A
Western Australia Michael
Jordan Society presentation
Bull Run
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The league weakened by new
expansion teams, the maturity
of Pippen and Horace Grant's game and Jordan's compliance with the triangle
offence saw the Bulls steam-rolling the opposition.
 
The 1990-91 Bulls team is probably the most
dominant team of all Jordan's championship years. They were quicker, fitter,
stronger and more aggressive. Most of all, they played with HEART... and
that's why they are the 1990-91 world champions.I first saw my friend, Brian, rocking the AJ 6 Infra-reds at high school back in 1990. Man! Those shoes look weird, different and futuristic. They were hot!! I wanted a pair but to wear a pair of Jordans at high school would be like telling everyone you can play ball. Well, I can't ball very well but I love the game. I can't slip on a pair of Jordans and embarass MJ's legacy, no way mate. In the 1991, Jim Kidd's Christmas advert on the Saturday West Australian paper, had the AJ 6 on sale for a paltry AUD$189.90 and you also get a free Jordan Poster! If I had bought a pair back then, my life would be sweet. But alas, I didn't and regrets all round. Back then, factoring inflation, AUD$189.90 is approximately AUD$265 as at Dec 2005. And that my son, is not cheap for poor kid like me.  The AJ 6 were the first Jordans with a "clean" toe just like the Italian wing-tips dress shoes he is so fond of. Michael did not like the leather strip around the toebox in the previous Jordans despite Tinker's insistence for the sake of strength. Michael would on occasion blow out the toebox of the AJ 6 because of his intense style of game. Tinker asked MJ what he would like in the AJ 6. MJ said he'd like it to be easy to get into, so Tinker designed 2 holes in the tongue and a "spoiler" heel tab in the back heel. The spoiler/heel tab was inspired by MJ's rare black slant-nosed or "Flachbau" Porsche 930 Turbo.  MJ specifically said to make sure the heel tab is positioned such that it did not hit his achilles tendon. The AJ 6 is the first sneaker in the world with a molded-structure at the back ("Driven from Within, pg 88-89).  The
AJ 6 became the Batman's boot in Batman Returns which starred Michael
Keaton, Michelle Pfeiffer and Danny DeVito. Costume designer, Bob Ringwood
saw Nike's cross-trainers and asked AJ 6 designer, Tinker Hatfield, to
design a pair of bat boots. The result is custom AJ 6 knee-high leather
boots with leather extensions and sculpted rubber shin guard plus vamp.Batman Returns was released on Summer 1992 and it starred Michelle Pfeiffer as Catwoman. She was wearing a black latex bodysuit which had to be sewn on to her for each scene. She was sizzling hot in that movie. A woman wielding a whip. Is that kinky or what?    Yes, the AJ 6 is immortalised in a movie. But before Batman, its all-black, strange yet futuristic design is reminiscent of HR Giger's psycho-sexual surrealistic Alien. All black and slime dripping from its mouth. The two holes in the tongue look like eyes. Oh! That black plastic piece at the back attracts curious glimpses from other kids at school. Strange looking shoes they say. What are those? Nikes? Where's the swoosh? How much? Have they got rockets in them? That's High School for you. The official catalog description was :  It's the new Air Jordan from NIKE for Spring 1991 - and it's a radical new design in performance basketball footwear. Michael Jordan works directly with NIKE to design a state-of-the-art basketball shoe with the style, fit and performance needed to take the world's best player to new levels of championship play. The result is the fastest, most responsive baskeball shoe NIKE has ever built. Cutouts on the tongue and a backtab loop provide an easy pull-on entry system. The stretch lace pocket allows you to secure your laces and keep them out of the way during intense play. An aggressive new dot traction pattern on the outsole provides superior traction and on-court responsiveness. And two Nike-Air cushioning units provide outstanding cushioning and protection throughout the life of the shoe. Air Jordan for Spring '91. The ultimate performance basketball shoe. Source: "Driven from Within", Michael Jordan, Simon & Schuster (Viacom), First edition 2005, pg. 88-89 |
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"This is like a nightmare. I never dreamed that this would happen. I never even thought about us being dominated like this." - Magic Johnson after LA Lakers lost the 1990-91 Finals |
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Designer : Tinker Hatfield Technical Specs : Nike Visible Air-sole unit, clear soles, rubberised tongue, lace locks and Flight logo Price : US$125 (in Feb 1991), US$120 (2000 retros) Retros : 1990 comes in a black Jumpman Box, brochures about shoes, Flight Club Membership Application, lace locks and black plastic wrapper. 2001 comes in a "Jordan's Face" box, plain paper wrapper, lace-locks and retro card. 2006 DMP comes packed with AJ 11 in a split fold box encased in gold foil. A Defining Moment booklet is included. Gold dog tags are attached to the shoe. Colorways & pics (from www.air-jordans.com , www.niketalk.com , www.promo-shoes.com and www.ebay.com ) Original 1991 Feb ??, 1999 White/Infra Red-Black 4389 $125 Feb ??, 1999 Black/Black-Infra Red 4391 $125 ?? 1991 White/September Blue-Black 4392 $125 ?? 1991 Off White-NW Maroon 4393 $125 Nov ??, 1991 White/Carmine-Black 4401 $125 Catalog Box Retro 2000 Aug 23, 2000 Black/Deep Infra Red 136038-061 $120 Retro + Sept 15, 2000 Midnight Navy/Varsity Red-White OLYMPIC 136038-461 $120 Oct 4, 2000 White/Midnight Navy-Silver 136038-141 $120 Apr 27, 2002 Black/Metallic Silver (low) 304401-061 $105 Apr 27, 2002 White/University Blue (low) 304401-141 $105 Apr 27, 2002 White/Coral Rose (wmns low) 304402 161 $105 ?? 2003 AIR JORDAN 6 Retro B Black / Infra Red $105 ?? 2003 AIR JORDAN 6 Retro B Orange Blaze / Cool Grey $105 ?? 2003 AIR JORDAN 6 Retro B Hyper Blue / Vibrant Yellow / Cool Grey $105 Retro + 2005 Jan 28, 2005 Defining Moments Package (Mens sizes) 313124-991 $295.00 AIR JORDAN VI Retro - Black/Metallic Gold 136038-071 AIR JORDAN XI Retro - White/Metallic Gold-Black 136046-171 **So far releases are to mall based retailers, meaning Footlocker, Champs, Footaction, Finishline, Modells, etc. Source: jmadidas2001 of NikeTalk FAKE |
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