Iverson Reigns in Spain

Discussion in 'Philadelphia 76ers' started by Shapecity, Oct 6, 2006.

  1. Shapecity

    Shapecity S2/JBB Teamster Staff Member Administrator

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    <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">BARCELONA, Spain - Winterthur FC Barcelona was the home team. Juan Carlos Navarro is the fans' hero. Last night, Allen Iverson was, as he remains in virtually every 76ers setting, the fans' darling.

    Kids in Iverson jerseys, most unable to speak English, wait outside the Sixers' practice facility, praying for a glimpse. Kids and adults lined the path leading to the security entrance of Palau Sant Jordi last night, all but begging for autographs. Evidence of Iverson's massive popularity was all over the sold-out arena.

    The people didn't get as much Iverson as they had hoped for (13 points, 3-for-12 shooting, six assists), but they saw their hometown team win, 104-99, becoming the first team to defeat an NBA team on European soil.

    For them, it wasn't totally all good, but it was close.

    "Allen is becoming sort of a youth lifestyle icon," commissioner David Stern said in a pregame news conference. "Kids like celebrities who are sort of perceived as loyal to themselves but not conforming to [standards] set by others.

    "I think Allen has inherited that mantle, a genuine person on the one hand and an extraordinary competitor who throws his body into the game in terms of his physical intensity and his effort. That makes him popular in China, makes him popular in Europe and makes him popular in the U.S."

    Iverson is a major face of Reebook. More recently, he's become one of the faces of vitaminwater; he's even endorsing DAP body spray. Stern was more than ready to invoke a commercial slogan, mentioning the Reebok slogan, "I am what I am." In the United States, that's Iverson in many of the commercials and posters. In Europe, that's soccer star Thierry Henry.

    Stern said Iverson "personifies it, and that makes him very popular [on posters] in subway stations."

    Stern said he knew this was coming "years ago when people whose judgments and values I respect said to me 'I didn't really think I should like Allen Iverson, but watching him on the court and the effort that he puts out makes it impossible for me not to be a fan of his and to admire him.' That, to me, was a seal."

    Still, Stern has vivid memories of Iverson's formative years in the NBA, and of the times the commissioner had to summon the 6-foot guard to the league offices or make a disciplinary decision. Stern hasn't forgotten the moments when controversy seemed to be everywhere.

    "I've just had to be a little bit of a tugboat, focusing on a little bit of change of direction off the court," Stern said, allowing himself a smile. "In some ways, I think we were running a little interference for him rather than disciplining him."

    The perennial All-Star that Larry Brown used to refer to as "the little kid" is anything but a kid anymore. At 31, he's preparing for his 11th season. Stern is keenly aware that, whatever changes we have seen in Iverson, are as much part of a natural progression as anything else.

    "It's very much a natural development," Stern said. "One of the things we like to see is players at the earliest possible age recognize what they've given to the game and what the game means to them and how much people feel about how they play. Sometimes, it doesn't occur till many years after a player retires. Sometimes the lightbulb goes off [earlier]; while they're still very much at their peak, players realize what the game means to them and what they mean to the fans. Sometimes when you see it locally, maybe you take it for granted. When you see it globally, it's a different story."</div>

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  2. phunDamentalz

    phunDamentalz JBB JustBBall Member

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    Iverson is the biggest NBA star in Europe probably. When I was in Ireland there were 2-story buses covered with Iverson Reebok ads and store displays in the shoe stores. Nobody knew who Kobe was!
     
  3. Answer_AI03

    Answer_AI03 JBB JustBBall Member

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    When it comes to basketball i think reebok does a much better job at international advertising. maybe thats why no one knew who kobe was.
     

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