One thing I’ve found strangely coincidental since Black Friday has been the subsequent use of the phrase “All In” across competitive sport. The poker magazine of the same name (which I briefly edited in 2004-05) was one of the first casualties of Black Friday, and since its ultimate demise in May of 2011, it’s like everyone suddenly began embracing the phrase in their own semi-trademarkable way. The New York Giants, Michigan Wolverines, Addidas (on behalf of all soccer), Auburn families (sold out), even Hawaiian cockfighting … Either we as poker players are losing control of these five-letters-and-a-space, or the rest of the world is paying homage to the game, the life it gave to the mainstream.

For NFL safety Antrel Rolle, an aggressive poker philosophy is something close to his heart, right up there with New York City and winning the Super Bowl:

Hmmm, that nipple doesn’t look like my nipple, I don’t think.

Source: 23 Best Athlete Instagrams of 2012 [Buzzfeed]

I couldn’t help but switch over from ESPN3 and ESPN2 to ESPN1 … and wow, what a game. I’m curious to see how TV numbers compare for what is essentially the FIFA Ladies Event vs. those for the November Nine.

Anyhow, check out Adidas’s new ad campaign on display around the rails at the 2011 Women’s World Cup in Germany — targeting fans of international women’s soccer with phrasing that may or may not have been grifted from poker:

“adidas is all in”

BTW, go USA still, but really, seriously, gg Japan.

UPDATE: Apparently the “adidas is all in” campaign launched back in March. Click here to see the multimillion-dollar YouTube commercials wrapped around a distinctly poker phrase … as interpreted by the world of sports.