The fact that someone is saying with a straight face that Adidas, outfitter of some of the world's most iconic sports properties is "Second Rate" is a joke. When the centerpiece of an argument is "Perception is Reality", you know we are in Bizarro World.
Miami cannot take a deal like Alabama, because as we've seen time and time again, our fans will not spend the same kind of money on apparel as a school like Bama, even when times are good. Classic case study is our basketball program when L had it as a consistent Top 25 team, with legit national buzz. Guess what didn't happen? Miami fans did not buy Hoops merch, go back and look at the film of the people at the game, you had a bunch of people walking around in old Nike football gear, old Nike hoops gear from the early 2000s. I'm not joking. I was there to witness it and I still can't make it make sense. I've had those conversations with people in the industry, and they've said to a man "Despite being a national brand, Miami doesn't move merch like they should, and I think it's because the fanbase is pathetically cheap". Even when a school like Alabama is crap, people buy merch, they at least pretend to care. Miami has to be elite for our fans to even consider doing so.
It is silly for a program like Miami, with a small donor base and a fanbase that is amongst the cheapest in major collegiate athletics to take a backloaded deal, and leave money on the table. You know how poor people stay poor? By caring more about perception, than about cold, hard reality. Guess what? Miami is fighting a war out there, against better funded schools that can easily afford to take these garbage deals Nike tosses out, and Miami can't win that war by refusing much needed revenue.
‘Adidas, outfitter of some of the world's most iconic sports properties is "Second Rate" is a joke.’
Literally this made me laugh.
Listen, I could post stats, earnings, excuses made by CEOs for failed sells recently, convos w/ my home girl who’s on Adidas design team, etc etc but I’ve done that too many times on here. Lol. I wanna focus on the gist of what u said, my guy.
U’re right, Miami cannot afford a Bama type deal. That wasn’t the point; my point was language that can actually make money on the back end vs. solely focusing on upfront $.
Miami’s fan base is not cheap, as a matter of fact, I can tell u as someone who grow up on the West Coast, I constantly saw Miami gear. The reason u may see “old Nike gear” is maybe just maybe fans didn’t particularly care for Adidas’ fan gear. Last week I just ran into the parent of an alum out in L.A and he had on a classic Miami Nike Dri Fit hoodie.
I get it, I get it…how could Nike let us leave, and f them, Adidas is paying more. Listen, Richt just clowned us today, OK? We’re behind the times, when we used to be the trendsetters. I listed all of the P5 Adidas teams; they all suck, w/ the exception of TAMU who sucks sometimes. Lol. The school I root for, I don’t want them to be represented by an apparel company who sponsors far & wide sub standard P5 teams & a slew of G5 teams. I want to be repped by the best b/c we’re supposed to be the best. If the best was Puma, let’s go. If the best was Skechers, let’s go.
The Adidas signing, to a lot of ppl, signified the lost of us being The U. There’s swag & there’s fake swag. Lately, we’ve been fake swag, and our sponsor is full of fake swag which is why our players & fans r given orthopedic shoes vs. their top sellers. I told everyone when the signing happens, they will be all over us during the honeymoon period, but if we don’t deliver, I promise we’ll be another Michigan.
They’ve already tried to hoodwink our contractural agreement, bruh! They already almost got us sanctioned! Ppl say, but, but, but Nike gave us horrible jerseys towards the end…well, how bout them Parley joint in the beginning?! Not only were they crooked, but they weren’t even our colors! How bout those off white & forest green soccer jerseys? How bout our U being a V? How bout feathers & Miami scripted in two tone? How bout a f’ing plastic U shield w/ crooked patterns all around it? How bout giving a commuter school our theme when going back to our old home?
Yet, somehow, u guys logically say they treat us good b/c they at least gave us more $. Lol. Oh, and we had to call them out on that, too, but it’s still half of what Louisville is making who happens to be in the ACC!
Adidas is 2nd rate b/c it’s a foreign company trying to get into the American Sports biz, and they are not efficient in doing so. They r second rate b/c most of their designs are copycats & not original. In fact, the boost tech is one their original piece, and had Ye not added it to his first Adidas line, we still wouldn’t know ‘bout it although it’s been around since like 2011-12 b/c it was never marketed properly.
I can go on & on & on & on as to y a school like us should’ve never been married to a company like Adidas. If Blake was competent, he would’ve negotiated the stipulations of the incentive based contract, had for 5 yrs, & flipped it in 2020 when all the big, big money was coming through. But of course, here at Miami, we want the $, w/o putting in the work to earn the $….kinda like my ex wife. Lol.