’s out, the less-heralded Cam became an NBA star. All of this makes Cam feel guilty, while Reggie thinks something is fishy.

Thursday’s episode will be the finale of Season 1, which will finish before leading into a much more robust Season 2, where the storylines add a lot more layers and characters start to clearly find their paths. You can follow the podcast on Apple, Google, and Spotify.

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Matthew Wolff’s tied-dyed Nike golf shoes have our full attention

Matthew Wolff wore some tie-dyed Nike golf shoes at the TaylorMade Driving Relief charity match that got plenty of attention.

Nevermind that the foursome of Rory McIlroy, Dustin Johnson, Rickie Fowler and Matthew Wolff are carrying their own bags and wearing shorts for this TaylorMade Driving Relief match. Under the “golf equipment and apparel” column, nothing screamed louder at Seminole Golf Club on Sunday than Matthew Wolff’s tie-dyed golf shoes.

Wolff, at 21 the youngest player in the foursome by 10 years, clearly made the biggest wardrobe statement. Golf fans might have seen more of the colorful Nike shoes at the PGA Championship had it gone off as originally scheduled this past week at TPC Harding Park. Some Nike players were planning to wear them.

Live updates: TaylorMade Driving Relief

Wolff gave golf fans a sneak preview of the shoes by wearing them to a warm-up range session the day before the TaylorMade match. Live TV truly made them pop, however.

The bad news for golf fans who are coveting the footwear is that the shoes don’t appear on Nike’s web site. It remains to be seen whether the company offers the shoes to the public in the future – the interest is certainly there.

Former Oklahoma wide receiver CeeDee Lamb signs endorsement deal with Nike

Oklahoma’s top draft picks are all joining the same brand. CeeDee Lamb has already joined one of the major sports brands in the country.

Oklahoma’s top draft picks are all joining the same brand.

Baker Mayfield unpacked his deal with Nike after wearing Adidas cleats at the NFL Combine. Then the dominant sports brand got ahold of Kyler Murray.

Now, it is Oklahoma’s CeeDee Lamb, who made the announcement on his Instagram on Thursday.

Lamb was a Biletnikoff finalist after his third season at Oklahoma where he averaged a ridiculous 21.4 yards per catch. There was plenty of argument between him, Alabama’s Jerry Jeudy and Henry Ruggs as to who was the top wide receiver in the 2020 NFL Draft. Lamb fell to No. 3, but to a high-powered offense in the Dallas Cowboys with the No. 17 pick.

Mayfield, Murray and Lamb join Nike, which also endorses the likes of Russell Wilson, Odell Beckham Jr., Ezekiel Elliot and also former Oklahoma wide receiver Sterling Shepard.

Beckham Jr. signed the most recent mega shoe deal with Nike for around $29 million. Lamb is already heading into the NFL with lofty expectations after Jerry Jones adamantly wanted him to wear No. 88 in the footsteps of Dez Bryant and Michael Irvin.

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Bill Belichick will appear on NFL Network’s schedule release and may bring a friend

The coach and his dog may stop by the show.

As the world is seemingly at a standstill, the NFL is still planning on having a season come September. While it’s already a unique with the move to digital offseason activities, the league is preparing the season as they normally would.

NFL Network’s schedule-release show begins at 8 p.m. ET on Thursday. As the name implies, all teams and fans will officially learn their week-to-week match-ups for the upcoming season. The show, which is set to be three hours in duration, will have representatives from 24 teams joining the broadcast including players, general managers and coaches.

From New England, coach Bill Belichick will be appearing in some capacity, according to the list tweeted out by NFL Media.

The last time Belichick was seen was in his virtual war room on Nantucket during the draft. There, he was accompanied by his dog, Nike, who gained quite a following after his appearance.

The NFL put in a request to have Nike featured on their program, according to John Ourand of the Sports Business Journal.

Senior VP of programming and production for NFL Media Mark Quenzel confirmed the request to the Sports Business Journal.

“Yes we made a request for the dog,” Quenzel said. “We don’t know if we’re going to get the dog. The dog may be the star of the whole darn show.”

It’s not clear if Nike will actually make an appearance on the show, but the head coach will be there. That should be incentive enough to tune in, adding Nike would just be the icing on the cake.

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‘The Last Dance’ revealed that Michael Jordan really wanted to sign with Adidas over Nike

OUCH.

Michael Jordan’s partnership with Nike — and the Nike subsidiary Jordan Brand — undeniably changed how people look at sneakers. With the help of Jordan’s influence and popularity, sneakers broke into the fashion realm in ways they never previously could. And it all started with the Nike Air Jordan 1 sneakers.

But one thing is for certain: Adidas executives should avoid the fifth episode of ESPN’s The Last Dance.

During the fifth installment of the 10-part series, it was revealed that Jordan really did prefer to sign with Adidas over Nike. He loved Adidas’ shoes, but Adidas told Jordan and his representatives that the company couldn’t make a shoe work at the time … they didn’t even offer Jordan (!!!). So, he signed with Nike.

Ouch. That was honestly a company-changing missed opportunity. Adidas’ inability to make a deal work with Jordan opened the door for Nike to become the giant that they currently are in the shoe space.

That revelation deservedly had NBA fans roasting Adidas.

Yeah, that miss is going to hurt. At least Adidas still has, uh, Derrick Rose and Kanye West.

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UGA RB D’Andre Swift signs major endorsement deal ahead of NFL Draft

Per a report, Georgia football RB D’Andre Swift has signed a big-time endorsement deal ahead of the 2020 NFL Draft.

Georgia running back D’Andre Swift is seen by NFL draft analysts as the best best back in this year’s class and should be a first or second round pick in this week’s draft.

Swift is the real deal. He’s easily the most versatile running back in his class and NFL teams have caught on.

And according to Bleacher Report Kicks, so has Nike.

The account tweeted on Tuesday that the former Bulldog and Philadelphia native had signed with Nike. Swift later confirmed the report by retweeting the tweet.

Swift had been rocking the Nike swoosh for three years now during his career at Georgia.

The terms of the deal are yet to be released, but with this endorsement deal and an upcoming NFL contract, Swift’s life is about to be changed forever.

The Swoosh is considering holding …

The Swoosh is considering holding either one or multiple events for all 36 17U EYBL teams in June that would determine seeding for the Peach Jam in July, sources said. The June event(s) could potentially take place at one central location or at multiple regional sites in the East, South, Midwest and West. The June event would not be a qualifier, and would only determine seeding for Peach Jam. “The June event would be about making sure the Peach Jam pools are balanced,” one source said.