By Any Means Necessary...

Black thoughts

Admiration

Scoop and AG. in Beaverton, OR

"Simple and plain, give me the lane...I'll throw it down your throat like Barkley..."

Chuck D - Rebel Without a Pause

I grew up off of 60th and Arch Streets in West Philadelphia, and I always wanted to be someone greater than my environment would ever allow. The Wild West as it is known, is a place where dreams do not necessarily come true. The problem is that everything is stacked against you from the dilapidated living conditions, crime, and violence, not too mention the poor school system. It is a problem that has plagued the city for decades. The more things change, the more they stay the same. However, I have been fortunate to have a role model of a mother that provided for my siblings and I, and because of her sacrifices, I am a success today.

SOUL to SOLE

In an African proverb, it is explained that it takes an entire village to raise a child. I believe this as it holds true to my very existence. As a youth, I always had people like my neighbors Mr. Keith, and Mr. Skip to take me to basketball practice and games, not too mention feed me and care for me like one of their own sons. In my professional career, I have Scoop Jackson the master to my apprentice, Ray Butts, and Isaac Perry, all of whom have walked along with me, and sometimes carried me in times of need. There are others such as Coach John Chaney, Coach Dawn Staley, Sonny Hill, Bobbito Garcia, Kris Aman, Dr. Angelia Nelson, Oronde Garrett, Eric Elston, and Ian Callender and his family, as no one person ever makes it in life alone.

I had to make my words in this column short, because to have Scoop as my guest, I wanted to give him space to write in his voice, on MJ, and his mark in American history. Scoop Jackson is a national columnist for ESPN.com and he contributes to ESPN The Magazine. He is best known in the sneaker community for writing a book on Nike Basketball entitled Sole Provider.

In his own words proudly present to you Robert “Scoop” Jackson:

What is it about the Jordan sneaker that has made it what it is today?

"I think it’s been a combination of several things, all coming together at the same time. The analogy I love to use is one about Michael Jackson because of how similar the situations played themselves out. With Jackson you had (beginning with Off the Wall album) the best singer/entertainer working with maybe the greatest producer ever in Quincy Jones who had the combination of greatness in Rod Temperton and Greg Philligines in studio while at the same time you had an outlet that was just beginning to find itself called MTV and a choreographer that was the greatest even in Michael Peters, all working together at the same time. It’s like all of the planets came into alignment at once for this one period of time and look what we got in return: arguably the most successful music run in history. Something that will never happen again.
The same thing I believe happened with Jordan. Here you had the best player in the game, who happened to connect with the greatest (although unknown at that time) designer in the history of the game, Tinker Hatfield. Combine that with the fact that Nike was in a relationship with and ad agency, Weiden + Kennedy, that (just like MTV at the time of Michael Jackson’s era) was trying to find itself and a filmmaker that was one of the greatest ever in Spike Lee (Just like Michael Peters, Spike was relatively unknown at the time) all working together at the same time. It’s the same story all over again. It’s like lightening happening twice. So the reason the Jordan sneaker is what it is today is because it had a foundation that was far greater than any other shoe has ever had. The same way 20 years later we can listen to anything from Off the Wall or THRILLER and say, that was brilliant and still listen to it with the same reverence that we did when it dropped. We are able to do and have those same feelings about the kicks that come from Jordan."

What is your favorite Jordan sneaker and why?

"The III. To me, that’s the Air Force 1 of the Jordan legacy. Why? It’s just everything about the shoe is flawless to me. I mean, historically it’s the first ¾ sneak and it’s the first shoe tinker did for Jordan and it’s the shoe that stopped MJ from going to adidas. But outside of that, I just “feel” that shoe. Unlike any other design, execution, longevity, style, all that, and I ain’t even going to speak on the performance of the shoe. Check MJ’s stats fro the year he wore that shoe. 1988. Check. Then there’s the whole Best on Earth, Best on Mars moment (poster). C’mon. It’s just, to me, I love that sneak. All time and here’s the funny thing: I refuse to own a pair. The II is so god-like to me that there’s a part of me that feels I haven’t earned the right to have a pair yet. That sneak is on some Holy Grail level with me. Maybe n about 10 more years, when I put in 10 more years of serious work, when I reach my Spike Lee stage and do Inside Man and When the Levees Broke in the same year, if I ever reach that kind of greatness, then maybe I’ll get a pair of III’s."

Is there a legit comparison to Kobe and MJ?

"Yeah, easy…like tracing paper. Xerox machine. KINKOS. As much as the replication looks, seems and feels like the original, its not. There’s always some resolution that gets lost in the process. But that’s just in basketball. As much as Jack Bauer (Kobe) and $ (MJ) are alike, they are totally different as people. And that affects the outcome of their games. Kobe is not as personable and charming as Mike. It’s not in his nature, that’s just not who he is. Part of MJ’s greatness was his ability to be cool with everyone, teammates, and victims. Dudes that played with $ would kill for him, he was able to draw that much love from others. Kobe’s never been able to do that and because of that I think he hasn’t been able to reach MJ’s level of brilliance. He has too many people around him that will never love him, which translates to how open the game is to him. It’s like, imagine how differently Barry Sanders career would have been if his offensive line hated him? Or better yet LaDainian Tomlinson? Those holes year after year would not open up. They would not block or fight as hard as they could for them to get those yards, which in the long run effects Barry’s and LT’s greatness."

How was the Jordan sneaker game back in the late 80's/early 90's in Chicago?

"Crazy. Every time a sneak dropped it was bananas! Stores would get broken into, schools would close (seriously), and kids would get jacked on bus stops and at malls. Straight madness, but it was all passion. That’s what drove it. I’ve been around a lot of cities and I’ve never seen the passion for Jordan kicks the way I’ve seen it in the Chi. It’s a different level. The history is different. No disrespect to Nike, but they lost a lot of money, not paying attention to what was really going on in Chicago, as far as footwear was concerned in Chicago during that time. They could have easily doubled their market share. From a financial standpoint, they missed an era. But to this day there’s nothing like it. There’s a special, and I mean very special, almost unconditional love that this city has with Jordan and every sneaker the brand decides to release I wish I could write a book about it, but that wouldn’t do it justice."

I am blessed to have mentors like Scoop, Ray, and Isaac, as they continue to show me the ropes, lifting me higher than I ever thought I could go. Each one, teach one!

For more on Scoop Jackson watch the video below: