'Never Too Far Down' is the right message during this pandemic

MANILA, Philippines — Top sports apparel maker Nike dropped its latest commercial, a one-minute and 30-second long commercial featuring LeBron James, Tiger Woods, Rafael Nadal, Cristiano Ronaldo, Naomi Osaka, Michael Kunyaga, Paul George, New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick, Elena Delle Donne, Megan Rapinoe, Bebe Vio, Liu Xiang, Kirk Gibson and Serena Williams.

The new commercial is an extension of Nike’s “You Can’t Stop Us” campaign.

“Never Too Far Down” is more than an inspirational commercial that depicts all the aforementioned athletes facing adversity and finishing strong in their respective competitive fields. It also infers to the current pandemic the entire world is facing.

As James put it, “Even if basketball looks different for a while, I’m excited about the possibility of getting back in the game, because I know how inspiring and powerful sports can be. I think the lessons we learn from sport can inspire us all.”

“Right now, we are fighting something much bigger than a win or a championship. But if we learned anything from sports, it’s no matter how far down we may be we are never too far down to come back.”

For over three months, the world has been locked down due to the Covid-19 virus that has infected close to six million people with more than 350,000 deaths (and 2.4 million-plus recoveries.

With Italy announcing opening its borders to select countries, professional baseball in Taiwan going on for the past several weeks, and the NBA leaning toward the resumption of play, the world is moving forward albeit in a different manner.

The NBA is exploring ways to finish the season either through its traditional 16-team format post-season or FIFA World Cup style of play.

While countries and sports associations are moving forward to what has been called “the new normal”, the virus is far from being beaten back. No vaccine has yet been developed. 

Nevertheless, “Never Too Far Down” is inspirational in this most difficult of times.