Oak Ridge Makes Top Three in Nike Rivalry Contest

December 12, 2011
Filed under Sports

It is not every day that you get a chance to win over $20,000 for your football team from Nike, one of the biggest companies in the world. So when given the opportunity, you bet Oak Ridge would take up the challenge. Senior, Brad Stodden has produced a video telling about the Ridge, and a rivalry we have with an opposing school for the Rivalry Contest; which, of course, was the Woodlands.

“Every year, the game that students and supporters get the most pumped up for, is the Oak Ridge vs. The Woodlands High School game. You see more people there than any other game, simply because we’re ‘enemies.’ If you were to walk down the hallway and ask a random student who our rivals were, every single student would tell you the Woodlands, no doubt,” Stodden said.

Stodden is an executive producer for WENN, so he has a lot on his plate already. So picking up the project was a choice with as many pros as it did cons.

“I took up the project because I thought it sounded fun, and that I could do a lot with it if I tried. The only award I would get if we won is getting to put that I won a national filming competition on my college transcript. Football also said they would start helping out WENN with equipment and other things we need during the season, so I figured it would help everyone out,” Stodden said.

Being in a Nike contest, the grand prize won’t be a little trophy, or congratulatory plaque. If Stodden’s video ends up winning, Oak Ridge will take the field next year wearing custom Nike Pro Combat Uniforms – the lightest, most breathable and durable football attire Nike has ever created.

“Oak Ridge designed the uniforms, and Head Coach, Bob Barrett chose the colors. If we win, the new uniforms would be mainly gray, with hints of the traditional red, white and blue,” Stodden said.

The contest began on October 3 and Stodden has been working his hardest to film, direct, produce, and edit the perfect video worthy of winning the grand prize.

“I basically followed the football team around for a week to get all of the clips I needed. I went to practice after school, during the football period, and interviewed as many of the players as I could. I also worked with the program itself to get some clips from previous games I could use as an added effect,” Stodden said.

The winner isn’t chosen by Nike, though. The decision is left to the friends, family, and even complete strangers that support the school. Three finalists have now been chosen to continue on in the contest, and votes are still needed to get Oak Ridge to number one.

“The way the whole contest is set up, is that after a video has been submitted and approved, it is put on the contest’s web site along with a vote button. From that date to November 23, the votes were tallied and three finalists were announced based 40% the number of votes, 30% on the creativity and story of the uniform, and 30% on the design created. Now, the power is entirely in the hands of the voters. The grand prize winner is chosen by the highest number of votes. Anyone can go onto http://www.facebook.com/UsNikeFootball, or by going to the Oak Ridge web site and clicking on the Nike Rivalry Contest link,” Stodden said.