Are the atheletes attending the opening receiving benefits (e.g. - travel, hotel, gifts) ? I noticed The Opening's shirts are oregon colors thanks to BCAST at the Ozone.
As a conspiracy theorist, my natural inclination is to be weary of this event, is oregon hiding behind the $ veil of nike football as major sponsors / boosters of their program?
it is probably a bunch of overstock oregon football equipment ;)
Yes, it is a Nike sponsored event. But I wouldn't be too concerned about this. Nike has been linked to Oregon since the beginning of the company. It was founded by Phil Knight (an alum and track athlete) and Bill Bowerman (Oregon's long-time track and field coach).
not to start a conspiracy but at 8 AM this morning i saw alot of pics on twitter showing the clothing and now i cant find any? what is saw was neon yellow/green and white shoes but i cant find any pics now. weird...http://instagram.com/p/MuhHK0SCbn/ just found it on mike mccrays instagram. alot of posts on twitter have been taken down it seems..
@tenn, that's exactly why I'm concerned
bcast posted pictures of neon yellow / green cleats and gloves earlier
Without Nike, Oregon would get no recruits..thats just my gut instinct but hey, whatever works for them, you gotta' figure out some way to get kids to play in the rain forest
I'm failing to see why this is a big deal. So they all got shoes, cleats, shorts and etc. Okay.
My guess is that these are the shoes and clothes they want the kids to wear while they are at this event?
I was wondering the same thing. Some "blurry" lines here regarding camps and contact with players when it's being held on one of the major campuses in America. Surprised Maryland/Under Armor doesn't do something similar. MD could use all the help they can get. Sure this camp is a big advantage in the recruiting game for OR.
"The deadliest weapon in the world is a MARINE and his rifle!"
GEN. PERSHING, US.ARMY
I don't think its actually held on Oregon's campus, I coudl be wrong though.
Favorite Buckeye: Obviously BJ Mullens
FYI: The event is at Nike Headquarters in Beaverton not on Oregon's campus in Eugene.
@tenn, IMO it's similar to a booster buying an athlete a meal. add flights, hotels, football gear, and whatever else they're doing in oregon. nowadays it's hard NOT to be a booster, especially if you're an alumni.
I mean, it's an invitation-only event. If players were invited to a national awards bangquet and were presented with door prizes, a high class dinner, and awards would that be ok? By some merit they earned the opportunity, so I think they are entitled to some benefits.
Now if only certain recruits received the gifts (i.e. players Oregon wants to sign), then it is another issue, which would be clearly wrong.
In other news, just because you all care so much about Michigan /s/
Laquon Treadwell basically had an ephiphany and will likely announce his decision at The Opening, but possibly this week at his HS. Looking good for us, I guess, but I'm prepared for a Kiffin or Stoops right hook out of left field.
Those who stay will be CHAMPIONS!
~Bo Schembechler
I think you are wrongly assuming that these kids are all gonna wanna go to Oregon just because of this event and Nike's involvement.
if I bought shane morris a steak dinner i don't think he'd go to ohio state, but that doesn't mean it's not booster benefits. more importantly shane morris is overrated.
I think I'm missing the correlation that creates the argument that colors=school allegiance. I went to a high school that wore green and gold, it's not like I saw Oregon and decided I had to go there because of their colors. This is a bit far fetched
ok - the correlation is that nike ceo is a major booster for the oregon program. the gifts could be interpreted as propaganda to promote oregon to the country's best players (although that could be a stretch) but that's the point. what else is going on? not too long ago oregon was in some heat for improper recruiting tactics involving $$.
Ok, the Adidas invitational in Michigan gives players blue and yellow t-shirts with Adidas (sponsers UM) decals on them. Is that improper recruiting?
My point is, a kid doesn't open their locker, see green stuff, and say "hey, this makes me want to go to oregon." Furthermore, the colors are even a stretch to say their inherently Oregon colors. The darker green is not used very much, it's mainly neon and white, colors that are popular right now because they're flashy, and if you go to any Nike retailer you'll find that scheme everywhere
You do know that OSU wears Nike uniforms, shoes, apparel and etc. too, right. Nike is everywhere. I think you're reaching for this to be a conspiracy.
ok, let me reiterate it's just a theory. also, @tenn, nike wants to sell their gear everywhere plain and simple, but phil knight is a major booster of the oregon program, not ohio state. lastly, @buck i-8, i don't know of any adidas - michigan connections in terms of boosters so i can't really comment on that.
This is silly...
okay, what if lex wesner held a limited brands camp in columbus ohio giving all the nation's best football players scarlet and gray apparel that wouldn't be fishy would it?
@HCA: scarlet and gray lingerie?
LOL
so this thread became pretty dumb..
sorry i said anything about it to begin with..
it has conclusions...that you can jump to
@heir, why is it dumb? it might not have legs now but there's a reason bcast has been tweeting pictures of the the memorabilia the players are receiving...
https://twitter.com/BCastOZone/status/221086373984210944
Again, that picture shows gear that only vaguely reminds of Oregon.
@sweetbabyjames horrible, that idea, horrible.
~Because we couldn't go for three~
The Jump To Conclusions map has NOTHING on the Pet Rock
/Duff'd It
Its no different than the rivals challenge, where the players received under armour gear. Being that UA was a major sponsor of the challenge. I'm pretty sure as a major, invite only skills camp and competition that nike worked with the ncaa and gained the necessary clearance needed to assure everything was on the level.
old post but still relevant because mike mitchell is now making an official visit to oregon...why? because he liked the area when he was at the opening. maybe it wasn't the gear, but it's pretty clear it's a recruiting advantage...the whole nike / oregon relationship and this event is a big piece of propaganda
"Oregon is another interesting option, because Mitchell apparently liked the area when he was on Nike's campus during The Open."
http://insider.espn.go.com/ncf/features/rumors/_/id/12933
Wow, a little surprised he's visiting there. If it's true he wants to go somewhere his brother will play basketball as well, then Oregon is a horrible, horrible choice.
Think the recruiting gurus keep counting this egg before it's hatched, IMHO (purely speculative).
lol i'm going to beat this deadhorse til it comes back to life...
tyquan lewis quote:
"The Opening was fun during the four days I spent there and meeting all the NFL superstars," Lewis said. "It was a great experience for me and I enjoyed getting all the gear."
http://dailysoutherner.com/sports/x1059026251/Lewis-to-make-announcement