Addiction

It’s all wins for Adidas, and the victory for Adidas was already determined before the actual game as both Louisville and Michigan were decked out in Adidas gear.

Even with its NBA pedigree and support from Kate Upton, the Wolverines couldn’t hold off the talented and relentless Cardinal squad. Props to Louisville and their Adidas camo uniforms.

Going back to 1999, the championship kicksology looks like:

• 1999 Connecticut (Nike)
• 2000 Michigan State (Reebok Answers)
• 2001 Duke (Nike)
• 2002 Maryland (Nike Shox Stunners)
• 2003 Syracuse (Nike Shox)
• 2004 Connecticut (Nike Lebron Zoom Generation and Air Force Operates)
• 2005 North Carolina (Nike Retro Jordan X)
• 2006 Florida (Nike)
• 2007 Florida (Nike)
• 2008 Kansas (Adidas)
• 2009 North Carolina (Nike)
• 2010 Duke (Nike)
• 2011 Connecticut (Nike)
• 2012 Kentucky (Nike)
• 2013 Louisville (Adidas)

From these 15 years, the championship score is 1 for Reebok, 2 for Adidas, and 12 for Nike.

And of course, the obligatory One Shining Moment.

From a sneaker perspective, it is over. Adidas has done it again, beating the odds. Representing 20% of the teams in the field of 64, Adidas now represents 100% of the 2013 Finalists with both Michigan and Louisville playing for the championship.

Talk about “All in for March,” Adidas got it right with their teams all in for the championship.

It’s deja vu all over again. Like in 2012, the odds highly favored Nike, yet the Final Four yielded a tie with two teams each representing Nike and Adidas.

The same has happened in 2013. Starting with three quarters of all the teams wearing Nike, the Final Four comes down to Wichita St. and Syracuse representing Nike and Louisville and Michigan wearing Adidas.

Can Adidas and their camo-based looks prevail?

Continuing the trend of bright and bold team colors of 2012, twenty thirteen also mixed in retro kicks, primarily from a guy named Jordan. Overall, I like the chance Adidas took with their camo-based unis. I particularly thought the mint green of Notre Dame was something you had to stare at (for good or bad). Here’s the matching Crazy Fast in Green Zest.

Miami rocked crazy colors with no one team shoe.

And if your team colors happen to match that of the Chicago Bulls, it’s BRED all day baby!

The 2013 Sweet 16 featured 11 Nike teams, 4 Adidas team, and one sole Under Armour team. The Elite 8 numbers go 6 Nike and 2 Adidas.

Seed, Team, Shoe
1, Louisville, Adidas
2, Duke, Nike
9, Wichita St., Nike
2, Ohio St., Nike
4, Michigan, Adidas
3, Florida, Nike
4, Syracuse, Nike
3, Marquette, Nike

Adidas is represented by the sole and overall number one seed Louisville so there’s a good chance the three stripes will beat the swoosh-y odds.

This year’s Sweet 16 looks like this:

1. Louisville, Adidas
2. Oregon, Nike
3. Michigan St., Nike
4. Duke, Nike
5. Wichita St., Nike
6. La Salle, Under Armour
7. Arizona, Nike
8. Ohio St., Nike
9. Kansas, Adidas
10. Michigan, Adidas
11. Florida, Nike
12. Florida Gulf Coast, Nike
13. Indiana, Adidas
14. Syracuse, Nike
15. Marquette, Nike
16. Miami (FL), Nike

And the kicksy math comes out to 25% to Adidas, 6% to Under Armour, and therefore, 69% to Nike. This somewhat mirrors the original distribution of 20% to Adidas, 5% to Under Armour, and 75% to Nike.

Nike doesn’t seem to be making a large advertisement push for the tournament. Adidas has their All In for March motto along with their camo uniforms which I’m digging.

The West and the South Regionals have the most tumultuous results with many underdog pulling off upsets. Must be the presence of Under Armour kicks? Or maybe not.

Not much I can discern from these regional sponsorships other than I may have to change out this kicks analysis next year.

Even though three quarters of the teams in the tournament are wearing Nike’s swoosh, the top seeds in each region show a different trend. Three of the four top seeds wear Adidas. Now that’s representing the three stripes of Adidas, Louisville, Kansas, and Indiana! Gonzaga was the sole Swoosher at Number 1, and the Bulldogs have already been eliminated. So if one of the other top seeds prevail then Adidas can add another championship to their brand.

In 2013, Nike has a lock of 5 seeds – #2, #3, #12, #15, and #16. Adidas nor Under Armour have any locks this year. In 2012, Nike also had five locks, and Adidas had one at #4.

Okay, with all the changes to the conferences over time, I can’t recall who’s where anymore, and more changes are coming. But year after year, the Big East and the Big Ten continue to be the perennial powerhouse conferences with 8 and 7 teams respectively in 2013. Is it true that the Pac-12 only had one team in 2012 but five this year? Granted the Pac-12 teams aren’t highly seeded, but UCLA (#6 South), Arizona (#6 West), Colorado (#10 East), Oregon (#12 Midwest), and California (#12 East) have the third highest conference representation, tied with the Atlantic-10 and Big 12.