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The first ever Sneaker News March Madness Sneaker Tournament is in the books, and it’s the mighty Air Jordan XI left standing as the champion. After taking out a slew of worthy competitors, it wasn’t until the final matchup against the Pigeon Dunk that the AJXI really even got a close fight. In honor of its impressive tournament run and eventual championship win, we thought it would be fitting to take a closer look at the history, design and cultural significance of the legendary shoe. Keep reading after the jump for our championship tribute to the Air Jordan XI.
The Air Jordan XI was developed in 1995 by Tinker Hatfield. Hatfield was much like Howard Roark of The Fountainhead; they were both architects who defied norms and refused to acquiesce to public demands. Hatfield’s muse? Michael Jordan – a being that embodied and demanded perfection in every sense of the word. The result of this partnership was a legacy of Air Jordan models that bent rules until they broke. By the eleventh Air Jordan model, Tinker Hatfield showed no signs of slowing down.
Tinker Hatfield designed the shoe during Michael Jordan’s first retirement; at that point, Jordan immersed himself into another career, but Hatfield was certain Michael Jordan would return to the game he dominated so effortlessly. The design – taken after a classic dress shoe – featured a number of revolutionary elements of engineering, all of which contributed to the technological excellence of the design. The upper was constructed with condula nylon, giving the shoe a lightweight durability never before seen in a basketball shoe, while the implementation of a carbon-fiber spring plate gave the Air Jordan XI an unparalleled torsional rigidity fit for Jordan’s game. The patent leather suited two different needs: Patent leather is lighter than genuine leather and is much more resilient to stretching and wear and tear. On top of the structural advantages, the lustrous patent leather gave the Air Jordan XI an aesthetic identity unmatched by any other shoe in history.
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52 Responses to “Air Jordan XI – 2010 SN March Madness Sneaker Tournament Champion”
April 9th, 2010 at 3:04 pm
Correction : The SPACE JAMS won. Don’t kid yourself XI.
April 9th, 2010 at 3:05 pm
I never knew it was the AJ XI shoe, I just thought it was the SpaceJam colorway. CDP 6s are better IMO. This whole thing was rigged anyway so fuck it.
April 9th, 2010 at 3:14 pm
XI’s need to pick me up some bred IV’s.
April 9th, 2010 at 3:17 pm
LMAO!!!
AJ 11 vs Pigeon Dunks….
Not rigged?
Make it AJ 11 vs Dunk SB Low
See who wins?
April 9th, 2010 at 3:17 pm
or Space Jams vs Pigeons…de de de?
April 9th, 2010 at 3:22 pm
I love the XI especially cool grey’s but if this was done last year most of the kids that went for the Space Jam’s would have been crying “why aren’t there any bape’s?”
No hating though. Nike/JB kills it in any sneaker competition.
April 9th, 2010 at 3:25 pm
Yeah, SPACE JAMS won. Not the XI’s.
Anyway, I voted for Pigeon *thumbs up*
April 9th, 2010 at 3:28 pm
and now, whats your best colourway ?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!
April 9th, 2010 at 3:33 pm
GIVE ME THE CONCORDS AND I’M HAPPY. ALL THE THE OTHERS CAN COME AT A LATER TIME.
April 9th, 2010 at 3:45 pm
epic picture at the top. Anyway, all people had to do was read and it would have been obvious the vote was for the jordan model # (XI) and not the colorway. It was stated many times.
April 9th, 2010 at 4:05 pm
its funny that the HATERS say…”The Space Jam colorway won it, not the XI.” But the same fuckers are saying they wish the Pigeon’s had one it and not saying the dunks. #imjustsayin
April 9th, 2010 at 4:09 pm
*won
April 9th, 2010 at 4:20 pm
Man FUCK den booty ASS pidgeon shoes man hypebeast or not, dem wack ass dunks aint better den the muthafuckin breds, cool greys, Space Jams, or concords, Dude wtf dis post got me mad cuz those yall fuckin crying kuz the best shoe won and not yall Pidgeon Boots? FUCKIN LAMES!!!!!
April 9th, 2010 at 4:22 pm
@ 11 niceeeee man thats the truest statment ever, I havent heard dunks AT ALL, just PIDGEON LOL
April 9th, 2010 at 4:31 pm
I sleep with my 29 year old girl last night and she came for the first time, and squirted all in my bed. It was a beautiful thing. I just had to tell somebody. Foamposites all day long.
April 9th, 2010 at 4:47 pm
maybe when lilSQUAD learns to talk right then maybe we can see XI vs PIGEON
crazy J fans rigged that competition
April 9th, 2010 at 4:49 pm
How about making some of these XI pics into wallpapers?
April 9th, 2010 at 4:50 pm
ENH… I THINK THIS TOURNAMENT WAS SET UP AND BIASED..
SNEAKERNEWS KNEW ALL HYPES WERE GOING TO VOTE FOR THE JAMS
AND NOT THE OVERALL MODEL..
LETS TRY THIS NEXT YEAR W/O THE JAMS AND SEE WHO WINS..
April 9th, 2010 at 5:32 pm
I’ve pretty much had enough of these shoes to last me a life time.
April 9th, 2010 at 5:36 pm
i think there should be a vote for an MVP, like the best XI colorway now.
April 9th, 2010 at 5:45 pm
i guess that’s all you sb heads can say blame it on the space jam pic of the xi’s. when all the other color models besides the columbias are more of a fan favorite and would of killed it quicker. i’m pretty sure you guys could have come up with something else to blame besides the pigeon looking ordinary. the undftd jordan iv is more rare than that, if thats the reason why its the best. other than that all you guys have is a riot, which means there were a few too many stupid people there that day.
April 9th, 2010 at 5:46 pm
all dem 11′s clean as hell
April 9th, 2010 at 5:46 pm
@ NSBcollector-that’s true, but they did this to attract ignorants like dsuave allday who thought SPACE JAMS won (ta loco). Maybe next time SN should right MODEL really big so that people can see.
April 9th, 2010 at 6:04 pm
The AIR JORDAN XI won the sneaker tournament! Not just the Space Jams! It even says so at the top of the page! Get it right fuckin retards!
April 9th, 2010 at 6:41 pm
JEFF STAPLE IS AT HOME CRYING RIGHT NOW HAHAHAHAHAHA LOSER
April 9th, 2010 at 7:08 pm
MAN STOP HATIN ON THE XI’S YOU STANK BOOTY BUMS AND HVYCASH IS AN IDIOT
April 9th, 2010 at 7:44 pm
If Jordan never went to Nike there wouldn’t even be an SB shoe so stop bitching.
April 9th, 2010 at 7:45 pm
I mean, if Jordan never went to Nike there wouldn’t even be an SB shoe so stop bitching.
April 9th, 2010 at 7:49 pm
The 11′s are my fav design overall. The idea of patent leather and backpack material for the upper… Come on, it does not get more innovative than that people. Gotta love it!
April 9th, 2010 at 8:08 pm
nike dont give a f#k who wins coz it got all yall wasting money on their sneakers. these kicks were made for maybe $20 by a kid named tingting and sold for 10x its price to all yall suckaaas. bwahahahahaha hype kills and sneakers ruined my life!…so when’s the next heat droppin? lmaoooo
April 9th, 2010 at 9:01 pm
its the XI shoe.
April 9th, 2010 at 9:27 pm
pleease release the concords. i’ll take concords over cool greys any day
April 9th, 2010 at 9:47 pm
oh my gosh. who ever would have guessed. (sarcasm. calm down) the XIs should’nt have been included.
April 9th, 2010 at 9:58 pm
I agree it was stupid to change it to Pigeons vs all XIs for the final round. Some people don’t like space jams because of the boring, non-contrasting outsole and the fact that Michael didn’t wear them in a Bulls game. I personally much prefer the black/red.
If this kind of crap was going to be pulled then perhaps it should have been AJ 11 vs all SB dunks or AJ 11 vs all dunks.
Lame.
April 9th, 2010 at 10:34 pm
Everyone who thought those crappy dunks would win, are not into shoes. The Jams are the clear winner here. When the Jams get released you know there sold out as soon as the gates open. I could buy dunks right now if i wanted, please Dunks? are you serious.
April 9th, 2010 at 10:34 pm
No doubt the 11′s would win against the pigeons no matter what colorway, because of the legend, achievements and it’s design…
April 9th, 2010 at 10:36 pm
dsuave allday,
that’s because you don’t know how to read. You were always suppose to vote for the XI as a shoe, not colorway.
April 9th, 2010 at 11:27 pm
XIs won, and I’m happy for that, but I’ll take some IIIs or IVs over some XI’s any day of the fuckin’ week.
April 10th, 2010 at 12:03 am
Really….is anyone surprised? Aj xi ftw!
April 10th, 2010 at 6:58 am
Im not that much fun of cool greys.
I want Columbias or Concords so bad.
Hope bin23 collection 11s will be look like one of these.
April 10th, 2010 at 9:41 am
Yo a little hint/question for yall.
Foot Locker’s manifest says the arrival of AJ 10 Lite Black/ Gray/ Red is set for the month of 04
April 10th, 2010 at 10:43 am
fuck all you haters it was impossible for ANY sb to beat JB specially the air jordan XI, all the sb can go against any air jordan XI alone and that 11 alone will destroy all the sb’s.
April 10th, 2010 at 12:49 pm
Saying Space Jams won not the XI is ignorant. Space Jams aren’t XI’s now? You all put way too much emphasis on these stupid nicknames…..or you’re just stupid.
April 10th, 2010 at 2:34 pm
Yeah !!
April 10th, 2010 at 3:33 pm
Congratulations hypebeats. 11′s wouldn’t of won without you. 5′s should of won.
April 10th, 2010 at 5:00 pm
I WANT THE COOOOOL GREYS!!!!
April 10th, 2010 at 5:58 pm
I got 3 out of the 5 displayed…gotta get the cool grays and all white joints again…
April 10th, 2010 at 7:30 pm
Not to dick ride but I agree with NSBcollector, cuz to be honest the IIIs, IVs, V, and VIs have better model silhouettes then the XI. Shit, even the XIII has a better model silhouette. Plus, if were to be based on colorway, I still don’t think the XI should win, cuz both the Grapes and Flint Greys are way better then the Space Jams. The Infareds are better as well, along with the Cements for the III and IV.
April 11th, 2010 at 1:39 am
looks like heterosexuality is still stronger in America than homosexuality. but the fact that those queer ass “pigeons” got so many votes is proof of how society as a whole is turning into faggots.
fuck y’all
April 11th, 2010 at 1:28 pm
@nick pocket i think da best colorway is da white n black xi r da best 2 me but dats just my opinion who agrees da white n black xis r da best colorway ?
April 12th, 2010 at 1:06 pm
this is bullshit they wrote in little words were u cant see that u should vote on the shoe line not the coloerway and then they got some gay old fake pictures of four and threes. but i like the 11s not enough for them to win. wish the 4s one.
April 13th, 2010 at 2:41 pm
whats even more ignorant of all these NooBs who voted for the space jams is that the shoes they got last year werent even space jams. they were black n white XI’s!!! they got jumpman*jordan written on the tongue… the space jams got jumpman*jam written on them. yall was so pressed to run out and buy a technically incorrect shoe for 200 jus to say u got em. want a real pair of space jams? drop 500 and then talk shit! and everyone saying the 11′s won and not the space jams… please. we more advanced in the shoe game than these rookies who voted for a color and cant read. let them vote for the “space jams” and feel like they earned something
like someone said earlier in the tourny: if they would have put the pink snakeskin 11 lows on here, them shits woulda be bumped from round 0…