Here’s a quick look at the shoe sponsorships for this year’s Tournament seeding.
Nike has the top seeds of each regional locked up. Of no significance but interestingly enough, Adidas provides the footwear for Indiana, Louisville, Michigan, and Wisconsin, all the #4 seeds.
The selection of teams from the various NCAA conferences has a typical feel year to year. Â The Big East has its share of teams (9) and represents all three sneaker sponsorships in the tournament (Nike, Adidas, and Under Armour). Â The “biggest” gainer seems to be the West Coast Conference, up from one team in 2011 to three in 2012 (BYU, Gonzaga, and Saint Mary’s).
College basketball championships are won or lost by the shoes the team wears. Well, that’s my kicks-slanted theory anyways. And to kick off March Madness 2012, here is the analysis of kicks for the Round of 64.
No surprise that Nike leads the shoe sponsorships claiming 76% of those still dancing in the NCAAs. That 76% equates to 49 teams donning the swoosh. Adidas is represented by a dozen, and newcomer Under Armour has South Florida, Temple, and Loyola (MD) to thank.
Year to year, how has the shoe sponsorships varied? It’s been a Nike-dominated tourney, and yeah, I took a break from analyzing kicks in 2010.
As the Linsanity train keeps chugging along, here’s one stop I can do without, JLin’s basketball kicks. It’s great that Nike gave him his own player’s exclusive, but they ain’t for me. Not the Zoom Hyperdunk 2011 Low that Jeremy wore during the NBA All Star Weekend or his Zoom Hyperfuse. Nice, but just not my style.
Though I do admit, I like the above two better than these mockups.
What’s Jeremy Shu-How Lin got on his feet? Nike Zoom Hyperfuse you’ll see. Soon enough, the Swoosh is giving JLin his own signature design that could look like this…
How you liking them Lins?
For all my years of collecting and wearing kicks, I’ve never owned a pair of Nike Air Force 1’s. Yep, it’s true. The closest I got was my pair of the Air Force 1 and Air Jordan 3 fusion, aka the AFJ3 but never the classic AF1.
Back in 2007, I thought that would be my AF1 breakout year with the focus on the Round Mound of Rebound, Charles Barkley. But I never pulled the trigger.
Most recently, the Year of the Dragon AF1 caught my eye. Its design is clean and simple and ethnic. But then I learned this was a Quickstrike, not a general release. That means waiting in line for the hopes of getting a pair. And did I mention the $200 price tag?
So I passed on the AF1 YotD, but a funny thing happened. I came across the new AF1 Camo (as in camouflage). Available in black or an olive green “cargo khaki,” the images of these AF1s stuck with me. The colors are still somewhat muted but that camo pattern is unmistakable. I couldn’t get these out of my head. Even better, they’re a general release, costing half of the Year of the Dragons. So I got them.
And wow, they don’t disappoint. The cargo khaki colorway is greener than they look on Nike’s site but in a good way. There’s definitely some character with these kicks, and I am pleasantly surprised.
Shield your eyes or you may go blind!
A nondescript cardboard box unleashes the Holy Grail of Kicks, the Air Jordan XI “Concords”.
#23. December 23, 2011. Air Jordan 11 retro. Concords. Black patent leather. The release date for the most iconic Air Jordan has been on every shoe head’s calendar.
Leading up to the release, original design sketches were released by The Architect, Tinker Hatfield. All MJ wanted was a shiny shoe.
Then, December 23, the clock hits midnight, the shoe drops virtually and physically.
Tinker made it shine. Mike made it fly. You made it iconic. Retro 11 #Concords are now available http://t.co/01zvJcip
— Nike.com (@nikestore) December 23, 2011
Pandemonium. Across the nation, fights and riots ensue to own the Concords. By now, you’ve seen the news reports.
Online, you felt the Nike servers melt under the onslaught.
#Concords update: We are experiencing heavy loads of traffic in our checkout. Hang in there and keep trying.
— Nike.com (@nikestore) December 23, 2011
You wondered, “What does a blank checkout screen really mean? Â Did the order go through?” Nike.com is inaccessible. Â In an instant, the holy grail of kicks is no more. Good try. Move on. Catharsis.
And then…
Though I am a kicks fanatic, I must admit that there have only been a few pairs that were truly love at first sight. The iconic Air Jordan XI was definitely not love at first sight. Â That black patent leather confused me for a long time, and even though I have owned several Air Max 95, I slept on those for years due to all those “layers.”
So what was kicks love at first sight? It was these Air Max Uptempo 95, especially the teal colorway.
When I saw these at Footlocker Phase 2 Pearlridge aka Downtown back in the day, I absolutely had to get them. No hesitation, no ruminating, just pure wanton craving. The image doesn’t do justice to the teal accents, but the black and white colors really set off the teal. For my feet, these weren’t the best balling shoes. All the air cushioning obliterated court feel, but it didn’t matter. They looked great. In fact, even with the imperfect fit, I owned two more colorways over the years, an all black version and a black and white version without accent color. As additional colorways have been produced over the years, I usually stop, pickup the Uptempo, and admire the design.
Shortly after posting about the forthcoming Nike Zoom Rookie attributed to Penny Hardaway, I actually see a pair in the wild. A dad was rocking the Rookies at Windward Mall waiting for Santa.
Christmas must have come early!
I thought the digital camo unis worn by North Carolina were distinctive, but those of challenger Michigan State aren’t too bad either.
And the Spartan’s Carrier Classic Hyperdunks are downright hot.
You might be able to find these special Zoom Hyperdunk 2011 Supremes on Nikestore.com now, but they won’t last long, even at $140.
