Athlete endorsements are the norm today.
Athletes “pitch” us on what shoes to wear, cars to drive, and what to eat.
Its as common as watching Miley Cyrus’ on stage twerkin’ escapades.
This wasn’t always the case. I remember when athlete products endorsements became popular. Do you?
As a teenager in the late 80’s, I shifted my focus from college basketball into the pro ranks and discovered Michael “Air” Jordan.
Jordan was what I considered a basketball freak and I idolized him!
I wanted to walk like Mike, talk like Mike, and most importantly, play like Mike.
“I wanna, I wanna be like Mike,” the famous Gatorade commercial sang.
For me, being like Mike extended beyond playing like his “Airness,” I wanted to eat like him as well.
When I saw MJ endorsing McDonald’s, I made an effort to eat at McDonald’s and when I saw him drinking Gatorade,
guess what I drank?
I was, as they say, a young impressionable kid and advertising execs made their living off me and others like me!
I know I wasn’t the only one, right?
I’d probably be eating and drinking the same crap if my inner guru hadn’t blessed me with 35 additional pounds in my late thirties.
Whether you want to believe this or not, endorsements by athletes steer our decisions when it comes to food and other products.
The McDonald’s Mishap
By 10th grade, the McDonald’s brand was permanently etched in my mind.
I saw Michael Jordan grinning slyly on a Mickey D’s commercial.
I was hooked! I became a loyal customer and it was reinforced when I became a varsity basketball player.
I couldn’t wait to get on the bus after an away game and head to the nearest McDonald’s.
My order would always be the same thing…a quarter pounder with cheese, large order of fries, and an iced tea.
Why tea? I figured out McDonald’s gave free refills on tea.
Why did I need water when I could have tea?
What I didn’t know was tea is a diuretic because of the caffeine in it.
I always wondered how I could drink cup after cup and still leave the restaurant thirsty.
Now I know. I never questioned McDonald’s…I just believed the hype.
However, I question them now.
How can a corporation with such unhealthy food have their name on every high profile athletic event?
Also, why would any professional athlete promote anything that would leave them feeling like crap?
I guarantee Michael Jordan wouldn’t air out anything other than his bathroom after eating a frankenburger from McDonald’s.
Subway Sinning
I, like anyone, isn’t immune to falling for food being endorsed by athletes.
I’m not sure if it was Jared or an athlete who convinced me Subway was healthy.
I now know it isn’t since finding out I suffered from gluten sensitivity.
In addition, I know Subway uses “booty meat” and that just ain’t for me.
I’m sure they were able to make “bookoo” money off me when I was a loyal customer.
I was a 5$ footlong fanatic but I broke my habit way before Michael Phelps saw the light.
Yup, Michael Phelps, the Olympic swimmer who won several gold medals said this about Subway, “I am embarrassed, ashamed, and quite frankly disgusted in myself for encouraging other people to eat that bready, semi-meat-flavored amalgamation Subway attempts to pass off as a meal.”
I take my hat off to Phelps who had the balls to come forward, tell the truth and end his relationship with the Subway brand.
Phelps later said he only had to put the sandwiches near his face and use them as props for the commercials.
Phelps isn’t and won’t be the first athlete to not taste or do any research on the products he’s endorsing.
I’ve said it before and will say it again: money will usually cloud most people’s values and common sense especially when it comes to food.
The Milk Mustache
I’ve stopped consuming milk.
It just didn’t agree with me.
I thought something was wrong with me, because my body could no longer handle the one thing that did a body good.
I’d thumb through the pages of a sports magazine and see sports personalities wearing fake milk mustaches.
I just knew I was missing out on all that good calcium and vitamin goodness.
It never dawned on me the milk I so desperately needed was filled with antibiotics, hormones, and in some cases puss from sick cows.
Ain’t nobody got time for that!
I wonder if these athletes know pasteurization and homogenization render milk lifeless and make it bad for the body?
I’d say…not! In many cases athletes know just about as much as the general public knows about nutrition.
That’s not saying much because a disproportionate amount of folks suffer from nutritional illiteracy.
Be Like Kobe
I said I didn’t wanna be like Mike and that’s true of the products he’s endorsed.
But, I might consider being like Kobe.
Kobe Bryant has recently adopted a real food diet.
Kobe says,“I feel like I can run all day long. A lot of that has to do with diet and being committed to it, and watching what I eat. “
This speaks volumes to me since I’m over 40.
It’s easy to look good in your twenties but its “hella” hard to do in your 40’s.
Kobe’s not currently 40 but I’d be willing to bet adopting a real food diet has prolonged his career even though he suffered a season ending achilles tendon tear last year.
I wonder what changed Kobe’s mind from being a McDonald’s and Sprite peddler to choosing real food?
Dr. Cate Shanahan, a team consultant for the Lakers gets the credit.
Dr. Shanahan wrote the book “Deep Nutrition” and teaches an upside down approach to eating.
She educated Kobe on the importance of pastured meat and eggs and the danger of consuming processed sugar.
Kobe refuses to eat anything with high fructose corn syrup.
Uh oh, Sprite!
He’s also adopted a low carb diet.
It might be safe to say you won’t be seeing Kobe on another Mickey D or soda commercial. Let’s hope so!
Michael Jordan and Michael Phelps aren’t isolated incidences.
We’ve all fallen prey to an athlete or celebrity who promotes a product.
In most cases, they don’t eat or use the product.
They were just paid a fee ( a very handsome fee) to endorse it.
Big Food recognizes the importance of creating brand loyalty so they use our idols against us.
It’s up to us to separate the fantasy from the reality but are we doing that?
Are you going to Subway because you believe they have nutritious food or because you saw the latest RGIII 30 second commercial?
I always thought I made my own food choices yet I never realized how much those choices were guided by athlete product endorsements.
Do you think your food choices are being influenced by sports stars?
The next time you watch a sporting event count the number of product endorsements you see, then use this as a measuring stick when you’re buying food.
If you’ve bought a food product or gone to a restaurant you saw on one of those commercials, you have probably been coerced into a decision.
If you really want to be amazed, look at all the people around you who have done the same.
Do you know someone who buys their clothes, shoes or food, based on their favorite athlete? Please share this with them.
Have you done this and want to comment on it? Leave your comment below.