Letter inspires new Dwyane Wade Converse campaign
A love letter to basketball that Heat guard Dwyane Wade penned last summer inspired this year’s Converse ad campaign, called “From Robbins, Illinois.”
Wade wrote the little note as he was recovering from surgery, which reminded him of the last time he wasn’t playing basketball: 2000-01, his first year at Marquette when he had to sit out.
“I did everything in my power to take you with me, but you didn’t wanna go,” Wade’s note says. “You said I needed to become a man and that I counted on you way too much … so you left me – feeling unsure, unloved and confused.”
The ad for Wade’s newest shoe, the Wade 3, was shot last month at AmericanAirlines Arena and will begin airing Sunday, including during the Dolphins-New York Giants game from London. It shows Wade alone at the arena pretending to play basketball, walking up the arena steps to a broadcast booth, flipping on the microphone and announcing a line from his letter: “From Robbins, Illinois, 6 foot 4 Guard … Dwyane Wade.”
The shoe, which costs $100, goes on sale Nov. 3, natch. It’s signature Wade with 33 triangles, including the spine of triangles on the shoe’s heel and along its sole.
Here's the text of Wade's letter:
In the summer of 2000-2001, high school had ended and it was time for college. I did everything in my power to take you with me, but you didn't wanna go. You said I needed to become a man and that I counted on you way too much...so you left me - feeling unsure, unloved and confused. How could you not love me anymore?
You’ve had my heart since I first laid eyes on you. I woke up to the thought of you and went to sleep with my heart with you. You completed me and now you was leaving me. How? How could you? You left me with nothing to do...no one to turn to...You help mold me into the man that I am today. You were the one that understood me - but I knew deep down inside you were gonna come back to me.
So I practiced on ways that I could love you more, and for you to never leave me again. And then 2001-2002 came...you said the words that I've always dreamed of hearing...
“From Robbins, Illinois, 6 foot 4 Guard … Dwyane Wade.”
And we fell in love all over again...To my first love...The Game of Basketball....I love you...
CRAIG DAVIS In more than 33 years at the Sun Sentinel, Craig Davis has written about a wide variety of sports topics from baseball to yachting, fishing to triathlons, and also worked as a copy editor and page designer. Recently he reported on local sports, including running, swimming, cycling, equestrian and beach volleyball. He enjoys sports as a participant as well as a spectator, is active in the South Florida running scene plays in the curling club at Saveology Iceplex. This blog offers a glimpse at the business side of sports in the interest of enhancing enjoyment of the games and sporting options as a spectator as well as a participant.
