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Originally Posted by admanimal

Well, most of what you are saying is true to an extent, and of course I was being sarcastic in the last post...but I think you are underestimating the influence that this board can have, especially when it comes to convincing people to buy the small brands that aren't (visibly) represented in the NHL.

I never would have bought anything from Smith or Battram if I didn't see this board. If I had even found either of their websites, I would have assumed it was some kind of crappy knockoff gear since no pros are (visibly) wearing it. I had no clue what Thomas was wearing (nor did I really care) until I found this board.

I think this board influences people to buy the big names too. People who otherwise would have been perfectly happy with their gear see others with better or just different stuff, and decide they need it too. Sure, we are influenced by what we see our favorite pros wearing, but what our peers have is probably an equal or greater influence. And I think as we get older, the balance of influence shifts towards our peers rather than the pros.

Think of all of the pics of new gear that get posted on this site, inevitably followed by the "wow those are awesome" posts. I guarantee that seeing that type of thing over and over again has a huuge influence on people, in most cases more than seeing the gear on a pro.

P.S., who paid to have their logos shown? Smith didn't if thats who you were talking about. Thomas never had logos on his Smiths.

Oh I know you were being sarcastic, it was more meant for the others who take things too serious and actually think that. By no means am I undervaluing this board. Hell I've been on here for years because I know how helpful it is. What it really comes down to though is influence vs age/maturity level. Most younger kids to mid 20's will buy gear cause of the pros. The more mature consumer will find out information about the gear and how it can help their game. Unfortunately I think influence takes more control of the consumer then practicality. As we've seen on this board hundreds of times (even with adults) they get too caught up in what's "cool" rather then what actually works for them. Plus most of the "whoah those are cool" comments are coming from pix of the pro's as well in the gear sitings thread. It goes back and forth. I agree with what you're saying, but I also know there's no way anyone would ever pay any of us, because we're going to sit here and talk about it regardless of if we're getting paid or not. As for the Smiths, I could have sworn I saw Smith's name on a set of Thomas's pads. Might have been a pic from camp or I might just be crazy. I thought he finally broke down and paid the licensing fee. I'm prolly mistaken though.

Originally Posted by bc30

He didn't pay the fee and his name doesn't (didn't ) appear on Thomas' pads - but like the Mage, the non-name was a non-issue, since everybody wanted to know what they were and were talking about them. Announcers don't talk about who's wearing RBK or Vaughn.

A few hundred beer leaguers on BB's saying how great they are didn't increase sales as much as one pro, who sort of validated the pad for a lot of people, did. There's a certain element that only believes it's a pro level product if pro's wear it.

Agreed 100% BC!