The Road to Stardom: Start as a Slam Dunk Master

Chapter 491 Declaring war on Nike!

The Cavaliers lost, the Lakers also lost...

The previous game against the Cavaliers had attracted an unprecedented wave of attention, and the game against the Lakers exceeded 62 million ratings across the United States, far exceeding the 35 million in the Finals when Jordan retired, and even The Super Bowl feels a strong threat from the NBA. After all, this is just a regular season game!

Frankly speaking, the public opinion wave that Nike has triggered in the United States has been very successful.

Lin Dong successfully shaped the image of a big BOSS and gave fans across the United States a sense of "slaying the dragon to explode the treasure" game. Not only did the NBA's attention this season reach an unprecedented height, it even brought the Lakers and the The Cavaliers' popularity has been pushed to a peak.

Correspondingly, the market value of the Lakers and Cavaliers, and even the values ​​of players such as Kobe, Wade, and O'Neal, have also skyrocketed. However, the market value of the SuperSonics has remained stable because too many people are optimistic about the Lakers and the Cavaliers. The Cavaliers can defeat the Sonics and break their myth.

What value does a god who is about to fall from the altar have?

Of course, it is undeniable that they are still a super strong team, and Lin Dong is still the most valuable player in the league.

However, compared with the substantial increase in the value of Kobe, Wade and others, Lin Dong's value is still at the same level. The feeling of sudden change has already spread across the United States.

Almost all fans have a unified view, that is, anyone can win, Lin Dong must lose!

Almost all the ratings come from "wanting to see Lin Dong lose". This is the basis for the success of the NBA this year, and it is also Phil Knight's most proud work.

He successfully showed everyone that he can control everything!

He can let whoever he wants to win win, and he can raise the value of whomever he wants. Correspondingly, it also means that he wants Lin Dong to lose, and Lin Dong will lose. He wants Lin Dong to lose. If Dong's net worth no longer rises, then Lin Dong cannot rise!

But... as the Cavaliers and Lakers lost to the SuperSonics one after another, Philnight felt that his sense of control was quickly disappearing.

Not because of the team.

If you can't beat them, you can continue to help the Cavaliers and Lakers to strengthen them. If there are loopholes, continue to fix them!

The real big problem is... the direction of public opinion has changed!

Prior to this, the "anti-Lin" voice of fans across the United States was already very high. This caused the sales growth of Lin Dong's Dragon series to be quite small in the past few months. There was a slight increase, but compared to the previous sales Crazy, this increase is almost negligible, almost all relying on the popularity of Lin Dong in Seattle and Washington State to drive sales. In fact, sales in other parts of the United States are in a state of decline.

Under the influence of public opinion, more and more people in other areas hate Lin Dong, so much so that even teenagers who like Lin Dong dare not go out wearing Dragon series most of the time, otherwise they may be ridiculed when they go to school. Object.

This is part of what Phil Knight uses to show Lin Dong his control and make Lin Dong obedient.

I didn't expect that...

After the Sonics defeated the Lakers, this trend actually changed.

——There is no hope, that Asian is too strong...

——Although I am very unhappy, I have to admit that that Asian talent is the real number one in the basketball world today. I feel that Jordan did not have this dominance back then.

——Don’t engage in racial discrimination. Basketball is basketball and politics is politics. We should look at the issue fairly.

——Speaking of which, the lineups of the Lakers and Cavaliers are very strong, but the SuperSonics lineup is really... when they played the Lakers, their main power forward was not there, and they could win like this.

——There is no way, it’s really because Lin Dong is too invincible...

——This guy gives people a cool feeling!

——His shoes look cool too! It feels more pleasing to the eye the more I look at it.

——I heard that there is an aerodynamic version, which is said to be able to jump very high. How about... let's try it too?

——That’s a trap! It's fake, but the height increase is real... I heard the effect is very good!

Americans may not understand this very well, even if he is Phil Knight, but people from the Dragon Country do.

As the saying goes, things will eventually turn against each other, and everything will rebound if it is overpressed, not to mention it is a kind of suppression instigated out of thin air.

What's more, Phil Knight actually ignored one thing, that is, human nature still worships the strong after all.

Big boss? Devil? Dragon?

What about the dragon?

If it were really powerful enough to destroy the world, then for the European and American culture that chose to build ships when the flood came, and chose to surrender when the gods came, they would be more willing to regard the evil dragon as the new true god!

then……

Since the game ended on the night of the 5th, on the 6th and 7th, the sales of Lin Dong’s Nike Dragon series in the United States have started to skyrocket.

13%, 26%... In just one month, by the end of November, when the SuperSonics had won 16 consecutive victories, Lin Dong's Nike Dragon series had already increased by 227% based on the sales volume in October. many!

Frankly speaking, Nike was making a lot of money, but when he looked at the report on the table in front of him, Phil Knight's face was full of gloom.

It’s gone up…and it’s going up like crazy!

Things have changed... and public opinion has also changed wildly!

More and more fans from all over the United States began to side with Lin Dong. They regarded him as a true god who was still invincible despite the pressure from the league and the pursuit of various superstars. They began to worship him and start chasing stars!

What's more terrible is that Phil Knight began to feel that he could not lead the rhythm of public opinion.

Even on the Internet, which used to be the easiest to provoke, the various public opinions and rhythmic posts spread by some of the people he hired were almost full of curses.

It is said that Lin Dong's invincibility is because his opponents are too weak. There was a lot of curses under the post: The Cavaliers and Lakers are already the four giants combined, are they still weak? ! The lineup Jordan faced back then wasn't that exaggerated, right?

It was said that Lin Dong was from Longguo, and there were a lot of curses under the post: Are you engaging in racial discrimination? Moreover, Lin Dong also studied in high school in the United States, and his girlfriend is also from the United States. Although I heard that he has changed his nationality from Dragon Country...but he has experienced American culture. Not long ago, Hurricane Katrina When the flood levees in New Orleans were blown down, the NBA organized a donation. Lin Dong donated a total of 10 million U.S. dollars, the most among NBA stars! Are you guilty of this? Do you have any conscience?

Some people who insist on continuing to say that Lin Dong is an evil dragon and hope to see someone stand up to slay the dragon are laughing like crazy at the bottom of the post: In one sentence, I like evil dragons! Ho ho ho, I'm going to dress up as a dragon for Halloween this year! The evil dragon is coming! Girls, get excited!

Even dinosaur masks sold like crazy because of this...

The loss of control of public opinion and the "loss of control" of sales made Phil Knight, who was sitting at the table, feel a deep sense of frustration.

How much does it cost to increase sales by that amount? Two hundred million? Three hundred million? so what!

It's almost December, and the contract between Nike and Lin Dong will expire at the end of December...

Originally, if the Cavaliers could compete with the Lakers and follow the script they designed, they would be proud of themselves now.

After showing his absolute dominance over the alliance, either Lin Dong chooses to surrender at his feet. Then he no longer has to coax the Asian's temper, and secondly, he can logically propose a lower-value offer. After the lifetime contract is completed, we will find a way to strengthen the Sonics, or to cause some damage to the Cavaliers and Lakers, so that the Sonics can win four consecutive championships, pushing Lin Dong's personal reputation to the top, and Nike will also do so. Really make a lot of money.

And if Lin Dong does not surrender, then he will continue to strengthen the Cavaliers and Lakers, use a lifetime contract to sign Wade or a younger LeBron, and promote one of them to be the new king, and then combine the SuperSonics and Lin Dong Completely stepped on! Let Lin Dong become the stepping stone for the new king! Even for the Asian market, Yao Ming and Sakuragi Hanamichi can be used to replace Lin Dong. After all, he has already fallen from the throne at that time. Asians are also very capable of adding insult to injury. Nike's global strategy will be completely non-existent. Influence.

But now...the initiative in the negotiation is no longer in his hands.

Are you going to negotiate terms with Lin Dong under the current circumstances? To lower his price? Go and fight him? Or choose to abandon Lin Dong?

Neither of these was something Phil Knight dared to do.

When Lin Dong becomes the real god now, and even the American market begins to chase him crazily, the only consequence of choosing to give up on him is that both the American market and the Asian market will face unprecedented headwind challenges, let alone continue to expand. Everything that has been taken into the mouth has to be spit out again!

Both the Lakers and Cavaliers have to give up, two piles of mud that can't hold up the wall...

Nike seems to have run out of options.

Phil Knight closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

Even if a generation of business tycoons cannot afford to lift things up or let them go, at least there is no problem if they hide all the factors and emotions that are most unfavorable to them deep in their hearts.

When he opened his eyes again, Philnut had put on a smiling face and adjusted his emotions.

He picked up the cell phone on the table and dialed a number.

Beep...beep...

"Hello? Who is this?"

Phil Knight's brows couldn't help but jump slightly. He didn't believe that Lin Dong didn't save his mobile phone number. This was simply...

"Haha, dear Lin, it's me." Phil Knight quickly adjusted his mood and said with a smile: "I watched today's game, it was quite exciting! I've been missing the Lion Restaurant in Seattle a little lately. Well, come and have dinner with me tomorrow, just in time to talk about contract renewal.”

"Let's do it another day." Lin Dong on the other end of the phone laughed: "I'm not free tomorrow, I have an appointment."

"Haha, your wife? Can we come together?"

"No, it's Plank." Lin Dong smiled and said, "You know him."

Although Phil Knight was already trying his best to control his emotions, he still couldn't help but his face suddenly changed when he heard Plank's name.

President Under Armor! The CEO of Under Armor who was ruined by his short selling of stocks!

What's the meaning?

Philnet suppressed his temper and asked, "That's just right. We are an old acquaintance. I haven't seen him for a long time. Let's get together."

"Haha, that might not be convenient." Lin Dong said with a smile: "The endorsement matter he discussed with me is a commercial secret."

Phil Knight suppressed the anger of wanting to throw the phone at Lin Dong's face, and said coldly: "Oh...Lin, you can't sign with two sports brand endorsement companies at the same time, this is..."

"I know, but doesn't our contract expire at the end of December?"

"..." Phil Knight's fingers holding the phone turned white from the force: "Hahaha, dear Lin, this is probably the biggest joke I have ever heard... You are planning to give up annual sales Nike, which has exceeded 10 billion US dollars, chooses a small workshop whose annual sales have dropped to tens of millions to endorse? "

"Yes." Lin Dong responded with a smile: "After all, it is more free there. At least they will not help me support and shape some opponents in order to suppress my worth or let me sign a low-price contract. Even To destroy my team."

"..."

Phil Knight's face has completely darkened. In his world, players are just chess pieces, nothing more than high or low, but now, this chess piece thinks he is a chess player!

However, he can blame others for supporting and strengthening the Cavaliers and Lakers. Anyway, there is no evidence to prove that he was behind the scenes, but Phil Knight relied on him to drive Battier away from the Sonics. No loss of account.

I didn't expect that guy to care so much about this and hold a grudge so much.

Phil Knight suppressed his temper and said with his last effort: "Does Under Armor's sales in a year be enough to give you some pocket money?"

"I already have enough money and I can't spend it all. Even if I retire in the future, I would rather go back to the Dragon Kingdom to be a coach and cultivate the basketball foundation of the Dragon Kingdom, rather than just go there like you with the little money I have saved." Compete in the capital market and be a slave to money. "Lin Dong said with a smile: "Money is just a bunch of numbers to me."

"Hahaha... If the numbers are really true, then why did you choose to endorse Under Armor? Isn't it bad not to accept the endorsement?"

"Haha, because I like that guy." Lin Dong laughed loudly: "When Under Armor was on the verge of bankruptcy, he used the few funds he had to buy all the shares of Under Armour. As a businessman, he has a bottom line, but you don’t.”

"If there's nothing else, I'll hang up." Lin Dong said cheerfully: "By the way, brother, don't go to the Lion Restaurant. Every time you order Chinese food, the way you eat makes me feel bad for you. , There is an old saying in our Dragon Kingdom that old mountain pigs cannot eat fine chaff. If you don’t like it, don’t force yourself and eat your Western food. It is more suitable for you to eat with a knife and fork.”

"in addition……"

Lin Dong paused and said calmly on the phone: "No matter what you do, the SuperSonics will win the championship this season. Under Armor may not be able to compete with Nike in the end, but don't worry, I will definitely let them Bite off a piece of your body, a big piece... This is your punishment for interfering with my team!"

beep! beep! beep! beep!

Philnet froze in front of the table, holding the phone in his hand, his whole body trembling.

He, he, a well-known business tycoon on the Forbes rich list, America's top capitalist, was actually ridiculed by a player? !

I won’t mention the difficulties of starting a business when he founded Le Cordon Bleu Sporting Goods, but since he founded Nike in 1972, he has achieved a class jump. For 33 years now, no one has dared to talk to him. So rude and presumptuous.

That, that what he was talking about...an old sow? Or the old wild boar? Is this how he describes himself?

Farke... Farke! Farke! Farke! ! !

This damn thing is looking for death!