Michael Jordan Can't Match Air Obama's Appeal:
Commentary by Scott Soshnick
Nov. 12 (Bloomberg) -- The e-mail arrived first thing Monday morning. Converse, which is owned by Nike Inc., added another jock -- this time Elton Brand of the Philadelphia 76ers -- to its portfolio of endorsers.
Converse says it valued Brand for more than just his on- court abilities. Off-court sensibilities mattered, too.
``His work ethic, leadership, consistency and commitment to the community make him a great addition,'' said Geoff Cottrill, chief marketing officer for Converse.
Those qualities are, in a post-election world, suddenly fashionable.
This watershed moment is an opportunity for Nike, which has already produced one global hoops icon, to perhaps sign its most meaningful endorsement contract yet. This weekend warrior would be more influential than Michael Jordan, who, funny enough, remained apolitical for fear of alienating potential customers.
There's a basketball player without a shoe deal out there who comes with an adoring global fan base that hangs on his every syllable. This left-hander with a so-so jump shot awes fans with smarts, not skills. He can't dunk. And yet, he can inspire.
Barack Obama has the disenfranchised believing again.
The president-elect has touched kids like Darius Turner, a football player at Dorsey High School in South Los Angeles, where there's newfound hope in hallways filled by a student body that's 57 percent black and 43 percent Hispanic.
There's a realization of another way out, one that doesn't include gangs, athletics or entertainment.
``Kobe doesn't have to be everybody's role model anymore,'' Turner told the Los Angeles Times.
Greatest Gift
Plenty of smart people have weighed in on Obama's potential effect on the sports world. Turner's take is best.
Obama's greatest gift is brains, not brawn. Kids see that. They want to emulate it. Far too many grow up with the notion that the library is no place for them.
Too many kids operate -- still -- under the misguided impression of life as the next big sports star. They scoff when told of having a better chance to become a brain surgeon.
Forget the Air Jordan. Let's get kids hooked on Air Obama. Nike also owns the Cole Haan brand, which is about suits, not sweatpants. Shoes, not sneakers.
``Kids, all they see, are sports stars and musicians, those whose pants sag,'' says George Bartleson, the principal at Dorsey High School. ``My pants do not sag. I have a suit and a tie. We have role models right here in the community.''
The allure of sport will never fade. That's OK. So long as there's a recognition of viable options. Smart and eloquent, the kids are learning, can be cool, too.
Sending a Message
That's the message of what the principal has dubbed ``Motivated Men,'' a group of retired or still-working volunteers assembled by Bartleson to speak with students about opportunity. Among them is actor Edward James Olmos, who received an Oscar nomination for his portrayal of math teacher Jaime Escalante in the 1988 film ``Stand and Deliver.''
``We're trying to constantly hit the message that you don't have to be the athlete to be successful,'' Bartleson said. ``There are other avenues.''
Maybe, just maybe, now there's a kid wanting to become not the next Kobe Bryant, but the next Steve Mills, who used basketball to get a Princeton education and who now is the president of business operations for Madison Square Garden's sports teams.
Obama, Mills says, is a tangible reminder that those who aren't good enough to play for the Knicks have someplace to go, something to do.
``Barack is going to expose that thought process,'' Mills said.
Why Obama
Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban voted for Obama, even though he disagrees with much of his economic program. Why vote for him, then?
``Simple,'' Cuban says. ``Having elected a black president will do more to energize this country than any economic or social policy ever could. In a single day of voting, our amazing country has reinvigorated the dream that any child, no matter what circumstances they are born into, can grow up to be anything they want, including president.''
The skeptics out there will say that one man, even with the pulpit of the presidency, can only do so much, that kids require daily reinforcement of the message. That it must be a grass- roots movement, fueled by parents and teachers and communities. Fair enough.
First and foremost, though, there must exist a willingness to listen, learn and believe.
First Time
Richard Calton is the founder of HarlemLive, a journalism program aimed at empowering children through media and technology. He says things are different in his neighborhood since Election Day.
Read the program's blog, where one of the students wrote about his election night experience.
``For the first time in my whole life I felt a change in everything,'' said the author, who voted for the first time. ``Now I and other African-Americans have no reason to believe we can't succeed. If Obama can do it, so can we.''
Attach that to an Obama-endorsed line of dress shoes and suits.
Sorta like Just Do It. Only better.
(Scott Soshnick is a Bloomberg News columnist. The opinions expressed are his own.)
To contact the writer of this column: Scott Soshnick in New York at ssoshnick@bloomberg.net
Last Updated: November 12, 2008 00:03 EST |
