New Yorkers Get Their Kicks with adidas

Some of the hippest football fans in New York City turned up in their masses on Saturday (12 July) for the kick off of the 13^th adidas Fanatic football tournament.

The event appropriately took place on the same weekend as the World Cup final, and was attended by a stonking 1800 people including an array of celebrities.

Fanatic is an invite-only tournament that takes place at Brooklyn Bridge Park and culls teams from the downtown community. The event is an immersive experience that began in 2002 when adidas approached Idealogue with a brief to ‘make soccer hip’ in New York.

Back in 2002, 200 people attended in contrast to nearly 2000 on Saturday. The event has come to define adidas as a brand in New York, with a handful of celebrities even being spotted in the crowd – including model Lindsay Wixsom, the Winklevoss twins, basketball player Steve Nash and restaurateur/ nightclub owner Serge Becker.

A total of 28 teams made up of magazines, boutiques, artists, directors, photographers, DJs, restaurateurs, and record producers competed against each other in the tournament as well as enjoying a barbecue, beer and musical beats. These teams included Acne Studios, Atelier Ace, Psyop, The Last United, Three Kings FC, Complex FC, Colossal, BLK DNM, Dillingers, Sun West Studios, Opening Ceremony, The Standard, SK Killers, V FC (Visionaire), J&M Killas, Momofuku, Uno NYC & Cool, Chinatown Soccer Club, Nowhere FC, Bowery FC, Miss Lily’s, The Goodlife!, Originals, Know Wave, Society FC, The Smile and Alife.

The tournament was won by Miss Lily's with Best Jersey going to Psyop and the Team Spirit accolade being awarded to Opening Ceremony. The most surprising moment of the day was LA Lakers’ Steve Nash playing nonchalantly on the Miss Lily's team.