When I was a kid growing up during the 1960s, things were much simpler when it came to shopping for sporting events. In fact, back then, shoes worn for sporting activities weren’t even called “athletic shoes.”
They were called “slippers”.
There weren’t even specialized basketball shoes. Wilt Chamberlain and Bob Cousy wore sneakers like the rest of us. So a pair of shoes from one of the “Big Three” sneaker manufacturers: Keds, PF Flyer, or Converse would suit us for any sport, whether it’s softball, basketball, football, tennis, or swimming in the crunch.
Sorry, we didn’t know what football was back then in Philly. We thought it was one of those ancient sports practiced by the Aztecs and the losing team would have their hearts cut out as a sacrifice to the gods.
As I got older and entered high school, the sneaker of first choice was the “Chuck Taylor All Stars” from Converse. Everyone referred to them as “Chucks” for short. To this day I still have no idea who Chuck Taylor was. All I knew was that unless you had a pair of “Chucks,” you weren’t officially cool.
Peer pressure and the state of fashion had hit me over the head like a 2×4.
Back in the “good old days,” as I like to call them now, sneakers came in just two colors: black or white. Henry Ford would have been pleased except for the unnecessary extra color option. I seem to remember that red could have been offered, but the last kid brave enough to wear a pair of red sneakers to school suddenly changed schools after an angry mob ran him off campus.
Those slippers might as well have been pink.
When I entered college as a freshman in the mid-1970s, athletic shoes were becoming more specialized and were known as athletic shoes or at least “running shoes.”
The running and jogging craze was in full swing and Adidas led the way with their now legendary blue nylon sneaker with white stripes down the sides. I caught the jogging bug and of course bought myself a pair of blue adidas shoes. Frank Shorter was my new hero, and I eagerly watched the running competitions at the 1976 Summer Olympics.
I actually enjoyed jogging as it was a sport that didn’t require any particular skill, which was a relief for me. Although I never really fell in love with those hideous blue nylon adidas sneakers. They wore out really fast and looked incredibly silly regardless of whether they were worn with jogging shorts or blue jeans. They also made my feet sweat like nobody else.
Fortunately, Adidas quickly gained some competition in the running shoe market and much higher quality and better looking running shoes were offered. It seemed quite ironic that most owners of these “running shoes” would never take them out for a run.
During the 1980’s I caught “Basketball Jones.” Magic Johnson and Larry Bird had just arrived in the NBA and things were getting really exciting. Then, when Michael Jordan rose to greatness and the match made in Heaven between MJ and Nike was consummated, the sneaker industry simply exploded.
The era of ridiculously expensive basketball shoes was upon us.
I know my parents are very grateful that their children have been through childhood and adolescence long before this era came into being. My dad blew his stack when Keds went over $10 a pair. He worries me that he wouldn’t be with us today if he had asked him to buy me a $250 pair of basketball shoes. Come to think of it, he might not be here today if he had asked him that question.
I never dared to pay a lot of money for a pair of Air Jordans. The closest I got to owning a pair of designer basketball shoes was a pair of LA Gear shoes I once bought at a clearance table. The shoes looked great, but they weighed a ton, which didn’t make much sense for basketball shoes.
Maybe that’s why they were on clearance.
I only wore them once and that was during a casual basketball game. I ended up stubbing my big toe when I tried to go up for a rebound. The shoes anchored me like a pair of cinder blocks and reduced my vertical jump to zero. That was the last time I wore those shoes and to this day they are in my closet. Except for a thin layer of dust, they look as new as the day I saw them sitting on that clearance table.
These days, I’ve resigned myself to versatile but cheap sneakers. It’s the kind you can get for $29.95 at most discount places like Wal-Mart and Target. The brand does not matter, since there is a wide selection of this type of shoe.
They are nice shoes and usually have leather uppers and look great with a pair of jeans. I can wear them to the gym or play tennis and basketball and they are definitely a great value for what I pay for them and how long they last.
But something seems to be missing and I’m not sure what it is exactly. Maybe it has something to do with those endless summers so long ago when sneakers were made of canvas and we didn’t give a damn in the world.
