Air--Review Nike Biopic

 I love biopics.  Maybe it's the idea of knowing the ending that makes them so appealing.  

The movie, Air, takes us to a time that to our generation, seems recent, but so incomprehensible. 

Nike, based in Beaverton, Oregon, was not domineering in the world of basketball shoes   It was after all, a running shoe.  The brands, Adidas and Converse, dominated the sport. 

Michael Jordan was a name that could be mentioned in the same breath as players like Sam Bowie and James Worthy, who while awesome in their own right, would not epitomize the sport the way Jordan did. 

Sonny Vaccaro is the marketing director for Nike's basketball division, which was struggling at the time, the was the mid-80s, Symbols of 80s technology and culture are featured throughout the flick. Vaccaro knows that the company needs to sign high profile players to promote the shoe.  He decides to go after one player, a player who had not yet stepped on an NBA court, the player of course was Michael Jordan.  The decision is to market a show around Jordan.  The catchy name, which at the time, sounded more like an airline than a sneaker would be, Air Jordan.

The tough one to fathom was George Raveling.  George was coach of the WSU basketball team when I arrived, one of the first African-American coaches at a major university, his profile in Pullman was extremely high.  I even was able to interview him when taking the TV-news class at WSU. 

I picture Raveling as very cerebral and well spoken. The Raveling that was portrayed in the movie was prone to street slang.  The difference was very unsettling to me.  

Overall, Air works because you don't root necessarily root for Nike, as you root for Vaccaro and his marketing team.  Overall, I enjoyed this movie, which can be seen on Amazon Prime.