Note: The following rant was taken from an even longer rant about sneakers, edited for clarity.
So I had this long term goal prior to 2015 of owning every colorway of the Air Jordan 12. I wasn’t going to go after the actual OGs, mind you, because that would be an expensive and non-wearable proposition. I was just going to go after every single colorway (in men’s sizes) that had dropped in stores and right up until the end of last year it seemed like a realistic goal. There might be a few tough pairs to seek out, but what could go wrong, right?
2016 changed all of that when Jordan Brand decided that it was going to be the year of the Air Jordan 12 and they dropped a s**t ton of new Air Jordan 12s with more to come. The constant barrage, whether it was reissues of classics or new colorways in all sizes, has become so much that I can barely keep track of them as exemplified by this weekend’s release of the Air Jordan 12 Black (or is it Neoprene?). After spending $190 (plus tax) on the Air Jordan 12 The Master just a few months ago, I gave up on the dream and chalked it up to the game. Now I know how people who collect other Air Jordans feel. Imagine being the sneakerhead who has to collect every Air Jordan 1. It’s an insane number and even though the Air Jordan 12 is a mere fraction of number of 1s out there and I’m already overwhelmed.
I like to think I have a decent amount of air Jordan 12s. Thanks to this year’s return of the Flu Game 12s, I have all of the OG colorways save for the Cherry colorway along with a several non-OG releases. I still can’t force myself to buy the Gamma 12s because they look like hot garbage, but I think I have to buy eventually them just for completionist purposes. But there was something about seeing the Master 12s and the Black Nylon 12s side-by-side that made me cringe. It’s basically the same colorway with slight changes to the materials. Ok, that’s not totally fair, the new upper on the Black Nylon 12 is a significant tweak for a sneaker that is notorious for not switching it up too often, but it’s still the same color blocking. In essence, Jordan Brand is asking me to pay $400 (plus tax) for almost blackout versions of the Air Jordan 12 without actually giving me the blackout Air Jordan 12 that I have wanted badly for years now. If this eventually leads to an actual blackout Air Jordan 12 dropping this Christmas, I can already picture the appropriate GIF for this.
All is not lost, though. Despite my rantings and ravings like a lunatic, I still want to chase as many 12s as possible. I may have lost my mind over the Black Nylon 12s, but I still want to get the limited Wings release even though it’ll probably cost me a down payment to a car and it’s basically just the Air Jordan 12 Playoffs with gold on it. And then there’s the elusive OVO 12s that were supposed to drop in the summer. While I would not consider myself a fan of Drake’s music, I do appreciate his role as a member of Jordan Brand because he has shined a light on this iconic silhouette instead of just focusing the easy picks like the 11s and 1s.
So where does my love of the 12s stem from? I will argue to my dying day did that the Air Jordan 12 Playoffs is the greatest single Air Jordan of all-time. I prefer the 3s as a whole, but among the classics are more than a handful of duds. Prior to this year, the 12’s battering average was above .500; now it’s not so much. There was something simply magical about the Playoff 12s that honestly Jordan Brent has not been able to replicate since. In my many thoughts about the 12s, I tried to justify it in my mind that maybe this is why they keep releasing so many new 12s; it’s because they’re chasing that perfection (of the Playoff 12s) ever since.
Addendum: By the way, I don’t think Jordan Brand should stop releasing new colorways of the Air Jordan 12. This is a business after all and I don’t feel that they owe us anything other than making sure the quality is on point. It’s on us to decide whether or not we want to spend our hard-earned dollars on kicks that look alike. If you want to go ahead and buy the Black Nylon 12s – and I honestly would have if I didn’t already have The Master 12s – go ahead and cop them by all means. Chances are I’ll give in and buy them years down the line anyways…
The post Opinion: The Year Of The Air Jordan 12 Is Just Too Much appeared first on KicksOnFire.com.
