The Devil Wears Air Jordans

As a sneaker enthusiast, I can't believe I actually owned a pair of these.

I took this photo of those Air Jordan 1's at my homeboy Frank's crib just right after I purchased these just three years ago. I was actually in Chatsworth to pay off some fines I owe at the Courthouse there during that summer of 2009. I was doing security in the Antelope Valley then and I just got my first check from them which was $1,600 ($300 from that check went to the bank to clear off some bullshit holds I was too lazy to take care of then). So after that, while I was still in a good ass mood, I decided to drop by the Northridge Fashion Center to cop some stuff since I was within the area. I went to Champs to see what they have, and on the display, they have a pair of the Air Jordan 1 60+ pack that was released that summer, and this was a month after they dropped. Then a sales associate came up to me and asked me what size I wanted (similar to the Fire Red IV retros at the Finish Line I blogged about two months ago). I told him my size (12 and 13) and he went to the back to see if it was available. I first, I though we were wasting out times since I assumed that the pack was sold out and they only had the smallest size available, but apparently to my surprise (again, like the Fire red IV story) he walked out with two packs with the different sizes I asked for. 

I thought them shits was sold out as I asked him. He told that somehow, they still managed to have a full size run of the 60+ pack. Reason I thought they were gonna be sold out because of the Black/Red 1's that came with the pack, but I really wanted it for the Boston Celtics colorway of the Jordan 1's that was also included in the pack. (I don't like the Celtics, but I like how the colorway turned out on the shoe) Again, this was a month after it dropped and typically at that point, most of the original Air Jordan retros with the OG colorways are sold out within minutes after the sneaker stores open. Anyway, I bought the pack which turned up to be $310 plus tax IN RETAIL and then bounced with my new pairs of sneakers. I went to Franks house to take photos of the shoes with his camera, but mostly for the Black/Red 1's cause I was planning on not wearing them so that I can sell them. A month later, I sold those Black/Red 1's for a hundred bucks and still kept the Celtics colorway for another year until I sold those to my cousin on New Years Day 2011. 

To this day, I still imagined of what if I never sold those Black/Red 1's and what if I actually wore them. That shoe was retroed 3 times since it dropped in 1985 and they made another retro two years after that. The history behind this particular shoes was unusual if you think about it. 

Right after he was drafted into the NBA, Michael Jordan was invited by Nike executives to come check out a presentation that they did for him and to also have him sign with the company. Michael refused to go because he really (I mean, REALLY) wanted to sign with either Adidas or Converse cause not only were they the top selling basketball sneakers at in the mid 80's, but also, Michael wore when he was playing at North Carolina. Plus the two companies has athletes who won NBA championships endorsing them: Adidas had Kareem Abdul Jabbar who wears them in the NBA and Converse had Julius "Dr. J" Erving wearing their pair, along with Larry Bird and Earvin "Magic" Johnson as their spokespersons. At that time, Nike wasn't a big company. It was mostly geared towards running than Basketball (the Air Force 1 that released in 1982 sold decent, but it wasn't as hyped as the Converse Weapons and the Adidas Superstar), so that made the company invest and trust in Michael as the tried to sign him. 

In 1985, his parents forced him to go to Nike's headquaters in Beaverton, Oregon, and they went with him so that he wouldn't miss out on this offer. When they got there, the suits at Nike presented him a video presentation of the shoes that they constructed for him. After that, Michael was disgusted and said that he'll look like a clown wearing the devil's shoes. Eventually after Nike kept persuaded him and giving him a 2 Million dollar contract, Michael reluctantly gave in, signed the paper, and the rest, obviously, was fucking history. If he still refused to sign with them, then I wouldn't have stacks to Nike shoeboxes in my room and and several other sneaker enthusiasts wouldn't have stacks of Nike shoeboxes in their rooms as well. I think I'd be wearing Adidas Superstars or some generic Payless shoes had Michael never signed with Nike. That just shows how much impact that pair of those basketball shoes (which was retailed for $65 in 1985) made throughout the years. 

Well, tomorrow I have to go with the little brother to the Newbury Park Adventist Academy in the Conejo Valley so that he can take the ACT standardized test over there, then for the rest of next week it more meetings, worthless appointments and several kids (and adults) dressing up as one of the Angry Birds consuming too much sugar this upcoming Wednesday.  Thanks for your time reading this.