Maybe Manzano can get a contract from a major shoe manufacturer in Mexico.
http://okespanol.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/6465_18889.jpg
Maybe Manzano can get a contract from a major shoe manufacturer in Mexico.
http://okespanol.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/6465_18889.jpg
Nike sucks.
Buy American. Buy New Balance.
Fam,
I agree with you that Leo is likely clean, but you seem to imply that others are not. Do you have any specific knowledge of drug use in track or are you referring to the all of the thyroid meds that we keep hearing about?
As I'm the richest dude in the world, I'm taking over and sponsoring everyone from now on 'cause I'm a fan.
The heck with the shoe companies.
Waster of time wrote:
Maybe Manzano can get a contract from a major shoe manufacturer in Mexico.
http://okespanol.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/6465_18889.jpg
How big are Leo's feet?? They look abnormally long in that picture considering he is so short.
Lyndon LaRouche wrote:
[quote]
you're not from this planet, are you.
A college football coach manages a team that MAKES MONEY. It also has a lot of visibility. Manzano has neither. He walk down any street and nobody know who he is. Has he thrown out any opening day pitches? he is unknown. Who cares. he is paid to wear their gear. That he has a medal adds nothing to the Nike brand.
Something you (and Nike) might want to keep in mind:
Impressed by the # of @leomanzano fans at #Carlsbad5000. Easily the most swamped athlete post-race. Took photos/signed autographs for all.— Mario Fraioli (@mariofraioli) April 7, 2013
Leo is in fact a very popular track athlete. And he has other options. It's a tough business...and to win, you have to play hardball (because the other side will).
*Fam* wrote:false idealistic expectations created by marketing campaigns.
You mean like Reckless Running?
I'm officially registered to this message board under this name now. I only post under this name- no other. I do not plan to be here very often.
Not humble,
You mean like the time I twitter messaged Christian Hesch to find some fall road races and he got back by telling me he was cheating and about to get outed on it?
Or when well respected and well liked Irish runner Martin Fagan was busted last year.
I've seen other things. But, I can't make comments on circumstantial evidence or I'll get crucified as some who is, "bitter" or "hating" or even worse GASP "jealous".
Top runners can hardly do a thing to curb cheating short of having a picture of a guy inserting a needle. When the guys who make and sell the drugs like Victor Conte say, "you'd have to be an idiot to get caught" then it tells you it is easy to get away with it. I praise USADA and all of their efforts. But, they only have so much funding and resources to keep up. If the GOV had the money I'd say give USADA a big boost.
Bottom line, in all my years racing when you race a guy and he's cheating, you can smell it on him. Not literally, It's an intangible feeling you get. You feel it when you race them and you see it in their mannerisms. It's like a poker tell and just about all elites can read those tells. We knew before many were caught from racing them. It's not an exact science. But, then again Weldon loves his poker and he can likely reaffirm that tells are real.
Motto "Run with reckless abandon and let go of fear, doubt, anxiety, negativity or anything else that holds us back." That sounds pretty darn good to me.
Waster of time wrote:
Maybe Manzano can get a contract from a major shoe manufacturer in Mexico.
http://okespanol.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/6465_18889.jpg
------------------
I bet TACO BELL would be a good sponsor for Leo along with both a large Mexican Flage and a tiny US Flag.
That would be an appropriate logo.
Manzano is a great investment for whatever company. If his deal is seen as some sort of commission, I'd say he is doing his job. Some guys go off into hiding but manzano is always at events, posting on facebook, and he has the manzano mile. He is making money for Nike.
Also, Centrowitz was reported to get 400,000 to 700,000 and Rupp probably is making a million. I don't see why manzano should get less.
*Fam* wrote:
Most importantly
#4 Having started my own apparel company, I can say we were profitable within the first 2 years thanks to runners like you. A guy like me, who hasn't run very well or close to my PBs in two years, let alone an Olympic medalist like Leo, has seen the numbers a running persona can pull for company sales. YES that's right, I've seen both sides of the coin. AND I can tell you a runner like Leo is well worth the coin or whatever he may be asking for.
Really? Are there people who are really going to buy a shoe because Leo Manzano runs in it? I have never made a purchasing decision that way. I am driven by the utility, features, appearance and price point of the product. I am glad the athletes are making money but I have never understand the rationale behind some of these contracts. I follow the sport and I can barely recall which athlete is with which shoe company much more to make a purchasing decision based on that.
Lyndon LaRouche wrote:
facials for everyone wrote:"I realize comparing those two sports is apples to oranges"
Reading isn't your forte, is it?
its apples and apples. there is no difference between football and track. the only difference is profitability. Manzano is not profitable. You know who cares that he won a silver medal? About 5-10k people max, which in marketing terms is meaningless.
so the "principle" you talk of is the same - make money. and Manzano doesn't make any for Nike.
Let's assume that you're right and Manzano doesn't make any money for Nike. Then he didn't make any money for them in the last year or so either and yet they gave him a contract. So either he does make money for them or they had other reasons for signing him and it's hard to think that having silver medal won't enhance whatever value he has to them.
As we all know, the vast majority of running shoes sold are sold to people who don't run and therefore are unlikely to buy their shoe because some guy on the Olympic team wears that shoe. But just as obviously, the shoe companies must see some value in getting "name" athletes into their products because all of the major players do it.
I find it kind of funny that most of you argue Leo Manzano is not a well known athlete and should not fight for a much bigger contract with Nike despite his successes.
He is the most consistent athlete in making US teams for Worlds and the Olympics. He is very active in all aspects and always attending and creating new events to promote running. I am guessing no one here is Hispanic because he is one of the biggest role models for young Hispanic runners throughout this country.
And people buy Jordan, LeBron James, Wade, Chris Paul, Jitter, Griffey Jr. and other people's shoes because they freaking see their role models wear them. Remember when half the damn country that ran xc and track wore the Kennedy spikes because Bob Kennedy's name was on them. Even Alan Webb wore those, and the everyone bought Miler Trainers and spikes because Alan Webb was associated with them. I know I have both pairs sitting in my collection.
If Nike knows better, they have the biggest Hispanic role model in the world in track & field and he is not just a fluke. He has been around for a long time. Centro hasn't lived up to his contract, Leo has exceeded his.
High school kids buy what their role models and superstars wear, whether it be $200 Jordans or $180 spikes.
numiler22 wrote:
I find it kind of funny that most of you argue Leo Manzano is not a well known athlete and should not fight for a much bigger contract with Nike despite his successes.
He is the most consistent athlete in making US teams for Worlds and the Olympics. He is very active in all aspects and always attending and creating new events to promote running. I am guessing no one here is Hispanic because he is one of the biggest role models for young Hispanic runners throughout this country.
And people buy Jordan, LeBron James, Wade, Chris Paul, Jitter, Griffey Jr. and other people's shoes because they freaking see their role models wear them. Remember when half the damn country that ran xc and track wore the Kennedy spikes because Bob Kennedy's name was on them. Even Alan Webb wore those, and the everyone bought Miler Trainers and spikes because Alan Webb was associated with them. I know I have both pairs sitting in my collection.
If Nike knows better, they have the biggest Hispanic role model in the world in track & field and he is not just a fluke. He has been around for a long time. Centro hasn't lived up to his contract, Leo has exceeded his.
High school kids buy what their role models and superstars wear, whether it be $200 Jordans or $180 spikes.
1. Are you kidding??? Leo Manzano has nowhere near the star power or charisma of someone like Michael Jordan.
2. I wore Kennedy's because they were the nicest looking spike. I had never even heard of Bob Kennedy until years after I bought those shoes. Camouflage shoes were just super cool. I suspect that most people buy shoes based on appearance and price like me.
HoHo wrote:
*Fam* wrote:Most importantly
#4 Having started my own apparel company, I can say we were profitable within the first 2 years thanks to runners like you. A guy like me, who hasn't run very well or close to my PBs in two years, let alone an Olympic medalist like Leo, has seen the numbers a running persona can pull for company sales. YES that's right, I've seen both sides of the coin. AND I can tell you a runner like Leo is well worth the coin or whatever he may be asking for.
Really? Are there people who are really going to buy a shoe because Leo Manzano runs in it? I have never made a purchasing decision that way. I am driven by the utility, features, appearance and price point of the product. I am glad the athletes are making money but I have never understand the rationale behind some of these contracts. I follow the sport and I can barely recall which athlete is with which shoe company much more to make a purchasing decision based on that.
I know a lot of kids in the greater Los Angeles area bought the Nike Ventulus 2 track spike because it was the shoe that German wore.
Nike just stole away WR holder and gold medalist Aries Merritt to the tune of $1.4 million a year. To come up with this money in their overall budget Capriotti and Starks had to make some cuts and those came at the expense of dozens of non-Olympian Nike athletes like Yoder and Fleshman as well as the bigger contracts needed such as Montoya and Manzano.
On the issue of how much money Nike makes off an athlete I can tell you not a single Nike athlete in track has ever taken more than they have been given. Distance runners especially who sell far more training shoes than spikes make way more than any of you can imagine.
Professional running needs more contract negotiations because it means there are other players at the table. Its great Nike has given such great support to the sport but for the betterment of the sport we need adidas, New Balance, Oiselle, Sketchers, etc to be able to bid. On top of that we need more overall money in the sport meaning money from sources outside the shoe companies.
The Kennedys you are talking about were not the first, the original Kennedys were track spikes that were so popular and cost $110 in the late 90's early 2000's that Nike created an XC version that sold like crazy for years.
You don't buy shoes because of someone who wore them, ok, but there are millions of youth and young athletes that do. High school and college runners follow runners through all their Facebook, twitter, and blog pages and sites. Parents pay $180 for a pair of spikes for a 14 year old that wants them and he can't even run with the big boys. But guess what, that is who Nike wants as a client, the ones willing to pay that much.
In case you have not noticed, you are on a Leo Manzano thread, which you have read and have spent time to respond. That is free marketing for Leo and Nike, plus those which have mentioned New Balance, Adidas, etc. The more people talk about an athlete, no matter who it is, it is good for a company to back that athlete.
And I bet you have read seen the other thread about Leo running bad at Carlsbad and the lead up to the race mentioning Leo and other athletes. Leo, Leo, Leo. That is what a company wants, whether the talk is bad or good, a name that is everywhere and visible, tag it with your logo because people will see it. Marketing at its best.
I would assume Nike has devised a formula based on return on investment for each and any athlete they sign. They might pay a premium if the athlete shows continued promise or has some special talent outside performance, such as charm and looks, that may reach a larger distribution of the intended market. Yes running is a small sample space, unlike football, golf, bball, etc, but still a place for revenue. Perhaps the methods for selection are not as strict as for the larger revenue departments, and a mistake on the conservative side will not make or break the company. Leo may be a silver medal guy, but his appeal to Mexican American and, Mexicans perhaps makes him a little more special for a sponsor as he might have a larger reach within the intended market .
The secret with track & field sponsorship is getting an army of athletes all wearing the same uniform.
Look at this photo
http://i.imgur.com/5WGiS7t.jpg
The Nike army is out in force. The majority of people couldn't name a single guy in this race but if they watched it they couldn't fail to notice Nike Nike Nike Nike everywhere.
Sponsorship of an individual athlete means barely anything unless it's one of the top dogs. Bolt, Farah, Ennis..
Manzano might hold some influence but he certainly isn't a top dog.
Nike absolutely nailed it with the volt spikes at the Olympics:
