Benz and a Backpack

We don’t fuck with Fusions, and although we may have a pair of Spizzikes, we are purists at heart (and given the Retro nature of the Spizzike, we figured you understand). Purism is the reason we’re excited by what’s coming out later this fall/winter. If you haven’t been saving your money, you are not ready. Unless you got it like that.

Clockwise, from top left: Air Jordan Retro VI (Black/Red a.k.a. Infrared); Air Jordan Retro XI (Black/Black a.k.a. Spacejam); Air Jordan Retro XII (White/Red); Air Jordan Retro XII (Black/Red)
_____________________________________________________________________________________

The 11′s, commonly referred to as Spacejams (because Mike wore them in the movie Spacejam) are dropping November 27th, and the Black/Red 12′s (famous in part because Jordan wore them in Game 5 of the ’97 Finals versus the Jazz, where he had the flu and still scored 38 alongside 7 rebounds, 5 assists, and 3 steals) will drop that same month, although an exact date hasn’t been released yet. The White/Red 12′s will come out in December, followed by the Infrared 6′s in January. Keep tabs on the releases of all four at 23isback.com.

If you’ve taken the time to read this far, you’ll probably be interested in what’s next. It seems fitting, given that 2009 is the 25th anniversary of Mike striking a deal with Nike and 2010 will be the 25th anniversary of Jordan Brand kicks, that we give you an abridged version of how Jordan Brand was birthed.

What few people know about Michael Jordan is that as a rookie he wanted to sign with Adidas or Converse. In 1984, Nike was nothing special, simply a struggling sneaker company trying to expland its reach. Dean Smith, Jordan’s coach at UNC, endorsed Converse, so Mike naturally leaned towards Converse. But Converse already had Larry Bird and Magic Johnson as its spokespeople, so they were reluctant to offer Jordan an attractive deal. Adidas wasn’t interested in making a big move either as its Chairwoman, Kathe Dassler, died early in 1984.

That left only Nike, a company that needed to diversify its products (they were known primarily for their running sneakers) and broaden its appeal to different demographics. They knew MJ could do this for them, and they were willing to bet the house on it. In 1984, Nike offered Jordan a 5 year deal worth $2.5 million, plus royalties and fringe benefits.*

Apparently, Nike wooed Mike with a video presentation of himself flying through the air in slow motion (what more do you need?), plus they flew him to the Nike Headquarters in Portland, Oregon, where I’m sure they treated him reeeeeal nice. Just a year later, the 1′s dropped and made tectonic plates shift beneath basketball courts round the country.

From now til early February 2010, every Sunday we’ll give you a brief background on Retro Jordans 1-23, starting next week with the 1′s.

And speaking of Jordan, after lots of skepticism and curiosity, it was confirmed this summer that Dyane Wade did in fact jump ship from Converse to Jordan! With a roster that includes Ray-Ray, CP3, Melo, and D-Wade, Team Jordan is sitting pretty.

___________________________________________________________________________

“Yeah, these shoes are new brand”

*Shouts to SneakerHead for the details.

Tweet This Post