Todd Krevanchi
Twitter: @krvanch
Instagram: @krvanch
I’ll always say my best memory about All Star game Sneakers will always be my first memory that there was such a thing as All Star Game sneakers: 1988, Chicago Stadium.
Prior to 1988, it was Major League Baseball’s All Star Game which held the torch as the premiere event for the “All Star Game” sneaker, or in this case, cleat. Players historically held captive to wear their team’s traditional, black, red or royal cleat during the season were able to stunt a little bit. I’ll always remember the guys on the Montreal Expos and New York Mets wearing white cleats during the Mid-Summer Classic: Andre Dawson & Tim Raines, Doc Gooden, Darryl Strawberry and the common denominator between both teams, Gary Carter. To me, seeing non traditional colored cleats on these guys, even for one game, was something special.
Fast Forward to NBA All Star Weekend 1988. Throughout the season, Michael Jordan is wearing his standard Air Jordan IIs, home and away (as well as his one night stand with the Air Alpha Force), but with a stroke of brilliance the geniuses at Nike decide that there’s no better time to release his third signature shoe than at All Star Weekend… in Chicago… where MJ was the proverbial “host”.
Saturday he debuts the Air Jordan III white/cement and “flies” to his second straight Slam Dunk title, and Sunday, he stunts the black/cement, dropping 40 en route to the game’s MVP honors. This little “happening” would change the entire scope of corporate marketing around the NBA and would make the NBA All Star Game a game within an entirely different game moving forward. From wearing a non-standard team colorway, to a brand new release, to special All Star Game makeups, we can thank the 1988 All Star Game for that.
Robbie Falchi
Aaron Nojima