John Kim 
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.
Michael Jordan first wore the Air Jordan XI during the second round of the 1995 Playoffs. He was given a test pair of the Concord XI but decided to wear them for a few games despite Tinker Hatfield’s urgent warnings to resist the temptation of wearing the shoe; Jordan was consequently warned by the league to abide by uniform rules that required players to wear all-black shoes (this wasn’t the first time this happened with a Air Jordan shoe, remember?). Jordan finally gave in to league demands and switched his shoes during one of the Playoff games, borrowing a pair of the Nike Air Flight One from Penny Hardaway. Upset at the restrictions, Jordan removed any Penny branding on the shoe; he went as far as cutting off the rear heel-tab that housed Penny’s logo. For the remainder of the Playoff series against the eventual Eastern Conference Champion Orlando Magic, Michael Jordan wore the then unreleased Space Jam colorway of the Air Jordan XI. Of course, at the time, the Space Jam was merely a black-and-white colorway of the shoe that followed league guidelines; the Space Jam movie providing the nickname didn’t release until late 1996!
The following season, Michael Jordan ‘officially’ debuted the Air Jordan XI by wearing the Concord colorway of the Eleven. He also wore the all-white Columbia colorway during the ’96 All-Star Game, as well as the ‘Bred’ colorway and Jordan XI I.E. Low throughout the regular season and Playoffs. The Air Jordan XI is synonymous with that record-setting season in which the Chicago Bulls set a league-record 72 regular season wins and won their fourth overall championship; watching Michael during that season was like witnessing a god governing his realm. It is only fitting that the most groundbreaking Air Jordan was introduced during the greatest single season ever by an NBA team. Later in 2000, the Air Jordan XI ‘Space Jam’ was officially released alongside the Cool Grey XI, a colorway Michael Jordan wore for a few games during his first season with the Washington Wizards.
The most recent Air Jordan XI release was the retro of the Air Jordan XI Space Jam. It led to a immense campouts and mayhem: retail stores were torn down, cars were vandalized, and thousands upon thousands of eager sneakerheads lined up to get a pair of the shoes, that even as a widespread release, still didn’t cover the overwhelming demand. The Space Jam XI came housed in commemorative packaging and a $175 price-tag – oddities for a Retro release – but still sold out immediately. Hype? Not a chance; it was simply a colorway that could do no wrong placed on an iconic shoe design that was pushed into the international spotlight by a movie that starred the greatest NBA player of all time.
Based on the historical significance, earth-shattering design, pop-culture relevance, and great colorways, there is no doubt that the Air Jordan XI is one of the greatest sneakers of all time. Michael Jordan once again broke league rules to wear a pair. Every colorway of the Air Jordan XI sold out immediately and maintains a value above retail. Any pair that hits the streets is met with oohs and aahs and garners the attention it deserves, regardless of when and where. It is also the only Air Jordan XI that has not yet been ‘tainted’ by superfluous colorblocking. The reasoning is truly endless, but in the end, it was the voting that counted. Sneakerheads new and old came through and voted for the Air Jordan XI, and today it will go down as the champion of the first ever Sneaker News March Madness Sneaker Tournament. The Sneaker News Team would like the thank everyone who participated; despite having our own personal favorites that did not make it to the Finals, we could not be any more happier with the results and amazing reader response. Congratulations to the Air Jordan XI and thanks for participating.
