There is a memorable scene in "Jerry McGuire" where Rod Tidwell (Cuba Gooding Jr.) tests Jerry's (Tom Cruise) resolve through a very long telephone conversation, which culminates in the famous "Show Me the Money!" telephone yelling match between Rod and Jerry. Among other things, this scene effectively depicts how sport became so full of money.
Barbara Smit's book " Pitch Invasion"(also published as Sneaker Wars) is the amazing story of how the rivalry between two brothers Adi and Rudi Dassler turned sport into an industry. Adi and Rudi Dassler started a shoe business in a small German town in 1920s, which was an instant success, but soon rivalries began to pull the two brothers apart, and by the end of the Second World War it was outright warfare. Forced to split the company between them, Adi and Rudi not only split their family and their hometown, but went on to divide retailers, sportsmen and countries for the next five decades with their rival brands: Adidas and Puma.
Today, Adidas and Puma are two of the biggest global brands, paying stars, clubs and competitions to wear their label, dominating everywhere from football pitches to magazine pages. Pitch Invasion charts the story of how Addidas and Puma revolutionized the world of sport - exploiting advertising, influencing fashions and following the money at every turn.
"Pitch Invasion" also has interesting tales of some of the greatest controversies and sportsmen :
The Black Salute - At the 1968 Olympic games at Mexico, Tommie Smith (winner of 200m) and John Calros, made a stand for the rights of black Americans by standing on the podium in black socks, with black scarves draped around their necks. As the American Anthem was sounded, they dropped their heads and each raised their fists which were covered in a back glove. This gesture shocked the established and Smith was banned from atheletics. Apart from his political commitment, Smith also kept his sponspors in mind,as he had laid down a single Puma spike carefully on the podium.
The Pele pact - As part of a peace agreement between Adidas and Puma, they agreed to stay away from a bidding war for Pele's sponsorship. Due to this pact, at the begining of 1974 World Cup, one of the greatest players was without a contract. But, Puma could not resist in the end and Pele gave his name to several Puma products. This event further escalated the rivalry between Adidas and Puma.
There are also interesting tidbits about Addias and the Ali Shuffle, Boris Becker's unfortunate contribution to the decline of Puma, about how FIFA and IOC courted sponsors and the wheelings and dealings in the world of sports.
The Pele pact - As part of a peace agreement between Adidas and Puma, they agreed to stay away from a bidding war for Pele's sponsorship. Due to this pact, at the begining of 1974 World Cup, one of the greatest players was without a contract. But, Puma could not resist in the end and Pele gave his name to several Puma products. This event further escalated the rivalry between Adidas and Puma.
There are also interesting tidbits about Addias and the Ali Shuffle, Boris Becker's unfortunate contribution to the decline of Puma, about how FIFA and IOC courted sponsors and the wheelings and dealings in the world of sports.
A very interesting book, which not only captures the raise of money power in sports but also details events like the Second World War, Olympic movement and the Soccer World Cups through the years.
No comments:
Post a Comment