A Farewell to Arms

It's hard to know what to say about the exhibition tournament in Abu Dhabi. On the plus side Rafa played surprisingly well for someone who hadn't hit a ball in anger for two months. Sadly, though, it's the negative that rests with me. Not his loss to Andy Murray. Although not the best start it's not as significant as it would be in a major competition. No. The truly disappointing aspect of these last two days was the outfit that Nike, in their wisdom, have chosen to bestow on Rafa.

What are they thinking? The two following screencaps taken by rafafanatic sum up the reactions of so many people to this ridiculous change of image. Look at the woman in the background and note how her expression changes from one of delight at seeing Rafa in the flesh to one of shock and disbelief.



Here is how some other members of the Vamos Brigade have reacted -

I liken this to Tiger Woods coming back next year, with a whole new look, maybe he will be rockin the sleeveless red shirts on Sundays. Or maybe Federer starts rockin the sleeveless look. Or maybe LeBron becomes the first in NBA history to wear a sleeved shirt. Or maybe the NY Yankees stop wearing pinstripes because the are moving into a new stadium. I mean why do we have these iconic images in sports?
Because fans and the public in general become attached to these icons. It makes no sense, no sense what so ever to drastically change Rafa's iconic image. Update it, mature it...sure that's to be anticipated and expected. But what has been done is insulting to Rafa and his loyal fans.
Many have said he looks younger. I agree, he looks 16 years old. He does not look like the Rafa that worked so hard, fought so hard, and achieved so much last year. I'm insulted. I'm insulted if Nike, and Team Rafa think that this line of uniform, gear, kit...whatever you want to call it...is ok. rudy3


This look is just NOT HIM! I don't care if he agreed to it or not - bad fashion decisions made by all concerned. All he's missing are the riding pants and the polo pony...and a team w/gawdawful taste in uniforms! I don't think it's shallow at all, IMHO, to be sad about this - it was part of the total Rafa-picture which captivated soooo many fans, young and old, male and female alike. He looked different, he played different, it was visual magic.
Aside from the ugly color scheme, his arms just look weird in those tight little sleeves. As others have asked - WHAT WAS NIKE THINKING??? That 'sleeves make the man', as opposed to the boy? What CRAP!!
I can't help it - I HATE IT I HATE IT I HATE IT!!!!
Nike should pay heed to the old adage "If it ain't broke, don't fix it"! Hopefully, no one buys this and the whole look completely tanks...
....but I am going to find the time to write to that company and give a piece of my grumpy mind...... rotini

E-mail to Nike
I think someone in your employ needs sacking. You don't have to justify your job every season by changing something for the sake of it. If something works, leave it alone. And get that **** off Rafa's back. He looks like a middle aged IKEA golfer and is obviously not happy playing in it. And no, it wouldn't encourage me to buy it even if Rafa wears it. haslemere50


I have to remind myself constantly that I am watching Rafa, especially when the live stream gets blurred and you see only the outline of his clothes and the outline of his clothes is Fed's and not Rafa anymore.
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. And yes, beauty is a very fragile thing.
I feel his signature look was more than that, to me it was his essence that had been miraculously transformed into an outfit. He is different than other players, not only as a tennis player but also as a human being. His old look showed that openely. It let Rafa and his beauty and uniqueness shine and radiate freely.
I feel the new look hinders him to shine. I feel I have to concentrate to see him despite and underneath that new horrible outfit. And that the vested interests of companies diminish his beauty and uniqueness makes it even harder to bear it. leona

What attracted me to Rafa was his "contradiction." His fierce and sometimes down right bad-axx look and attitude on court was beautifully contradicted by his genuine sweetness off-court demeanor. Who else has that quality? It may seem shallow to talk about clothes. But the most of the information we get on Rafa is visual one. Yes, we read articles and news, but visual images are what we get most. Us VBers know how beautiful he is inside already, but still visual image is a big part of Rafa and we cannot deny that. I don't know if this new outfit supposed to make him look more mature and worthy of Champion that he is? I thought he looked like 16 today. Very cute. But not fierce. tokyogirl


There have been a number of rationalizations from fans who desperately want to accept this particular change. While I really enjoy watching the light and shadows that his arms create, I could live with some other style so long as it was flattering and looked comfortable. However, tragically, this Swedish polo get-up is neither.
To those who say that clothes don't matter, that Rafa's health and performance are all that matter, he could wear a tutu and tiara and it wouldn't matter, I have these questions. 1) Why does Nike pay Monfils $250K per year to wear sleeveless (not to mention Blake, del Potro and Moya) and pay Rafa probably millions of dollars a year to wear its clothing? The clothes, the image, are very important for branding purposes. They're important for comfort and performance purposes as well. Nike spends a LOT of money to outfit its players and sell to customers, who have to like wearing the clothes as well. It does not spend this money because clothing or the clients who wear them don't matter.
Next, to those who equate sleeves with maturity: 1) Why, then, does Rafa look six years YOUNGER, so much less imposing, so much less masculine, so tiny? 2) Why does Moya, who is hardly a young whippersnapper, look great in sleeveless? 3) Do you think Gulbis looks "mature" just because his spindly limbs are covered in cloth? Calling the clothes with sleeves "mature" by definition is, to me, a pretty extreme rationalization. Again, if he was wearing cool stuff like Novak and Verdasco, fine, but this isn't cool. It's geeky. It's juvenile. It's ill-fitting.
Third, I think it's clear that Rafa doesn't like the new look. He refused to wear it at the U.S. Open. He wouldn't wear it during the indoor season. Later he said he'd make "some changes" when he was comfortable with them, which intimates that he wasn't comfortable (what other reading can you get?). Moreover, in the practice video from last week you could tell he hated the new shoes, he didn't wear them today, and their yuckiness to the all-important store buyers was documented on tw.com. I expect a similar store buyer reaction to the polos (again, not necessarily the T-shirts). Today, he had trouble toweling off, he looked ill at ease during changeovers, and there is a really excellent photo where he appears to be gagging on one side of the collar whereas the other side is up over his ear. I don't expect Rafa to enthusiastically endorse it, because he's had several months to do so and hasn't. Denizen


I just don't know what to say. not usually without words here, but "underwhelming" doesn't even begin to describe Rafa's new look. Those of you who voiced negative opinions echoed my own, especially the person who said that Nike has ruined a beautiful thing -- Rafa's image, which THEY created. How does any of that make sense? and, as someone else pointed out, think of all the kids who were entranced by Rafa's piratical, unusual attire, combined with his insouciance and determination on court. Rafa single-handedly SAVED professional tennis from stagnation, that's something NO one should forget; the entire world of tennis owes him for that -- and the PACKAGE contributed an enormous part of the adrenalin Rafa injected into the ATP in delirious doses of personality.
That shirt should be shredded. daylily

I agree with whoever said Rafa looked embarrassed to take off his jacket today. IMHO he looked far more mature and manly in the old get up. This version is Rafa Lite. The clothes just don't suit the fierce way that he plays and just aren't worthy of being worn by the champion who is back to kick more ass this season.
Back to the drawing board Nike. Hopefully Rafa has a Plan B for AO. lpauly

When I first saw him...well it was a package deal...his clothes were his signature....it was part of this kid (then) that was Rough..a fighter...Rambo...a warrior...all the while being sensitive, creative and his own person.
Partly it feels like he sold out....conformed....resistance is futile? Holly


It's bad enough that Nike has this strange desperate urge to cover Rafa's gorgeous arms, taking that wonderful view away from us. And it's worse that they chose not just a normal t-shirt, but a polo. And it's even more hideous that they made such an ugly polo shirt, color scheme AND design that makes Rafa look like a teenage dork. If a TV network was creating a sitcom with a character portraying the classic dork, THIS is what they would dress that character in.
Why would Nike think making Rafael Nadal look like a dork on court would be a good idea? Do they have no clue at all?
Imagine Spike from Buffy the Vampire Slayer giving up his long leather coat and switching to a horizontal striped polo shirt. Imagine Fonzie from Happy Days giving up his jeans and leather jacket and switching to trousers and a polo shirt. People are dressed to convey a certain image because different clothing looks inspire different feelings in the viewer.
Sexy warrior inspires a different response in the viewer than dork. Sexy warrior makes me want to watch. Sexy warrior turned into dork makes me want to avoid ever having to see it again. I might not only be giving up tennis. I might be giving up television completely. Being forced to see women all over TV wearing less and less while THIS is being done to Rafa has steam coming out of my ears. Tiklish

I hate it. I hate it so much it gives me energy. I have to get up early in the morning to hate it because there isn't time enough in the day. htrix

Expect some emails, Nike