AD AGE's Ann-Christine Diaz noted Nike has "introduced a lighthearted element" to the “It’s Only Crazy Until You Do It" campaign. An animated series called “The Dreamers” featuring young versions of Suns G Devin Booker, 76ers G Ben Simmons and Pelicans C Anthony Davis "follows how today’s basketball stars were once just young hopefuls -- but their hard work eventually transported them from fantasy land onto the professionals courts" (ADAGE.com, 11/2).
SHOE GAME: Nets G Spencer Dinwiddie last night paid tribute to Allen Iverson with his shoes, which were "custom tailored with the legendary 'we talkin’ bout practice' rant scrawled across the top and a depiction of Iverson on the sides." The shoes are "part of Dinwiddie’s custom sneaker company, K8IROS, which employs a special type of foam called KronoFoam." The Iverson shoes are "part of a line of custom-designed kicks that Dinwiddie has worn to different games each season to pay tribute to various members of the NBA community, greater athletics, the media and beyond." After he "wears the game shoe, they are auctioned off on his website" (NBCSPORTSPHILADELPHIA.com, 11/4).
LOSING GROUND: ProSports Sponsors ETF (FANZ), which "tracks the ProSports Sponsors index, a basket of companies that are official corporate sponsors" of either the NFL, NHL, NBA or MLB, found that the $6.8M fund, which was "up about 6% for 2018 going into October, is now down 1.08% year-to-date." FANZ Founder & Principal Nick Fullerton said that the index "includes just over 70 stocks" and that the "consumer firms in the index have been relatively weak, and FANZ took a hit from choppy markets in October" (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 11/5).
