People keep saying Nike is greedy and does all this for money. The Nike Regional Cross meet I came back from had to cost a lot of money to put on for such a small amount of elite teams. The meet was first class and the entry fees pretty standard. Nike lost a bundle putting on the meet and my team had a fantastic time.
The national meet they are flying in and putting athletes up for three nights, giving some awesome gear away and giving the athletes memories that will last a life time. 44 teams and 90 athletes. They must be making millions off these high school kids by doing this? Sure.
Nike is getting their name out there by supporting our sport - and hopefully they see it as finacially beneficial to them. I am thankful they are putting the money into running instead of some pro basketball player or football commercials.
Is Nike all about greed? They do support the University of Oregon (as some call Nike U) and made running big there again. They support the U of O more than any other University due to why? Because that one university will make their brand millions more than another University? Alumni support their University - its not all about greed.
The Oregon Track team coaching situation ruffled a bunch of feathers on here. Some may not like how it was done - but they got the job done and turned Oregon into a distance powerhouse again. They dumped alot of money into that - why? That decision must be making them millions. All greed right?
Why do they sponsor almost every distance runner we have? It seems like 80% are wearing a swoosh. Again must make them millions.
Then we get to the high school scene... Nike Cross Nationals, Nike Indoor and Nike Outdoor. All three events are very well done and Nike associated themselves with a group of people very determined to grow track & field in our country. The people at NSSF have done a fantastic job and Nike has made it possible through their finacial support. I hope Nike continues to make those contributions to allow NSSF to do the best job possible.
Some people seem to get sick of what they may see as corporate dominance. I guess Nike likes to compete and win. I guess Nike should stop supporting half the distance athletes they do that will never grace a magazine cover, stop putting money into high school sports (our grass roots), stop putting camps and training groups together to try to help U.S. runners be competitive on the world scene. Stop supporting our national governing body and meets like Pre.
What about Nike bringing over a Kenyan high school contigent to run at Nike Cross the last few years... must be for money.... or could it be to show our best American kids what they are up against.
I personally believe that Nike supports what it believes in and where it came from. Distance running, Track & Field, The University of Oregon, grass roots athletics. The masses running.
My stance on Nike has changed over the years. I don't see them as a greedy, sweatshop labor corporation as I know the shoe industry well. In comparison to their competition they are innovative, inspiring, competitive and fun. Like Brooks but on a bigger stage.
They may force their way into situations but the end result has been pretty good... Galen Rupp, University of Oregon, Olympic Trials in Eugene, high school distance running and track & field overall, Salazar and their training group... has been controversial but all has turned out to be successful and benefitted our sport. Who else is trying as hard as Nike?
We have won five state titles in the last three years (three xc and two track). It is not enough for my team to win their classification. They want to be able to qualify for these national meets and one day hope to make it to Nike cross nationals. They were close this year and an individual from my team will get to go this year. My team is more dedicated and excited about this sport because they are so interested in it. The girls even are more aware of the pro scene and other great programs nationally and want to know what they are doing. Before they couldn't care unless it was a local team. High school running has gotten very exciting! The number of running websites like Flotracker, milesplit network, dyestat and this one have kept the running public up to date and entertained. Nike finacially has made it possible to bring these athletes together and helped make the competitive level go to a new level. Just look at Nike outdoor two mile the last two years.
Many people want to know what Nike gets out of all of this. I am not sure. It is a corporation and the bottom line it needs to make money to survive. I also know I have benefitted as a fan and a high school coach from their support of my sport.
THANKS NIKE!!!!!!