To be clear, I'm not so naive as to think that this sort of cultural windfall hasn't happened before, especially during our day.
I'm speaking specifically about Jordans in this case though. And yes, they were "cool" because MJ was doing amazing things before our very eyes. Jay Z and Will Smith rocked em, and that certainly magnified it. I just don't understand why they're so cool to kids now.
To answer your question, to me it's not a matter of "acceptable" when it comes to kids beasting on Lebrons and KDIV's and Kobe's, but i DO understand that rationale more. Nike markets the shoes better than ever, and these athletes are making history before their very eyes. So I won't really question that. Just Jordans.
Bear in mind this was more curiosity than anything. This was never about making some grand
delineation
between our 12 year old selves and the current ones. Just the particular attachment to J's for the current kids.