His Airness

I am sorry for the delay between now and my last blog. I am sure all of you have been waiting on pins and needles for the posting of another profound write up. Things have been a bit hectic this week. Work has been busy and I’ve had something going on every night this week from Team Fitchburg Dental kicking ass and taking names on the basketball court to an hour and a half spent at the dentist for three fillings (2 cavities + 1 chipped tooth) followed by my first ever experience in a bowling league. Needless to say, I have not had a ton of time to spill the beans, which is not to say I have not been thinking about the blog and possible subjects. I had planned to write on a social blunder that I committed over the past weekend but that will need to be delayed, as this blog will pay tribute to the greatest basketball player of all time.

For those of you that don’t spend the vast majority of your day listening to sports talk radio or are not up to speed on celebrity birthdays, I will cue you in on some important information. Today is Michael Jeffrey Jordan’s birthday. MJ turned 47 years old today. It is hard to believe that he is nearing fifty years of greatness. Despite his age, I am a true believer that MJ could still play in the NBA and hold is own against the vast majority of the current players. Not only is Jordan the best player to ever display his skills on the hard-court, but in my opinion he is the founder and face of the greatest sports clothing and shoe line to ever exist.

As some of you may know, I was slightly; ok extremely is probably a more accurate term, obsessed with Jordan shoes. My infatuation with owning Jordans, which for some odd reason I started calling Jimmys began when I was in middle school and continued through my college years. Side note: I am still a big fan of Jordans but it is difficult to justify paying $150 plus for a pair of shoes that I maybe will wear 10 times a year. Ahh, the dilemmas that a retired baller with a shoe fetish must face! In my prime I tried my best to obtain every new and retro pair released. For the Jordan novices out there I should point out that Jordans usually sell out within a couple days and can be very difficult to find. Over the years of collecting these prized possessions, I developed a friendship with a guy named Larry who worked at Nike Town in Chicago. I guess I am not sure if I would classify it as a friendship but we spoke on the phone many times and he even came to watch my game when we played the University of Illinois Chicago. Larry was very helpful in feeding my addiction. If a new Jordans were being released, Larry would give me a call and allow me to pre-order a pair of size 9.5s. It was definitely nice to have someone on the inside helping me out!

In honor of Michael I will offer my rankings of the Air Jordan basketball shoe. The above images correspond with this list of Jordans:

1. Jordan 11

2. Jordan 13

3. Jordan 10

4. Jordan 12

5. Jordan 3

6. Jordan 4

7. Jordan 9

8. Jordan 1

9. Jordan 7

10. Jordan 8

11. Jordan 14

12. Jordan 6

13. Jordan 5

14. Jordan 20

15. Jordan 2

16. Jordan 16

17. Jordan 17

18. Jordan 15

19. Jordan 18

20. Jordan 19


Ahh, doing this blog and ranking these great shoes really brought up a lot of memories. I have much more to write but need to go to bed. Be on the lookout for a follow up blog! Enjoy and let me know what your favorite Jimmys were.

MJ 23 Forever,

The Bean Spiller