Athletes And Gamers Face Off At SNEAKS Showdown In Las Vegas Ahead Of New Movie Release

Sneakerheads and gamers unite!

“SNEAKS,” an animated comedy-adventure film, will be released in theaters on April 18, and in anticipation of the movie’s release, the SNEAKS Showdown had athletes and gamers going against each other in a multi-game battle of speed, skill, and swag on April 1 in Las Vegas.

Team Laces and Team Soles, with players Terrell Owens, Ahman Green, Hank Baskett and many others, went head-to-head in the exciting challenge on Tuesday night during the 90-minute competition at HyperX Arena in Luxor Las Vegas. 

On Tuesday night, the SNEAKS Showdown filled HyperX Arena in Las Vegas with a star-studded lineup and fans who wanted to catch an up-close glimpse of the gaming action. 

The 90-minute live esports and entertainment experience had athletes and creators going head-to-head in a game show style competition. Team Laces and Team Soles battled it out playing a mix of gaming challenges including NBA2K Playground, Tony Hawk Pro Skater, and Fortnite Obstacle Course. 

The event also featured a red carpet entrance, immersive sneaker display, and some live mic trash talk. 

Team Laces included Terrell Owens, Hall of Fame wide receiver; Ahman Green, 4x Pro Bowlers, 2x All-Pro, running back; Sandi James, D.C. Women’s Football player; and Alan “White Iverson” Palesano, basketball player and YouTuber. 

Team Soles consisted of Shane “The Dribble Machine,” basketball player; Hank Baskett, former wide receiver and reality TV personality; Terique Owens, San Francisco Pro Football player; and Tyrone Crawford, eight-season defensive lineman.

“SNEAKS” will appeal to all ages whether a sneaker lover or not. 

According to the film’s IMDb page, the plot of the story is, “When a designer sneaker unwittingly finds himself lost in New York City, he must dig deep into his sole in order to rescue his sister and return to his rightful owner.”

The story centers on the character, Ty, a designer sneaker voiced by Anthony Mackie, as he ventures into New York City to rescue his sister after she’s stolen by a shady collector. His journey includes meeting up with a diverse group of footwear friends who help him step out of his comfort zone and discover his “sole-mate.” 

The ensemble voice cast includes an impressive lineup including Martin Lawrence, Macy Gray, Ella Mai, Swae Lee, Chloe Bailey, Quavo, Amirah Hall, Roddy Rich, Mustard, Chris Paul, Laurence Fishburne, and others. 

“SNEAKS” producer, Jeremy Ross, shared a little about the concept of the film with The Blast on the red carpet at SNEAKS Showdown.

“The screenwriter came up with this concept of ‘SNEAKS’ and we wanted to explore this theme of getting out of your box and so we’re separating two shoes, one that is kind of like, I just want to be in a shoemador and let people admire me and never get scuffed, and the other one is like, let’s just go live our lives,” he told The Blast exclusively.

“Of course, they get separated in this motorcycle chase, and it’s the one that wants to stay in the shoemador that gets lost in the city. We thought that was a really cool way of weaving around a theme. Of course, at the end, it’s the guy that wanted to stay in the shoemador that gets all scuffed up and wants to live. They end up back with this young kid who can’t afford the shoes and that’s very satisfying to the audience.”

When asked what the biggest challenge of creating the animated film was, Ross gave some insight into the creative process.

“So, independent animation, you’re always resisting the urge to push up the creative but the more time and money you have, the better creative that you can do," he said. "At some point you have to stop with your story and move onto animation and then stop with animation and move on to lighting and compositing and rendering."

As for Ross’ favorite scene in the film, he shared, “I think the end of the movie when the collector has his redemptive moment would probably be my favorite scene.” 

Both Team Laces and Team Soles met with the media ahead of the gaming fun to answer questions and give some insight into their gaming background. 

For Ahman Green, he got into gaming thanks to his father who was in I.T.

“One day, he brought an Apple computer home to fix it and so he introduced me to the computer,” he shared. “I played Carmen Sandiego and Oregon Trail, and then he ended up bringing a Colecovision home, and about a year later, a Nintendo entertainment system and that was a wrap.”

Former NFL player and reality star, Hank Baskett shared that he still has his original Super Nintendo. He explained that he started to work with various companies in the gaming industry after retiring from the league and then began building computers and started his own company. He called it a “passion.” 

“The way you can connect with people through video games now, you can connect with anybody around the world,” he said. “It’s different from how we grew up when it was just Mario, save the princess, now, there’s so many independent game companies that allow you to come up with anything possible that there’s a game out there for someone that you can connect with someone."

Baskett also credits gaming with making some "lifelong friends."

"I’ve made lifelong friends through gaming that I’ve never met," he said. "When you start gaming with people online, you talk to them about things you would never tell no one in your life."

For more information about "SNEAKS," visit their website. For more information about HyperX Arena at Luxor Las Vegas, visit their website.