When we kicked off the Sneaker News March Madness Non-OG Air Jordan Tournament a few weeks back, there was no way to predict who would come out on top at the end. Unlike the OG colorway Air Jordans that have firmly cemented their place in sneaker history over the years, this batch of kicks doesn’t boast quite the same level of across-the-board agreement on which are the all-time greats. While there was plenty of heat to be found, the title was certainly up for grabs by any of the 32 worthy competitors that entered the tournament. Most of the higher seeds found early success, but there were quite a few surprising upset runs as well, eventual leading to a Finals match-up of two number 2 seeds – the ‘Raging Bull’ Air Jordan V vs. the ‘DMP’ Air Jordan VI.
As with many of the match-ups, this one remained pretty close throughout the vote-off with your eventual champion finally managing to create some breathing room towards the end before locking up the title once and for all. You may not necessarily agree that the winner you crowned is in fact the greatest non-OG Air Jordan of all-time, but you have only your fellow sneakerheads to blame, as these results were determined entirely by your votes. Keep reading after the jump to find out who took the crown in our March Madness Non-OG Air Jordan Tournament and thanks to all who participated in the voting!
FINALS VOTING RESULTS
SOUTHWEST [2] Air Jordan V ‘Raging Bull’ vs. SOUTHEAST [2] Air Jordan VI ‘DMP’
CHAMPION: Air Jordan V ‘Raging Bull’ – 59.6%
So here we are – finally crowning the overall winner of the Sneaker News March Madness Non-OG Air Jordan Tournament. The Air Jordan V ‘Raging Bull’ has been named the king of the non-OG Air Jordans, beating out two heavily favored models in the Air Jordan VI ‘Olympic’ and Air Jordan XI ‘Cool Grey’, while easily handling the Air Jordan VI ‘DMP’ in the Finals in one of the more emphatic wins (in terms of voting percentage) of the entire tournament. Almost all of the later match-ups were nearly split down the middle, so you’re either pleased or astounded at this result; chalk it up to the tournament-style of play, in which match-ups are key or maybe just the general ‘underrated’ nature of the red Raging Bull – the bottom line is that it was you, our faithful readers, that chose the winner!
Regardless of how you may feel about the end result, the Air Jordan V is considered by many to be one of the best Air Jordan models in history, and paired with a daring red colorway with a remixed Chicago Bulls vibe, the Raging Bull V was destined for greatness – despite it not being an overwhelming crowd-pleaser when it first released in 2009. Your thoughts on the outcome of the March Madness Non-OG Air Jordan Tournament? Let us know in the comments if you agree with the way things played out, and if not, who you would have liked to see win it all.