Sir San Diego
formerly brolic scholar
- 12,456
- 10,878
- Joined
- Feb 20, 2011
I'm already anticipating the obvious "you should just be happy that your father bought you new kicks" side of this argument, but let's keep it all the way real, whether your folks did you a solid or not by keeping new shoes on your feet, sometimes the ridicule that came with the shoes was hard to bare. If you've ever had the pleasure of rocking off brands.
So which ones did y'all have? Share some stories, pics and nicknames.
Let me begin with my Brooks story. So back in middle school dudes used to take to the little courts on the playground before school started and get in some post breakfast hoops. No one was really that good, but we all had our little fake signature moves trying to be somebody. Mine was the under the hoop reverse lay-up. I used to play in whatever shoes I was wearing that day and didn't pay too much attention to what was on my feet, but once I started to get decent at the game, I wanted to throw some style into the mix. So for a couple of weeks I begged my pops to take me to the mall to get some new kicks. The day finally came on a Sunday after church. I was hype!
Man, I couldn't wait to get to the mall. So of course my first choice for a store was the one that had ALL THE NIKES and the flyest ones at that. We went. One problem though, my step-mom was cheap as HELL! She grew up dirt poor, like my pops, but unlike my pops, she never went all out on her clothes. She used to shop out of catalogs and stuff and had clothes that looked like they could double for upholstery and curtains. No diss, I love her, but her style was lacking back then. Anyway, she came up with the bright idea to go to Mervyns because they were having a sale. Do y'all remember Mervyns? MERVYNS!!!. :x
Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaw hell no. The only thing they were on the map for was tank tops with "WILD THING" and "DON'T WORRY BE HAPPY" on them when those hits were popular.
View media item 383170
For those who don't remember Mervyns, it sucked. The end.
So we get to Swerv Merv's and we're browsing the limited Nike section that had all the latest in grandpa walk wear and nothing in basketball shoes, let alone models worn by actual basketball players and come up short... nada. I wiped the sweat from my brow and started my George Jefferson back to the mall corridors. But hold up... My step-mom (mom from here on out) called me back with the quickness. "What about these?" That a question that I hate to this day because it usually means "what about this bullspit you obviously didn't like and ignored?" Maaaannnnnnnnnnn, she handed me a pair of Brooks. They were burgundy and white and looked sort of like this.
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View media item 383172
Read that. Don't they sound "cool"? -____-
Somehow she convinced my pops who was always easy to sway that I didn't "need" Nikes and got him to buy them. He was probably just thinking about getting his **** wet later and said **** my pride. So Monday rolled around and I tried to make the most of it. I went in the closet and grabbed a polo that kinda matched, some levis and my bright white Brooks.
I missed the bus on purpose that day because I didn't wanna hear it on the bus. I just knew it was coming. And dudes went in on the bus. So I get to school, walk up to the courts where some dudes who came from poorer families were rocking Jordans and Nikes. My family wasn't rich, but they weren't poor either and I never looked down on anyone, but I used to wonder how those dudes stayed fresh. I know now, but my little mind didn't know then. So all eyes were on my feet. As SOON as I went up for a lay-up somebody yelled out "DOMINIQUE" and just about everyone on the court and the sidelines started laughing. My homie tried to reassure by telling me Dominque was a good player, but I wasn't hearing it. After that, every shot I took got a "DOMINIQUE" heckle and I was heated. Had me like.
View media item 383173
Long story short, I left the court shaking my head, hoop dreams deflated, cursing a few dudes out who of course, wanted to fight and I took up football and track that year.
Dudes in my hood used to call them "bo-rabbitts".
Anyone else wanna share their shame?
So which ones did y'all have? Share some stories, pics and nicknames.
Let me begin with my Brooks story. So back in middle school dudes used to take to the little courts on the playground before school started and get in some post breakfast hoops. No one was really that good, but we all had our little fake signature moves trying to be somebody. Mine was the under the hoop reverse lay-up. I used to play in whatever shoes I was wearing that day and didn't pay too much attention to what was on my feet, but once I started to get decent at the game, I wanted to throw some style into the mix. So for a couple of weeks I begged my pops to take me to the mall to get some new kicks. The day finally came on a Sunday after church. I was hype!
Man, I couldn't wait to get to the mall. So of course my first choice for a store was the one that had ALL THE NIKES and the flyest ones at that. We went. One problem though, my step-mom was cheap as HELL! She grew up dirt poor, like my pops, but unlike my pops, she never went all out on her clothes. She used to shop out of catalogs and stuff and had clothes that looked like they could double for upholstery and curtains. No diss, I love her, but her style was lacking back then. Anyway, she came up with the bright idea to go to Mervyns because they were having a sale. Do y'all remember Mervyns? MERVYNS!!!. :x
Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaw hell no. The only thing they were on the map for was tank tops with "WILD THING" and "DON'T WORRY BE HAPPY" on them when those hits were popular. View media item 383170
For those who don't remember Mervyns, it sucked. The end.
So we get to Swerv Merv's and we're browsing the limited Nike section that had all the latest in grandpa walk wear and nothing in basketball shoes, let alone models worn by actual basketball players and come up short... nada. I wiped the sweat from my brow and started my George Jefferson back to the mall corridors. But hold up... My step-mom (mom from here on out) called me back with the quickness. "What about these?" That a question that I hate to this day because it usually means "what about this bullspit you obviously didn't like and ignored?" Maaaannnnnnnnnnn, she handed me a pair of Brooks. They were burgundy and white and looked sort of like this.
View media item 383171
View media item 383172
Read that. Don't they sound "cool"? -____-
Somehow she convinced my pops who was always easy to sway that I didn't "need" Nikes and got him to buy them. He was probably just thinking about getting his **** wet later and said **** my pride. So Monday rolled around and I tried to make the most of it. I went in the closet and grabbed a polo that kinda matched, some levis and my bright white Brooks.
I missed the bus on purpose that day because I didn't wanna hear it on the bus. I just knew it was coming. And dudes went in on the bus. So I get to school, walk up to the courts where some dudes who came from poorer families were rocking Jordans and Nikes. My family wasn't rich, but they weren't poor either and I never looked down on anyone, but I used to wonder how those dudes stayed fresh. I know now, but my little mind didn't know then. So all eyes were on my feet. As SOON as I went up for a lay-up somebody yelled out "DOMINIQUE" and just about everyone on the court and the sidelines started laughing. My homie tried to reassure by telling me Dominque was a good player, but I wasn't hearing it. After that, every shot I took got a "DOMINIQUE" heckle and I was heated. Had me like.
View media item 383173
Long story short, I left the court shaking my head, hoop dreams deflated, cursing a few dudes out who of course, wanted to fight and I took up football and track that year.
Dudes in my hood used to call them "bo-rabbitts".
Anyone else wanna share their shame?
