TALLAHASSEE, FL - This time of year is
always crazy when it comes to shopping, from Black Friday all the way up to
Christmas Eve shoppers are constantly in and out of the mall. The rush to purchase something has never been
more out of control than when Jordan Brand released the Retro Air Jordan 11
Concord sneaker. The sneakers went on sale around the world two days before
Christmas in 2011. In cities like Charlotte, Atlanta, and Tukwila, Washington
this shoe release got too out of hand.
People from all
age groups young and old who love sneakers and absolutely must have every pair
refer to themselves as “Sneakerheads”. These people camp outside of malls and
stores the on the eve of release dates for a better chance of getting that one
pair of Jordan’s shoes in their size. This was allowed by malls and nike
retailers around the world until this particular release.
Residents of
Charlotte, NC broke in to one mall and smashed the glass windows just to get
their hands on the Concords. The suburbs of Atlanta were in havoc after Police
had to arrest four individuals for breaking down a retailers door before the
store even opened. Sneakerheads out in Richmond, California were shocked and
frightened when a man pulled out a gun and fired a shot in the air after their
mall opened. Across the nations there were fights in lines, parking lots, and
in the stores just over this pair of $180 shoes.
Tukwila, Wash. was
caught off guard by this sneaker release. Westfield Southcenter Mall had
patrons showing up at midnight for the 4am release. Mall officials only
expected at most 400 people to show up and only two officers would be needed.
This was certainly not the case, within hours 2,000 people were outside the
mall lined up for a chance to get these sneakers. Fights broke out, pepper
spray was used and more officers had to be brought in to keep the crowd under
control.
Trey Richardson
of Bowie Maryland, self-proclaimed sneakerhead, was at a mall around his area
bright and early to try and get these shoes.
“My friends and I went to PG Plaza mall
where the House of Hoops is located and tried to get a pair. That was a no-go,
we got there at 11p.m the night before and the line for the store was already
around the corner. Before we knew it fights broke out, smoke bombs and pepper
spray were used and we were leaving without our favorite shoe”, Said
Richardson.
The reason the
people acted so crazy over this one release is because of the history behind it
being that Michael Jordan himself wore these and was fined for doing so. The public has had the
opportunity to buy this shoe only three times including this past year. The
last time we saw this particular color way was 2000.
The Jordan Brand
released the Air Jordan 11 back in 1995 for the first time and it was an
instant seller. Nike has only released five color ways of this shoe and all of
them are highly sought after by shoe-lovers. The style of the sneaker was compared
to that of a tuxedo and was frequently seen worn with one.
Many
sneakerheads feel that this year’s Christmas release will be much worse than
what occurred last year. Right around Christmas time Jordan Brand will
re-release the Air Jordan 11 Bred. This was the first color way of the Air
Jordan 11 and its guaranteed to bring out a large crowd at malls across America.
“Man I usually am at just about every
release trying to get the new Jordans, but, I don’t think I even want to be
around a mall this year when it comes time for the shoes to drop”, Said
Dominique Young, a shoe-enthusiast from Prince Georges County Maryland
By Will Davidson
With Contributions from nytimes.com,
Photo, The Indianapolis Star/Associated Press
Video, ChasinDatPapermedia
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