On Monday the 20-time Grand Slam Tennis Champion Roger Federer confirmed that his long-time partnership with Nike is over.
He arrived to the Wimbledon court repping Uniqlo as the perhaps indulgently theatrical way of announcing the change, and honestly it just feels so wrong.
honestly federer letting us all lose our minds for months over whether he's left nike or not then just casually walking onto centre court at wimbledon in his new uniqlo kit is the definition of big dick energy do not @ me
— Maisie (@goderer) July 2, 2018
Part of what makes it feel so uncomfortable is that the Japanese mass retailer isn’t even a sports brand. What’s going on???
I know it shouldn’t matter as much as it feels like it does but this is a dySTOPIA:
Federer has been sporting the Nike apparel for as long as I can remember, and for fans that’s a core part both his identity and the brand’s identity.
Federer has been wearing Nike for more than 20 years, including his blonde hair stage. pic.twitter.com/BUYr82kPtC
— Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) July 2, 2018
Honestly, Federer not wearing Nike has instantly devalued all the Nike that I own because they’ve lost a hero in their ranks. If Federer isn’t wearing Nike than why am I?
It speaks volumes to the importance of a good endorsement and they’ve just lost a GREAT one.
Nike drops after Roger Federer switches to Uniqlo https://t.co/oq9Diz3YHh pic.twitter.com/izfOW0mVYB
— Bloomberg Markets (@markets) July 2, 2018
Me when I see Fed in Uniqlo.
Federer has been with Nike for 21 years, but his contract was up and Nike wouldn’t match Uniqlo’s offer for triple his Nike pay. I mean sure, $300 million over 10 years is great Fed but remember all the good times you had wearing Nike???
Why does this feel like losing a piece of history?
I just have to say that it is difficult to watch Federer play in something other than Nike. @ATPWorldTour @Wimbledon @rogerfederer @Nikecourt
— Sandy Vietor (@VietorSandy) July 2, 2018
What’s happening with the iconic Roger Federer ‘RF’ logo is still up in the air, which is causing a substantial amount of distress I’m not going to lie to you.
The RF logo is still owned by Nike and it’s what all the fans wear to support Federer. But now Federer can’t wear it. You see the problem.
Federer assured fans that “The RF logo is with Nike at the moment, but it will come to me at some point.”
“I hope rather sooner than later that Nike can be nice and helpful in the process to bring it over to me. It’s also something that was very important for me, for the fans really.”
Me begging for the RF logo to be handed over.
Anyway, I’m sure Federer had his reasons because I trust him and everything, but I do wish that he’d given us a heads up at least because I wasn’t properly prepared to deal with the emotional crisis of grieving.
This is definitely going to take some adjusting.
