Editorial: Bodega x NBA "Worldwide Respect" Collection
When the love for your favorite sports team endures long after you take off the signed jersey, leave the stadium, or turn off the tv, you know it’s more than just a pastime.
Usually that’s because there is more on the line, more at stake than just the game. And no, we aren’t talking about your fantasy record or the ridiculous amount you owe that kid from high school who is now a bookie. We're talking about currencies that can’t be bought, only earned: Pride and respect.
As teams and the cities that house them become intertwined through incredible wins, heartbreaking defeats, and all the ups, downs, held breaths, and broken tv screens in between, team pride and how it crystalizes into a mutual respect for their competitors travels beyond the 91.86ft by 49.2 ft arena, and into the surrounding community.
In no sport is this truer than basketball and in no two cities is this truer than Boston and LA. Celtics, Lakers? Bird, Magic? Ever heard of em? That’s the thing, you could talk to someone without any knowledge of sports and they’d know these teams, and their rivalry. And if they were affiliated with either city you better believe they’d fight tooth and nail to defend the reputation of their side, no facts needed. That’s what a competitive spirit can do. And it’s a beautiful thing.
Paying homage to this passion, each teams’ histories, and the influence they’ve had on us in both cities, with the first pick in the 2022 AW draft, Bodega selects MEDICOME TOY, Mitchell & Ness, and the NBA for our "Worldwide Respect" Collection, touching on all facets of fandom, from the clothing you wear to rep your team, to the accessories that turn your home into a partial shrine.
With co-branded t shirts, shorts, jerseys, and snapbacks, Mitchell & Ness’s long history in the sporting goods business means a storied foundation for essential fan gear. Whether pretending you’re taking the buzzer beating game winner in the Finals during your next pickup game, or happily – and probably for the best – taking your seat on the bleachers, nothing makes you feel like a key member of the team like the crest across your chest and the colors that are now synonymous with basketball royalty.
But clothing can only take it so far. Whether hung on the wall, used out front, or strategically placed somewhere special inside your inner sanctum, our collaborative NBA rugs take us back to the golden age of basketball with classic logos over nostalgic, golden backgrounds ushering in the tinted aesthetic of the old days, where the dive would have the game on its finicky tv - allegedly. The cloud of smoke was pretty thick. Signaling the cross over into a sacred space, where certain teams and certain players shall not be mentioned by name nor stats, there is no more inviting way to draw a line in the sand, or more like, your loyalty on the basketball dry erase board, than a good ol’ fashion rug.
For many, the introduction or rather initiation to a sports team happen at an early age, when Optimus Prime’s body guard, whatever that could possibly mean, rivaled point guard for the Celtics as future career goals. With the overlap between toys and sports looming so large, what better way to memorialize the long ark of fandom while bringing childhood joy back into the conversation than a 3 on 3 match up of MEDICOM TOY BE@RBRICKS. Standing at various heights, the iconic humanoid bear design has lent itself as a billboard for countless projects and the clear versions we suited up lets you know it’s all about repping your team, and by extension your city. Truly statues without the stuffiness, these pose-able figurines may not be able to cross you up but they sure look good as a focal point or corner pocket in any room.
Talent: Lawrence Calhoun & Eric Laatsch
Production Company: RECESS STUDIOS @recess.studios
Executive producer: @alexveltri
Producers: @jester_too @sukismith13 @ryanguth4
Creative Director: @thisisjulian_
Script writer: @thisisjulian_ @jester_too
Account: @celiaboyer, @amandaanders
DP/Editors: @fennpaider
Photographer: @ethangulley
Digitech: @basilvargas
Production Coordinator: @oxdiiii
1st AC: @chasingthestoke
Gaffer: @litbyeli
Key Grip: @Jakedbailey
Swing: @officialmcsounds
Production Designer: @cinnamon_hands
Stylist: @skinnybonesjoans
Stylist Asst: @rachelthorson
MUA/Groomer: @shea.hardy
& Bodega
Release info: Monday, December 26, 2022
The Bodega x Mitchell & Ness Apparel, Bodega x MEDICOM TOY BE@RBRICKS, and Bodega x NBA Rugs will be available online (bdgastore.com and slamgoods.com) at 12pm EST. They will also be available in-store at our Boston location on a first come, first served basis on December 27, 2022 (12/27).
*Early release for BE@RBRICKS will be offered on Friday, 12/23 at 7pm EST via NTWRK app.
