New Superhero Deal for Mbappé
and How Netflix Plans to Make Golf Great Again ⛳️ | Athletic Interest Weekly #12
Ah, Oakley, the sunglasses of choice for middle-aged gym teachers!
But things may be on the up for the California-based eyewear company…they have found a cool young person willing to put on their sunglasses.
Kylian Mbappé, the 23-year-old PSG and France footballer, has signed a deal with Oakley to become their latest brand ambassador.
Mbappé will feature in the brand's "Be Who You Are" campaign, which hopes to capture the hard work and determination that took him from a little kid with a dream to a superstar lifting the World Cup.
The France International will promote the lifestyle collection and has already taken a liking to the recently released Kato Silhouette shades. “You really feel like a superhero when you put on Kato,” explains Mbappé.
"At Oakley, we believe that athletes aren’t measured only by the strength of their body, speed, or accuracy, but by the strength of their heart, kindness, and empathy. And that is what Kylian represents to us: a great human being that understands his role beyond sport – to lead and inspire future generations to believe in themselves and be who they are,” said Oakley Global Marketing Director Caio Amato.
🤪 Weird Deal of the Week
Pyramids of Giza to Host Diving Championship ⚠️ 💦
The Pyramids of Giza were built by aliens!
Don’t believe us? Just ask the most “intelligent” meme robot person on the planet…
While the aliens were probably just messing around, they managed to build one of the most popular tourist attractions on the planet!
Around 15 million tourists visit the Pyramids each year. The local area has become such a successful tourist trap that Pizza Hut even set up a restaurant a few meters from the base of the pyramids.
The dramatic commercialization of this humble alien architecture project has taken another weird step forward with the news that the Pyramids will host several international diving events from 2023 onwards.
The FINA High Diving World Cup (2023-2024), the Diving Grand Prix (2023-2026), and the 2023 Artistic Swimming World Series will all take place in front of the Pyramids of Giza. It is not entirely clear how the events will be staged, with temporary pools and diving boards likely to be constructed on the site.
So, why would the International Federation of Water Sports (FINA) see the Pyramids as an appropriate location for a diving competition?
“This historic location will see breathtaking images and video footage shared on social media sites and beamed to TV screens around the world,” explains FINA President Captain Husain Al-Musallam.
Essentially, FINA is looking to make diving even more instagrammable by having the events take place in one of the most popular and recognizable locations on the planet.
Just for clarification, we are aware that Aliens did not build the pyramids…it was obv the lizard people!
🗞 Story of the Week
Netflix Wants to Make Golf and Tennis Great Again
Golf has a bit of an image problem…
Why am I craving cheese puffs and Fanta right now?
Anyway…back to golf. In many ways, the only thing ‘hip’ about golf is the numerous hip replacement surgeries that players undergo each year.
Seriously, The average golfer in the U.S. is 54 and the average age of a viewer for a major golfing event is in their mid-60s.
In the minds of most young people, golf is the pastime of unrelatable fat old men. While this association is a little overblown, it’s not entirely devoid of reality.
Then there is tennis. The sport is relatively popular among younger audiences, thanks to global appeal of players like Naomi Osaka. That being said, tennis attracts billions less viewers than Football, Basketball or Formula 1.
So, how can these sports hope to boost their image and grow their audiences?
Enter Netflix…
The Drive to Survive series, produced and distributed by Netflix, has attracted millions of fans to Formula 1 and made the sport one of the fastest-growing among Gen Z fans.
Now Netflix has entered into separate deals with Tennis and Golf to produce documentaries in the same style as Drive to Survive. They will even share the same production team (Box to Box Films.)
The pro tennis series will follow a year in the life of the world's biggest tennis stars as they compete in the four Grand Slam tournaments scheduled for 2022: the Australian Open, French Open, US Open, and Wimbledon.
For the golf documentary, Netflix will film a bunch of pro golfers through the Masters Tournament, PGA Championship, US Open Championship, the Open, the Players Championship, and the FedExCup.
Netflix is already trying to build excitement for the shows, having this to say about the pro golf series:
"With unprecedented access inside the ropes and behind the scenes, the series will capture the intensity of training, travel, victory, and defeat through the lens of a diverse group of players and their support teams."
Viewers can expect the release of both docs in early to mid-2023.
📱 Social Media Madness of the Week
John Terry Goes Ape Sh*t for NFTs!
It’s usually bad news when John Terry becomes extremely interested in something…just ask Wayne Bridge!
Luckily for Terry’s wife and friends, his latest passion comes in the form of an NFT and not someone else's wife.
The affair between the former Chelsea captain and Non-Fungible Tokens began in late 2021 when Terry announced that he had purchased his first Ape NFT from the Bored Ape Yacht Club. In the following weeks, Terry snapped up 47 NFTs and even commissioned his own Ape artworks as Christmas presents for his family.
JT’s transition from footballer to NFT evangelist was so sudden that fans raised concerns that his accounts had been hacked.
Despite the early confusion, John Terry has decided to double down on his new passion by helping to launch a new football-inspired NFT called Ape Kids Football Club.
The project, which names Terry as the ‘Head Coach’ and Co-Founder, is looking to get more kids involved in NFTs.
It is not entirely clear what Terry will do in this role, but we can imagine he will be asking his followers to purchase NFTs of baby apes in football kits.
🎬 Video of the Week
“Time is My Blessing and My Curse”
A new documentary following record-breaking 100m runner Sha’Carri Richardson is set to premiere at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival.
The feature, named ‘sub eleven seconds’ after her record-breaking 100m time, allows Sha’Carri to tell her incredible story in her own words.
The documentary was filmed during the Summer 2021 U.S.A Track & Field Olympic Trials and will show viewers her reaction to both the devastating disqualification and to the death of her biological mother (which she learned about from a reporter)
“Time is my blessing and my curse,” Sha'Carri says in the trailer. “On the track, I've been blessed to run fast. Off the track, time has cheated me. You don't know when something or someone will be taken from you.”