On my first day in Shanghai China I noticed a number of people wearing the classic adidas Stan Smith shoes. So many that I began keeping an official count. Today is day three and I have a running total of 33 Stan Smith shoe sightings. It’s incredible how many people here are wearing these classic shoes which could very well be the world’s most popular sporting shoe.
The Chuck Taylor’s by Converse used to be the most popular shoe – over 800,000,000 sold since – but I’ve only seen a couple sightings of them here in Shanghai. My girlfriend says they aren’t big here like they are in the US because they are very expensive, costing about $70. Earlier today after lunch with friends in outer Shanghai she spotted a shoe in a shoestore window which was the shoe she wore in her childhood. We stopped and bought three pairs.
They are called “Warrior” sneakers but they look exactly like Chuck Taylors. I said that they are probably copycats of the Chuck Taylor model which I believe were created in the 1930s. But she said the Warrior shoe was founded in 1927 so the opposite could be true: The Chuck Taylor is the copycat of the Warrior (pronounced Quay-Lee in Mandarin).
[I researched the CTs and they were first made in 1917 but the first white model was made in the 1930s.
So far in ten days all over China – Shanghai, Xi An, Xining, Dunhuong (a western city where Bill Gates visited in 2006), I have only seen one set of tennis courts – three today in outer Shanghai (no one was playing). Tennis is not very popular here like basketball and badminton. In the bookstores there are dozens of books about badminton and I saw basketball courts in just about all the regions of China we visited, even in the rural parts (they all have glass backboards).
The arena where the Shanghai Masters is played is about an hour’s drive from the Nanjing Road area we are staying (at the Sofitel Hotel) so I won’t see it on this trip. But a friend here said the arena houses three main courts and about 20 courts for practice where training and various tournaments are played throughout the year.
Novak Djokovic is pretty popular here as his face is on big ads at the Pudong Airport. The ads were not for UniQlo. The only Roger Federer presence I have seen here was yesterday when a kid at the mall was wearing a white RF shirt.
But by far the biggest tennis presence here in Shanghai, much to my surprise, has been the frequency of seeing people wearing the Stan Smith classic white tennis shoe, with mostly the green tag on the back (but also in other colors). I even saw a pair of Stan Smith hightops. Is the Stan Smith the most popular stylish sports sneaker in the world today? I think so. If not, it’s second place to the Chuck Taylor.
At the US Open I will tell this silly information to Stan Smith himself and of course report to you his response.
Cheers from Shanghai. Will be back next week for US Open qualies. See you there.
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jg · August 21, 2016 at 6:29 pm
Funny, I was just in San Francisco and noticed a lot of chinese folks wearing Stan Smith tennis shoes (in all colors) and wondered where that was coming from. Now we know.
Dan Markowitz · August 21, 2016 at 9:16 pm
How about Cilic today! I don’t think I’ve ever seen him play better (although the 2014 US Open he was also playing extremely well) and look so enthused. Can Cilic actually be the no. 3 in the world now? It certainly looks that way. Usually, Murray finds out how to disarm an opponent, but today Cilic looked invincible.
Scoop Malinowski · August 21, 2016 at 9:35 pm
Saw two more Shanghaians wearing SSs after penning this article. Might be the NO 1 pop culture sports sneaker in the world right now. Stan Smith should be a billionaire. I had two pairs as a kid but will get a new pair soon.
Scoop Malinowski · August 21, 2016 at 9:38 pm
Cilic has looked better this summer but though I did not see any of the match I would guess Andy didn’t quite want it as much as Cilic. Murray knows he has to save his A plus game for New York. Can’t afford to burn his A plus game tank in Ohio.
Dan Markowitz · August 22, 2016 at 6:47 am
Andy looked like he wanted it plenty much. Deep into the second set, he was emoting as much as I’ve ever seen Murray emote. Cilic has a game that without looking at their H2H seems like it would be a tough out for Andy. Cilic has as good or better a forehand than Andy; his backhand is real solid and he hits the ball bigger and takes more chances than Andy. Watch out for the Cilic train.
It’s funny, we point out when a player hires a coach and then has a winning streak, but we never point out like Cilic with Goran, when a player drops a coach and then wins big.
Andrew Miller · August 22, 2016 at 10:01 am
Could be. Cilic may be ought to prove again.
catherine bell · August 22, 2016 at 10:11 am
Possibly. But Cilic wasn’t as tired as Andy.
And yes, Scoop, I imagine Andy wanted something left in the A+ tank.
Andrew Miller · August 22, 2016 at 12:40 pm
usopen qualies draw up this afternoon?
Jg · August 22, 2016 at 7:32 pm
Dan and scoop are you going to be at qualies Thursday? I should be there, playing in Long Island city first with eldest.
Dan Markowitz · August 22, 2016 at 8:39 pm
Jon,
I’ll have to let you know. As of now, I might be there on Thurs. I’m going to go tomorrow because it’s a long-standing tradition (of mine) that I’ve been to every first day of Quali and MD for the past 30+ years practically. So even though my son, Callum, plays in the semis of a tournament at the Coveleigh Club in Rye, NY tomorrow at noon, and if he wins, the finals at 3, we’ll drive out there tomorrow afternoon and see Mitchell Krueger play and whoever else is still out there pounding balls after 5 pm.
What a Qualis! Might be the best draw I’ve ever seen since Vince lost in the second round of Qualis as a 18-year-old to none other than David Nalbandian. How about both Harrison brothers in the same draw? How about 35 year old, Jurgen Melzer, former no. 8 and winner of nearly $8 million in draw? And Opelka, Steppy, Paul and Donaldson. Anyone out there tomorrow, come and say hello at Krueger match, a guy I’ve been following for a while now.
Andrew Miller · August 22, 2016 at 9:40 pm
Wow, what a draw. Just reviewed it. Whoever makes it will be battle tested that’s for sure.
Scoop Malinowski · August 24, 2016 at 6:04 am
Btw I talked with a few SS wearers – one guy said he bought his pair two years ago in Paris – a girl student said she got hers in Chicago –