With or without Colin Kaepernick as a spokesperson, NIKE flagship store on Michigan Ave in Chicago remains a mecca. I don’t know if it is mecca for only NIKE devotees or humans in general, but it is definitely a mecca.
Mecca is defined as any place that is the center of an activity and attracts many visitors with a similar interest. As soon as you approach 669 Michigan Ave. you see and feel the flurry of excitement. Outside the store people are trying to have their photo taken next to profound NIKE sayings. As soon as you walk through the front doors you are hit with a frenzy of activity that feels like the last shopping day before Christmas.
Once inside, hip hop blaring, you are approached by a NIKE person and given a post it note and marker. The reason? Each person is to write down their dream, and then post it on the dream wall. How ingenious!
Dreams ranged from “to date someone who loves me for who I am” to “live in San Diego and open a K9 fitness” to “run all 6 world majors”. So many people were in stages of dream development, it was hard to tell who was shopping and who was a tourist.
Maybe it didn’t matter. Foot traffic is foot traffic. The wall kept people in the store, and regardless of current politics NIKE looked popular,
Which begs the question: what can any of us do to become a mecca?
