Hoop Dream

The article about Nike pretty much summed up a lot of elements related with what I learned in the "Sport and Society" class here at Rollins. That class deals with the sociological aspect behind sport and there was a lot of time devoted to discussing Nike and how it effects sports. Nike has used a lot of African American athletes in their campaigns. Michael Jordan, Serena Williams, Tiger Woods, and Lebron James, Dwyane Wade and Terrell Owens to name a few. Most of the African American athletes being sponsored are associated with the NBA, predominately due to the demographics behind the NBA. I'd imagine they do this to appeal to African Americans, and the slogan "Just do it" gives a call to action to buy the product they are advertising.

I talked a little bit about this in my paper about the identity of Sports stars in ads. Nike gives this image of a way to rise out of the low class conditions and become an amazing athlete by buying the latest and greatest Nike shoes. I talked a little bit about how they are portraying Gatorade in that way in my paper.

It is ridiculous that some sports players are payed more by their sponsorships than what they make in the sport, which is more evident in Golf than most other sports. This excess in sponsorship from Nike and other companies ties into the political economy theory that we learned about earlier. Nike is almost a monopoly of a sports, they are the worlds leading supplier in sportswear and apparel. Their advertisements make them seem like they are the best company and when they use these athletes in the advertisements it creates the feeling that an aspiring athlete has to associate oneself with Nike to be successful.