America may not be big on soccer, but Adidas certainly is. The German sports apparel company is the official athletic sponsor of Major League Soccer and on Saturday hosted its annual tournament at Chelsea Waterside Park. Billed as a way for local artists and other creative types to come together and endorse the sport, the competition pitted 24 squads against each other in an eight-hour event open to the public.
To produce the event for the eighth consecutive year, Adidas trend marketing manager Oliver Kann and head of trend and lifestyle marketing Chrissa Theodore once again turned to Idealogue, a creative agency specializing in new media entertainment. Metro Soccer, an organization that runs adult and junior soccer leagues in the city and the outing's co-host, handled the game logistics. More than 1,400 people came out for the day, buoyed by a supply of free beer, barbecue, and ice cream.
Gathered on the park's field, which was divided into two pitches for the occasion, teams made up of local artists, photographers, designers, restaurateurs, and writers, played short five-a-side games before a rowdy crowd. Tents around the perimeter housed squads like the Chinatown Soccer Club, Nom de Hooligans, and La Esquina and their supporters, while others sat on picnic blankets provided by Adidas.
With few security or safety concerns—except for the occasional ball kicked over the fence—the laid-back event encouraged people to linger by supplying free cans of Heineken, bottles of Volvic water, plates of barbecue fare from Brother Jimmy's, and cups of ice cream. And DJ Neil Armstrong kept the mood light with upbeat tunes like Asia's "Heat of the Moment" and Curtis Mayfield's "Move on Up."
At the end of the day, the DGI Dillingers—Damon DeGraff's group—beat out Bowery United to take home the winning trophy. Psyop, a creative multimedia agency, won best team spirit, and SoHo boutique Opening Ceremony was awarded the prize for best jerseys.
