A Solution for the Nostalgia Drought

As the world became more connected over the past 15 years, nostalgia had a huge influence on what people shared online. Nostalgia is still a big factor but it's increasingly difficult to come by. But, just when it seems the nostalgia well has run dry, someone introduces a much-needed hit in the form of a photo or video of a celebrity or event that's never been seen. A recent example would be this footage of Michael Jordan playing basketball in high school.

You've probably never seen footage of Michael Jordan dunking in high school ... until now. (via MaxPreps)
Posted by CBS Sports on Thursday, July 9, 2015

(Lots of sources for the above video but I think it originated from MaxPreps.)

Why is the rush of nostalgia from this clip so great? Obviously, video capturing equipment wasn't widely available when Michael Jordan was in high school. So...in a way...this footage is new to us. High school highlight tapes of today's NBA stars are not nearly as hard to come by - or old. The video above really gives you the sense of looking back in time.

Recently, I realized that the sports world offers tremendous amounts of opportunities for this type of nostalgic flow. A light bulb went off for me when I came across the image of this baseball card on Twitter the other day.

Greatest sports card EVER. Thank you @UpperDeckSports. #FoundItInMyChildhoodJewelryBox pic.twitter.com/00LWc5UWjp

— Corrine Morris (@corrinemorris) July 15, 2015

Now, the scene depicted in this baseball card is another story for another day. Let's just focus on the video camera the ballplayer is holding. This was a very common sight back in the 1990's and 2000's before smartphones.

When I saw the image of this archaic camera, I was hit with a cloud of nostalgia and the memory similarly archaic cameras in the hands of basketball players during the NBA All Star weekend festivities I watched as a kid. The video below features greats such as Shaquille O'Neal and Kevin Garnett capturing their perspective from the 2000 dunk contest.



If those cameras looked big in their hands, you know they were huge by today's standards! How great would it be to watch some of those tapes?!

Any blogger that manages to get their hands on that footage would be able to lay claim to the nostalgia crown for at least the next decade. I can't help but wonder if there is an abundance of this type of behind-the-scenes videos out there.

I'm surprised that Shaquille O’Neal hasn't made any of his footage available. He's a pioneer in terms of celebrities on Twitter and he seems to take pride in being tech-savvy. Converting all of that old footage into the proper format for today's devices can't be easy. Maybe Shaq needs to give Val Kilmer a call for some pointers.


Yes, that is behind-the-scenes footage from one of my favorite films. Val shared this on his YouTube channel, which features a lot of blasts from the past.

If anything, Val Kilmer proved that sharing old video footage through new mediums can be done. Time will tell if NBA legends will ever share any of their prized content and provide a much-needed solution for nostalgia drought.

My Ever-Changing Perception of NIKE's Brand

Judging by the apparel worn by today's 8-14 year old boys in my area, brand loyalty is spread much wider than it was when I was in that age range. While the core of the traditional typical outfit (t-shirt, shorts, sneakers) remains the same, it's very common to see different brands for each piece. For example, I see a lot of kids wearing Under Armor socks with their NIKE shoes. Seeing how mixing brands has become perfectly acceptable makes me wonder if my perception of brands has become extremely outdated.

Growing up in the late 80's and early 90's, I would only consider wearing NIKE shoes. I was a NIKE billboard then, head to toe. This was purely based on the fact that Michael Jordan and Bo Jackson wore NIKEs. Performance, durability, pricing and other factors wouldn't impact my purchases until I grew older, but NIKE continues to earn my loyalty. Back then, I viewed Reebok as an inferior competitor and Adidas was a non-factor. Under Armor didn't exist yet so my choice truly came down to NIKE. I don't pay as much attention to the athletic shoe industry now because I don't wear sneakers as often as I once did but I'm really impressed to see the emergence of Under Armor. Kids seem to really like these shoes.  

I think Under Armor is a long way from overtaking NIKE but they're definitely making a dent, which is something I thought would never be possible. The following video from Fast Company fittingly details the history of NIKE's brand.

Quick point I'd like to make about this video: Tiger Woods was not unknown when he signed with NIKE. Many people outside of the golfing world were aware of him and knew that he was destined for big things. Signing Tiger was huge though - it allowed NIKE to enter a sport much like Michael Jordan did for basketball.  When I try to define "branding", I always point to NIKE as an example. My attraction to their products has changed on many different levels over the years and my perception of NIKE's brand is what I use when I try to identify other brands today. {Top photo: Courtesy}