JB forum.. serious question about 11s...

nikekid6

nikekid6

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Apr 1, 2005
Sup yal, im only 23 so i may not know too much. maybe the older NTers can fill me in..

why is the 11 such a hyped about and sought after shoe? is it performance based? can't be because cats dnt play ball in j's. is it because of space jam? or just word of mouth

personally i do not like 11s and i just dont know why people go crazy over these?

any info to justify why the 11 is the "best shoe ever" would be appreciate it. i just wanna hear some of yals sides on this.

happy holidays and good luck to those in search of concords

NK6
 
Basically, just look at every other shoe that came out in 1995 or before. Then look at the XI. I still remember seeing them for the first time sitting on the counter at Foot Action before they released. It was like nothing anyone had seen before.
 
When MJ broke these out with the patent leather it was like +!%? Then it was like HELL YEAH! The most unique sneaker ever IMO. Everything goes together so well. They were so ahead of their time design wise, now today they still havent been matched. Just an overall amazing, eye catching shoe.
 
Originally Posted by Janitor

I guess you also just "had to be there"...
Click to expand...

I guess everyone "had to be there" this time too since all the websites crashed precisely at midnight.
 
There were really so many little details on the shoe that were like nothing before it.

The outsole was CRAZY, the big thick laces were new, the carbon fiber had never been seen before, and of course the patent leather and clear outsole. Even the details like the 23 logo on the back and the greek letters on the tongue were incredible. And the nylon upper was nice too. Oh and the tongue design. Basically it was the best shoe ever. Still is.
 
It was the shoe MJ wore when he came back with a vengeance. 72-10 season, start of a second 3peat, use of materials that at that point hadn't been seen on a basketball sneaker. For me personally it's a great shoe because Tinker took some design cues Nike was big on in that time frame and translated it to a great basketball sneaker.
 
The XI to me means the beginning of another 3 peat. The first full season of the return of MJ. Mike wearing the black and reds as he collapses in the locker room after winning his 4th ring on Fathers Day. The shoe was also on another level.
 
when you look at the Jordan XI and Foamposite one, they are both shoes that are ahead of it time. The clear sole and patent leather was
eek.gif
 in 95, I remember the first time I seen someone wearing a pair in the mall in 1995 I was
nerd.gif
nerd.gif
. Now in 2011, I really dont understand all the hype around this shoe, time has caught up to it. Since 95 patent leather and clear soles isnt that ground and the jordan XI and Foamposite one in my opinion preform poorly on the court(for people who accuatly tried to play ball in them). When a shoe like the jordan 2011/Kobe VII comes out with two changeable midsoles and people sleep on them but would kill for jordan XI
laugh.gif


So to answer you question on why people go crazy for these, is it is 20% of what the XI used to be and 80% hype. If you look at the shape of the OG XI and what just released they almost look like two diff rent shoes.
 
Everyone already covered it but I still think the black/cement III's are the greatest shoes ever made. The XI's are right there though, maybe even tied.
 
you're 23, so these were definitely popping off around your kid years. I definitely remember having these as a kid, can never forget. imagine a 6 yr old breaking necks like crazy back in the day. even people that had no idea about jordan or basketball would look at them like wow. but besides the stylistic aspect of them these were also pretty cool performance shoes imo, the only bad thing about them is playing with them outside in the hot sun, my feet would get cooked.
but i don't know, perhaps you're not a basketball fan. like everyone said, the shoes were and still are completely different from anything before or after them.
 
although i agree with the sentiment expressed already, i was in my late teens when they first dropped and so were my first pickup since the viii's, despite absolutely LOVING the shoe, i absolutely agree that they are way overhyped these days.
 
This is the sneaker that made me fall in love with Jordans.

When I was a kid, all of the Jordans looked the same to me (I'm 24 BTW), I loved Nikes (I know that sounds weird, but for those that grew up then it should make some sort of sense).

I saw these (Columbias were the first pair I saw) and HAD to have them.

I didn't end up getting my first pair until the retro (Columbia), but that was a glorious day...

With that being said, I've moved on and only have my size 7 Columbia 01' . Still a great shoe nonetheless.
 
Originally Posted by blco02

There were really so many little details on the shoe that were like nothing before it.

The outsole was CRAZY, the big thick laces were new, the carbon fiber had never been seen before, and of course the patent leather and clear outsole. Even the details like the 23 logo on the back and the greek letters on the tongue were incredible. And the nylon upper was nice too. Oh and the tongue design. Basically it was the best shoe ever. Still is.
Click to expand...


Sorry but the 12s had a carbon plate on the sole. Shows how much you know. And the 5s have clear soles. Its hype. Not revolutionary. This shoe sat on clearance racks in 96. When the movie spacejams came out, and jordans got popular in 99/00 that's when the shoe exploded.
 
Originally Posted by 1man2lives

Originally Posted by blco02

There were really so many little details on the shoe that were like nothing before it.

The outsole was CRAZY, the big thick laces were new, the carbon fiber had never been seen before, and of course the patent leather and clear outsole. Even the details like the 23 logo on the back and the greek letters on the tongue were incredible. And the nylon upper was nice too. Oh and the tongue design. Basically it was the best shoe ever. Still is.
Click to expand...


Sorry but the 12s had a carbon plate on the sole. Shows how much you know. And the 5s have clear soles. Its hype. Not revolutionary. This shoe sat on clearance racks in 96. When the movie spacejams came out, and jordans got popular in 99/00 that's when the shoe exploded.
Click to expand...

You know nothing.  First of all, 12 comes after 11.

Second of all - yea the 5's had a clear sole but I was 12 when the XI's dropped and I had never seen the 5's.  Plus a full clear outsole > partial clear outsole.

And this crap about the shoe sitting on clearance racks is bs internet talk.  These shoes smoked out of stores in 95/96.  Of course there were some parts of the US where they sat for awhile, but as a whole, these sold very, very, very well.  I skipped school to try to buy the Black/Red when they released but they sold out before I got there.
    
 
The XI are my favorite air jordans because:
1. Of its elegant, harmonic design
2. Mj wore them in the playoffs 1995
3. Mj wore them in the whole season 1995/96
Where the bulls had 72 wins
4. Mj wore them as a Wizard (coolgreys)

Performance wise they are only average.
I rather play in my 8, 9 or 10 retros than in these.
 
I bought mine in '95 as a freshman in college at the Bayou Classic in New Orleans. At that time I got to Footlocker early, expecting a line, but there wasnt one. By the end of the day they eventually sold out around town. But its the first sneaker I bought with absolutely no intention of taking on the court. And I didnt, I kept abusing my Seattle X's. I held onto them for a few years, which is something I'd never done. Then eventually parted ways with them. Fortunately for cats like me, with this recent retro I can track down a pair of OG's a little easier and let my son deal with these recent joints.
 
It was a combination of MJ coming back and purely dominating in them, The Patent Leather, and the bulls going 72-10. All that hype that season on what the bulls were doing, plus a shoe that was totally different material wise from any other athletic shoe past or present just made the 11 what it is today.
 
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