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March Madness 2012 Kicks Analysis #3: Sweet 16

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Historically, Kicks Analysis #3 is reserved for the breakdown of teams and the first 48 victories of March Madness. But really, I don’t know what this stat showed other than a continuation of the distribution of the overall shoe sponsorship. So I’m gonna scrap this one and move on to the shoes worn by the teams who made it to the Sweet Sixteen.

Amazingly, with Nike starting the tournament with a 49 to 12 ratio compared to Adidas wearing teams, the Sweet Sixteen has 7 teams wearing Adidas and 9 teams wearing Nike. From a 76% Nike, 19% Adidas start, it’s now a 56% for Nike’s Rise as One and 44% Adidas’ All In (no representation by Under Armour).

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No Neon Electricity for Baylor

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Baylor has been undefeated in the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament while wearing their neon “Electricity” uniforms and matching adidas adiZero Crazy Light 2. But in their matchup with Kentucky today, they’ll have to wear their black unis to better contrast the Wildcats jersey colors. Not sure if neon electricity looks similar to Kentucky’s blue and white, but I guess both color schemes are on the lighter spectrum.

Gotta give props to Baylor for such a striking (and outlandish) colors scheme. Seems like a trend in the post season and special events (like the NBA All Star game) to go bright and bold with the color choices.

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March Madness 2012 Kicks Analysis #2: Conference Sponsorships

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The selection of teams from the various NCAA conferences has a typical feel year to year.  The Big East has its share of teams (9) and represents all three sneaker sponsorships in the tournament (Nike, Adidas, and Under Armour).  The “biggest” gainer seems to be the West Coast Conference, up from one team in 2011 to three in 2012 (BYU, Gonzaga, and Saint Mary’s).

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March Madness 2012 Kicks Analysis #1: Shoe Sponsorship

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College basketball championships are won or lost by the shoes the team wears. Well, that’s my kicks-slanted theory anyways. And to kick off March Madness 2012, here is the analysis of kicks for the Round of 64.

No surprise that Nike leads the shoe sponsorships claiming 76% of those still dancing in the NCAAs. That 76% equates to 49 teams donning the swoosh. Adidas is represented by a dozen, and newcomer Under Armour has South Florida, Temple, and Loyola (MD) to thank.

Year to year, how has the shoe sponsorships varied? It’s been a Nike-dominated tourney, and yeah, I took a break from analyzing kicks in 2010.

Kicks at Disneyland Are Bright and Bold

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If you’re going to visit Disneyland any time soon, be sure to bring your brightest and boldest pair of shoes you own. Don’t worry, you won’t stick out. In fact, you’ll merely fit in with the rest of the masses.

What did I see during a recent visit to Mickey’s hood? Many Nike running shoes, primarily from the Lunar and the Free family. And like I mentioned, these were bright, but their vibe resonated with the Happiest Place on Earth theme. Of course, Michael Jordan’s jumpman silhouette was easily found from Jumpman-branded shoes to retro Jordans to contemporary Jordans. What surprised me was the plentiful presence of Reebok’s ZigTech. Creative colors combined with the telltale wavy sole make Zigs easy to spot. Bravo to Reebok!

So of course, inspired by these bright and bold kicks, I was in the game to pick up a new pair. And you know there’s a Nike Factory Outlet at the Block at Orange just a few minutes away from Disneyland right? So what do you think happened when I spied some Nike TR Vapor Trainers with Hyperfuse technology? Sure they’re half a size smaller than normal, but at only $50, it was a must buy!

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But Can You Ball in These?

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Check out these new kicks from Adidas. These “shoes” are made to mimic your natural foot (along with some added cushioning) and are supposed to help your overall fitness routine. But can you ball in these? No, since the Adipure Trainers are strictly training shoes. Besides, you’d be laughed off the court if you wore them.

But for fitness training purposes, these are intriguing and have more athletic stylings than the Vibram Five Fingers. For the cost ($90), I think I’d stick with the more traditional kicks like the Nike Free series, but I’m willing to giving these a try.

March Madness 2011 Kicks Analysis #9: The Champ

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Let’s roll it back to 1999. Who was the NCAA Men’s Basketball champion that year? Yep, the UConn Huskies wearing Nikes. How’s the kicks champions looked since then?

  • 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)

Busting out the old calculator, Nike has 11 of the past 13 victories for a 84% win rate. Michigan State’s Reeboks account for 8% along with Kansas’ Adidas for the remaining 8%. So when picking your brackets, play the odds and pick a Nike team as the last one standing. Just do it.

March Madness 2011 Kicks Analysis #8: The Finals

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From the kicks point of view, the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament was over at the Final Four. Nike was guaranteed another Championship with all FF participants donning the swoosh. Still though, there was one last game to be played between the Bulldogs of Butler and the Huskies of Connecticut.  Despite an ugly Finals, the Huskies prevailed wearing their team Nike Air Max Fly By (and an occasional Air Jordan).  As a back story, it was great that both teams played tournaments in Hawaii earlier this year.

Congratulations to UConn for the win, Butler for its run, and Nike for its Air Max Fly By.

March Madness 2011 Kicks Analysis #7: The Final Four

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What a remarkable and unbelievable Final Four this is. No #1 or #2 seed is playing for a National Championship. That is a historical first. We have #11 VCU, #8 Butler, #4 Kentucky, and #3 Connecticut, and all of them belong to Team Nike.

Which Nike Air Max Fly By do you like the best?

Back in 2008 when all #1 seeds met in the Final Four, Adidas was represented by three teams, UCLA Bruins, Memphis Tigers, and Kansas Jayhawks.

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