I’m sure most of you have seen it by now. Those tho haven’t can see it on the Nike website.
This is one of the most stunning ads I’ve ever seen. I’m drawn to watch it every time it’s on.
Putting all of these great athletes into sports that they don’t play was a stroke of genius. It really makes you think, too, how things could have turned out.
After all, Lance Armstrong certainly has the emotional toughness and staying power to be a great boxer. Randy Johnson has the control and stability to be a world-class bowler.
Michael Vick and Brian Urlacher as NHL hockey players, Serena Williams as a beach volleyball player, Marion Jones as a gymnast and Andre Agassi as a Red Sox second baseman round out the ad.
This commercial reminds me of something I used to wonder about a lot. Every sport, hell, every discipline, has its superstars, its champions, but what if the “Greatest there ever was” never did?
Cycling is about the only sport I know well, so I’ll use it as an example. The world is a big place, and people have a lot of potential. What if the guy, or gal, with the potential to be absolutely unstoppable, entirely unbeatable, the greatest of all time, bar none, never got on a bike? This person with the genetic potential to humiliate even Eddy Merckx, and would make Lance Armstrong look decidedly weak, just never cared for bicycles, maybe he likes NASCAR instead.
Could the greatest hitter of all time have never picked up a bat but decided to be a mediocre basketball player instead?
I bet Anson Carter, Jarome Inigla, et al would disagree.
As for the commercial: I was very impressed with the special effects as well as the overall concept - it’s a great commercial. And yeah, I mumble "He’s so fcking hot!* every time I see Lance Armstrong - so what?
I see that Gorsnak managed to not only beat me to the punch with his comment but also managed to spell Jarome Iginla’s name correctly. I must’ve checked it about three times before I submitted, to no avail.
I wouldn’t have made the joke if I didn’t know Iginla, Carter et al were in the league and doing very well. And you forgot Hall of Famer Grant Fuhr.
Now then- the second digit on the back of Andre’s Red Sox jersey looks like a 1. Anyone know who that would be? I’m assuming it’s his face superimposed on a real hitter. Like I said, the swing looks familiar.
I think some skills in sports would allow athletes to succeed in other sports. To come back to Agassi again, the reason he returns serve better than anyone else is that he has great reflexes and sees the ball incredibly well. I read an article a while ago where someone compared that to Ted Williams’ vision and suggested both men see better than 20/20. He’s also got very quick wrists. So I’d say he has at least a couple of tools that could have helped him succeed in baseball if that had been his choice.
I think it’s what they were going for in the ad. I alluded to this a little bit in my OP.
Boxing is incredibly grueling, especially for long title bouts. Constantly moving around the ring while simultaneously attacking your opponent and defending yourself is a grind. It requires energy, endurance and mental toughness. There are direct parallels here to bicycling.
I think, if he had chosen to do so, Lance Armstrong could have been a great boxer.
