When it comes to shoes, I’ll admit I have a problem. As a man, you really only need about 6 pairs. Black dress shoes, brown dress shoes, a pair of boots, running shoes, basketball shoes, and some flip-flops/boat shoes. When one of those pairs wear out, you buy a new pair. But if you’re a sneaker-head like me, you end up with like 10 pairs of Nike Air-Max, 10 pairs of Jordans, dress shoes in several colors, an array of boat shoes, and boxes of other shoes that haven’t even made it in the rotation yet. I pretty much have every pair of shoes I could ever want- except for the non-existent White Mambas.
It’s a shame, no, it’s a crime that Brian Scalabrine does not have a signature shoe. While there are millions of kids who wish they can play like LeBron or be like Mike, there are millions upon millions of kids, pre-teens, teenagers, young adults, weekend warriors, and slow-break recreational league ballers who identify with the White Mamba. Think about it. Basketball is a team sport. Professional rosters include 12 active players and up to 3 additional inactive players. Collegiate rosters can have up to 20 players (although most have between 12 and 15), and High School teams can have up to 15 players. Only 5 players can be on the court at the same time, and most teams only rotate about 3-4 subs. That leaves just about half the team riding the pine or seeing limited action- just like Brian Scalabrine.
The White Mamba signature shoe would be for every person out there who only sees the court in those 2 final minutes of the game when the outcome has been long decided (aka myself in High School). It would be for the equipment manager who never sees the court at all. The White Mambas would be for everyone who loves the game, but just isn’t quite that good at it.
Don’t get me wrong, the White Mamba had a solid basketball career. He averaged 15.7 points per game at USC and went on to have an 11 year career in the NBA. When the average NBA career lasts less than 5 years, sticking around for more than twice that is an accomplishment in itself. Although Scalabrine only averaged 3.1 points per game in the league, he’s leaps and bounds above the average Joe when it comes to balling. Just watch him destroy everyone he took on in the Toucher & Rich One-On-One Scallenge:
Whether you were once the guy who handed out cups of water to the team captain, the kid at the end of the bench, or the player who could actually ball and went on to play in college, you root for Brian Scalabrine and people like him. You may not want to actually be like the White Mamba, but you definitely like the White Mamba. You’d wear his signature shoe with pride.
This is why an endorsement deal with Greater Than coconut water isn’t enough for Brian Scalabrine. He needs his own signature shoe, no, signature shoes. Each box should come with a pair of basketball sneakers and a pair of loafers, for those days where you didn’t quite make the active roster and can’t dress for the game. So make this happen, Nike. Get on it, Adidas. This is an opportunity of a lifetime to capitalize on the White Mamba’s popularity while we all still have his greatness fresh in our memory.
The White Mambas. Basketball shoes and loafers for the love of the game.
Hey, I’d buy ‘em.
