Meb Signs With Skechers

Nutella1 wrote:

Proof that Meb will do anything for money.

No, I think this is the proof here...

Obamanation of Desolation wrote:

Meb probably actually believed Flagpole's hype (or others like him) about the economy. Should have taken whatever Nike wanted to offer him right away, rather drag things out, trying to get a better deal, as the economy gets worse and worse. Now, he's been schooled on the reality of the Obama Depression.

you nutter.

I cannot believe you folks don't see the real story here. They went to Meb and told him he was going to have to train under AlSal and take PEDs to remain with them. Meb, a devout Christian, balked, so he bailed to Skechers who are going to give him the freedom to train clean but also make shoes for the guy that he wants and not some Nike crap. The Meb trainers will be nothing like the other shoes in the Skechers line. They will be what Air Jordan is to Nike.

asdfasdf wrote:

If you're gonna rip on shoe companies that steal ideas, I hope you never buy Nike gear because they ripped off Onitsuka for years.

Also, Meb is making money, duh. I don't follow his twitter because it's obviously just an advertising venue. I totally support him as an athlete, but I know he's got deals with Sony, UCAN, and now sketchers. Making money, no more, no less. Whoever he runs for, I'm behind him 100% when he races.

Nobody ever referred to the Company as Onitsuka or Onitsuka Tiger (only those that read about the shoes in history books). We just called them Tigers.

Aloha Warrior wrote:

asdfasdf wrote:

If you're gonna rip on shoe companies that steal ideas, I hope you never buy Nike gear because they ripped off Onitsuka for years.

Also, Meb is making money, duh. I don't follow his twitter because it's obviously just an advertising venue. I totally support him as an athlete, but I know he's got deals with Sony, UCAN, and now sketchers. Making money, no more, no less. Whoever he runs for, I'm behind him 100% when he races.

Nobody ever referred to the Company as Onitsuka or Onitsuka Tiger (only those that read about the shoes in history books). We just called them Tigers.

asdfasdf does not know anything about the relationship between onitsuka and blue ribbon sports/nike in the early 1970s.

“SKECHERS' new performance shoes change the way I run for the better,” said Keflezighi. “I've been a heel strike runner my entire life, but I am now wearing SKECHERS to maximize the efficiency of my foot strike. My shoes are my most essential piece of equipment and right now SKECHERS has the footwear I need to succeed. I'm excited to be partnering with this groundbreaking company.”

this was interpreted by Hawi, Meb's brother and manager... the original message read something like this...

$$$$$$$$ $ $$ $$ $ $$ $$$$ $$ $ $$$ $ $$$$$ $ $ $$$$$$$ $ $$ $ $$$$ $$$$$ $ $$$ $ $ $$$ $$$$ $ $$$$$$ $$$$ $$$$ $$$$$ $$$$$ $$$$$ $ $$$$ $$$$ $$$$$ $ $ $$ $ $ $$$ $$$$ $$$$ $$$$$$ $ $$$$ $ $ $$$ $ $$$$ $$ $ $ $ $$$$$ $$$$$ $ $$$$$ $$$$ $$$ $ $ $$$$$$ $$$$ $$$$ $ $$$$ $$$$$$ $$$$ $$$$ $$$$$ $$$$ $$$$$$$ $$$$ $$$$$ $$$$$$ $$$$$ $$$$ $$$ $$$ $$$$$ $$$$$ $$$$$ $$$ $$$

Good for him... I mean, as much as I find this entire thing comical, you can't knock a guy for making dollars and supporting his family... although, I'm curious as to how many of the items in his online store were ever sold... gotta get that Marathon Meb gear!

Salazar considers himself a "devout Christian".

Meb has always had a great public image but this is about money. I doubt Meb will approach any of his best performances again. I do wish him the best in his pursuit.

Thats a load of tosh, Knight was selling Onitsuka as 'Blue Ribbon' in the US, Onitsuka said they wanted to sell under the own name and agree a licensing agreement with Knight, so Knight went to another company and basically ripped off the corsair and called it the cortez... Nike is guilty of this more recently, it ripped off the reebok 3d midsole and used it on its skylon shoes in the late 90's.

dingle wrote:

Supercoug wrote:

No one can question whether he's a true American anymore; Greed is trumping morals and ethics here

Are you suggesting it is immoral and unethical to sign a sponsorship contract with a company that makes bad running shoes? Tell me what your reasoning is please.

As one of the biggest names in U.S. Running, I feel like Meb has a moral responsibility to be an ambassador for the sport. Instead he is basically taking money to help sketchers deceive the public into thinking they make high-quality running shoes. Check out those robotic quotes about how much sketchers shoes will help with his running form and performance. What a joke. Almost every day, someone comes into my running store with an injury sustained from trying to run in sketchers shape-ups or some other crappy model that "they heard was a great running shoe." Meb was one of my heroes, but I've lost a lot of respect for him recently. He will promote anything in order to make a couple bucks. He has turned into a social media spam bot.

I can take his sponsorship from GENUCAN (at least a seemingly worthwhile company with quality people involved with it)... but running with a Sony Walkman, and now running in Skechers shoes?!? He's not gonna be around much longer. I agree his recent actions/tweets/etc. have made me lose respect for him. It's sad.

You're out of your mind. Meb has a responsibility to his family.

Nike has much deeper pockets and a more extensive reach to assume the 'moral' high ground.

Oops.

+1. Nike has the upper hand and final say as to sponsor/match Sketcher's offer. Obviously, they chose to not sponsor their only active men's American top marathoner today. The shame is on Nike for not assuming the "moral" high ground. Meb did the right thing. He ran without a sponsor for 8 months. That is a shame on Nike.

Mebs world ranking at any distance in the last two years ?

You just stated the reason why , 6th at NYC , 5th at Boston how long ago , NYC champ two years ago.

There is a difference in contracts for athletes with a potential to win or not at major events. Meb is past this stage to win big events ( SD 1/2 is not a major )

His new deal is great ! Most at this stage end up with no contact or fraction of what they used to make. Its a solid deal that will promote fitness and Meb , far better than any other shoe deal he could get at this point in his running career.

Agreed! I'm putting my money on him making the Olympic Team. He and Ryan are a safe bet for 2012 Olympics for the Marathon. He finished ahead of Dathan by over a minute in last year's NYC marathon so he is still running well nationally. He was 6th in that same race which wasn't too bad. Just remember, many people said he was done in 2009 and he won on the biggest stage. Time will tell.

check out his latest tweets:

A solid 10 mi run at Shady Rest in my new shoe sponsor @SkechersUSA in the SRR Pro Speed shoe, it definitely helps w/ mid sole strike.

Had my Gen UCAN b4r my run & used my Sony Walkman W series during my run. Time for some PowerBar & Ice bath in the creek now.

I mean, you gotta pay the bills, but this reminds me of that scene in Wayne's World where they're talking about not selling out while decked out in early 90s Reebok stuff and working the label on Pepsi cans into each shot.

Smart Cat wrote:

+1. Nike has the upper hand and final say as to sponsor/match Sketcher's offer. Obviously, they chose to not sponsor their only active men's American top marathoner today. The shame is on Nike for not assuming the "moral" high ground. Meb did the right thing. He ran without a sponsor for 8 months. That is a shame on Nike.

If Meb demanded $10 million over 4 years, would it still be shame on Nike? Obviously the number wasn't that high, but there is some point at which Meb is not worth it. Everyone has to compromise.

I'll be putting a post up about this in a few months time

If he does not over race , stays focused, stays healthy , without question he has a strong shot at making the team.