The student newspaper of, by, and for Ames High School.

The WEB

39°
The student newspaper of, by, and for Ames High School.

The WEB

The student newspaper of, by, and for Ames High School.

The WEB

Alll day I dream about sports, winged goddesses, and pumas

The marketability of sports today is unprecedented, and the competition is intense. Though you may search for a way to hop bandwagons between sporting brands, you will develop an allegiance to a select few brands. Before this becomes your identity, you should make some careful considerations considering the origins and functions of each brand. That said, this article will serve as a helpful beginner’s brochure to the sporting merchandise world; its value ranks second in usefulness only to Kaiba’s Blue-eyes starter deck, and everyone knows that nothing is more useful than that. Adidas If you’ve eliminated Adidas products from your list of consideration, you’re not alone. But you may want to take another look if you want to be like junior baller and all-around cool guy Kyle Rogers, who purchases from Adidas. "Adidas is the unsung hero," he said, "Not a lot of people know about it and that’s why I wear it." This gives you two ways to be like "Krogers": either buy Adidas or find something more obscure to wear. Asics Cool companies have names that are acronyms. Way cool companies have names that are acronyms in other languages. Supercool companies have names that are acronyms in Latin. Asics stands for "Anima sana in corpore sano", which translates roughly to, "A sound mind in a sound body". Give Asics a try; your body will feel sounder than ever before. Nike A Greek goddess, a couple of track and field legends, and a guy working out of the trunk of his car. Could a company be better? Perhaps. Many find that Nike has over-diversified since its beginning as a running company. Nike now makes every form of apparel as well as balls, parachutes, and probably soon sports makeup. Pearl Izumi You may never have heard of Pearl Izumi, but you may want to look into it. Pearl Izumi began with a father making cycling clothes for his son (touching, isn’t it?), and is today the leading cyclist apparel brand. Don’t worry if you’re not a cyclist, though; it has appropriately expanded its realm of sales to include just about every outdoor sport, including cross country skiing. Impressive. Puma Puma was started by Rudolf Dassler, the brother of Adi Dassler, who founded Adidas. The two worked together to start Dassler shoes (which became Adidas), but after 24 years, Rudolf bailed and started his own company. Puma is now known for their stylish casual shoes and for sponsoring Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt and the 2008 Jamaican Olympic team. Note: there is no evidence that would suggest that Puma’s design for Bolt’s spikes in Beijing was responsible for them coming untied in his 100 meter victory. Saucony Saucony is a very running-specific manufacturer, but this is important for anyone looking for comfortable footwear. Saucony has existed for over 100 years and is named after Saucony Creek in Kutztown, Pennsylvania. The company’s first factory was built along this creek, and its logo represents the water body. You may find it strange that a running company could be so water-obsessed, but the trustworthiness of the company is not affected by this. Under Armour With commercials as epic as Braveheart , Under Armour may appear a little over the top in its enthusiasm for its products. But if you’ve ever seen (or just imagined, for that matter) yourself in Under Armour apparel, you know the effect it can have on you. Known for its compression garments, the seductive scent and intense feeling of being compressed (hence, compression) can earn your stamp of approval in two heartbeats, which you can see through your torso compression garment (so tight, it functions as a visual stethoscope!). Be warned, however; Under Armour articles seem to sell for somewhere in the area of a dollar per molecule, and Colin Shriver, a sportswear expert and senior at Ames High, stated, "Under Armour is overrated". Note: Ames High basketball is not overrated. When you head to the sports dealer, you need a preconceived plan of action. Form an alliance with one provider ahead of time. Consider your needs; do you need to walk in the shadow of "Krogers", or do you crave squeezy feelings on your body? Are you a fan of water, or do you like the cycling brands? With defined intentions, you can enter a store with confidence and leave quickly having purchased the desired products free of buyer’s guilt.

Story continues below advertisement
Leave a Comment
Donate to The WEB
$300
$450
Contributed
Our Goal

Your donation will support the student journalists of Ames High School, and Iowa needs student journalists. Your contribution will allow us to cover our annual website hosting costs.

More to Discover
Donate to The WEB
$300
$450
Contributed
Our Goal

Comments (0)

The WEB staff encourages you to exercise your First Amendment rights in this public forum. To comment, click on the "logged in" link below. Then click on the Google icon and sign in using your Google school account.

Do not post comments that are obscene or libelous. Refrain from writing comments that use copyrighted materials or that involve personal attacks, insults or threats. And please relate all comments to the story.
All The WEB Picks Reader Picks Sort: Newest

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.