Under Armour rolled out their largest footwear advertising campaign to-date this week, entitled “Footsteps.”

According to the sports apparel giant, “the soon-to-be-released footwear line embraces the Brand’s performance DNA and infuses proprietary apparel technology into every shoe to help athletes perform their best.” Peter Berg of Friday Night Lights fame worked with Under Armour on the new commercial.

“The campaign marks an unprecedented step forward for Under Armour footwear, bringing together the highest caliber of talent on both sides of the camera to tell the story of our state-of-the-art performance footwear,” said Steve Battista, senior vice president, Brand, Under Armour. “We’ve captured athletes in their authentic training environment, showcasing Under Armour’s commitment to performance and innovation in a voice that is unique to the Brand. Our new line of footwear is helping athletes create footsteps, not just hear them.”

Above is the commercial that features Tom Brady, Cam Newton, Georges St-Pierre, among others.

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“Many media types I know hold the fans in contempt. It’s sad when, say, a cheese-heavy local baseball blogger thinks he knows it all but fails to see himself for what he is: a glorified stenographer with a bloated ego and a sweet gig. It’s the misguided elitism that rankles. Reporters don’t consume sports the same way fans do, and few of them have made much of an effort to understand your perspective….Boo whomever you like. Or don’t. It’s up to you. Just don’t let anyone dictate the terms of your passion. They aren’t you, and they shouldn’t pretend that they always know what’s right.”

Passively accepting the commentary of, say, Bob Costas is for lemmings from the Midwest, Gonzalez says.

“Context is important. Let’s not forget where all this supposedly unsavory conduct occurs. We don’t live in St. Paul, Minn., or St. Louis. The fans there are Stepford automatons, blinking and cheering and slobbering on cue. It’s frightening. Many of the people (in Philadelphia) take pride in being the opposite of the typical mindless water-and-sprout mutants filling seats in stadiums across the country. Philadelphians have long seen themselves as open, honest brokers – fans who will tell you exactly what they’re thinking instead of what you might want to hear.”

So in conclusion: Philadelphia fans can tell you what they’re thinking (even when you don’t want to hear it), but Philadelphia announcers cannot.

– Photo Los Angeles Times

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Charts!

Joe Ward, Shan Carter, and Kevin Quealy do their graphic thing on NYTimes.com, showing Nick Folk‘s successes and struggles kicking field goals.

The Jets kicker started the seasons strong, but struggled as the year wore on, missing nearly half his field goals during a four-games stretch. He regained his form, making nine in a row, but as the chart demonstrates, he’s only been called upon to kick short ones. That’s the explanation for his recent success.

They give Brad Smith‘s kick returning and Steve Weatherford‘s punting the same treatment. Check it out; It’s better than Phil Mushnick ranting and raving.

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