I would have guessed that she would have gone to Nike like a lot of others I'm assuming guessed.
Either way, I don't think she'll ever be a factor on the world stage in terms of actually winning anything, but I guess this is good for her and New Balance in terms of selling shoes? I guess? Who knows?
I mean, Sydney is going to go down in history as one of the greatest track athletes ever, but does she sell New Balance any shoes? And Parker Valby won't accomplish a fraction of what Sydney has done, but will she sell New Balance shoes? I guess we'll see.
Does New Balance have a "cool" factor? It doesn't feel like it to me. I could have seen her going to On before New Balance, but it's of course her choice.
This is what these people on here don't want to admit. She'll always be a mid pack nonthreatening runner. Kudos to her for swindling the deal but it won't amount to much.
The Cloudsurfer Next, not much like the Cloudsurfer, is quite good for fast intervals, with the low drop, stack, and firmness. (Also a great looking casual shoe in the gray.)
They are also making some fantastic running shoes. I have never been a New Balance gal but I just bought their Fuel Cell Rebel 4 and it is an excellent, comfortable and fast training shoe. I'm sold.
But i wonder, do real runners really care about what elite runners are wearing what shoes? I don't understand why.
NB may, or may not have been the biggest offer. Valby seems very relationship driven, which is probably why this took so long. She wanted to make sure it was the right fit for her. It was stated in the article that Nike let her out of her contract, so she could have signed a while ago if she wanted to. I’m guessing a lot of athletes are so desperate to get signed, they make rash decisions they later regret.
Given her circumstances with training, it was probably really important to her to find the right coach.
I would have guessed that she would have gone to Nike like a lot of others I'm assuming guessed.
Either way, I don't think she'll ever be a factor on the world stage in terms of actually winning anything, but I guess this is good for her and New Balance in terms of selling shoes? I guess? Who knows?
I mean, Sydney is going to go down in history as one of the greatest track athletes ever, but does she sell New Balance any shoes? And Parker Valby won't accomplish a fraction of what Sydney has done, but will she sell New Balance shoes? I guess we'll see.
Does New Balance have a "cool" factor? It doesn't feel like it to me. I could have seen her going to On before New Balance, but it's of course her choice.
This is what these people on here don't want to admit. She'll always be a mid pack nonthreatening runner. Kudos to her for swindling the deal but it won't amount to much.
I am not sure that will end up being true, but even if it is I will still enjoy watching her race just like I do all of the other US women pros that end up being mid pack non threats at world level meets. I do think at US championships she will end up being a front runner. Right now there are only a couple of US women who have been exciting to watch at world meets. Honestly, I am kind of sad that Tuohy and Valby are both in the pros now because college running is a lot more exciting. Outside the US focused meets US womens running is not terribly exciting. Hoping it changes eventually and more women are able to get up there like the men have.
Obviously not the only thing to consider but a decent indicator of global relevance. Valby is a great signing for NB in the US running market but let's not pretend that she is on the same scale as some of their other athletes.
The percentage of people saying "I want to buy that shirt that Shohei is wearing" could be lower than the percentage of people that will say "I want to buy that shirt that Parker is wearing" but the pure volume of people seeing the shirt Ohtani is wearing is magnitudes higher.
Obviously not the only thing to consider but a decent indicator of global relevance. Valby is a great signing for NB in the US running market but let's not pretend that she is on the same scale as some of their other athletes.
The percentage of people saying "I want to buy that shirt that Shohei is wearing" could be lower than the percentage of people that will say "I want to buy that shirt that Parker is wearing" but the pure volume of people seeing the shirt Ohtani is wearing is magnitudes higher.
Engagement not followers. Valby's like counts for a typical post (without 8x tagged huge entities) is 4-10x more than Jamal Murray. That seems crazy given she has 1/8 the followers, but it isn't when you consider Valby fans/track fans care MUCH more about everything Valby does than the 98% of Murray's account followers that is just general NBA/sports fans who follow him as an afterthought.
Obviously not the only thing to consider but a decent indicator of global relevance. Valby is a great signing for NB in the US running market but let's not pretend that she is on the same scale as some of their other athletes.
The percentage of people saying "I want to buy that shirt that Shohei is wearing" could be lower than the percentage of people that will say "I want to buy that shirt that Parker is wearing" but the pure volume of people seeing the shirt Ohtani is wearing is magnitudes higher.
.....and Ohtani is paid a ton more than Valby is (reportedly $800k).
Kyle Valby took her to a father-daughter dance when she was seven, which featured a hula hoop contest for all the daughters. The younger Valby, who had never hula hooped, did not win.
She spent the next two years practicing the hula hoop. “I can hula hoop for hours, to this day,” she said.
This is what these people on here don't want to admit. She'll always be a mid pack nonthreatening runner. Kudos to her for swindling the deal but it won't amount to much.
Ah yes, I can see Valby’s dad twirling the sides of his wide black moustache mischievously as he swindles the NB marketing team members.
I hope Parker has a long, illustrious career (I actually hope that for almost everyone) and my guess is NB has a pretty shrewd assessment of her potential as a track and road athlete and as a brand ambassador. I’d guess they know a hell of a lot more about what they’re doing than you do.
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