1.   Converse, for many years the dominant sneaker maker, was eclipsed by Nike Inc. a decade ago and now is simply out of its league.

2.   Sneaker maker Nike Inc. hired comedic actor Jerry Stiller to portray the famous coach in commercials.

3.   Since then, the Beaverton, Oregon-based sneaker maker has spent more than that on soccer, and marketing experts are noticing.

4.   Soon a race began between companies such as car manufacturers and sneaker makers to be the first on the World Wide Web.

5.   Too many players think they are as big if not bigger than the game, which is a notion affirmed by their sneaker makers.