Real Tackles Wear 77

February 12th, 2016 at 4:26 PM ^

For those of you whose first reaction will be "oh yeah...Oakland U and Fresno State wear Jordan, look what it does for them" save your breath. They don't have the cultural cache to layer on top of what Jordan offers, and their deal is not nearly as far-reaching or well-promoted as ours is going to be.

Real Tackles Wear 77

February 12th, 2016 at 4:33 PM ^

Of course you can't quantify either of those things directly (though you can look at numerous things as directional indicators - ticket/merch sales are just some easy examples) but I think we can all agree that UM has more of both than either of those schools.

No slight at those schools or their fans, they just happen to be other D1 schools wearing Jordan.

Bando Calrissian

February 12th, 2016 at 5:00 PM ^

Honestly, it reeks of Feelingsball. Or that "but we were so culturally relevant! Black socks and black shoes and saggy shorts!" line the Fab Five guys drop to try to make up for the fact they didn't win a championship.

In other words, "cultural cache" and "cultural impact" mean essentially nothing aside from "let's fill column lines" and message board fodder.

WolvinLA2

February 12th, 2016 at 6:48 PM ^

I disagree with that completely. You think Oregon has the same appeal as every other Pac-12 team? They've never won a championship. But they're built a certain culture there and it has value. Sure, it's come along with a lot of regular season wins as well, and culture without any wins does you no good. But building a strong brand has a lot of impact, between TV viewers, season ticket holders and recruits.

spigmoni

February 12th, 2016 at 6:51 PM ^

Yet you still bring up the Fab Five now.  I understand the sentiment about winning being the most important, but young people still mention the fab five, and unless you're a michigan fan or an older college bball fan, noone else remembers the 1989 Glen Rice led national championship team.

 I'm not arguing which is more important, but the regular lay person knows the fab five.  The trick is to combine both on-field WIN with cultural WIN and you create a memorable clout that gets mentioned  and remembered for generations. That is what a juggernaut of a program is.  

Jack Hammer

February 12th, 2016 at 4:44 PM ^

That article contains a lot of words.  (I have to admit that growing up as a huge Pistons fan in the Bad Boy era, I can't help but cringe a little whenever I see His picture though and also must admit that I'll never like Him.  But, hey, it's all about the kids.)

WMU81

February 12th, 2016 at 6:06 PM ^

I have to agree that i dont care for Michael Jordan myself. I am a big Pistons fan and never really cared for Chicago or MJ for that matter. I really lost all my respect for MJ when the whole "Dream Team" crap went down..... That being said, Im glad we switched to Jordan, because kids love them some Jordan!!!