Shoes

You can't wear football, baseball, or soccer cleats for street wear. There are some other uniform pieces you can sorta wear in public. Brim hats, jerseys, wristbands, socks - yet none of those work quite as well as sneakers. Branding works better for basketball, which may be why the game is spreading faster at the moment.  The branding and the sport reinforce each other.

Odd how major changes of culture and huge amounts of money can turn on such small things.