After 27,396 attended a sold-out Portland Civic Stadium
on Sunday to see the U.S. National Team defeat Costa Rica in
a World Cup qualifying match, U.S. Soccer Federation Exec
Dir Hank Steinbrecher "raved" about the Portland crowd,
according to Jim Lynch of the Portland OREGONIAN.
Steinbrecher: "This crowd is the best American crowd we've
ever had. Portland just rolled out for us" (Portland
OREGONIAN, 9/8). Lynch wrote that Nike, "the bold, new rich
kid in the soccer business, is the main reason" the match
was played in Portland, and bringing the "world class soccer
match to its hometown is Nike's latest coup in its expensive
... plunge" into soccer. But Nike's "sudden emergence has
brought a culture clash to the soccer world, pitting the
purist traditional value of Adidas against the new blood of
Nike." Doug Hamilton, adidas Soccer Business Manager: "The
way they're doing it isn't original. They just have the
money to pull it off." Nike spokesperson Antonio Tijerino:
"They have to be looking over their shoulders. We're coming
at everybody." Industry analysts estimate that adidas holds
anywhere from 25-40% of the world's soccer shoe/apparel
business, with Nike at 9-15%, behind Umbro (OREGONIAN, 9/8).
ABC's overnight rating was a 1.6/3 share (THE DAILY).
