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43 Things you didn't about your Sneakers!
Reebok almost signed LeBron James to a $75 million-dollar contract, until Nike snatched him up for $90 millions.
Nike did not terminate Kobe Bryant following his arrest for sexual assault in July 2003.
Reebok spent $25 million promoting the Dan vs. Dave decathlon battle.
Diadora has a museum devoted to its history and athletes housed in the basement of its store in Florence, Italy.
Before B.R.S. was renamed Nike, Phil Knight proposed the name Dimension 6.
Carolyn Davidson, the Portland State University graphic design student who designed the Nike swoosh in 1971, was originally paid a fee of $35. In 1983, Nike gave her shares of its stock and a diamond ring featuring the swoosh.
Arthur Ashe, the late tennis star whose name is licensed for a shoe line through Run Athletics, was the first African-American man to win Wimbledon, in 1970. Sadly, apartheid kept him out of the South Africa Open. Don't hate the player, hate the game.
Dee Brown was the first NBA Slam Dunk Champion to wear Reebok Pumps.
Michael Jordan wanted to sign with Adidas in 1984, not Nike. He was a self-described "Adidas nut," and told his agent that if the deal was even close he'd sign with them.
Michael Jordan nearly ended his Nike sponsorship after his first two sneakers. In an attempt to convince MJ of Nike's commitment to him, designer Tinker Hatfield included him in the design process—an unprecedented move at the time. The Jordan III was the first in the line to featurethe Jumpman logo, and it helped convince him to stay.
Jordans are released on Saturdays so that kids don't skip school to get 'em.
Members of the Heaven's Gate cult, which conducted a mass suicide in 1997, died rocking fresh black leather Nike sneakers with a white swoosh, giving new meaning to the term "fresh to death."
Ès and Emerica are divisions of Etnies Sole Technology.
The limited edition New Balance 547s, attributed to graffiti/graphic design legend Haze on eBay, were actually designed by Josh Widcomb. [See p. 25, flip, for Haze's real NBs.]
Nike employed Hunter S. Thompson collaborator Ralph Steadman for the launch of its 180 Air line.
Converse Chuck Taylor All-Stars, first marketed in 1917, are the all-time best-selling sneakers, with total sales nearing 600 million pairs.
In 1980, the branded athletic shoe business was less than $1 billion. Today, industry experts put it at close to $8 billion, not including accessories and clothing.
It took Nike three launches to make its skateboarding line a success.
Known as a California skate company, Etnies actually started in France.
The Beatles felt Nike subverted their "Revolution."
In 1987, Nike used the Beatles song "Revolution" in a commercial after reportedly paying Capitol Records Inc. $250,000 for the North American licensing rights. Apple Records, the Beatles' recording company across the pond, had adamantly opposed the transaction and sued Nike Inc., Capitol Records Inc., EMI Records Inc., and the Wieden+Kennedy advertising agency for $15 million. Capitol-EMI said that Apple director and shareholder Yoko Ono had supported the deal. An out-of-court settlement eventually resolved a tangled web of lawsuits between the Beatles and their American and British record companies, and the terms have been kept secret. In March 1988, Nike stopped airing ads featuring "Revolution." When in doubt, blame Yoko. (JM)
Martina Hingis blamed Sergio Tacchini sneakers, which she endorsed and wore, for her seemingly career ending ankle injury in 2002. She began competing again this year, wearing Adidas.
In 2003, Reebok signed a three-year-old basketball prodigy named Mark Walker. They scooped the youngster after his parents sent in a video of Walker making 18 consecutive free throws on an 8-foot hoop. In a press release Reebok referred to Walker as "short of everything but talent."
In 2005, Air Force 1s accounted for $1 billion in Nike sales, and a profit margin of 70 percent.
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Submitted by Daniel Craig 'James Bond' (21), Takoma Park, Maryland
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