Money for nothing (Webb)

Well he hasn't run any "great" races since Prefontaine. Has he?

one great race is right...and a few good ones

Paul Fireman is the CEO of Reebok, I seiously doubt that it's him posting on this board.Interesting topic as many athletes are changing sponsors right now. Maurice Green going from Nike to Adidas, for one. I also read that Kobe Bryant won't be wearing Adidas anymore.Perhaps Kobe wanted more than Adidas was willing to pay.I don't really think that Adidas is in a position to offer nearly as much as Nike is.Nike has the upper hand here, as Webb was wearing Nikes when he broke the record and continues to wear Nike. He has already shown his preference.Do you know that Michael Jordan really wanted to sign with Adidas over Nike in the first place, but Nike made him a better offer (including naming a shoe after him)? Everyone has their preferences as far as which brand of shoes they like to train in, but money talks.Nike just has far more of it to talk with.As far as the guy who used to work in the shoe store who said that "People were bringing in shoes all of the time with popped air pockets"-It happens, it IS an air pocket.Never gotten a flat tire? I too, used to work at a shoe store and I can say hands down that Nike had the best return policy in the industry. They will take a shoe back and not give you a bunch of shit about it. If you call them first,they'll even send you a pre-paid return label for shipping them back.They have put more money into technology and R & D than any other company. They're trying to find out what works and what doesn't, and maybe we all can benefit from their findings. If I was Webb, I would sign with Nike in a heartbeat.He may have stayed in school and won NCAA championships, but for $ 250,000 a year, he'll have a nice head start in life.

$250K isn't too much, although it is a lot. I have a teammate who went pro and didn't get 6 figures and he's a lock for an Olympic medal in 2004. But let's be honest, it's about marketability. The mile, along with the 100m are the "sexy" events in track. Savante Stringfellow got 100k for 3 years. He's won a WC Silver and a couple of USATF outdoor titles. But can anyone tell you what his PR is in the LJ? How about the HJ? Not many can, but there are lots of people who know what Webb's mile PR is as well as his 800m PR, 2 mile indoor PR and 10k XC PR. Webb is an engaging athlete. I'd say he's worth 250k for 3 years, but after that he'd have to prove himself.

Nikeman wrote:

Paul Fireman is the CEO of Reebok, I seiously doubt that it's him posting on this board.

As far as the guy who used to work in the shoe store who said that "People were bringing in shoes all of the time with popped air pockets"-It happens, it IS an air pocket. They have put more money into technology and R & D than any other company. They're trying to find out what works and what doesn't, and maybe we all can benefit from their findings.

Jeez, I was wondering if anyone would pick up on my choice of screen name. Agreed that Webb should sign on the dotted line, yesterday, if those rumored details are true. You can't blame a guy for taking a shitload of green, even if he doesn't deserve it.

As for Nike's shoes, what exactly is the purpose of having a visible, exposed air pocket? I think I just answered my own question--when it's visible, you can see that there's actually a balloon you're stepping on, and not just some boring-looking hunk of foam. Ooh, how cool! How sexy! How style over substance, emblematic of Nike's MO for years now. There's no way you can convince me a big honking visible balloon has a practical justification. Nike's better efforts are shoes like the Air Skylon, which as I've opined previously, is a straight rip from one of Reebok's few noteworthy shoes, that being the Electrolyte. Smart tactics, co-opting the good ideas of other companies.

Do we have Nike's R+D's efforts to thank for the abomination that is the "Shox" cushioning system? You should have heard my podiatrist go off on that steaming pile of crap masquerading as a running shoe.

P.S. the real Paul Fireman is too busy counting his $ to be posting here. The fat greedy bastard.