Why Did He Love AJ Shoes After Watching Jordan Play?

"Jordan is the best in history. A documentary is enough to beat me up. "

Many people have been so exclaimed by the latest "last dance". After many years, when the old story, which has been dusty for a long time, has been awakened again, the distant memory has been awakened. Even after those who did not experience Jordan's rule in the basketball age, they felt the legend of "the spirit of basketball" in a more comprehensive way.

But his boots are more popular than those of the take-off men. Now they have become the pronouns of the trend. These shoes have gone through the cold war of the last century, and have gone through the era of television and radio.

Even the world's top designers can't define the direction of the trend, but why did Jordan and AJ do that?

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Let's start with CONVERSE at the beginning of the story.

In 1908, the Marquis M.Converse of Boston, like many brands, named the rubber shoe factory that he founded after his name. Because of the wartime needs, CONVERSE's wear-resistant characteristics were widely accepted, but he also hoped that this point would be recognized by the market.

In 1917, the All-Star of the main sport came out, and CONVERSE signed the basketball player Charles Taylor on the way to start publicity. Besides professional players endorsement, he also hoped that the players would become their own salesmen. In 1923, CONVERSE officially put the nickname "Chuck" of Taylor on logo, and from then on, the two names were always linked together, and CONVERSE's shoes market was on the rise.

In 1936, the US men's basketball team began to choose CONVERSE to participate in the Olympic Games, and became the army's first choice during World War II. After the Losangeles Olympic Games held in 1948, CONVERSE was also selected as the designated sports shoes. Therefore, as the earliest brand of sports shoes, CONVERSE naturally leads the trend of the trend.

In 60s, CONVERSE introduced color into basketball shoes for the first time, and the age of canvas was transformed. At that time, sneakers were still not a technological change, nor a clear distinction between sports shoes and basketball shoes. But in the 70s, the Germans wore the Superstar series of practical basketball shoes, which became popular on the mainland of the United States quietly.

CONVERSE, who sees competition, naturally needs to catch up. In 1974, the basketball shoes based on All Star were finally released. The high Gang design, colorful suede, and the striking five pointed star sign made it instantly capture the hearts of rock youth, skateboards and basketball boys, becoming the totem of spiritual expression of the younger generation, and also making the shoes occupy a place in the world of fashion.

By the middle of 80s, NBA was on the right track under the reform of David Stern, which coincided with the era of Lakers ShowTime and the "Lake Kai war" led by magician and Byrd. In 1985, CONVERSE launched the "Choose Your Weapon" series, which is unprecedented in appearance, functionality and topic. It has also opened up a new era of sports shoes.

In fact, the world basketball arena has existed for many times from the past to the present, but Jordan has become the God of basketball, and has made a pair of sneakers favored by the whole world.

From NBA to the cold war, the times make history the best.

Until the 1989 playoffs kill knight, if someone equates the word "greatness" with Jordan, the whole Chicago pub may give out a hearty laugh.

On the way to becoming a basketball God, AJ1 accompanied Jordan through many stories. Nike not only paid 5 years and 2 million 500 thousand dollars in the sky price contract, but also took Jordan away from CONVERSE and Adi, and gave a high sales share. Last year, Jordan gained 130 million dollars from the Jordan brand, which is 4 times as big as James.

The real achievements of Jordan and Nike are inseparable from their times. Before the 1984 draft, Jordan, a non professional player, took part in the Olympic Games in Losangeles. This appearance is not for the country to win glory, NBA commercial road foreshadowing is so simple - under the cold war pattern, the Soviet Union did not participate in this Olympic Games.

Previously, the "kill Munich", which has been discussed in China, has taken place under such a background. The cold war between the US and the Soviet Union has reached its peak, coupled with the changes in the international situation and the Munich massacre before the games. This final is full of gunpowder and political color. Whoever wins the championship can gain a greater prestige in the next stage of the cold war. The Soviet Union has won 49 gold medals and led the United States before this competition, and one needs to offer a 50th anniversary tribute to the founding of the United States.

The United States can send out strong teams to fight, but the domestic situation is surging. With the Vietnam War's public questioning of the country, college students have refused to fight for the country. The players are 20 and 21 years old, and the biggest players are only 23 years old.

So we saw the legendary scene in the movie.

Losing to the biggest opponents in the most proud of the project forced the us to reflect from top to bottom. In the middle of 70s, under the support of vigorous public opinion, the USOC was swallowed up by the government and became a mouthpiece for serving the country.

But a failure did not really wake America up. In the 1988 Seoul Olympic Games, the Soviet team returned the US men's basketball team to their hometown in the semifinal, and defeated Yugoslavia to win the championship, which shocked the US basketball team. Since then, with the help of David Stern and FIBA Secretary General Stankovic, NBA professional players have finally appeared on the Olympic stage. The famous "dream team" was born, which directly changed the world basketball pattern after that.

It can be said that the dream team opened a new chapter in the American basketball hegemony, winning the competition and national honor, and winning the hearts of the United States. Jordan's legendary story does not need to be repeated. Many famous brands have made him the most popular person in the world. This undoubtedly gives AJ the most special aura.

AJ fever, a cultural symbol of an era.

"Dear Michael, every day, children come into my office wearing your sneakers, but they never saw you play. "ESPN 30 for 30" producer Michael Tollin told Jordan about the last dance documentary plan.

Nowadays, young people's trend is AJ. But at first, Nike and Jordan did not plan to step out of basketball.

"Hey, I agree with you. These shoes are really ugly. "

In a talk show in 1986, Jordan responded to host David Lightman's question about wearing clothes. You know, at that time, the trend of CONVERSE belonged to Jordan who had captured the heart of AJ and spread widely. It also belonged to Adidas who opened up territory in North America. Jordan's half joke and half serious answer seemed to be the best description of the situation at that time.

Nike has to find other foothold in order to make a difference with its competitors -- to sell these shoes with the image of "rebel against fear of authority". Sales of sneakers have soared and sales surged from 800 million to 4 billion dollars in 5 years.

Later, because of Jordan's ankle injury, Nike has introduced more technology and design, emphasizing the cushioning, supporting and wrapping, and this has become the constant field of basketball shoes. And the so-called trend, retro and feelings, did not even cause a little bit of spray. In 1995, Jordan announced the return of Nike's reprinted shoes, but it did not get consumers' favor. The price of each pair of shoes dropped from $80 to $20.

The loneliness of CONVERSE is the best proof of this era. And from CONVERSE, canvas, leather to air cushion, foaming technology, from mechanical shock absorption to the competition of new materials, nowadays, the leaders of basketball shoes, Nike, Adidas, UA, and domestic brands such as Lining, Anta, PEAK and so on, have all worked hard in this respect.

Therefore, for capital, the market is increasingly competitive, it is just that the technological revolution is not enough to satisfy the appetite of the giant. This means that sneakers should be crossed into functional areas and will continue to enter fashion circles.

After all, the shoes that rise to the spiritual level have become the cultural symbols of an era, which can continuously drive consumption and create an infinitely enlarged market.

What is the cultural connotation of AJ? By this time, the problem will be solved.

In the athletic field, Air Jordan 1 is regarded as the eternal Holy Grail. They are not only synonymous with street costumes and fashion, but also carry the glorious history of Jordan, the best player in NBA history.

Perhaps it is not like many young boys in AJ watching Jordan's competition. The era of Jordan's feet on AJ's guiding pleasure is gone forever.

Nowadays, the tide shoes have gradually changed flavor in rush buying, limiting, raising and identifying, and AJ has become a part of self affirmation and identity building in the cultural symbol building up with capital raising.

For the audience of the tide shoes, they are in the critical period of the rapid development of human self-consciousness, especially advocating individuality. HIPHOP, skateboarding, graffiti, hip-hop and wear, which originated from the streets, have become their way of expressing themselves, and also because of the trend of origin, coupled with the tendency of young people to tend to spiritual consumption, the popular culture of fashionable shoes is also capitalized on the occasion. AJ is naturally the best footnote for this trend culture.

For Nike, Michael Jordan, the greatest player in history, is the best barrier to this capital game.