Good morning, folks! Welcome back to The Kicks You Wear! Thank you so much for spending a bit of your Friday morning right here with me.
Today’s shoutout goes to y’all for getting the newsletter to 600 subs! I appreciate each and every single one of you for getting us to this point. I couldn’t do this without you. And you know what that means? It’s giveaway time. More details at the bottom, family.
Before we get there, though, let’s dive in.
Ranking the best Jordans ever
(Photo by Taylor Smith on Unsplash)
Earlier this week I ranked all 34 of the shoes from Michael Jordan’s signature sneaker line over at For The Win.
I gotta say, y’all, this was actually hard as hell. I was super careful and tried to consider everything and got roasted by Twitter for it anyway.
Alright, maybe roasted was a stretch. But there was definitely some healthy (and appreciated!) criticism there.
Before we get into that, here’s what I landed on for the top 10:
First five: Jordan 11, Jordan 1, Jordan 4, Jordan 3, Jordan 8
Next five: Jordan 9, Jordan 10, Jordan 12, Jordan 5, Jordan 7
Some folks were saying the AJ1 should’ve been higher for some people. Others said the 12 was too low. Others killed me for not having the 6 in the top 10. And honestly? Points were made.
The ranking was generally received positively, but there was definitely room for critique with it. People had so many different opinions on what should’ve been at the top.
Initially, I thought the AJ1 was #1. But Nice Kicks’ Luis Torres convinced me that it was actually the 11 and…he wasn't not wrong.
I just kept getting different responses about what should’ve been at the top. The 1, the 11, the 3. And people made legitimate argument for them all.
The 11 has people going crazy every year like clockwork. It’s the shoe people have stolen for and gone to jail for. That’s insane, but it’s true. And it’s never had a down period like the 1’s.
The 1 definitely wasn’t as popular 10 years ago as they are now, but you could argue that the current peak is as great a run as a Jordan shoe has ever had.
The 3 is Tinker Hatfield’s baby and really what kept Jordan from leaving Nike behind for Adidas back when it dropped and is the reason Jordan still exists today. You’ve got to give it credit for that, plus it just looks great.
If we’re being honest, there are plenty more you could add. The 6, the 4 and the 12 all have legitimate claims to being the best Jordan ever depending on what personal criteria you grade it by.
Personally for me, I graded the shoes on the aesthetic first, then the impact, then history. For others, that scale is definitely different.
The legacy of Jordan in the sneaker game is always going to be something that we argue about, but that’s alright! The beauty is in the eye of the beholder. That’s how art works.
Your faves are joining the fight against coronavirus
(Photo by Khawaja Saud Masud on Unsplash)
Sucks to say, but things are not even close to getting better when it comes to coronavirus right now.
We were up to 226,374 cases and 5,316 deaths in America and counting as of Thursday evening.
As you’re reading this on Friday morning, those number have probably built up even more.
What we’ve done so far to try and suppress the virus has not worked. People haven’t been able to properly protect themselves from it and, once they get it, hospitals don’t have the equipment or space to nurse them back to good health.
That’s why it’s such a good thing that New Balance is joining in from the private sector to make masks for hospitals across the country in need of them.
The company announced earlier this week that it’d be redirecting a portion of their US factory team to work on developing and delivering masks across the country.
They’re not the only ones joining in from the sneaker industry. Nike announced last week that it’d be doing its part in developing PPE gear amid the outbreak. Under Armour is jumping in too.
This is such an important step. When this thing first popped off, we caught on too late. We didn’t have the equipment necessary to protect folks and treat the infected — we sent some of that away to China. Now, governors around the country begging and competing for more ventilators and personal protective (PPE) gear. There’s a limited supply with way too many people falling ill.
Normally, the private sector getting involved in governmental affairs leaves room for pause. But in this case? It’s absolutely justified and necessary.
It’s stating the obvious, but we need more PPE. Protection and prevention is the focus right now. That’s why this gear is so important.
We’re a long ways away from a cure and close to achieving herd immunity right now, per Dr. Facui’s chat with Steph Curry last week, so we have to keep as many folks healthy as possible.
Some of your favorite brands are joining in the fight to do just that. You should absolutely be proud of that fact.
Ohhhh a sneaker bracket
March is definitely over (thank God) but it’s definitely not too late to have a bit of fun with some brackets.
Stadium Goods and eBay are doing a pretty cool thing with one. Instead of basketball teams, they’ve put together a sneaker tournament to find out which hyped shoes are people’s favorites.
Here’s how it works:
They’re taking 16 shoes and putting them up against each other in polls and letting people vote for their favorites.
The shoe that ends up with the most votes will be discounted at what they’re calling a “significantly reduced price.”
That’s all well and good, but that’s not really the part that I’m interested in.
Everything from the Union 1’s to the Pirate Black Yeezys is up for debate right now. This is a good chance to see what people are rocking with the most and I'm curious.
If I had to choose? I’d say most folks would probably go with the Travis 1’s. We’ll see, though. Voting ends on April 8, so if you’d like to jump in now is your time.
New Virgil Alert
Remember that busy summer we said Virgil Abloh and Off-White were about to have this year? It just got a bit busier.
We just got a July 2020 release date for the Air Rubber Dunk that Off-White has been teasing for a while now.
Here's a peak.
I’ve been trying to get a feel for what this joint actually looks like. It’s supposed to be inspired by the Dunk, but it doesn’t look much like a relative of it aside from the sole.
Instead, someone pointed out that it looked like the P-6000 with the Dunk sole and now I can’t unsee it.
Either way, I’m trying to get my hands on this.
Bonus: KYW GIVEAWAY TIME, Y’ALL!
It’s time to buy somebody some shoes! Big shouts to y’all for getting us to 600 subs. It isn’t lost on me how incredible y’all are.
So here’s my thanks to you: We’ve got a couple giveaways coming up on our road to 1,000. Our first step is to 800!
Once we hit 800 subscribers I’m buying somebody some shoes. The winner can choose whatever pair they want up to $120. Y’all know the drill. Here’s how it works:
All you have to do is be subscribed to the newsletter to be eligible for the giveaway.
Once we hit that 800 number, I’ll drop all of the e-mails into a drawing pool, shuffle that baby a few times and pick an e-mail address out. Whoever’s e-mail address that is will be our winner.
I can’t thank y’all enough. I know times are hard and spare time is really hard to come by right now, but y’all never stop opening this e-mail. And for that, I am eternally grateful. Y’all are the fucking best. I mean it. Good luck in the draw.
#TheKicksWeWear
Y’all know what time it is, family. We stuck in the house but its still #TheKicksWeWear.
The homie Alexis kicked us off with some cozy energy in her Swoosh socks.
Then Rachel followed that up with some comfy looking mocs. Shoutout to this WFH life.
The homie Luis popped out in the Pegasus Turbos. I really, really, really gotta get some of these.
My guy Adrian came through in these CLASSIC Penny 5’s. Man, Penny’s line don’t get enough love these days.
Speaking of Foams, the homie Dandin hit us with the DMV special.
The homie Jalen popped out in these dope New Balances AND he showed out with the collection in the background.
Then the homie Justin Block came through with the DIY Air Max 2090’s. BOY this looks so much better when you cut the swoosh out.
The homie Greer popped out in some fire AM 95’s. It ain’t March no more but it can still be Air Max month.
The homie Richard also brought out some dope Air Max 1’s. Shoutout to all this Air Max love.
And Magdalena brought us home with these AMAZING Rayguns. Oh man I wish I copped these.
Y’all killed it fam. Well done. Take a bow.
Thanks so much for reading today, y’all! I appreciate every minute of your time that you spend here with me.
Good luck in our draw! Have a safe and productive weekend. Watch some good movies and bring back some recs! As always, peace and love. Be easy. Be well. Be kind.
Signing off.
—Sykes 💯