Who wouldn’t love the game? Everything makes you feel alive: the peak of adrenaline whenever your favorite athlete is about to dunk, the shouts and screams of supporters when you watch the finals, the heat and the perspiration when you play, and above all– the feel of rubber friction with the hard court every time you or your favorite athletes run to and fro the court. Basketball is a sport loved by many, and you know you are one of those. If you could also feel the same things mentioned above, there is no doubt that you also have a great fascination on basketball shoes. Have a trip down to memory lane, while you recount the evolution of basketball shoes.
The years of 1920-1960s were the years for The Original Chuck Taylors. For over 40 years, Chuck Taylors were seen everywhere in the basketball scene. You may remember also that on those years, the leather-made basketball sneakers were also released. Not far from the same year as well, Puma launched the first ever signature shoe with Clyde Frasier’s low tops. By the year 1983, Nike launched Air Force 1 with its air technology that caused a great buzz. Thanks to this debut, you and a lot of basketball (and basketball shoes0 fanatics were born. Without this debut, the basketball shoe scenario would be really a dull and lifeless thing.
After Nike’s launch of Air technology basketball shoes, came the bread and butter of it all: The Nike’s Air Jordan Shoes. If you do not know, it was in 1984 when Michael Jordan showed up in the basketball scene. Michael started the basketball shoes era with a bang – he even had a Nike commercial where there was an X mark on his shoes with the word BANNED on it. In spite of his relationship with Nike, do you know that Michael almost got out of Nike and start his own brand? But it did not happen as Tinker Hatfield designed the Air Jordan III. After seeing the wonderful design, Michael decided to stay with Nike. Erwing had a different story though, as he took off from Adidas and started his own brand of shoes.
After that, then came the pumps. Reebok had a swaggering upward move to the shoes consumer market when they introduced the ever first Original Pump. Those were the days that almost everyone from the male population wanted one. Do you remember those days? Aside from a pair of Jordan air you might even have one Reebok pump on your shoe rack.
On to the more recent times: Iverson became the face of Adidas. But the evolution of Basketballs shoes is now questioned as superstar athletes endorse one brand after another, and new shoes can’t seem to make a big buzz. Aside from that, remakes were made to the Air Jordan shoes and are now considered as vintage and are preferred by many.
In conclusion, basketball shoes are now comparable to big boy toys like automobiles and motorcycles. Having a vintage basketball shoes makes you feel strong, energetic and manly. Especially for die-hard fans of the game, nothing compares to the feel of owning a nice pair.
