Personalize shoes?

In sports, this is not so weird. Remember Michael Jordan came out with his own line of shoes, but, of course, you could buy those and there were tens of thousands of them sold, so in the end, that wasn't personalized.

And from time to time you have seen athletes sharpie onto their helmet or shoes or even their faces the number or name of an inspirational person to give them more courage during competition.

Here, today, is an example of a hybrid. An unknown (not megastar like Michael Jordan) personalizing her shoe with the word "courage," but instead of using a sharpie, she is using the manufacturer, Addidas.

(Visit http://sports.yahoo.com/tennis/blog/busted_racquet/post/Melanie-Oudin-will-need-a-lot-of-what-her-U-S-O?urn=ten-264826)

Read the whole story on Yahoo Sports:

Last year, Melanie Oudin "believed" her way into the quarterfinals of the U.S. Open. This year, the 18-year-old will try to break out of her recent slump with some "courage."
Oudin will take to the court at this year's Open with personalized adidas shoes emblazoned with the word "COURAGE." Last year, her "BELIEVE" shoes became one of the major stories of the tournament, thanks to their folksy orgin, bright colors and Oudin's magical run to the quarters. This year, she and adidas opted for less mantra and more fortitude:
"The reason I chose the word COURAGE is because in order to believe you have to have the courage to do so. Courage to me means playing with no fear and going for it no matter what. You can believe in yourself so much but unless you have the courage to go on the court and put yourself on the line every time you won't make it. You need courage and belief to make it to the top."
Oudin is going to need all the courage she can get in Flushing Meadows. She's just 18-23 since last year's Open run and a first-round loss could drop her as far as No. 90 in the rankings. Barring a deep run at Flushing Meadows, Oudin's ranking will drop far enough where she'll be forced to play qualifiers at most major tourneys.
Maybe the shoe should have said "MIRACLE" instead.