Air Jordan Informative Speech
Darryl Babb
Professor Piva
English 101-005
29 October 2014
Audience: Youth in America
Purpose: To address a trend that is going strong
Tone: Informal
A Pair of Airs 1988 at the Chicago Stadium, Michael “Air” Jordan leaped from the free-throw line during the Gatorade Slam-Dunk Contest, a moment that fans of Jordan and the sport alike will not soon forget. It wasn’t the first time the Air Jordan sneaker was seen by the public, but it did help to explain the reason why twenty-nine years later, human beings are being murdered for a pair. The shoe itself, has become a collectable item to some, and a symbol of irrational power and fame over others. Currently there is a release of retroed Jordans every month, and every month men and teenagers alike stand in lines in anticipation of the doors of their local sneaker stores to open and begin the sale of the shoes. Air Jordan shoes have become such an overly-exaggerated trend that even the poor are paying hundreds of dollars to be seen …show more content…
in a pair.
The Air Jordan was first brought to the public by the Air-walker himself on September 15th, 1985 with an endorsement from Nike.
In the article, This Day in Sneaker History, by George Kiel III, an Associate Editor for website Nice Kicks, David Stern, the commissioner/overseer of the NBA at the time, is said to have banned the shoe after Jordan wore them, due to the shoe’s disregard for the regulation color scheme. Commissioner Stern would fine Jordan five thousand dollars every time he stepped on the court in the Air Jordan I. Sales of the shoe skyrocketed and Nike gladly paid the fines. What it lost for paying the penalties, it nearly tripled in sales of the sneaker. A variation of the first signature sneaker, dubbed the Air Jordan I, “Banned” would be released as a comical play on Commissioner Stern’s ban. The popularity would not stop there as even today, Air Jordan shoes are being produced and retroed with a total of twenty-nine in circulation with different color-ways being
unlimited.
Following the spark of the new sneaker brand, a series of well-organized commercials would be released staring celebrities such as Spike Lee, a frontrunner in the Jordan movement, and pop star legend Michael Jackson would take it to the next level. Exposure of the brand was at an elite level and the more people that saw, the more wanted. Other athletes would also join the movement, signing endorsement deals with Jordan Brand and wearing Jordan Brand sneakers and gear during their games. Famous athletes who joined Team Jordan include Derick Jeter, Ray Allen, and Andre Johnson; and who could blame them. The sneakers themselves were of top quality, being manufactured by Nike, the leading production company at the time.
The popularity comes with the fact that certain color-ways were only released once and never seen again. So when they are finally retroed, they are the hottest commodity out. They are popular amongst the poor and rich alike. Everyone from the homeless to popular music artists such as Justin Timberlake and Drake can be seen wearing them. T.V commercials are no longer needed as word of mouth and on feet advertisements have become much more affordable due to the fact that price is no issue for a true “Sneakerhead,” which is the term given to those who collect, trade or admire sneakers as a hobby.
Another component to the rise in popularity in the Jordan Brand would be the unbelievable moments in Michael Jordan’s career. During the 1977 NBA finals between the Chicago Bulls and Utah Jazz, Michael Jordan displayed an amazing athletic performance while suffering from what were called at the time, “flu-like symptoms.” In an article written by Chris Littmann, Deputy Editor for SportingNews.com, stats to the tone of thirty-eight points, five assists and seven rebounds prove that Air Jordan was more than just an ordinary player. In the same article, Littmann says that the retro XII Jordans labeled the “Flu Games,” that Jordan wore during the game went for $104,766.
The ridiculous price paid is just one example of the lengths that fans are willing to go to have a pair of the iconic Jordans. One example of the trend reaching its boiling point, was the release of the Retro XI “Bred” sneaker. Carol Christian states in his article, Man Dies after Shooting over Air Jordans, that in 2012, a man by the name of Joshua Wood at the age of twenty-two, was shot over a pair of the popular retro. The sneaker retailed at one hundred eighty-five dollars, the most ever for a pair of retros. In my own experience for the same sneaker, teenagers in the city of Brockton waited, or camped out, a day before the sneakers were even released. As the buses pulled up to the high school that morning, they could be seen lined up outside the store in the fifty degree weather. The chances of being able to purchase a pair of a particular style of Jordans at the time of release for retail prices, are slim to none. With popular releases, those being the pairs that Michael Jordan actual wore himself in-game, having only a certain number are sent to specific retail stores. This opened up a whole new world in which individuals have started entire businesses online for reselling sneakers that they were lucky enough to get their hands on. EBay is home to many marketplaces where sneakers go from being retailed at $160, to $250 at the click of a button. I myself have fallen victim to the hype of the resale. I purchased a pair of retro I’s from a reseller for $190, $200 after shipping and handling charges.
Going back to the realization that human beings are dying over Jordans, in an Atlanta Journal-Constitution article, Joshua Lofton an 18-year-old from Georgia was shot and killed after answering a Craigslist ad to purchase a pair of Jordans for $250. 26-year-old Marcus Allen Lloyd fired shots after Joshua reportedly ran off after trying the sneakers on. Lofton apparently brought a knife with him in an attempt to rob Lloyd. The pair of Jordans that were to be transacted, the retro X Jordan, retailed at $170 dollars. Lloyd was to make a $80 profit, but instead faced charges of murder and aggravated assault.
The first pair of Jordans retailed at sixty-five dollars, while currently there seems be a rise in prices every year while prices currently sit at a steady $190 a pair. Michael Jordan was an amazing basketball player and left behind a legacy that cannot, and will not be reproduced. The release of his shoe was something that has forever changed the fashion world and the NBA as a whole. If the first pair was never release, who knows if player would be able to express their fashion choices today. No shoe should cost close to two-hundred dollars, and then be the cause of deaths in this country. No human being was created with a one hundred eighty-five dollar price tag attached to them, and frankly, no basketball shoe should either.
Works Cited
Christian, Carol. "Man Dies after Shooting over Air Jordans." Houston Chronicle. N.p., 26 Dec. 2012. Web. 06 Oct. 2014.
Kiel III, George. "This Day In Sneaker History…." NiceKickscom. N.p., 18 Oct. 2010. Web. 05 Oct. 2014.
Littman, Chris. "Michael Jordan 's Flu Game Was 17 Years Ago Today." Sporting News. N.p., 11 June 2014. Web. 06 Oct. 2014.
Professor Piva
English 101-005
29 October 2014
Audience: Youth in America
Purpose: To address a trend that is going strong
Tone: Informal
A Pair of Airs 1988 at the Chicago Stadium, Michael “Air” Jordan leaped from the free-throw line during the Gatorade Slam-Dunk Contest, a moment that fans of Jordan and the sport alike will not soon forget. It wasn’t the first time the Air Jordan sneaker was seen by the public, but it did help to explain the reason why twenty-nine years later, human beings are being murdered for a pair. The shoe itself, has become a collectable item to some, and a symbol of irrational power and fame over others. Currently there is a release of retroed Jordans every month, and every month men and teenagers alike stand in lines in anticipation of the doors of their local sneaker stores to open and begin the sale of the shoes. Air Jordan shoes have become such an overly-exaggerated trend that even the poor are paying hundreds of dollars to be seen …show more content…
in a pair.
The Air Jordan was first brought to the public by the Air-walker himself on September 15th, 1985 with an endorsement from Nike.
In the article, This Day in Sneaker History, by George Kiel III, an Associate Editor for website Nice Kicks, David Stern, the commissioner/overseer of the NBA at the time, is said to have banned the shoe after Jordan wore them, due to the shoe’s disregard for the regulation color scheme. Commissioner Stern would fine Jordan five thousand dollars every time he stepped on the court in the Air Jordan I. Sales of the shoe skyrocketed and Nike gladly paid the fines. What it lost for paying the penalties, it nearly tripled in sales of the sneaker. A variation of the first signature sneaker, dubbed the Air Jordan I, “Banned” would be released as a comical play on Commissioner Stern’s ban. The popularity would not stop there as even today, Air Jordan shoes are being produced and retroed with a total of twenty-nine in circulation with different color-ways being
unlimited.
Following the spark of the new sneaker brand, a series of well-organized commercials would be released staring celebrities such as Spike Lee, a frontrunner in the Jordan movement, and pop star legend Michael Jackson would take it to the next level. Exposure of the brand was at an elite level and the more people that saw, the more wanted. Other athletes would also join the movement, signing endorsement deals with Jordan Brand and wearing Jordan Brand sneakers and gear during their games. Famous athletes who joined Team Jordan include Derick Jeter, Ray Allen, and Andre Johnson; and who could blame them. The sneakers themselves were of top quality, being manufactured by Nike, the leading production company at the time.
The popularity comes with the fact that certain color-ways were only released once and never seen again. So when they are finally retroed, they are the hottest commodity out. They are popular amongst the poor and rich alike. Everyone from the homeless to popular music artists such as Justin Timberlake and Drake can be seen wearing them. T.V commercials are no longer needed as word of mouth and on feet advertisements have become much more affordable due to the fact that price is no issue for a true “Sneakerhead,” which is the term given to those who collect, trade or admire sneakers as a hobby.
Another component to the rise in popularity in the Jordan Brand would be the unbelievable moments in Michael Jordan’s career. During the 1977 NBA finals between the Chicago Bulls and Utah Jazz, Michael Jordan displayed an amazing athletic performance while suffering from what were called at the time, “flu-like symptoms.” In an article written by Chris Littmann, Deputy Editor for SportingNews.com, stats to the tone of thirty-eight points, five assists and seven rebounds prove that Air Jordan was more than just an ordinary player. In the same article, Littmann says that the retro XII Jordans labeled the “Flu Games,” that Jordan wore during the game went for $104,766.
The ridiculous price paid is just one example of the lengths that fans are willing to go to have a pair of the iconic Jordans. One example of the trend reaching its boiling point, was the release of the Retro XI “Bred” sneaker. Carol Christian states in his article, Man Dies after Shooting over Air Jordans, that in 2012, a man by the name of Joshua Wood at the age of twenty-two, was shot over a pair of the popular retro. The sneaker retailed at one hundred eighty-five dollars, the most ever for a pair of retros. In my own experience for the same sneaker, teenagers in the city of Brockton waited, or camped out, a day before the sneakers were even released. As the buses pulled up to the high school that morning, they could be seen lined up outside the store in the fifty degree weather. The chances of being able to purchase a pair of a particular style of Jordans at the time of release for retail prices, are slim to none. With popular releases, those being the pairs that Michael Jordan actual wore himself in-game, having only a certain number are sent to specific retail stores. This opened up a whole new world in which individuals have started entire businesses online for reselling sneakers that they were lucky enough to get their hands on. EBay is home to many marketplaces where sneakers go from being retailed at $160, to $250 at the click of a button. I myself have fallen victim to the hype of the resale. I purchased a pair of retro I’s from a reseller for $190, $200 after shipping and handling charges.
Going back to the realization that human beings are dying over Jordans, in an Atlanta Journal-Constitution article, Joshua Lofton an 18-year-old from Georgia was shot and killed after answering a Craigslist ad to purchase a pair of Jordans for $250. 26-year-old Marcus Allen Lloyd fired shots after Joshua reportedly ran off after trying the sneakers on. Lofton apparently brought a knife with him in an attempt to rob Lloyd. The pair of Jordans that were to be transacted, the retro X Jordan, retailed at $170 dollars. Lloyd was to make a $80 profit, but instead faced charges of murder and aggravated assault.
The first pair of Jordans retailed at sixty-five dollars, while currently there seems be a rise in prices every year while prices currently sit at a steady $190 a pair. Michael Jordan was an amazing basketball player and left behind a legacy that cannot, and will not be reproduced. The release of his shoe was something that has forever changed the fashion world and the NBA as a whole. If the first pair was never release, who knows if player would be able to express their fashion choices today. No shoe should cost close to two-hundred dollars, and then be the cause of deaths in this country. No human being was created with a one hundred eighty-five dollar price tag attached to them, and frankly, no basketball shoe should either.
Works Cited
Christian, Carol. "Man Dies after Shooting over Air Jordans." Houston Chronicle. N.p., 26 Dec. 2012. Web. 06 Oct. 2014.
Kiel III, George. "This Day In Sneaker History…." NiceKickscom. N.p., 18 Oct. 2010. Web. 05 Oct. 2014.
Littman, Chris. "Michael Jordan 's Flu Game Was 17 Years Ago Today." Sporting News. N.p., 11 June 2014. Web. 06 Oct. 2014.