Awesome Sports Logos Blog

Nike Quits The Golf Equipment Game

One of the largest sports brands in the world is walking away from golf. Nike officially announced this past Wednesday that it will no longer manufacture clubs, balls or bags. Trevor Edwards, President of the Nike brand, came out and said “We’re committed to being the undisputed leader in golf footwear and apparel.” What does this mean for today’s golfers?

Rory McIlroy switched to Nike in 2013, after leaving the golf industry titan, Titleist. McIlroy ended up winning two majors using Nike gear. Tiger Woods is probably the most notable golfer sponsored by Nike. Being carried by the company since 1996, Woods will almost certainly start looking for other brands to use. And hey, maybe if he finds a new brand to play with, he might find some of the skill and talent that he used to have! Anything has to be a benefit for the once greatest of all-time golfer, right? All joking aside, I expect golf brands to be calling Woods soon, offering him some kind of sponsorship. While he may not be as successful now as in the past, the name “Tiger Woods” will carry a lot of weight for a golf brand.

While virtually every piece of golf equipment that Tiger Woods owns now is Nike, the Oregon company isn’t exactly favored by all the top golfers. In an interview with Golf Magazine, Phil Mickelson called Nike equipment “inferior” to other brands. Nick Faldo called McIlroy’s switch to Nike “dangerous” and “messing with a winning formula.”

While Nike isn’t exactly hurting for money, Yahoo! Finance reports that golf was Nike’s bottom category last year, even falling behind action sports and women’s training. The report also says the golf division sales have been on the decline over the past three years.

Don’t expect Nike to blink an eye over this loss. Their biggest rival, Adidas, is also dropping out of the golf equipment game. It looks like this market will be exclusively for the golf-only brands. With that being said, should a newer generation of youngsters ever make this sport more popular, don’t be shocked if Nike (or Adidas) jump right back into the mix. If Nike should ever start making clubs again, maybe they’ll consider moving their manufacturing plant from Texas to their home state, Oregon. It could be great for the state’s economy!

One logo that will always support the Beaver State is our very own Portland Tree Huggers! Oregon is one of the greenest states we have. Portland is one of the more eclectic cities in America, with a huge emphasis on the environment. Thus, the meanest hockey team in the northwest is born, the Portland Tree Huggers.

 

I wouldn’t want to skate against this tree. And if I did, I hope that it has more bark than bite. We think this Portland sports logo t-shirt will draw some attention when you wear this super soft, cool t-shirt tee around town. Plus, do you really want to drop gloves and fight this tree since technically the stick in his hands could be a relative?

We appreciate you stopping by and reading!

Stay AWESOME!!

Blake Cole

T-Shirt Wearer

Sports Logo Lover

Awesome Aussie and Awesome Logos at the 2013 Masters

To hear the “talking heads” tell it, Adam Scott’s 2013 Masters Win is a big deal. Why? Australia has never claimed a Masters victory until now. It seems like this is pretty exciting for just about everyone, but I’m not feeling the enthusiasm for Koala Country. I won’t accuse the media of manufacturing a story to drive headlines and eyes to the sport of golf. I will, however, proclaim that no matter his nationality, ethnicity, or favorite TV show, I’m just plain happy for Adam Scott. And that’s enough of a story to round out my 2013 Masters experience.

For an event that had so much going for it on the way in, the 2013 Masters could have been remembered for some rough occurrences. Rory didn’t show the way he was expected to. A chain smoking Argentinean straight off the set of the Sopranos almost won the damn thing. Oh yeah…and Tiger pretty much shot the bird to the entire sport of golf…again. The latter story could just be unraveling, and it won’t be the last we hear about it. But luckily, Adam Scott turned the thing around to end on a positive.

I don’t know much about Adam Scott. I really don’t even know much about his Golf game. I don’t know if he’s loyal to his significant other, how he treats the little people, or what he eats for breakfast. I do know that Adam Scott seems like a good ambassador for golf and sport in general. The guy is fair to the media, reserved, and seems generally happy to be there. For all I know, Scott has just figured out how to play up the façade the way Tiger did for so long. But that’s another blog entirely. The sport of golf has had to watch its back far too much in the past few years, and it’s nice to watch a (seemingly) nice guy win.

The 2013 Masters also had a winner in the logo department this year. How ‘bout Mercedes-Benz? The luxury car company had its emblem across the entire weekend and on the tournament’s winner. Not a bad weekend for the Benzos! Speaking of logos and here’s where we pay our bills, hopefully you’ve checked out our t-shirt of the month club? Huge discounts on our awesome t-shirts plus free shipping. We’ll even make a custom gift certificate to present to that special someone and they get to pick out the t-shirts that they would like to receive. How awesome is it to get a super soft cool t-shirt in your mailbox every month?

Thanks for reading and congrats Adam Scott. Aussie, Aussie Aussie!!!

Jake Springer
Awesome Sports Logos Columnist