Melo, CP3, and other NBA stars... Please read this : http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/sports/7244295.html BEIJING — Shane Battier will rarely leave his hotel room, and when he does, he will need protection from the Rockets' security detail. His popularity in China does not allow him to move freely. Battier, like many Rockets players, has endorsed Chinese shoes and apparel, made promotional visits to China and has been Yao Ming's teammate for five years. In China, Battier and other Rockets players have shined by orbiting in Yao's star power. If Yao's return to China is Beatlemania, Battier is at least Ringo. "I walk through China with security guards and there are people grabbing at my shirt and ripping at my clothes," said Battier, who endorses Peak products and is on his eighth trip to China. "People find that hard to believe. I know I'm a good-looking guy, but even that story is a little bit unbelievable. "It's mayhem, it really is. But it's funny. The people that go with me, we sit and laugh. The video footage every year, we sit back every year and think, 'This is crazy.' " It is the Yao Ming bonus. Players who compete alongside Yao have a good chance of receiving an endorsement deal from one of the Chinese shoe and apparel companies. Those who don't make the team or wish to extend their careers overseas often find places in the China Basketball Association. "It's all because of Yao," said Luis Scola, who endorses Anta products. "It's crazy. Until I came to the Rockets, I never thought about it. It was so out of my mind. I never thought it could be like that, but it happened." Like Battier, Scola has seen the mania that comes with playing with Yao. He has made five promotional trips to China and spent much of a month in Beijing during the Olympics. His popularity in Beijing and Shanghai might be greater than in Buenos Aires and Houston. Standing out in a crowd "I was surprised the first couple of years," Scola said. "Now, I'm a little more used to it and I like it. I think it's a great opportunity to go there and interact with a lot of people, get a chance to know a lot of fans from a completely different world from us. It's been a lot of fun." The popularity of NBA players, and particularly Rockets players, is so great that even during the Olympics when thousands of world-class athletes shared the Olympic village, Scola stood out to the fans and volunteers. "The Olympics were the weird thing," he said. "They were just crazy for basketball players, especially the Rockets players. We could barely walk through the Olympic village. The other athletes were saying, 'Who the hell are these guys? Why are people rioting?' Nobody understands why they knew me. At the beginning, I didn't understand why they knew me. I found out." Last season Kyle Lowry joined Battier and Scola among Rockets players with Chinese shoe deals and made an eight-city, 15-day tour this summer. Shoes made by Anta, Peak and Li Ning are not available in the United States, though Peak has opened an office in Los Angeles and plans to eventually hit the American marketplace. They began those efforts by recruiting rookie Patrick Patterson during the summer league and signing him as their first Peak America spokesman. Patterson is making his first trip to China this week, but it will not be his last. "I plan on it," Patterson said. "Whenever they want me to, I told them I'll go there and do whatever they want me to do, as soon as possible in my schedule." Even blog a big hit For now, he will simply wear the shoes, cashing in on the Yao connection before playing his first NBA game. "Not too many players go through this league and have their own signature shoe," Battier said. "I don't care if it is another country. I have my own shoe. It's one of the best experiences I've had in the NBA. "I wrote a blog for Peak. It went over the 120 million reader mark last year. When I hear those sorts of things, I think to myself, it's pretty crazy. At the same time, it's pretty cool." jonathan.feigen@chron.com
Anyone around here rockin them Battier's?: http://antapeak.com/peak-battier-iv-batman-series-56/ :grin:
I love it when stories like this come out. It helps Morey's efforts to improve the team, if not now, then down the road (agents and their clients look at this stuff closely), and it helps the team. Guys who may not have terrific contracts, whether a rookie like Patterson, or a role player like Chuck (doesn't he have a deal, as well?), get a big boost to their income, trips to "the exotic Far East," and it doesn't hurt their self esteem, either. Another reminder that Yao brings more to the team, and Les, then just what he does on the court, although his play, naturally, trumps all. The big fella just needs to stay healthy!
So would I, but I'd never order them. My feet are so goofy that I have to try everything on. Hope they make it to the States soon!
It may be good for players like Scola, Battier, etc., but not superstars. Superstars don't need no Chinese endorsement deals when they have American endorsement deals. They also don't need to be on a team with Yao to be popular in China. Also, even for guys like Scola I think the extra endorsement income is probably a fraction of their salary.
It's a fraction of his new contract, but a nice bump under the old one. And while the top guys in the league make plenty on American shoe deals (you're certainly right about that), I wouldn't underestimate the China influence too much. It would be a part of the calculus when considering signing with the Rockets. It all depends, though, on Yao being healthy, which is a seven and a half foot unknown.
And what might you be trying to achieve with this post. Why don't you just shut the **** up and let the adults discuss the actual topic of this thread.
Seriously, where online can I order these peak or Anta shoes? I wouldn't mind new basketball shoes. Any Chinese fans here care to speak on this?
Nevermind, you can buy them from that link that was posted earlier in the thread. But damn, $142 for the Batmans?! Those are like JORDAN prices. I was hoping for STARBURY prices.
Good find. Very interesting article. Hey, it makes me feel like wearing a Rocket jersey on my hoped for first trip to China maybe next year.
If a superstar joined the Rockets and won a championship, their marketability in China would go beyond just athletic gear.
Nike/Addidas/Reebok/whomever -- they sell their signature shoes in China, don't they? They probably sell a lot, but would probably sell even more with Yao-mania. That makes the signature more valuable and the endorsement deal richer. Don't see why they wouldn't want it.
