If you missed yesterday’s championship game, I live tweeted the entire event with my thoughts as South Carolina put on a masterclass in defense and execution.
#NCAAWBB The women’s championship game streaming on Hulu has angles so good it’s like class courtside. The Gamecocks are smashing right now. UConn looks outclassed. It looks like Under Armour will beat Nike tonight. pic.twitter.com/KlMXWrKDKX
— Chris Burns (@archbyccb) Кроссовки баскетбольные under armour
That’s a lot of tweeting, but for the sake of brevity, the exchange between Dee Wells of Obsessive Sneaker Disorder and I was about the sneaker battle between Nike sponsored UConn and Under Armour sponsored national champion South Carolina. Dee stated, “Is Nike playing it safe or neglecting the women’s teams? I think so.”
I responded, “Nah, Nike doesn’t have any heat. Can’t give what you don’t have. I can’t think of a great Nike Basketball drop from this season. Nothing colorful or eye-catching this year.” Which wasn’t a true statement. I’ve stated throughout this year that Nike Basketball had the best basketball drop of the year in the G.T. Series. I even wrote about how two of the three styles in the release have gone on to hit resale numbers:
Yet, when the lights were shining the brightest on the women’s game, Nike went with a muted Navy color palette for UConn and not a pair of the G.T. Series on any of the ladies. The team played in Kyries and some KDs. Both shoes which have underwhelmed at retail and haven’t really made any noise in resale at all. In the 70s there was a show titled “What’s Happening?” about a group of neighborhood friends. In one episode a character named Dwayne was picking winners in NFL games. Everyone thought he had a system. The reality was he picked players based on how cool the uniforms were. In this spotlight event for women’s hoops, with UConn’s golden girl Paige Bueckers, Dee was actually right. Nike outfitted the team for a funeral. Dwayne wouldn’t have picked the Huskies.
Under Armour, however, had the Player of the Year from the Gamecocks, Aliyah Boston who snatched down 16 boards, looking amplified in a contrasting HOVR Havoc 3s: vivid green right sneaker with a popping pink Low sneaker. Coach Dawn Staley, the elite floor general on the women’s Olympic team that helped launch the WNBA, was reborn in her star point guard Destanni Henderson who dropped a major 26pts in a pair of what looked Spawn 2 kicks. The rest of the roster rocked Spawn 1, Breakthru 1, Breakthru 2, Curry 9, and Flow FUTR X, in bright yellow, and of course in contrasting white and black. Under Armour took the moment to elevate the ladies with everything in their arsenal.
Dee was right. In the moment I didn’t think about what Nike had accomplished because Nike hadn’t taken any effort in doing something special. Under Armour understood the assignment. While basketball sales are down, there are moments when the brand becomes something greater than the moment. Henderson rocked a UA headband as she looked like the future star she will be in the WNBA. In that moment she captured the heart of every little girl who dreams of greatness. Nike treated this like it was what they do. Under Armour treated it like it mattered and that’s important to note.