Hotkicks Tell You Sneaker Story: Air Jordan 1!

In 1978, a company called Blue Ribbon Sports decided to change its name to Nike. In the following years, its market value soared and it became a hot sports company. In 1984, Nike's stock plummeted, its market value shrank, and it faced a serious business crisis. In order to quickly get out of the predicament, Nike formulated a series of "revival" plans. They hoped to sign a group of emerging players with potential, and Michael Jordan ( Michael Jordan) is one of the objects of their investigation. In 1982, Nike at the time had noticed Jordan, a freshman who was playing in the NCAA, but Nike was skeptical about signing a rookie player. Nike's crisis intensified, and Nike decided to take a gamble. They planned to spend all the funds from signing several players on Jordan. Finally, Nike contacted Jordan's parents through Jordan's agent, and Jordan's parents persuaded him to meet with Nike. Jordan was also moved by Nike's sincerity and finally agreed to sign with him.

Nike's contract for Jordan includes personal independent logos and signature shoes. Similarly, Nike also put forward requirements for Jordan, including the best rookie, All-Star, and an average of 20 points per game. These conditions must be completed within three years. Some or all of them, otherwise Nike has the right to terminate the contract early. All requirements are fulfilled. It takes time to make signature shoes. Nike recommended its own sneakers, Air Force One, to Jordan who had just signed a contract. AF1 was also the main shoe for Nike’s signing stars at the time, but the midsole was too thick and the center of gravity was too high. Jordan gave up wearing AF1 and chose a sneaker called air ship instead. In the preseason game against the Knicks on October 18, 1984, Jordan wore an air ship. This ordinary preseason game attracted the attention of NBA executives because the NBA had restrictions on the sneakers worn by players at that time. It is expressly stipulated that the sneakers of the players at that time were basically black and white, and the sneakers of the same team players in a game must maintain a uniform color. During the game, Jordan's teammates were all white sneakers, but Jordan wore a black and red air ship. In the All-Star Game of the same year, Jordan wore the real black and red Air Jordan 1. Although the All-Star game is an entertainment game with relatively loose requirements, the NBA issued a written notice not long after, prohibiting Jordan from wearing black and red sneakers. This is the famous "forbidden wearing incident".