In the 1980s, entertainment was very different from today. There was no Netflix, no YouTube and thus people watched a lot more television instead. Back then, late night talkshows were something fairly new and one guy was the master: David Letterman. Late Night with David Letterman was immensely popular and therefore it was not a big surprise that in 1986 he invited the hottest basketball player to the show. Michael Jordan just came off his 63-point playoff performance versus the Boston Celtics. In true 80s fashion he arrived in a flashy red jumpsuit with blue collar and a blue shirt underneath. Exactly this iconic outfit is the inspiration for the new Air Jordan 1 Retro High OG “Letterman”.
During the short but funny interview segment Letterman and MJ talk about his recent performance, his difficult second season in which he had missed 64 games due to a broken foot, him finishing his college degree at UNC and his multiple endorsements. In the latter part the two also came to speak of the Air Jordan 1 which MJ was still wearing (also in the historic game versus Boston) despite the fact that the AJ 2 was already available. Mike’s comments fueled the legend that the Air Jordan 1 had actually been banned by the NBA. The talk also led to one of the funniest remarks by Letterman during the interview. While holding the AJ1 and doing his best to cover the Nike swoosh he wanted to inquire why these shoes had been banned by the league.
Letterman: “What’s wrong with the color? What rule do we violate here?”
MJ: “Well, it didn’t have any white in it.”
Letterman: “Well, neither does the NBA.”
Classic. On a side note, His Airness actually said that the Air Jordan 1 looks “ugly” – to be precise, he said not the shoe itself is ugly but the colorway. And yes, he was referring to the Black and Red (or Bred) version, in other words the most popular Jordan colorway to date. So I guess the jumpsuit is not the only thing to remind us how times have changed.
The Air Jordan 1 Retro OG “Letterman” comes with a vivid red leather upper (“Light Crimson”) inspired by the infamous tracksuit. The “Midnight Navy” swoosh on the side and the overlays are more shiny than usual and thus add to the classy feel of the “Late Night” version of the AJ1. The Nike Air script on the tongue label is done in lighter “University Blue”. To top things off, Jordan added an “On Air” graphic print with microphone to the sockliner. Great execution!
Air Jordan 1 Retro High OG “Letterman”
Light Crimson/University Blue/White/Midnight Navy
555088-606
April 30, 9 AM CET
Buy the Air Jordan 1 Letterman at KICKZ.COM
Also available in our stores Stachus/Munich, Monaco/Munich, Hamburg, Cologne, Berlin Basketball, Berlin Torstrasse, Stuttgart and Stuttgart II.
Also available for girls and kids in Grade School sizes.
