by B.C.
I have a confession to make. I’ve fallen off in the sneaker game.
Many of you are probably wondering why I’m even writing this in the first place. Well, I feel that for one, my experience in the sneaker game has granted me all of the permission that I need to tell you this story. I was one of those guys who purchased sneakers before they were retroed years later, only to see them return to stores in a quality that was less-than-stellar.
I, like many other people who grew up in the origins of the sneaker craze (late 80s-90s), fell off for a number of reasons, which my case being that I got so occupied doing other stuff that I’d lose track of the release dates of kicks that I had been wanting forever. However, this doesn’t take away from my love of kicks. I can recall the pure joy that I felt when the the UPS worker delivered a fresh pair of royal blue 2007 Foamposite Ones to my home, or when I was able to jump on eBay to outbid everyone on a near deadstock pair of OG “Flu Game” 12s during the fall of 2002…one year before the retro version released, mind you.
Although it’s always a great feeling to acquire a new pair of kicks, that’s only one part of why I love the sneaker game. Who here remembers NBA All-Star Weekend back in the day when we had to wait until the All-Star Game to get a chance to see what shoes that players such as C-Webb, MJ, or Kobe were gonna wear?
Not only do I limit my sneakerhead experience to just copping what I think fits my style, I also consider myself somewhat a historian of the shoes themselves, even enjoying movies such as the one below:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BMGnmeCi-fc
In today’s world of $200 sneakers becoming commonplace, there’s a re-sale store in my hometown in which you may luck up on a pair of Reebok Question retros for no more than $50…or you might walk away with some size 13 2004 Nike Zoom Generations for around the same price. Stores such as these are a diamond in the rough, but they certainly serve their purpose as making our experience as sneaker heads that much more enjoyable and memorable.
Above all, what I enjoy most about my life as a sneaker head is actually WEARING THE SHOES ON THE BASKETBALL COURT, where many of them were designed to perform best anyway.
Everyone has their own reasons for why they fell in love with sneakers. What’s yours? I love this game…
