Even though I played soccer from 1st through 10th grades, I’ve never been a rabid fan of the Beautiful Game. But I appreciate a lot about it: the stamina, the athleticism, the amazing goals…and maybe most of all, the fans.
One of the best sporting events I ever attended was at Highbury a few years ago to see Arsenal play. The energy in that stadium rivaled the old Chicago Stadium during the playoffs…and this was an early, regular season game. The drum beats made my heart pound, and the chanting made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up, even though I couldn’t understand what they hell they were saying.
But what I could understand was the passion, the commitment, the involvement of those fans with their team. I may not concede that soccer is the best sport in the world, but it’s hard to argue that the fans rule.
Nike has taken advantage of that incomparable fan passion to create a soccer spot that I not only understand, but love. It features lovers and haters of futbol phenom Ronaldo.
Could they have done this with any single American athlete? Doubtful. To engender a massive amount of heartfelt passion, you need to start with something that a lot of people are very passionate about, and I’m not sure any American athlete would qualify. Except maybe David Beckham.
Waitasec. He’s not…ah, never mind.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment