It's got to be the shoes! Those famous words mean anything to you? They should. The infamous Mars Blackmon uttered this phrase many times in referring to the monumental achievements that one Michael Jordan was able to accomplish in his epic shoes. Mars Blackmon, a.k.a. Spike Lee, teamed up with Nike and Michael in the late 80's to promote Air Jordans. Although the commercials were quite entertaining, the marketing of Air Jordans at that time was not really needed. The popularity of the Jordan line of shoes was already at an all-time high.
Fast forward to 2007. Michael and his shoes team up with Spike Lee yet again. This time it is to create an Air Jordan Hybrid. From this reunion, the Jordan Spizike shoe was created. As is the case with Jordan Hybrids, there were as many haters as lovers of this new shoe. Most members of the sneaker community thought that this shoe was going to be a bust. Initially dubbed "retro Frankenstein", the Spizike, was hyped up by Spike Lee himself who announced it would only be available along I-95. The shoe was originally only going to be dropped in 2 colorways. Despite the negative reaction from the traditional Jordan Retro sneaker community, the level of popularity that the shoe achieved caused Jordan Brand to drop another 5 colorways. Apparently there was a large group of Jordanheads that actually liked the Hybrids.
As a Jordan Hybrid, the Spizike is made up of several different Jordan Retros. Different design elements of the Air Jordan 3, 4, 5, 6, 9 and 20 are all used in the makeup of the shoe.
Here's how it breaks down:
Jordan 3-The elephant print, midsole, and outsole are used.
Jordan 4-The Air Jordan "wings" logo is used.
Jordan 5-The primary silhouette from this shoe is used.
Jordan 6-The shoe's tongue and lace locking system are used.
Jordan 9-The back tab was used.
Jordan 20-The laser print graphics on the inner lining.
Some pretty sick versions of the Jordan Spizike are going to drop this upcoming holiday season. Both an orange and blue colorway, representative of Spike Lee's New York Knicks, will be released come December. If you remember, Spike was spotted wearing both of these colorways court side during last season's NBA playoffs. And now you can own the same Spizike model and colorway that Lee rocked in Madison Square Garden last year.
With an additional Spizike colorway releasing along side the Spike Lee PE editions, it looks like this shoe is going to be in the spotlight once again. Some, as usual, will hate it. Others, will be overjoyed. There just seems to be no middle ground for Hybrids. They are the Jekyll and Hyde of Jordan shoes for basketball.
