Tuesday, August 16, 2005

Air Jordans and Starter Jackets

I was looking thru the most recent Eastbay catalog last night. Back when I actually needed to buy specialty athletic equipment, especially track spikes, Eastbay was the bomb. There were 3 items that caught my eye. First, they still sell strength shoes. I used those torture devices in high school for a while. They actually worked pretty well back then although in my present condition my vertical jump is more of a vertical hop. Second, they now have a decent selection of soccer jerseys. Of course you have the mandatory Adu D.C. United jersey and also Beckham & Ronaldo’s Real Madrid jerseys, but I really liked Thierry Henry Arsenal jersey. If I find some spare change in the car or under my bed I may pick that up. Last, they now have about 25 different Air Jordan shoes. The even have Air Jordan sandals. I remember back in the day when they came out with one new pair about every 7 or 8 months if that. What happened to those days? My parents wouldn’t let me get them because they were afraid someone would shoot me and take my shoes. Remember back in the day if you had new Jordans and a Starter jacket old folks thought you were dealing. In fact I didn’t get my first and only pair of Jordan’s until after he retired the first time. And I still have my first starter jacket somewhere. It does not even get that cold here, but I remember back in middle school, if it dropped below 60 degree, we were pulling out the starters. Who started that fad?

2 comments:

The Underdog said...

You know, there was some truth to the fact that if you had a starer jacket and Air Jordans you were dealing. Come on now, back in 1980's, early 90's dollars, those joints were pricey. I mean, I could do $120 on some J's if I sacrificed eating for a bit, but back then. If your parents weren't buying you either had to find a gig and work about 6 months to afford the downpayment on layaway (by the way, whatever happend to layaway. Such a great deal being able to pay $5 bucks a month to get sopmething out right before it went out of style) or sling for about 30 minutes and come home with a Green Bay and LA Raiders Starter. I chose option three. JC Penney jackets and cheap Nike, Reeboks, Addidas kicks. Hey, the parents were buying.

As for Air Jordans, i think you said it yourself. "Air Jordans" used to come out pretty much at the beginning of basketball season. Now these "Jordans" are everywhere. He's corporate now. He can do that. By the way, my all-time favorite pair of Jordans had to be the patent leather ones with the red soles. Probably because my big bro loves em. Much props to the big bro.

Anonymous said...

I couldn't afford Air Jordans back in the day, but I squeezed together every dollar I could to get a hold of the starters. My Mom was so worried I'd get robbed for mine. I remember my friend getting robbed right in front of me for a starter he found in lost and found. And this asshole I knew tried to take my Miami starter from me, but I told him to go fuck himself. I had about 4 starters all together, I didn't care as much about my shoes or eating lunch everday. I had the G-Town, Raiders, Miami and a Yankees. Still got em' all too.