are gonna be released this Saturday. For those who can't see to closely, here's the big picture.
The Nike Air Jordan V White/Fire Red colorway, which is what Edward Furlong was rockin' during his pull-up session, was released around the time when Terminator 2: Judgement Day was being filmed a year before the movie was played in theaters and WAY before Arnold looked after my state of California. The Air Jordan V was the first pair of Jordans I ever bought, but in a limited Black/Carolina Blue colorway in the summer of 2006. It came with a card (known as a retro card) that showed a black and white image of Michael Jordan spreading his arms just like in the "Wings" poster and on the back, it detailed the history of the shoe, such as dissecting the moments that Michael had in the NBA that year while wearing these. I also have another pair of these in the White/Emerald Grape colorway that will also be re-released again this year.
What I like about these Jordan Vs is not what Michael did while wearing these, but the background I learned from it as well. The bottom of the sneaker was one of the first to have a clear sole with the Jumpman logo visible through it. Two other cool features of the Jordan V's was that it came with lacelocks for those too lazy to tie their shoes and the other is the reflective tongue that brightens when exposed to a large amount of light such as a flash from a camera (the other version of the Fire Red Vs had a black tongue that doesn't reflect). Will Smith was know for constantly running and dancing around in Uncle Phil's lavish house while wearing these during the first season of The Fresh Prince of Bel Air, which also came out in 1990.
Speaking of which, the retail price for these back in the day was $125, a shitload of money that year for basketball sneakers. This was at a time when anybody and their moms can go into a Foot Locker or an Athletes Foot and just purchase them anytime of the day, any day of the week. That process is no longer relevant nowadays in the present. Everytime an Air Jordan Retro is released, it sell out in less than 5 minutes online and many athletic footwear stores (Footlocker, Finish Line, Champs, Sheikhs) and boutiques (Undefeated, Blends) received limited shipment of each particular Air Jordan retro, with in some occasions, certain pairs are captured for the store employees as they take advantage on their employee discount on them. So don't expect to see this and other future Air Jordan Retros in the stockroom, otherwise the only other option is to pay beyond retail for these at sneaker reselling consignments like Flight Club LA, eBay, or make some offers through sneaker websites like Sole Collector and/or N-SB.org.
Thanks to the Air Jordan XI Concords release (I blogged about that shit already http://justforsneaks07.blogspot.com/2011/12/kickin-and-screamin.html), now its getting more tough and challenging just for a pair of Air Jordans. The whole reasoning is because from the logic of Supply and Demand: the lower the Supply, the higher the Demand. People should realize, or have already realized, that Nike, and its shoe distributor accounts like Foot Locker and Finish Line, is a business. And in a business, its all about making money and maintaining that procedure. Buzz generates interest, which makes the hype for these shoes to spike while reselling. That's why those same shoes that sell out will still in shelves of Flight Club LA cause not too many people will pay alot more for a sneaker as opposed to suggested retail price, which the term MSRP comes in, Manufactured Suggested Retail Price. Because of the buzz and the mayhem from the example of the Concord XI release, many Foot Lockers, NikeTowns and several other athletic stores now have the so-called "raffles", which is a way to avoid the campouts and potential wildness during a Air Jordan Retro release. I've never done a raffle for a pair of shoes, but how it goes is that you walk in to the store, obtain a raffle ticket by giving them your phone number or email address and wait until if they notify you that you won the said raffle in exchange for a secure right to purchase that Air Jordan Retro on the day it releases. Here's a screencap I took from Beverly Hills NikeTown's Twitter account as a example.
I'm explain all of this for those parents and others who like Michael Jordan (or dislike him) and the design of Air Jordan Retros but aren't into sneakers and have the knowledge of them as I do. If you swim around previous release date threads on NikeTalk and Sole Collector for a particular Air Jordan Retro that dropped, you'll not only read stories about dudes crying for not being to get these off Finish Line's website or the Foot Locker nearby them had 15 pairs and ten of them went to the employees with the remain 5 not available in his size, but you'll also read the posts on these threads from people saying that they either have to know somebody that knows a connect, and that you have just have to do their homework by researching a way to get that Jordan Retro that your favorite rapper or that reality TV star you hate and his girl is wearing. Not only does this happen with Air Jordans, but hype and purchasing process usually happens whenever Kanye West's Nike Air Yezzy drops or if there's a different shoe like the Galaxy Foamposites from last year.
As for me copping the V's this Saturday? I don't want to go through that raffling Twitter RSVP bullshit. Sucks how there are young kids (post 1994 babies with money) who maybe know more about shoes than I do, but has never got to experience walking into a Foot Locker or NikeTown on a Saturday afternoon instead of camping out the night before and purchase the sneakers in his size right then and there. I don't give a fuck about paying more for these when they get re-released at Flight Club LA like I did with the White/Cement IV's last year, but I will be getting them in the future. One of my favorite bits about this retro is that
1.) There's no 23 on the side, and its the first time since the 2000 Fire Reds Vs that these retros will be released without the 23 just like the OGs from 1990 (yes, there was another pair of Fire Red Vs that came out in 1990 as well, but it had the 23 on the side, the midsole had more red than black, and like I said earlier, the tongue was non-reflective black.).
2.) The OG design box that its gonna be packaged in, just like Nike did with the IV's last year and the III's the year before.
I know for sure these will sell quickly now that people got their tax refund at around this time. Now you can see why Nike is bringing back the Black/Royal 1's and coincidentally re-releasing the White/Cement Jordan III's again with the Nike Air on the back this time. For those getting these Vs and those other retros, good luck. For those who didn't, find a Terminator or a T-1000 and have him take you back to 1990 in Los Angeles so that you can pay for these less cheaper than it is in the present. I suggest you use a credit card instead of cash cause the cashier will look at the dollar note and think that the money is counterfeit by looking at the year the cash was made.
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