End of the Line for Air Jordans?

By Benjy Lipsman in Miscellaneous on Jan 10, 2008 1:12PM

During Chicagoist's middle and high school years, there was nothing cooler than owning the latest pair of Air Jordans ... or so we thought. But we had a number of pairs of Jordans over the years and it likely didn't have much impact on which table we got to eat lunch at. Maybe because everybody else had them, too?

The Air Jordans revolutionized the shoe industry and sports when MJ became the first athlete to have his own signature shoe. They became an instant hit and helped launch both Nike and Jordan into the stratosphere.

Even thought MJ retired -- for the third time -- following the 2003 season, Nike has continued to release new Air Jordan editions annually. However, speculation is that this month's release of version version XX3 could be the last Air Jordans.

The shoes will first be introduced in just 23 locations and cost $230. Later phases will roll the kicks out nationally for $185. We can remember lobbying our mom for weeks to get the first ones for $40 (ok, those were still kid sized)!

So what were your favorite Air Jordans? Topping our list are the edition V, with the reflective tongue and clear sole that had an embedded Air Jordan logo on the bottom.

Photo by AP Photo/Nike, Inc.