Sometimes you watch a good movie after not having sat through a good movie for awhile, and it feels like the best movie you've ever seen, even though you realize it's mainly because you haven't actually sat down and been engrossed in a movie for a long time. That's how it felt watching "Air" about the creation of the Air Jordan shoe, but the movie is so much more than that: It's another collaboration by Ben Affleck and Matt Damon (I know, we're probably all sick of them, but as of the release of this movie in 2023, they still got it), it's a movie about something I grew up with, basketball, it's a movie about strong mothers (Delores Jordan, Michael Jordan's mom), it's a story about a decade I just missed out on, the 1980's, with lots of bangers in the soundtrack like the Violent Femmes, ZZ Top, REO Speedwagon, Chaka Khan (Rufus), and Born in the U.S.A. by the Boss, Bruce Springsteen. It's about marketing and big business, where Nike was dueling it out with Addidas (of "My Addidas" fame by Run DMC) and Converse, and it's a story about living in Portland, something I've always wondered about with the mystique of the Univeristy of Oregon, Portland, Mount Hood, Voodoo Doughnuts, Powell's Books, Tonya Harding, and now......how Nike got its groove, thanks to the visionary leadership of Phil Knight, aka the Shoe Dog.
Nowadays billionaires have a pretty bad reputation, with the richest man in the world now delving into politics (rather ill-advisedly) and implementing "DOGE" (Department of Government Efficiency) while funding President Trump's presidential campaign, and others in the top 10 have similar drawn negative headlines, especially with the world increasingly turning into an plutocracy, government run by the wealthy. It's nice to see, from the surface at least, that there's at least one billionaire who's not consumed by amibition and power, and that's Phil Knight, net worth $60 billion, philanthropist to the University of Oregon plus various other charities, and apparently an avid runner. Maybe something about getting that runner's high and getting out into the world at least an hour today clears your perspective and gets your priorities straight: I find that running once a day keeps me sane, makes me enjoy the simpler pleasures of life, makes me feel better about myself, reminds me of who I am and the journey that I've taken to become who I am. Maybe that's Phil Knight, and maybe Elon Musk could use a run or two in his life (he reportedly is one of the best Diablo players in the world, which means he's not running around playing that video game). The movie "Air" definitely depicts Phil Knight in a good light as well as documents one of the biggest deals he made to get to that $60 billion, essentially becoming a partner with Michael Jordan, who was relatively unknown back in 1984 but is considered the G.O.A.T., and Phil Knight (and others at Nike) took a chance on him. And early shareholders at Nike are probably happy they took a chance on Nike too, from a 1985 price of $0.14 to $76 today, although the chart shows that Nike's hit another wall, similar to what they faced in 1984... maybe they need to make another seismic shift (this is the Nike shareholder in me talking).
I loved the movie from a sports perspective (John Stockton, Hakeem Olajuwon, Charles Barkley, and Michael.......these are all my sports heroes growing up!) From a business perspective, it made me lament that familiar phrase: all the best ideas are taken! And it always seems like someone is one step ahead, gotten into the game earlier and if I had lived in the 1980's, I'd found a way to get rich. Maybe, or knowing me I would have found a way to ease into a comfortable life and get hooked on something unprofitable like playing chess or getting on TV. What are today's untapped potential opportunities? They all seem to be in technology, an area I have no expertise in at all, and a big one everyone talking about now is A.I.: what is the next technological revolution going to look like, and how will humans interact with A.I. And if you're a Nvidia shareholder like me, WHAT THE HECK IS DEEPSEEK, and why did the Chinese company just make Nvidia shares dip 17% on Monday? (the stock tried to rally over the course of the week but the fears of its business getting taken over by China and China winning the A.I. race are real enough to keep the stock down). Maybe, though, just maybe, with all the hype about A.I. and the new race for digital supremacy, maybe the time is to zig when everyone else is zagging and there will be a backlash back to a simpler time of books, movies, and the good ole' days of the 1980's? Seriously, teenagers and Gen Z, if you haven't tried a time without the Internet, don't knock it until you try it......it is so much less stress and you get such a great high when you actually do get quality work like "Air" the movie.
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