Fans of Bennett Miller’s “Moneyball” will enjoy the like-minded Ben Affleck film “Air”- a behind-the-scenes look at how an unorthodox approach proved to be the key to success and change the sports arena forever.
In “Air,” the year is 1984. Matt Damon plays Sonny Vaccaro, an athlete scout and marketing exec at Nike. Though popular. Nike’s sneakers are considered running shoes and not top-of-the-line sports sneakers like those produced by rival companies Converse and Adidas. While looking at top college rookies entering the NBA to secure as sponsors for Nike, Vaccaro realizes he won’t have the budget to lure a few select future superstars like his competitors do.
One night while watching a VHS tape of Michael Jordan’s game-winning final throw in 1982’s North Carolina vs. Georgetown game, Vaccaro realizes something only Jordan’s team knew- Michael was trusted to make the final shot because they believed he was destined for greatness. Knowing Michael doesn’t consider meeting with Nike after speaking with his agent (Chris Messina) and former coach George Raveling (Marlon Waylans) due to Adidas dangling Nike’s fiscal allotment in front of Jordan, Vaccaro makes his move. Throwing Nike’s full budget toward an untested rookie player and circumventing Jordan’s agent by going directly to the source of the decision-making in the Jordan household, Michael’s mother Deloris (Viola Davis), Vaccaro bets everything on an educated hunch and pushes Nike’s entire stack of chips into an all-or-nothing gamble.
While we know the outcome of “Air,” its story plays like watching how “Moneyball’s” coach Billy Beane (Brad Pitt) used an unorthodox approach to recruit players based on a mathematical system due to lack of funds that, against traditional scouting procedures, turned the 2002 Oakland A’s into a team placing first in their division with a 20-game win streak. Like “Moneyball,” “Air’s” screenwriter Alex Convery focuses on the people surrounding Vaccaro as he skates through securing Jordan’s sponsorship: convincing Nike marketing colleagues (Jason Bateman, Chris Tucker) and CEO (Ben Affleck) that their smaller company should swing-for-the-fences and by getting shoe designer Peter Moore (Matthew Maher) to create a sneaker so revolutionary for Jordan’s pitch meeting that it would speak for Michael and not the Nike brand.
Finding its place in pop culture, Moore designed the “Air Jordan,” a never-before-seen sneaker that featured more red color than the 51% white color dictated for footwear worn on NBA courts (Nike agreed to pick up any fines Jordan incurred should he sign). Also changing the landscape of sports was the landmark deal Deloris Jordan dictated giving Michael a portion of Air Jordan’s sales revenue. With a cut of over $4 billion sales, the Jordan deal paved the way in how future payments for athlete sponsorships would be structured.
“Air” is an all-around solid entertainment and a good glimpse into the architecture that altered how an industry conducted itself. In championing the visionary who saw success where others could not and managing to make them believe an impossible idea, its ‘root for-the underdog’ sports story is hard to resist.