Sneaker Culture
The only thing that has dominated basketball more than Jordan is his shoes. Air Jordan became iconic, and so did his sneakers. His shoes have even transcended athletics and become a part of fashion, a sign of prestige. As Nike and Jordan continue their ascent into high fashion, their credibility on the court plummets. Their focus has shifted from making the best shoes for athletes to making the most stylish shoes for fans. Don’t believe me, just ask Zion Williamson, the new face of Nike and perhaps someday the league, his signature Nike’s lasted all of 5 minutes before he exploded out of them. While Puma might not have the cachet to compete with Nike as the casual wear around basketball shoe it can supplant them as the shoe of the athlete. By returning to basketball’s roots we can deliver a shoe that real players desire without sacrificing style.
What does it take to be great?
Sports culture has become obsessed with being the greatest, with declaring who the greatest is but, through this obsession we lost what it takes to become great. We focus on the highlights, the accolades, the gaudy stats but we forget that these aren’t what make them great, what separates them from average. It is their passion and love that separates them, that makes them great. Behind every great player is great passion for the game, for improvement. When they first started out it wasn’t always easy. It was a struggle, a grind; it took early morning workouts, nights spent training in the gym instead of out with friends. It wasn't always fun, but improving was always worth it. They understood that it wasn’t their physical traits that would make them great, it was practice. Sports are a craft, something to be worked at, to be mastered. When they go out and play they aren’t competing, they are performing, showcasing their skills. Skills developed in the image of the greats before them, finished with their own personal touch.
Competition is at the heart of sports. It is what drives us, motivates us to push further, and ultimately it is what humbles us. Competition breeds the pursuit for greatness, the unwavering and unconquerable desire to be the best possible. It wills us to overcome odds and adversity, but it doesn’t reward us. Winning doesn’t build reputations, it validates them. Trophies and banners don’t represent success they represent work, sacrifice and dedication. They are the culmination of hours, sweat, and pain put into the game, put into the craft. It is easy to get lost in the moment, sacrifice tomorrow for a victory today, but winning isn’t the goal. The goal is to be the best version of ourselves every day, to be great. Winning is easy, it can be bought or stolen, but greatness is earned. Those whose sole purpose is winning have forgotten that when we first fell in love with the game we didn’t fall in love with the scoreboard, we fell in love with the craft.
Our love for the game runs deeper than competition, take away the fans and the stakes and we still have something to play for. Our desire to play, to showcase our talent still remains. That is because we fell in love with the game. We fell in love with crossovers, broken ankles, dunks and swishes. With steals, fast breaks and blocked shots. It wasn’t shaking our opponent’s hand after a game that drew us back to the court, it was shaking defenders. Our love and passion for the game lives long after our playing days are over, and if we worked hard enough our game will live long past us.
The shoe that works as hard as you.
When did basketball shoes become part of high fashion? When did our shoes become the flashiest part of our games? Maybe we aren’t the shoe that you want to wear off the court, but we are the shoe you want to wear on it.
New to the game, not the work.
Success is achieved through the wisdom gained from the lessons of our failures. New experiences bring new challenges. Those who have succeeded before know they are bound to do so again, no matter how ugly the start is.
Greatness starts in the mind.
The greatest athletes have one thing in common, vision. Vision of their potential, vision of success through hard work. It is what helps push them through the hard times, allows them to see through the weeds, and what keeps them hungry during the good. Ultimately, vision is what separates good from great.
Make impossible routine.
The sign of true mastery is the ability to execute a highly difficult task with seemingly no effort. In order for the complex to be made simple, each component must be understood. The skills are nuanced, the execution graceful. The untrained eye might call it luck others call it skill.
