Streetball: The Big Picture, Part 3 - A 1UP classic from May 29, 2005

What the Industry is doing right, what the industry is doing wrong. I will not try to vilify the sneaker industry. I will not try and single out one particular company in this article. I will simply try to get my observations out and try and make sense of streetball and the industry contribution to the game.

As I mentioned previously Nike has a history of running grassroots campaigns. Nike sponsors basketball teams of various levels, from high school and college, to summer leagues in major cities and rural communities all over the world. These sponsorships range from new clothes and shoes to donations to help rebuild a gym or open up a league. Each sponsorship could be seen as part of the grassroots campaign.

Other grassroots campaigns could be special advertising seen only in one area or tours and promotional events limited to certain countries. These small-scale campaigns helped make communities feel privileged to be part of something exclusive and also showed them that Nike was aware of their contribution to the sport. Those that participated in sponsored high school teams and summer leagues would remember the presence of Nike. A pro athlete endorsing a product might not have the same purchasing power when compared to a grassroots campaign. These grassroots campaigns that started up as ways to give back to the community also turn into powerful marketing tools.

So all of the companies I will bring up have one thing in common: they are all profit-based. Each is in the business to make money. That is the bottom line. The ways in which they help the street game, the players and neighborhoods varies from company to company. It's impossible to say Nike is bad and AND1 is good based on one or two things, instead we have to look at the bigger picture and see what each company is contributing to the streetball culture.

For example, during 2004 Nike put on a Freestyle Clash campaign in Japan where the best skateboarders, freestyle ballers and freestyle football (soccer) players were invited to do battle and prove they were the best. Nike spent a tremendous amount of money in Osaka and Tokyo doing the promotion. A lot of people attended the events to watch the best in each category go head to hear in a Gong-show format, until one was ultimately crowned the Freestyle King of Japan.

Those that attended also had a chance to buy limited-edition Freestyle products from the Nike store set up at the event. Chances are that Nike didn't even dent the cost of the tournament with proceeds from the store. However in the long run, those that attended the event will be more likely to associate Nike with all things sport, including sub-culture sports like skateboarding and streetball.

It is difficult to really endorse one brand over another just because they do more or less for the street game. There are simply too many things at stake to do that. Instead it is up to each person reading to decide if they can support a product or company based on their history with the game of basketball.

Nike has a long history celebrating both the pro basketball player and the street baller. AND1 as a relative newcomer to the industry has shown some love to the pro and a tremendous amount of love to the street players. Whether the mix tapes were part of a clever grassroots marketing campaign or just dumb luck is still hotly debated. The original mix tapes were given away at select stores for trying or purchasing AND1 shoes. These tapes were released in limited numbers and only those people that kept up on the scene knew anything about them. By word of mouth (and files ending up online and on Kazaa) those tapes exploded.

Very quickly the tapes became part of basketball culture and street culture. The music and fashion of street culture influences pop culture. It would only be a matter of time before everyone in the mainstream US was clued in on the mix tape phenomenon. AND1 ended up creating a demand for something they used to give away for free. AND1 was now in the position to begin selling the tapes in order to meet the demand.

The explosion in mix tape interest caused Nike to reevaluate their grassroots strategy. The Battlegrounds and Freestyle campaigns were two ways for them to try and win back the audience that was buying into the AND1 idea. Nike was not the only company to take notice of the mix tape craze. Reebok moved very quickly to try and establish themselves with street presence.

Instead of signing up streetball legends Reebok began by signing Hip Hop artists. Jay-Z and 50 Cent teamed up with Reebok to create exclusive shoes like the S. Carter Collection by RBK. Reebok then moved into the streetball scene by partnering up with the Entertainers Basketball Classic (EBC) and releasing a DVD promoting the game and "real" basketball. Reebok then followed up the EBC campaign with the "Who Dunit" interactive ads, featuring NBA players in a street setting. The ads hosted clues and a contest that people need a computer and internet connection in order to play. Through these events Reebok showed that they were also interested in streetball as a business venture and culture, by marketing to the different streetball fans, the NBA fan, mix tape fan and even internet clip fan.

The only company that has yet to jump, full-force, on the streetball bandwagon is Adidas. Their basketball shoes and products are very subdued as are their ad campaigns. Recently they signed Tim Duncan (away from Nike) and Kevin Garnett (away from AND 1). Along with Tracy McGrady the other two players are very high-profile and Adidas is possibly banking that when (notice I said when, not if) the mix tape craze dies that they will still be sitting on top of championship-caliber talent.

I hope you aren't waiting for me to give you advice on what products to buy or which company to support because there simply is no easy answer. The world is not black and white, right or wrong, there are infinite shades of gray. There is a fine line between celebrating the history of streetball and exploiting the culture. What was once underground is now mainstream. Who do we have to thank or blame for this?

One of the times I personally take exception with any company is when they try to sell the culture. After all if you wear the right clothes, listen to the right music, buy the latest gadgets and play the hottest games then you are cool, right? It doesn't matter if you know who wrote the music, made the clothes, gadgets and games so long as you buy them. That's the culture we are living in, we know when we've made it based on how many material possessions we own. It doesn't matter if you can ball as long as you dress like a baller. It doesn't matter if you gave yourself a nickname as long as you have one. People are getting sold the culture, and it is the culture that should be fighting to be legitimate. If you can't ball then you shouldn't call yourself a baller. It doesn't matter what you wear, I've seen people in rags and 20-year-old Chuck Taylor All Stars ball better than those with LeBron James gear, and $200 Jordan kicks. If you are about basketball, if that is your passion, then represent the culture. Not buy buying just ball-merchandise, but by playing and becoming more involved with everything basketball related.

I am a very materialistic person. I'm not going to lie and say that I've given up my worldly possessions and is a monk living up in the hills. I am not giving up my computer and internet connection or videogame systems just because some kid in Thailand made the sneakers that I'm wearing for pennies a day. I won't be a hypocrite and tell you to give up something that I haven't. I can tell you that I make my purchases with a lot of things in mind and I try to be an "informed consumer." I try to figure out who is doing the selling and why.

Streetball, true, unhindered streetball is free. It's free of color, brand affiliation and product placement. You can go to any park and play for free. Chances are you can sign up for most summer leagues for free or for a very low cost. You could tie a milk crate to a telephone pole and use it as a basket and roll up some old jeans to use as a basketball. The street game has always been free. It should always be free. So don't pay premium for a free service. Unless you just want to be a fashion statement and not really care about playing.

No one company can claim that they represent streetball to the fullest. The game is older than they are, the legends and courts are older than the companies. Yes, there are some old apparel companies out there that have been around since the start of the NBA, but no company can claim that they were representing the street when the street game started. Those players were seen as the outcasts. The NBA players were supposed to be the elite and best.

Those street legends played regardless. They were heroes in the streets because of what they did on the court. And it used to be cool because only small towns knew the names of these people. Guys that were so great than anyone that saw him play could say "Aww, he could have f-cked up Jordan any day of the week" and not be lying. By word of mouth these names and legends were kept alive. That legacy was celebrated in the community and that history was never lost.

When basketball apparel companies began springing up, especially most recent, and started promoting streetball it should have made you wonder. Where were these companies around when the game was first being played in the parks and playgrounds? These companies that have only been around a summer started promoting the history and tradition of streetball. There is a fine line between celebrating the culture and exploiting it. When companies are getting into the business it's for a profit. They can say whatever they want about history and tradition, but let's be serious. They are all after the same thing, money.

The more the apparel and media companies can exploit the game, the bigger their profit margin. By convincing us that the game is about entertainment now then they make it easier to package and market it. A lot of people watching the game have no time to learn about the roots and history of streetball when they're too busy watching Hot Sauce hypnotize the defense or the Bone Collector drop it between someone's legs. That is the major problem with the mainstream audience. They want to be entertained, they want to be part of something cool or hip, but they don't want to go to the trouble of doing their homework. It's easier to pay for a pair of kicks and a shooting shirt than it is to play a game in the park. By doing that the mainstream audience is losing a connection with the game and what made it so great to begin with. By the same token it's really hard to get mad at companies like AND 1 and Nike.

That sounds crazy right? Not to say that Nike and AND 1 are exploiting streetball? Hear me out though. For everything they are doing now, they still exposed a lot of real ballers and gave kids all over the world new heroes. Without the mix tapes we would have never seen Skip to My Lou and the worldwide mix tape craze would never have happened. Rafer Alston's name would not carry as much weight as it does now if it weren't for the mix tape exposure. A lot of the players for that matter would still only be local legends and not global legends if it weren't for the mix tapes.

Many years from now if you have kids and they get into basketball and ask about who you looked up to what you would say? Who are the legends that made you jump out of your seat and do a double take? What crazy trick or amazing dunk were people talking about days, or years, later? Can you imagine telling these stories to your kid and having them not believe you?

"When you were young you saw some guy named Skip to My Lou bounce it off a defenders head and then cross him over then pass it between another defenders legs to a guy named Main Event for a 360 windmill dunk? Yeah right! Whatever!"

Chances are kids would never believe the things you've seen. But now you have proof. You have the mix tapes to reference, you have DVD's and computer clips to show and prove. The evidence is now here and forever that the players you grew up with were beyond amazing. They were living legends.

For those mix tapes we should be grateful for AND 1, the EBC and Nike. But we always have to remember who the founders were. If Skip, Hot Sauce and the other players are the best of our time, how good were the players in the 80's, 70's and 60's? How good were the ones that went toe-to-toe with Dr. J and Wilt Chamberlain? We have some pics and know some names, the sad part is that we don't have films, video or mix tapes on those players. Nobody ever recorded Earl "the Goat" Manigault Double Dunk. Nobody recorded the battles of Fly Williams or Pee Wee Kirkland. In their days those legends were the Main Events, Skip and Bone Collectors. Today it's hard for us to believe the things they did, just as many years from now people won't believe how great the early mix tape players were.

If you are real about streetball then you have to learn to respect the game and the players. You don't have to like the players, but you should at least respect them. Those that are being used today by the various entertainment industries should be cautioned. There are many big-name streetball players today making a fortune because of the hard work of their forefathers. Many of the old legends ended up penniless, drug addicts living on the street. They should never be forgotten. At least they have earned that.

Did you ever play basketball? Or any basketball video games? Were you a fan of the Mix Tape Tour, or freestyle basketball? Or is this the first time you're hearing about it? Let me know in the comments section please. As always if you would like to sponsor me please visit my Patreon page and consider donating each month, even as little as $1 would help make better blogs and even podcasts!