Im at the point where all I care about is the performance of the shoe. Once upon a time, Kobe's (ie the IV, V, and VI) were about performance, and lightweight performance at that. Whether you thought they were decent looking, ugly, passable, not casually wearable, they were great basketball shoes, and for a fairly reasonable price. A great pair of shoes for their intended purposes and cheaper than the jordan sig, many jordan takedown models, and Lebrons, but arguably a better performing shoe worn by a great deal of players in the NBA, NCAA, and internationally.
Seems like with the 9's, they just became a mediocre shoe with an inflated price tag, and still ugly as sin. A polarizing shoe with the gimmicky removable midsole made of lunarlon, which has the lifespan of a fruitfly.
I really hope the X's are a good, durable hoop shoe.
Back to the 'bay looking for more DS pairs of 5's and 6's. /rant