Chapter 15: the Air Jordan I and other Jordan trademarks ｜ amazingsneaker.com

What made Michael Jordan special was his acrobatic dunks and prolific scoring. Many big players Dunkers (Dominique Wilkins) and many players could score more (Kareem Abdul Jabbar). What really sets Michael apart from the rest of the league were a couple of things that later became his trademark.

1. The tongue wagging

Language is a habit picked Jordan up from his father, James, who would stick out his tongue while working on the car engine. You know Jordan is truly at stake when the tongue is hanging out in one of his drives to the hoop.

2. Baggy shorts
Jordan is credited by many players for popularizing the wearing of baggy shorts. I think it had a more practical than stylish reason. Jordan had a superstition and wore his UNC basketball shorts underneath his normal basketball shorts for EVERY game. So the bagginess of his shorts could have been a way of covering up his superstition.

3. Bald head
Back in the 80′s it had not been popular for players to have shaved heads. But Michael would change that, like he changed so many other aspects of the game.

4. Air Jordans

But Jordan’s most famous trademark, and the one that has been adopted by millions of kids around the world, is the Air Jordan basketball shoes.

Here is the Air Jordan I. The shoe he wore for the 84-85 and the 85-86 season. Nike signed Jordan to a shoe deal even before his first preseason game, and it was an investment they would reap in the coming years.

This shoe spawned a now famous series of commercials, starting with this one.

Here are two other commercials for the black and red version

This version of the shoe was considered in violation of the “uniformity of uniform rule” and Jordan would be fined if he kept wearing them. He still wore them occasionally, hyping up demand for them to unprecedented heights.

To this date, there have been 25 versions of Air Jordans. The latest one is the 2010.

It’s good to know that Michael takes an active interest in the design and production of these shoes. Each one is something Jordan would have worn if he were still playing today.

Here’s what Michael has to say about the Air Jordan line.

Here is the design process for the new Air Jordan 2010.

One Day Without Shoes

by Jessica Shortall, Director of Giving, TOMS Shoes
TOMS Shoes’3rd annual One Day Without Shoes campaign is asking you to go barefoot on April 8th – to spread awareness about the hundreds millions of children who are barefoot around the globe.
As for me, I’ll be barefoot in Little Rock, Arkansas, walking with American Idol Kris Allen and a huge crowd who are learning that being barefoot is about much more than the occasional scrape or stubbed toe.
As the director of giving for TOMS, I spend my days (and some nights) thinking about where all of our One for One shoes should go – because with every pair you purchase, TOMS gives a new pair of shoes to a child in need. As we grow, our opportunities – and responsibility to give well – grow. And what I’m hearing from all corners of the globe – from Zanzibar to Haiti to Peru to Bhutan – is that one of the most pressing health issues facing kids today is soil-transmitted diseases. Hookworm is a great example – hundreds of millions of kids are exposed to this intestinal parasite that comes from the soil, often through bare feet. It causes malnutrition, anemia, stunted growth, even cognitive damage. And while mass de-worming drug distribution is of huge importance, as long as kids stay barefoot they will remain at risk. That’s why, along with our NGO and public health partners, we’re excited about integrating our shoes into existing de-worming programs.
Similarly, in Ethiopia, we are regularly giving shoes to tens of thousands of kids who are at the highest risk for podoconiosis, a debilitating, geochemical, soil-transmitted disease that affects millions in the tropics but is so neglected it has yet to appear on any official NTD lists. Without shoes, about 25% of these kids would suffer the same fate as their affected parents, whose resulting elephantiasis (non-filarial) causes swelling, pain, loss of mobility, and smell that result in significant lost productivity and often complete ostracization from the community.
It’s clear to me that the time has come to see shoes as a key piece in an integrated approach to NTDs. We still have a lot to learn, but now is the time to start.
So when I’m barefoot in Arkansas tomorrow, and people ask me why, I’ll tell them it’s to remind myself, and to have the opportunity to teach others, about the huge impact that shoes can have on a child’s health and education. Step 1 is awareness. Step 2: join our movement at www.amazingsneaker.com Support organizations combating the effects of being barefoot. Take off your shoes with me tomorrow!

Air Jordan 1 Premier Pack:hkidjordanshoes.blogspot.com

Adding to their massive roster for 2008, the Jordan camp introduces two new colorways for their timeless Jordan 1 silhouette.The Air Jordan 1 Retro Laser Edition possesses a gum bottom with laser print throughout the upper, while the Air Jordan 1 Retro Red contains a leather varsity red upper with velour material covering the swoosh.Here is a look at one of the Nike Air Jordan 1 High Retro from the Premier Pack. The kicks come in smooth black leather, gum sole white midsole and laser pattern on the side panel and toebox. You can pick these up now at Stockholm based sneaker shop Caliroots.

Classic Nike Courtforcehi stussy purple:kidjordanshoes.blogspot.com

Nike Be True is a celebration of the Nike Dunk, featuring the top 16 most influential Dunks of all time, along with artwork and interviews featuring Haze, Stash, Futura,The Swoosh brand has released a collection of player tees for the Nike World Basketball Festival.They feature a premium leather upper in a purple colorway along with satin material on the tongue, polyestyer side panels, and yellow show laces.

PUMA Sky Hi+ “The List” Pack:kidjordanshoes.blogspot.com

This Puma Sky Hi+ The List Pack is the more modern version of Puma’s 80s classic silhouette and it is very much different in an extraordinary way from all the high top models.A taller tongue, single strap, and thicker midsole make the PUMA Sky Hi+ a standout, revamped version of the popular Sky Hi. Premium materials including reptile leather, ripstop nylon, leather, and suede are passed around to create “The List” pack. Perhaps with the intention to create a hi top that is suitable for chic nightlife.For the Fall 2010 season, Puma releases the Sky Hi+ Pack for Fall 2010. There are 5 colorways of the high top sneaker that now has a longer tongue, single thick ankle strap and thicker mid-sole.