It gives me great pleasure to announce that the Brand Champion of the Day is Oscar Schmidt from Brazil. I first saw Oscar play basketball during the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona. I had originally intended to watch the game for the sole reason that my friend, Mike Frink was coaching the Brazil Olympic basketball team. During the game I became very intrigued by #14 who seemed to be shooting the ball quite often and making most of his shots. I have always had a fondness for shooters. After that game, and forever since, I associate anything Brazilian with Oscar Schmidt. If we think in terms of a brand as a name, and the associations people make with that name, then Oscar Schmidt is the epitome of a brand champion for Brazil.
Recently, I caught up with Mike Frink and asked him to share some thoughts about Oscar and requested he put me in touch with Oscar. Here is what Mike wanted us to know about Oscar Schmidt. “Oscar never saw a shot on the court that he didn’t take. Passing the ball was never an option. He scored 47 points against the USA in the 1987 Pan American Games gold medal game in Indianapolis, which was the first loss in the history of USA international competition on US soil. Oscar also led all Olympic scorers in five consecutive Olympic Games from 1980 to 1996. He loved a basketball drill called “Culhao,” which I introduced to the Brazilian Olympic Team during practices in preparation for the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona. It translates to Big Balls—it is a defensive drill that Oscar loved to “ruin” for his teammates by holding the offense to three consecutive stops—it means to kick some ass or get your ass kicked!
Oscar is truly a brand champion for Brazil and for many other reasons. I owe a great deal to Oscar, including the fact that he saved my life. I was suffering a life-threatening bleeding ulcer on a Swiss Air flight in June 1996 returning to Sao Paulo from Zurich. Oscar went to the cockpit to inform the pilots that the plane needed to land immediately. The plane landed on the island of Cabo Verde in northern Africa, where I stayed for 10 days and received five pints of blood.”
As many of you might know, even though the NBA made several attempts to sign Oscar, he remained loyal to his national team. While Oscar was a tremendous shooter, that asset was not as valued by the NBA during his prime, as it is today. Fearing he might have a diminished role in the NBA, Oscar says, ‘I could never play 10 minutes a game. The NBA is great if you are the star. But, if you are not, you get moved around. Some people, they move the piano. And some people, they play the piano. If I went to the NBA, I would have to play the piano. I remember when I announced my retirement, I said, “The time has come to say goodbye to the thing I love most in my life: basketball.” I also loved being a champion of Brazil basketball.”
Oscar and Mike, thank you for sharing your insightful thoughts and comments with us today. What do you think about what Oscar and Mike have to say today about being a brand champion?
He is a great player I was just 10 years when he was in his best days, yet I still remember him and especially the world championship in 1996 and cup winner cup in 1989 with caserta. He is great
Posted by: INDRIT BULKU | March 08, 2009 at 01:56 PM
Yes, has few equals.
Posted by: Rex Whisman | March 08, 2009 at 04:37 PM