Brands tennis shoes

Their logos adorn the shoes worn by the most famous athletes in the world. They actually bid for the right to provide an athlete the footwear he would use for his competitions. In return, the said athlete would provide his endorsement and, hopefully, the millions of adoring fans around the world would heed his advice and follow his example by buying sneakers from the same brand.

How many of us have bought our sports idol’s shoes hoping that we could replicate his moves, jump a little higher, run a little faster and control the ball a little better by gearing up with the same footwear brand? Here is a list of the top 10 most popular brands of sports shoes in the world.

1. Nike

Nike is an American company founded in 1964 as Blue Ribbon Sports. It changed its name in 1978 to Nike, who is the Greek goddess of victory. Its “Just Do It” slogan and swoosh logo are some of the most recognizable marketing items in the world today. It is considered to be the leading supplier of athletic shoes and apparel. Its first endorser was Ilie Nastase, a tennis star back in the 1970s from Romania. It also had legendary track athletes in its roster, including Steve Prefontaine, Carl Lewis, Jackie Joyner-Kersee and Sebastian Coe. The company’s signing of Michael Jordan, however, proved to be its biggest coup.

2. Adidas

Adolf Dassler established Adidas in 1948 in Germany. It can trace its roots, however, to 1924 when the Gebruder Dassler Schuhfabrik was founded by Adolf and his brother, Rudolf. The two split up in 1949, however, with Rudolf establishing Puma. The basic design of Adidas is the three parallel bars, which is also incorporated in the company’s logo. Its endorsers include legendary basketball players like Pete Maravich, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Jerry West, James Worthy, John Havlicek and Elgin Baylor. Current athletes on its roster include Lionel Messi, Kaka, Lucas Moura, David Beckham, Derrick Rose and Dwight Howard.

3. Reebok

The company was founded in 1895 as J.W. Foster and Sons in England. It came from a desire by the founder to create a spiked running shoe for his sons. In 1958, his grandsons, Joe and Jeff, renamed the company as Reebok, which is the Afrikaan spelling of rhebok, a type of antelope or gazelle native to the continent. Paul Fireman brought it to the United States in 1979 after seeing a pair in an international trade show. Endorsers include Eli Manning, Phillip Rivers, Peyton Manning, Tim Lincecum and Justin Verlander. Reebok has been a subsidiary of Adidas since 2005.

4. Puma

Following the disagreement between Adolf and Rudolf Dassler, Adolf formed Adidas in 1948 while Rudolf countered with Ruda. He later changed it to Puma.