"Meet the Nets"

[The_Admiral]

No, it's time to accept that the Dodgers haven't played in Brooklyn since Eisenhower was president, and if they came back, it wouldn't be to play basketball.

[JohnnySeoul]

Turning the Nets franchise into a "global brand" has been a favorite talking point since Prokhorov took over. Given this, I think it's unlikely we'd see them turn to such an overtly "American" (for lack of a better term) look.

Indeed. I see a scripted "Brookyln" on one and "Nets" on the other. Other than that, they will look more trendy than those old skool throwbacks.

[yh]

Question of the day:

Why even come to this site when all it seems to be is regurgitated UniWatch columns?

Answers:

1. Your question as worded cannot be supported by facts.

2. If you disagree with Answer 1 then your sense of perception is grossly impaired.

3. I fully realize that you intended your question to be rhetorical, however you will learn that life often takes you in unexpected directions.

4. Your mother is a whore.

5. I have nothing to support the statement made in Answer 4; I gave the answer in an effort to be arbitrarily mean; I regret the statement and I apologize emphatically for this grossly uncivilized and wholly uncalled-for remark.

[JQK]

Yale always makes me smile...

[Saintsfan]

Turning the Nets franchise into a "global brand" has been a favorite talking point since Prokhorov took over. Given this, I think it's unlikely we'd see them turn to such an overtly "American" (for lack of a better term) look.

The New York Yankees and Dallas Cowboys are global brands. The Celtics are a global brand, Real Madrid are a global brand. Kentuck Fried Chicken is a global brand, (albeit nowadays as KFC, but we all know what it means!) something can be overtly of one place and still be a global brand!

[Waffles]

Turning the Nets franchise into a "global brand" has been a favorite talking point since Prokhorov took over. Given this, I think it's unlikely we'd see them turn to such an overtly "American" (for lack of a better term) look.

The New York Yankees and Dallas Cowboys are global brands. The Celtics are a global brand, Real Madrid are a global brand. Kentuck Fried Chicken is a global brand, (albeit nowadays as KFC, but we all know what it means!) something can be overtly of one place and still be a global brand!

You're right about the elite global franchises being built on a local identity - but they were also built first-and-foremost as winning identities. The Nets will never have that. From a global/local branding standpoint, the problem with the Nets going in this direction is the red-white-and-blue, stars-and-stripes aesthetic is a national identity - not local (Rudy Giuliani and the Harlem Globetrotters notwithstanding) or global.

The Nets are never going to be the Yankees/Manchester United/Lakers. Their identities are built on championships, not image and branding. But as they build their new presence in the city and the world, they know who they need to win over. I hope they also know how.

[chakfu]

No, it's time to accept that the Dodgers haven't played in Brooklyn since Eisenhower was president, and if they came back, it wouldn't be to play basketball.

A fair sentiment - but is there really any other way get maximal mileage out of the "Brooklyn" brand and identity?

A Dodgers crossover wouldn't look that gimmicky to me- take a traditional template, use the current nets palette with white homes, gray roads, like a few years back...script Brooklyn on the roads and Nets/Knights on the homes...maybe throw in some red numbers and you have it. It's not like they'd have B caps and stirrups.

[Saintsfan]

Turning the Nets franchise into a "global brand" has been a favorite talking point since Prokhorov took over. Given this, I think it's unlikely we'd see them turn to such an overtly "American" (for lack of a better term) look.

The New York Yankees and Dallas Cowboys are global brands. The Celtics are a global brand, Real Madrid are a global brand. Kentuck Fried Chicken is a global brand, (albeit nowadays as KFC, but we all know what it means!) something can be overtly of one place and still be a global brand!

You're right about the elite global franchises being built on a local identity - but they were also built first-and-foremost as winning identities. The Nets will never have that. From a global/local branding standpoint, the problem with the Nets going in this direction is the red-white-and-blue, stars-and-stripes aesthetic is a national identity - not local (Rudy Giuliani and the Harlem Globetrotters notwithstanding) or global.

The Nets are never going to be the Yankees/Manchester United/Lakers. Their identities are built on championships, not image and branding. But as they build their new presence in the city and the world, they know who they need to win over. I hope they also know how.

Absolutely. If the Nets become perennial winners they will be a global brand. If not, the probably won't. Although there are exceptions. The Raiders haven't won for a while and they are a global brand, the Spurs have been challengers pretty much every year for the past 10-15 years and I wouldn't describe them as a global brand.

[Saintsfan]

No, it's time to accept that the Dodgers haven't played in Brooklyn since Eisenhower was president, and if they came back, it wouldn't be to play basketball.

A fair sentiment - but is there really any other way get maximal mileage out of the "Brooklyn" brand and identity?

A Dodgers crossover wouldn't look that gimmicky to me- take a traditional template, use the current nets palette with white homes, gray roads, like a few years back...script Brooklyn on the roads and Nets/Knights on the homes...maybe throw in some red numbers and you have it. It's not like they'd have B caps and stirrups.

I think gray road unis would make it too overtly a crossover. Although Dodgers history is important in Brooklyn, I personally think it would be a mistake to rely on Dodgers lore in building an identity. I think the Nets need to build their own legacy and identity within Brooklyn.

[yh]

Really? Have we gotten this far into talking about winning as a necessity for establishing a global brand and completely ignored the one franchise in sports that became a global brand primarily due to its current streak of 102 years of ineptitude?

[StillS]

Absolutely. If the Nets become perennial winners they will be a global brand. If not, the probably won't. Although there are exceptions. The Raiders haven't won for a while and they are a global brand, the Spurs have been challengers pretty much every year for the past 10-15 years and I wouldn't describe them as a global brand.

Raiders are not exceptions, in fact no NFL team is since no one cares about the sport outside of America.

[Wilt]

I agree that Europeans know hardly anything about the NFL but you still see people on the streets wearing Raiders' sweatshirts or caps. I guess it's because of their logo.

[pcgd]

If the Rockets and their billions of Chinese fans haven't made them a global brand, the Nets and their millions of Russian fans aren't either.

[Buster]

If the Rockets and their billions of Chinese fans haven't made them a global brand, the Nets and their millions of Russian fans aren't either.

Well, they do manage to get a player who hasn't stepped on the court into the A.S. Game starting lineup!

[Discogod]

Absolutely. If the Nets become perennial winners they will be a global brand. If not, the probably won't. Although there are exceptions. The Raiders haven't won for a while and they are a global brand, the Spurs have been challengers pretty much every year for the past 10-15 years and I wouldn't describe them as a global brand.

Raiders are not exceptions, in fact no NFL team is since no one cares about the sport outside of America.

Really? You sure about that? NFL's probably the most popular US sport here in the UK, with the NBA a distant second and the NHL & MLB bringing up the rear. Sure, the NFL's not as popular as it once was (back in the late 80s/early 90s), but it's probably the 4th most popular team sport over here after football, cricket and rugby (either code).

[Saintsfan]

Also see the, now 4? Sellout games at Wembley stadium, the relative success of WLAF franchises in Germany and Spain, and TV audiences across the world for games like the Superbowl. I'd say there are at least half a dozen NFL franchises that can make a claim to be a global brand. Brands that people who don't even follow the NFL might be aware of.

[Wilt]

Also see the, now 4? Sellout games at Wembley stadium, the relative success of WLAF franchises in Germany and Spain, and TV audiences across the world for games like the Superbowl. I'd say there are at least half a dozen NFL franchises that can make a claim to be a global brand. Brands that people who don't even follow the NFL might be aware of.

If they were really successful they wouldn't disband.

Wembey sellout is not an argument for me. For sure there are enough NFL fans in Europe to fill Wembley but at least in Germany, Italy or Poland (countries where I lived), it doesn't get any media attention.

[yh]

It should be pointed out that Germans also love David Hasselhof.

That's all I really wanted to add.

[Saintsfan]

Also see the, now 4? Sellout games at Wembley stadium, the relative success of WLAF franchises in Germany and Spain, and TV audiences across the world for games like the Superbowl. I'd say there are at least half a dozen NFL franchises that can make a claim to be a global brand. Brands that people who don't even follow the NFL might be aware of.

If they were really successful they wouldn't disband.

Wembey sellout is not an argument for me. For sure there are enough NFL fans in Europe to fill Wembley but at least in Germany, Italy or Poland (countries where I lived), it doesn't get any media attention.

As I understand it the reasons to end the WLAF had little to do with lack of interest, more to do with the NFL wanting to go in a different direction in terms of international marketing. The NFL has broadcast the Superbowl internationally for quite a while now. If I was on my PC at home I'd like to the international broadcast details for the Superbowl, as I am on my iPhone can't do that right now.

I would say that at least the Cowboys, Dolphins, 49ers, Raiders, Steelers and Packets could be described as international brands in the NFL.

[John in KY]

Shorts need to be a more sensible length, but that's what the Nets should look like. The old ABA franchises should pay more attention to there old identities, especially when they are so distinctive and rich as this. I think this identity is as good as the Brooklyn Nets could get.

Looks like the guy who did the concept just photoshopped an old Nike SOD photo with a slightly tweaked version of the old Dr. J era design (granted these have been brought back from time to time since they were dropped in the early 1980s) resulting the the skirt-length shorts.