Things That Used To Be Awesome. Volume 4.

Is it the shoes? 

Basketball shoes.  In the 80's and 90's, they were a HUGE deal.  Now, for the most part, not many people care too much.  There is still some social status attached to what kicks you wear on the court, and I admit I do still get a little jealous when I see my barely-two-year-old future nephew sporting the new Lebrons...but for the most part, your basketball shoes don't really matter much anymore.  Back in middle school in the mid-90's....they were a STATEMENT.

And my favorites?  The Nick Van Exels (pictured above).  Nick the Quick was my dude back in the day.  He was involved in more great NBA Live '95 moments for me than anybody else.  Truth be told, I loved these shoes the second I first laid eyes on them in the advertisement in Sports Illustrated (I even had that advertisement cut out and taped to my bedroom wall, until the flood destroyed it)....but when I saw Van Exel wearing them shortly after on TV, I was sold (meaning, of course, that my parents were sold, since they were the ones unhappily shelling out exorbitant amounts of money for shoes that I would outgrow in less than two years). 

When I was scrolling through the google images of old 90's shoes, it was almost embarrassing how many that I could remember not only the NBA player(s) associated with them, but my friends and 7th grade teammates as well.  Oh snaps!  There's Noles' old Air Jordans!  Lil' Pennies?  Those were Behrang's flavor right there....and Easy E's Zoom Airs! 


So what were your favorites?  The Grant Hill Filas?  I always used to call these the Tupacs, since he rocked them pretty hard with his baggy jeans.

The Lil' Pennys?  How great were those commercials, by the way?  Chris Rock killing it as Lil' Penny.  "Hey, Tyra!  You left your toothbrush at my house!"

The ones with the big AIR on the side?  Were those technically the Scottie Pippens?  I don't actually know.  These were HUGE on the South Spartans middle school squad.  Holler at me, Dunph.

The Patrick Ewing military boots?

The Air Jordan XIIIs?

What about the Air Jordan XII?  Loved these ones, but not in red.

The Allen Iverson Questions?  These are the ones that famously crossed Jordan up.

The Shawn Kemps that could even make an infant's feet look like size 13s?

So many awesome shoes. 


I gotta say though, if I were just a couple of years older, the Nick Van Exels wouldn't be my favorite.  I was old enough to see these shoes around, and see them winning dunk contests on TV, but juuuuuust missed the heyday of being able to wear them-- DVJS I hope you already know where I'm going with this......

Pumps, baby.  So baller.  Ask Dominique: