Nikko drinks the kool-aid. Finally signs with Innova.

Any thoughts?

[Justin]

I am sure they will start making the BB Aviar in the Discmania D-Line P2 plastic blend--the early one. It feels like a soft Wizard and will have a bead. 

[Nate Nasty]

bb aviars are almost nothing like wizards

[Justin]

Except for the fact that they are both putters with beads that have similar speeds and stabilities. Is that enough somethings to disqualify your almost nothing statement? I think four similarities is more than almost nothing. Especially when Innova starts molding them in a plastic that feels similar to what Nikko is used to. 

[Nate Nasty]

you win because of my poor choice of word use :)

[Nate Nasty]

but in all reality, they fly very different. more important, they feel extremely different. the wizard is considerably slower, less glide and flies much straighter at slow speeds. gateways putting plastic is superior in every compared to kc pro plastic

[Justin]

Have you felt the discmania d-line plastic that I mentioned earlier? It is similar to Gateway plastic. I am not sure if I agree with your assessment of the differences in flight characteristics, but I am too lazy to write about it anymore.

[Nate Nasty]

you already win

[LEE CASTRO]

Replacing his putters will be the most difficult.I love my wizards.

 

[Chuck Kennedy]

Nikko will get his name on a disc only if Innova feels it will increase sales more than what the disc would sell without the name. Titles are somewhat incidental to that determination and he already has a USDGC title.

[Ryan S. Flahive]

This saddens me...having consciously bought the hometown Gateway products over my many years of playing the game, I think its unfortunate he's joining the 'big boys'...that said, it was only a matter of time--any body know the details of the fallout?

[Socsavvy]

I too have enjoyed the hometown, family dynamic of the Nikko-Gateway combo over the years.  But, I also knew that it likely wouldn't last.  I don't have any 'inside' info, but I know that the sponsorship was dropped sometime last year, and Nikko has since been searching elsewhere. 

One could infer what complexities could have arisen...it must be tough for both uncle and nephew to accept and move past this.  My sense is it had as much to do with monetary support as anything else.  But again, this sense comes from what I've gathered through various discourses--mostly online--over the past year, not from any direct evidence or inside sources.  (Like Ryan, I too am interested to hear other known details.)

Here's to continued success for both Nikko and Gateway!

[Justin]

The explanation is simple: Dave M. did not think he was getting an adequate ROI from any of his sponsored players. So, he dropped them.