Chapter 32： AND one's invitation

"This, I'm sorry, I don't have any plans to sign a contract yet." Zuo Li spread his hands and expressed his regret.

As soon as these words came out, Zuo Li could clearly feel that the air seemed to be still. Tom and Jerry maintained this position with their mouths wide open, obviously frightened, and Tyrone's expression became stiff in an instant. The smile just now looks a little funny...

It was Tailong who broke the current embarrassing situation with a cough, "Cough, okay man, I hope this is the answer you have thought about carefully, but man, I still suggest you think about it, I'm just passing on a message for the boss, it's estimated that it's been a while. Someday someone will come to you."

Tyrone touched his bald head, and found that he had just left Harlem, and he was already a bit out of time. He couldn't even guess what Zuo Li was thinking.

That's an invitation from AND1!~

I think he had a good time in Harlem, but just before high school, the people from AND1 came to the door with sneakers and asked him to join their team, so he directly left the high school aside, no There was a slight hesitation, no sign of the contract fee.

What high school do you go to, what is high school, I love AND1, AND1 loves me!

And now he also thinks that what he has made is the most correct decision, however, are young people now so awesome...

Tyrone left with confusion. He still needed to fly back to Los Angeles overnight, not for the big sister, but there was a tournament to play there in two days. Before leaving, he needed to report to the boss about the situation here. .

"Huh, I hope the boss won't deduct my salary because I lose." Tailong took out the latest flip phone and called their boss...

On this side, Zuo Li continued to stay in Locke Park, ready to take advantage of more people to play two more actual battles. The American street combat ability is very strong, and more fighting is definitely good for improving personal ability, but obviously, Jerry and Tom Haven't come out of the excitement just now.

"Zuo Li! Big brother, you are my eldest brother! That's AND1! AND1! You just refused?!" Jerry was so excited that the blue veins on his neck were exposed, which is really true for a person of his skin color It's not easy, it can be seen that he was more stimulated than Zuo Lizhen's defeat of Tailong.

"Calm down, I feel like your veins are about to burst. Calm down, calm down." Tom hurriedly comforted.

"But boss, you are really not going to join AND1. Mr. Derek should agree, and Mr. Hibbert, he wouldn't object." Tom thought Zuo Li was worried that Derek and Hibbert would There are different opinions. In other words, he also feels that Zuo Li's rejection of AND1 is unwise.

When it comes to AND1, what do you think of?

For New Yorkers of this era, AND1 is one of the pronouns of streetball and even basketball.

In 1993, three college students in their 20s, Sethberg, Tom Austin and J-Gilbert, after watching the sports exhibition of Nike, Adidas and other big players in the shoe industry, complained in disappointment: "The market It's all the same shit, isn't there any cool stuff in America?" Begins.

The three hit it off and clamored for the establishment of a sports brand focusing on street basketball! The legend of AND1 began in such a rude manner.

The origin of the story is a bit simple, but the process is legendary. For two years, the three of them spent the day shuttling in the stadiums in the streets and alleys of New York. At night, they would sit in one place to discuss design, and their staple food was canned sardines. , this food has been around for so long that Gilbert said in an interview that 'I will never eat canned sardines again in my life'.

And their hard work paid off.

Once, Setsberg met a player in New York, and after listening to AND1's introduction, he said that he would get these shoes immediately!

Seth said: "This is just a sample, and only the right foot", but the player said: "Give it to me! I will find a way to match the left foot myself!"

This story made Seth believe that too many young people in America wanted something different, and it filled them with confidence.

And then, the shoes on the market were snapped up by crazy people, and everyone knew that AND1 was a success.

In three years, AND1 became one of the most popular sneakers among young people at that time, and in New York, one could even be removed.

In 1996, AND1 officially signed Steve Marbury, a sneaker called TheStephon Marbury became Marbury's first pair of signature boots in his career, which made AND1's momentum crazy.

In 1998, they brought Alstom, the emperor of streetball in New York, under their command. This was a win-win event, which made AND1 a well-deserved NO.1 in the streetball world. At the same time, they designed the sneakers SKIP2MYLOUMID for Alstom. With its unruly shape and low price, it was instantly snapped up by street basketball fans.

The legend continues.

AND1 really entered its peak in 2000. Vince Carter, who played for the Toronto Raptors in the 00-01 season, shocked the world with his performance in the NBA Slam Dunk Contest.

People who opened the video watched the incredible dunks of the Canadian UFO over and over again. The pair of red and white TaiChi wearing under his feet was eye-catching. This high-profile appearance of AND1 made the brand's most classic pair of sneakers.

AND1 got out of hand and was recognized by the mainstream. The superstar Kevin Garnett, who was approaching the peak of the competition, gave up the contract given by Nike, and the maverick KG decided to switch to AND1, which caused quite a stir.

Just this year, Garnett stole Michael's MVP trophy in Jordan's retired All-Star game. Under the reflection of the flash, the pair of AND1 chameleons at Garnett's feet caught the wind for a while.

At the same time, they have no advantage in the street ball. Almost all the street ball players you can name are their players, and the AND1 Street Ball Tour detonated the United States. UU reading

The current AND1 can be called streetball. The NBA has a two-pronged approach. In the minds of players, it is definitely no less than the choice of Nike and Adi, and for streetball players, it is even the best choice.

Whether it is Jerry or Tom, their dream is to one day have the opportunity to sign AND1 to become one of them. If they are invited, they will probably choose to agree without hesitation.

So they were very confused about Zuo Li's choice.

So famous, rich, and the card face, why did Zuo Li refuse!

"Don't worry, I didn't say I didn't sign it, I just don't sign it now, don't worry, I'll talk about it when someone comes, play the ball, and find a few more people." Zuo Li did not intend to elaborate, but moved quickly. topic of.

How can the two of them know the development history of AND1, and now it is true that only AND1 has achieved a 4% increase in the whole year when the overall sales of the NBA shoe industry have been poor in the past two years. By signing the contract, Zuo Li will be able to get rid of the current dilemma of 30 dollars a month.

But Zuo Li, who is familiar with the history of AND1, is very clear that with the great depression of streetball starting in 2008, AND1 is also not shining, lacking powerful core technology, and the single marketing method makes them gradually smashed by Nike and Adi.

In 2008, there was only one player like Monta Ellis in the NBA that could be named, and off the court, it was difficult for them to get a share of the increasingly fierce competition. Someone will pay the bill, and it was acquired by a Chinese company at the end of 2016, and the legend came to an end.

But Zuo Li didn't reject it because of things that haven't happened yet, but to give him more right to speak in the future!