The third installment of the Nike Air Max Plus was not as eye catching as the two previous releases but still nice nonetheless. If your on the hunt for them note that they run snug and are prone to wearability issues. Make sure the pair your interested in doesn’t have any separation or cracking in the midsole otherwise you should be fine. Take a trip back to 2001 above!

TO CHECK OUT A DIFFERENT COLORWAY AND SPECIAL DESIGN OF THE NIKE AIR MAX UPTEMPO IV CLICK THE LINK BELOW!

NIKE AIR MAX UPTEMPO IV GREY 2001

Photo Courtesy of Nicekicks
I’ll admit, the closest I’ve ever come to camping out for a sneaker was getting up a few hours shy of the official release for the 2004 Jordan altitude XIII’s. People lined up in droves, stood in the cold, broke mall doors, got arrested; you know, classic case of mass stupidity. At that point I had been collecting shoes for about 7 years and after the release of the altitudes I swore I would never deal with that again and I didn’t. Fast forward to 2012. Gone are the days that you can show up a few hours early and hope to pick up your favorite pair. Nope, in 2012 you have to camp outside the store for a week. Thats right, A WEEK. After the nightmare that was the Jordan XI concord release, people don’t want to take chances they wont be able to get a hold of their favorite shoe and re-sellers are salivating at the prospect of flipping these shoes for hundreds if not thousands of dollars. The problem is where does it all stop? Will it ever? How do you feel about people camping outside of a store for a release this far in advance? Make sure to check out the video below and vote!

Before he made his way over to Brand Jordan, Derek Jeter was reppin’ the F-box Logo for Fila. In 1998, Jeter had a shoe called the Jeter Mid, but unfortunately for Fila, they ended the relationship right before Jeter and the Yankees would go on to win the 1998 World Series (at the time Fila was ditching their all-american image and trying to build on its European heritage and high-fashion image (confusingly enough they went on to sign Sammy Sosa & Barry Bonds, two athletes that would go on to be involved in a steroid scandal, to endorsements)). Check out the pic above and make sure to check out the original commercial below!

The American Flag Kobe two was worn by Kobe against the Portland Trailblazers in the first NBA basketball game post 9/11 and

by Lebron James who received a pair from Kobe in an attempt to lure him to Adidas.

Besides being extremely rare these gems actually look good. Take a trip back to 2001 with the photo’s above!

In 2003, L.A. Gear, the company known for endorsements with Paula Abdul, Kareem Abdul Jabbar and Michael Jackson to name a few, was trying their hand at a then second comeback. One of the first athletes to ink an endorsement deal during this time was then rookie Luke Walton (son of basketball legend Bill Walton). His signature shoe featured technology from one, if not the best, LEGITIMATE basketball shoes that L.A. Gear ever created, the Catapult. Released in 1991 and endorsed by Karl Malone, the Catapult was engineered to redirect the energy of each jolt, knock or thud into an “uplifting” experience by redirecting the shock of impact into a powerful recoiling action. The shoe was also supposed to protect your body by minimizing stress to the knees, ankles and lower back all while providing stability to your foot and preventing roll. To sum it up, the original Catapult shoe was bad-ass. Fast forward to 2003 and the shoe lost some of the flare that made the original what it was. Still, the design trend at the time was very minimalistic across all brands and the Catapult was a decent looking shoe following this same trend. Luke Walton went on to win two championships with the Lakers but unfortunately, the Catapult was eventually discontinued and there hasn’t been any talk of a retro or newer model since. Take a trip back to 2003 above!