Discussion-I-Remember-When

Remember when you got your first pair? The smell that was inside that box, the feel of the full grain leather upper… stepping into a shoe with Air Max or Zoom Air cushion for the first time.

Things have changed greatly since then, for most of us at least. Prices are higher than ever, quality is a hit or miss on most releases & Retro’s seem to be more like cheap replicas instead of carbon copies of the originals.

Instead of discussing one topic or another, just take a moment to reflect on earlier times in the sneaker world and just remember when…

Feel free to post as many times as you’d like, whatever comes to mind on what it is that sticks out in your mind as the glory days of being a Sneakerhead… heck, I remember when we weren’t called Sneakerheads.

I remember when “Quality basketball products inspired by the greatest player ever” used to mean just that.

I remember when you could pre-order your Jordan’s at Finish Line stores.

I remember when MJ retired, the 1st time, and thought basketball would never be the same.

I remember when MJ announced he was coming back… I swear, losing my virginity didn’t even feel that good.

I remember when you actually got what you paid for.

I remember when synthetics were unheard of in basketball footwear.

I remember when a Hypebeast used to be called an enthusiast.

I remember when there were no official release dates, you knew there was a new sneaker once you walked into the shop.

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32 Comments

  1. I remember when the toe of my nikes were stitched instead of glued. I remember when shoes were sturdy because they were made out of leather or swade. I remember the first time I bought a pair made with nubuck and thought to myself, “WTF???” I remember when I thought that there was air under the clear gum of the jordan 5’s. I remember when I thought, “wouldn’t it be cool if they made an air pocket that went the whole way down the shoe instead of just the heel?” I remember what my mom said the first time I told her I wanted a pair of shoes that cost 100+. I remember when you seriously could get messed up for your J’s. I remember I used to count the stars on the sole of the toe. I remember when the first J’s came out and I didn’t know who Jordan was. I remember the Volcano pumps–how og is that? I remember the first of everything with Nike basically. I’ve been rockin nikes since 86′. I remember the glory years from 89-96′. 1997 is the year nike started to go downhill if you ask me–I’m still stayin true. I remember when AF1’s were low budget and you were only kinda cool if you had em’. I remember when we used to call the carmine and white J’s, “christmas” Jordan’s.

    I remember……

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  2. One last thing: I remember my first pair of Nike Airs. Hight top Delta’s with this awesome white/grey/tarheel blue combo. I’ve never seen them since, but damn they were good lookin shoes.

    68$ at John’s department store……

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  3. I remeber when Jordans ment something more than just a trendy shoe

    I remember when you got a bang for your buck real leather no defects

    I remeber when you did not have to examine your shoes before you baught them i ust to say sz 13 im not trying them on and walk out, get home then look at em nowadays you gotta give them a physical exam to make sure they are good quality.

    I remeber when the j’s were 110 115 100

    i remeber when they werenet gimmicky ‘south beach, fusions, viz 10 max 13 and, 2.5 2.0 and all the other gimmicky stuff they come up with not

    IM DONE LOL

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  5. I remember when Nikes were “made in the USA.” (‘Still got the apparel to prove it — they’re almost 20 years old)

    I remember when Foot Locker was the size of Stride Rite — it was, no lie.

    I, of course, remember when Air Jordans were so respected, people would dust-off your shoe when they accidently stepped on them!

    I remember when I would watch Ron on “A Different World” to see the next Air Jordans that were coming out.

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  6. This is a real good article right here. I remember when the real flu games came in leather not nubuck.

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  7. i remember when cool greys were cool and not beaters…. if i see one more pair of cool greys destroyed before the sole is yellow im gonna go crazy lol

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  8. Two more things I really wanna share:

    I remember “I wanna be like Mike” commercials for gatorade. You always saw a preview of what was comin’ in those.

    I remember when Jordan and Mars commercial was the coolest commercial I’d ever seen….wait, it still is.

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  10. I remember when it wuz cool 2 b the first one in class with da new j’s and all your classmates marveled at your feet……the new jordans lack the luster and allure of the jordans of old…..I am highly disappointed at the overall look the performance may be there but the look is not …..J’s used to be the most innovative and had that artistic feel like it was a mona lisa in the box and u were the only one in the world that had it……It’s sad that retros arent the carbon copy to their originals but I still must have them becasuse they do take me back to the times when bball was bball and when it was actually cool to wait outside the store to get your jordans…..remember gettin laces shorts and all the extras to add to the flare of my j’s……….now I dont even have to go to the store I can order online or call in a favor to a few store managers ….. I remember when I was proud of my j’s cuz they represented the ultimate in excellence and quality, they were the closest we could get to the man himself …. “I’m lacing up the same shoes the greatest player ever is wearing” ……yea and the commercials were the best …..i understand jordan brand has expanded so much and has a slew of athletes but wat happened to evolving with that expansion……I remember gawking at awe at the jordan displayed in the local footlocker window now I luk upon the new releases with a grotesque stare like “wtf” …..I remember the old days when the jordan shoe was the pinnacle of the shoe game on the court and off ……

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  15. Im only 17, but, i remember when Made In China proved your J’s were fake
    i remember wen $110 wass the price of the new J’s($150, 2012 $160 wow!)
    I remember wen da 20s came out, dey looked weird, but every1 had em.
    I remember da all red 21s(Tokyo Drift)
    I remember my 1st pair of Air Max’s(dey were 95’s), got em in elementary school
    I remember wen my uncle walked in da house wit OG Flu Games(I was lyk OMG J’s!)
    Even a young cat like me has good times wit shoes

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  16. I remember when there were no fakes and I also remember skipping school to get my jays because the release date was on Wednesday and not Saturday.

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  18. I remember impatiently waiting for the newest eastbay to arrive in the mail to see what the newest pair of Jordans or Air Max’s were.

    Now its all viral…It was more fun when there were no known release dates.

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  19. I remember when there were 3 color ways a year (Season,All Star & Playoff) and the 1st Blk/Wht & Red came out Oct 31st every year!!!!!

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  20. I remember Air Jordans being called Air Jordans instead of J’s. I remember when Air Jordans dropped in the middle of the week. I remember when the XI’s came out and I looked at my nephews pair for about an hour. I remember wanting the Grape V’s because that’s the first shoe I seen with a purple tongue. I remember wanting the Reebok Pumps after watching Dee Brown win the dunk contest. I remember when all I had to worry about was homework and what to wear to school.

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  21. I remember when u had to keep ur Jordans clean when u was in school cause back then there was no such thing as doubling up.
    Parents back then wasnt buyin no 2 pairs of J’s.

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  22. I remember when you could actually buy jordans months after there release and not worry about if they were shipped from another store and tried on a million times. Most important I remember when wearing ball sneaks was respected and coveted art form unlike today, when you see kids wear jordans with pajamas or wear them straight to court and break em down in less than a month.

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  23. I also remember when J’s dropped during the week and not on the weekends.
    I remember missing 1st period to get my pair of J’s. Sometimes I would have to wait tell the weekend.

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  25. I remember being the kid that got his older cousins clothes when he didn’t fit them anymore .I remember seeing the jordans on other people and thinking about how fresh they looked and like other people have said the art that the shoes inspired one of my favorite models for me was the 8’s .The patch on the tongue and the cross straps along with the pattern on the heel.I remember my grandmother who bought me my first pair of jordan’s they were the sixes you know the black and infrared. That day in Foot locker my grandma told me I could get any shoe in the store, I lived with my mother who was a dug addict so we couldn’t afford jordans ,but when my granma let me get thet pair of 6’s man I just remember how comfortable they were and you knew it was a luxery type thing ,now I’m 29 and Ive become a huge collector of jordans and nikes over 250 pairs and counting but I just wanna thank my granma for giving a poor kid his J’S. God Bless I’m out.

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  26. I remember when i first got my pair of mikes that i bought with my money jordan 4’s all black
    I remember when you would get clowned in school if you didn’t have the J’s on
    I remember the first package i ever got (jordan 1 package)
    I when i saw the first pair of Jordan 3’s and lost my mind i had to get a pair
    I remember when the 13’s retro’s came back out in 2004-2005 i was in 8th grade i bought every pair
    I remember when i first feel in love with shoes it was like being in love for the first time now my room is filled with them and more to come
    AJ Lover till i die

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  27. i remember my first pair of jays were the oly vii. was in 6th grade. got them actually at a nike outlet in 93 or something and it had a ton of jays there. i remember a bunch of viii were sitting on shelves. had the 99 retro iv til a dude stole em from my apartment in college. know who did it and i regret it to this day!

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  28. I remember seeing Space Jam when it came out on VHS damn half year later @ five years old.& thought the reason I saw no one in public wore the black and blue Jordan’s because it was to high a risk because they might get shot for them. I remember when my mom bought the Nike shox for me back in like ’03 and I thought icould actually dunk just by putting them on. I remember back in my sophomore Year of high school when Steve got da “last shot” xlv’s on sale for $80 because everybody wasn’t hyping the fuck outta the shoe. I remember freshman when the dub zero came out and everybody & they momma got had and bought the “exclusive” sponge Bob ones and I was p.o. that I couldn’t copp(I’m lucky that I didn’t)… I remember when retros wit vis. Air cost $114.. .@ the most one$135 retail

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  30. I remember my first pair of Jordans, I remember the first time I saw the AIR written on the side of those uptempos, I remember the first time i saw the swoosh backwards. I remember zipping up my GPs I remember rocking nautica jeans and Izod polos with Js.. almost nobody was werain AF1s out by me. Damn man.. back when ball players were actually ppl i idolized

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