The majority of Nike-sponsored teams in the NCAA Tournament have "donned a T-shirt during the last two weeks bearing the catchphrase 'Always Reppin',' the company’s chosen slogan this March," according to Karen Crouse of the N.Y. TIMES. Nike North America Senior Communications Manager Brian Strong said that a marketing team "came up with 'Always Reppin.'" The phrase "may have been inspired by a Birdman rap song, '4 My Town,' in which Drake sings the lyric 'I’m just repping for my town.'" The shirts are "available for purchase at Nike stores." Iowa State G Deonte Burton "had no problem sharing a motivational slogan with the competition." He said, "Even with the ‘Always Reppin’ it’s customized to the colors of the school, so it brings a different type of pride for each school because different schools represent different things. It’s bigger than the actual slogan." Crouse noted adidas-sponsored Texas A&M during its Sweet 16 game against Oklahoma "had shirts with the company-approved -- and widely copied -- slogan 'Made in March'" (N.Y. TIMES, 3/27). In Chicago, Teddy Greenstein writes "Always Reppin'" is "not a great motto to begin with, but then Nike co-opted it as its slogan for March and forced it upon the teams it sponsors, dooming it to be yet another lame marketing gimmick" (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 3/28). Final Four-bound Oklahoma, Syracuse and Villanova all have worn the "Always Reppin'" shirts throughout the tournament. North Carolina, the final team heading to Houston, has featured Jordan brand shirts with the slogan, "Lock In" (THE DAILY).
DO YOUR OWN THING: ESPN's Jalen Rose said, "If the slogan is going to be 'Always Reppin,' why each team can't have their individual slogan? I don't want to see two teams playing each other with the same slogan." The net's David Jacoby said, "Come up with your own slogan, that's the whole point of a slogan is that it's yours" ("Jalen & Jacoby," ESPN Radio, 3/22).
