The Olympics have ceased to be a competition between
nations, Starr & Springen of NEWSWEEK write, but more of a battle
between Reebok and Nike, relegating the athletes to "foot
soldiers in the global sneaker wars." Two events have heightened
this battle of the brands, the break-up of the Soviet Union,
which ended the "us-vs.-them prism through which Americans had
long viewed the Olympics," and the formation of the Dream Team,
which acts as a substitute. John Horan, publisher of SPORTING
GOODS INTELLIGENCE: "Now everybody looks at the Olympics as Nike
vs. Reebok. The companies brag about who's going to wear what
when, and the networks go for it hook, line and sinker." Though
most of Reebok's Olympic performers, aside from Shaquille O'Neal,
are foreign, the company has purchased exclusive rights to
advertise athletic footwear on NBC broadcasts while Nike has to
buy time through local affiliates. Nike, however, has more big-
name American athletes wearing its shoes, as well as newly built
Nike Park in Atlanta, which features a retail store, basketball
court, video theater and "best of all, air conditioning." In
addition, Nike has attempted "to plant its swoosh on everything
in sight" including 16 billboards, 10 painted buses and 136
posters in the city's rapid transit system. Nike spokesperson
Tom Feuer: "There's nothing bigger. It's a Super Bowl every
day" (NEWSWEEK, 5/20).
