Air Jordan Informative Speech
Darryl Babb
Professor Piva
English 101-005
29 October 2014
Audience: Youth in America
Purpose: To address a trend that is going strong
Tone: Informal
A Pair of Airs 1988 at the Chicago Stadium, Michael “Air” Jordan leaped from the free-throw line during the Gatorade Slam-Dunk Contest, a moment that fans of Jordan and the sport alike will not soon forget. It wasn’t the first time the Air Jordan sneaker was seen by the public, but it did help to explain the reason why twenty-nine years later, human beings are being murdered for a pair. The shoe itself, has become a collectable item to some, and a symbol of irrational power and fame over others. Currently there is a release of retroed Jordans every month, and every month men and teenagers alike stand in lines in anticipation of the doors of their local sneaker stores to open and begin the sale of the shoes. Air Jordan shoes have become such an overly-exaggerated trend that even the poor are paying hundreds of dollars to be seen …show more content…
In the article, This Day in Sneaker History, by George Kiel III, an Associate Editor for website Nice Kicks, David Stern, the commissioner/overseer of the NBA at the time, is said to have banned the shoe after Jordan wore them, due to the shoe’s disregard for the regulation color scheme. Commissioner Stern would fine Jordan five thousand dollars every time he stepped on the court in the Air Jordan I. Sales of the shoe skyrocketed and Nike gladly paid the fines. What it lost for paying the penalties, it nearly tripled in sales of the sneaker. A variation of the first signature sneaker, dubbed the Air Jordan I, “Banned” would be released as a comical play on Commissioner Stern’s ban. The popularity would not stop there as even today, Air Jordan shoes are being produced and retroed with a total of twenty-nine in circulation with different color-ways being
Professor Piva
English 101-005
29 October 2014
Audience: Youth in America
Purpose: To address a trend that is going strong
Tone: Informal
A Pair of Airs 1988 at the Chicago Stadium, Michael “Air” Jordan leaped from the free-throw line during the Gatorade Slam-Dunk Contest, a moment that fans of Jordan and the sport alike will not soon forget. It wasn’t the first time the Air Jordan sneaker was seen by the public, but it did help to explain the reason why twenty-nine years later, human beings are being murdered for a pair. The shoe itself, has become a collectable item to some, and a symbol of irrational power and fame over others. Currently there is a release of retroed Jordans every month, and every month men and teenagers alike stand in lines in anticipation of the doors of their local sneaker stores to open and begin the sale of the shoes. Air Jordan shoes have become such an overly-exaggerated trend that even the poor are paying hundreds of dollars to be seen …show more content…
In the article, This Day in Sneaker History, by George Kiel III, an Associate Editor for website Nice Kicks, David Stern, the commissioner/overseer of the NBA at the time, is said to have banned the shoe after Jordan wore them, due to the shoe’s disregard for the regulation color scheme. Commissioner Stern would fine Jordan five thousand dollars every time he stepped on the court in the Air Jordan I. Sales of the shoe skyrocketed and Nike gladly paid the fines. What it lost for paying the penalties, it nearly tripled in sales of the sneaker. A variation of the first signature sneaker, dubbed the Air Jordan I, “Banned” would be released as a comical play on Commissioner Stern’s ban. The popularity would not stop there as even today, Air Jordan shoes are being produced and retroed with a total of twenty-nine in circulation with different color-ways being