This one comes direct from the June 13 Sports Illustrated article on And1, a basketball shoe company that has become famous for guerrilla marketing, using highlight videos of street basketball players. I’ll just quote it:
I don’t want to wear their shoes, which is good because although I’m a casual basketball fan I’m no hoophead, and likely too old to be cool enough to understand it anyway.
So what does And1 mean, young and cool Dopers? Somehow I doubt it refers to one-and-one foul shots.
Since they are a basketball only company that likes to exude “attitude”, I can’t imagine it means anything other than the single freethrow you get after being fouled but making the basket anyway.
Additional notes, in case you’re not a fan of the sport.
You’ll usually only hear “and one (1)” from a color announcer, immediately after the shot when the ref calls the foul (assuming the basket is made), where it represents the number of free throws, and every once in a while after said free throw is made, where it represents number of points. It’s basically shorthanded for “2 points… and 1”. When the player steps up to the line to actually shoot this free-throw, it’s a lot more likely to be call an “old-school” or “old-fashioned” three-pointer.
DMC has it. AND1 just comes from the usual phrase associated with getting fouled, making the shot, then getting a free throw.
Ah, arrogance. That’ll sell a lot of shoes. :rolleyes:
You also hear this a lot in pickup games with no ref like a three-on-three blacktop game. A player will yell “and 1” when he thinks he was fouled on the shot. Since most of these games are pretty confrontational anyway, the “and 1” is frequently the intro to an argument about who is a cheap-shot-throwing no-talent hack and who is too weak to play a man’s game. Hence the attitude.
Of course it does, because their basic strategy is to say “the millionare pretty boys in the NBA wear Nike and Adidas, but the real ballers wear and1.” It’s a great way to appeal to their target market – young males – and it is obviously working. The company is featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated this week – not just a first, but an incredible marketing coup.
I just have to ask, what is a color announcer?
A color announcer or ‘color man’ is also known as an analyst. Sports broadcasting typically involves a play-by-play announcer and one or more analysts who provide commentary, statistics, etc but do not have the job of saying what’s happening in the game.
Color men are sometimes people of color, but that’s not where the name comes from.
Ah, the brilliant marketing strategy not seen since “If you can find similar products (I don’t remember what it was for) cheaper somewhere else, buy them!”
Um, gee, thanks for the tip… those ads didn’t last long.
IMO, it would be pretty strange for anyone in the market for basketball shoes not to know what ‘and one’ means.
I did say I was only a casual fan. 
Thanks, everyone - and apparently their arrogance *does * sell a lot of shoes.
'tude sells dude
I can’t imagine there’s anything novel about this. Haute couture prides itself on this mantra. Fashionistas have been priding themselves on exclusivity for centuries.
The only interesting aspect is that the tactic has been adopted by a athletic shoe company instead of the typical “name” designers.
Until the pro ballers start to wear them and then everybody will start wearing them. The manufacturers will get rich and think another way to convince people to pay too much for their product, etc.
Thats a textbook description of capitalism. Hell of a system.
I actually own a pair of And1 shoes.
I don’t play basketball, and i had never even heard of the brand, but a couple of years ago i had just bought myself a new pair of running shoes when i happened to see this pair of rather cool black and red shoes reduced from $80 to $20.
I needed a pair of sneakers to wear around, so i grabbed them. They’re not basketball-style high-tops or anything, and they’re pretty comfortable to walk around in.
Lots of pro baller wear them – the SI piece said they ranked second to Nike in the number of NBA players who were paid endorsers. The point is that they are targeting a certain type of NBA player (ie, guys with what might be called “attitude”). They hope to attract a similar type of consumer, or at least people who want to develop that image.