My 10 Favorite Shoes Ever

It's hard to make these kinds of lists because tastes evolve & times change but that aside there are 10 pair of shoes, 5 of which I've bought and worn, that have changed the game for me. I'm not a "shoe head" or collector and I've never bought a pair of Jordans because everybody did that and I didn't want to be a caricature of what people my age and race were so I always went my own way via my footwear which was rather nice if I do say so myself over the years. That said, these shoes are my favorite 10 pair of all-time:

10.) The Nike Griffey Air Max's were a thing of beauty. I mean this shoe right here is art. Not a wasted piece of shoe on the entire canvass. Not too busy, the colors work seamlessly, and the air bubbles give it character. At the time time this shoe came out Ken Griffey Jr. was 'The Man' and so you wanted this shoe in your life as you aspired to be the man too. 10 years later Griffey ain't near what he once was but the shoe hasn't lost a damn step. For those nostalgic group of people who remember this shoe and it's greatness and want to take a trip down memory lane, that trip won't come easy or cheap. Think of forking over something to the tune of $200 on eBay and that's on the conservative estimate side of things and that's if you find it and if it's available in your size or preferred colorway. Good luck with that but if you do please take care of those things of beauty on your feet because they'll take care of you and whatever you're wearing. That's for damn sure.

9.) The ever elusive often sought after Marty McFly shoes. Now if you think finding Waldo in a sea of people in Freddy Krueger sweaters and hats with the red balls on top is hard, you can forget about finding these bad boys anytime soon. Now granted these shoes are just an internet myth right now for all intents and purposes, it doesn't make them any less ill or me any less insane in pondering how I can mortgage my future on getting a pair in my closet. I didn't even know of the shoe's existence until about 2006 or so when Kanye West made a comment about them. Not that I follow his fashion sense or anything other than his musical output, but when I saw what he was talking about I saw what he was talking about, lol. I've never seen any full scene of any movies in the Back to the Future franchise and so there's no way I could have possibly been able to stumble across these unless the internet made it possible but I'm glad Al Gore looked out for me and made the internet. If and when these shoes ever do come out, expect to drop at least $200 for them.

8.) Nothing in this world gets you through the Summer or the Spring than a pair of white on white Air Force One's. I can't put my finger on approximately how many pairs I've squandered on these babies over the years but if I had to take a guess I'd say somewhere in between 60-65. Yes, it's that serious. If you own a pair or have own a pair, you know what I'm talking about. One scratch or crease and the end isn't far away. They go from being a complement to a classy fresh new outfit straight out of a mall store to an afterthought on your feet with some sweatpants and a tank top as grass cutters when you mow the lawn in a span of a month. Cicadas have a longer life than them but not more purposeful or important to a man between 18-30. The Nike Air Force One has done more for the black community than MLK. LOL, well not him especially on today the 40th Anniversary of his death, but Al Sharpton, Jesse Jackson, Kwiesi NFume and the rest of the so called black leaders of that generation ever did combined. If the government if decides to give reparations to black people, pay me in Air Force Ones. Me and Uncle Sam can dead our beef with a closet of white on whites.

7.) This was a bit of a tough call for me and believe me I went back and fourth between this shoes and the white on white version of it but this shoe ended up getting the nod because it's less common than it's cousin. Yes, the Nike Air Force Canada is no joke indeed. The red and white on it definitely make it a special 2 or 3 time a month shoe but when you have it on you just know you're doing some things. Plus it's got peanut butter soul just like me. This tells me the shoe knows the struggle of black people, lol. If the shoe could vote it'd be behind Barack Obama. Nah, actually it's Canadian so it wouldn't be voting for him or anybody else but damn it's a great shoe. I've never had the chance to own a pair because time and opportunity was never on my side when it wa sout but I swear if I come across a pair of reasonably priced ones on eBay I'm straight pressing the "Buy it Now" button on sight. You don't see these shoes everyday. Expect to come out of pocket anywhere between $55-80 for them. Very reasonable for this. Trust me.

6.) Gary Payton has never done anything that I've ever liked in life other than throw a fast break to Shawn Kemp but these shoes were special. He's done nothing as great since or ever will. The Nike Air Zoom Glove shoe was an awakening to men that they could accesorize their kicks with zippers and stay masculine and fashionable at the same time. Now below the zipper was an eye sore that left your few options other than leaving them zipped but why would you want to pull the flap over the shoe like you woke up and forgot to dress your shoes that day. That would be tacky . Now you wanted to keep the outside layer over the inside layer. At most you might unzip the shoe to let them breathe from time to time but never and I mean NEVER fold the top down. This is a shoe, not a convertible although just as beautiful one might argue. The all black ones in this picture were nice but I actually had the all white ones with the green insides. Beautiful shoe it was and very unique in that this colorway was very hard to get in Cincinnati. I think I had my mom travel out to Kentucky to get these for me. I think they were $105 dollars with tax. Needless to say I made the Honor Roll that year. Mom bought me off with these. Trust me, that was one of those rare win-win situations for everybody involved.

5.) The Nike Air Zoom Flight 5's from 1997 were the best pair of Jason Kidd shoes ever. Funny story, my sister had a crush on him since he was drafted in '94 and I always found interest in whatever she thought was hot so Jason Kidd ipso facto became my favorite player that year too. Now looking back on it, my sister never thought he was a great basketball player or anything. She could have cared less. She couldn't have possibly knew he would go on to be one of the top 5 point guards of all-time but she picked a great athlete for her brother to emulate. Anyways, to make a long story short, when he dropped this shoe in '97 imagine how excited I was to own a pair of Jason Kidds. I think this might have been the quarter after I got the Gary Payton shoes from above but I stayed getting good grades and playing sports in middle school and involving myself in school musicals and happenings so as a result, they pretty much laced me with great shoes that entire year. They cost maybe $94 which for that shoe seemed reasonable. I think Nike is re-realeasing these this summer and even though I don't like Kidd near as much as I did back then yes I plan on getting another pair. When you become a grown man it's less about the person the shoe belongs to than how it looks. I don't care if these were Air Bin Ladens and they came out on 9/11 in New York only, I'd cop them. And I plan on it. I don't give a damn, lol.

4.)The Nike Air Much Uptempo Olympic Pippens. The all black ones were probably nicer overall but I always preferred these just a little bit more. Now to be fair, I never owned a pair of either but looking back these shoes were the LeBron James' or sneakers. They came in and revolutionized the game forever. I wish Nike would taken this idea and ran with it a little bit. I would have spelled out some wild things on my shoes if I had my way. Damned if I wouldn't put "Obama" on the sides of them today and wear them. Nothing like a conflict of interest putting Obama, a politician against the special interest groups and corporate interests on a pair of Nike's with a big swoosh emblem on the back, huh? Anyway they retro'd these shoes a few years back but they didn't quite look the same. If I did buy these shoes I'd probably just put them in my closet and not ruin them by scuffing them up. These were just a work of art. $145 worth of art. Relatively cheap compared to a Picasso huh?

3.) The Nike Air Zoom Turf's went HARD. If you were born in the 80's and grew up in the 90's and were a Nike wearing kid you either owned these yourself or had a half dozen or more friends who owned a pair which might have disqualified you from wanting these because you wanted to be original but even if you didn't own a pair of these you respected them. If you didn't respect them, didn't own a pair or didn't have a friend in the world who rocked these then you were probably lame in school and this whole Top Ten list has been a complete waste of your time since we came from very very different worlds. 1997 might have been the illest year of all-time for Nike shoes. There will never ever ever be another year like this again. It's something similar to the '95 High School All-American game. So many great individual standouts, so little time to appreciate them one by one but collectively you know what's up. This is the first and perhaps only shoe I've ever liked that Barry Sanders dropped. Much respect.

2.) Now I know I know, this is a predominately Nike list and it's a bit of a cop out to go that route of listing the Timberland 6" Wheat boot but this shoe has gotten me through more years than almost anything or anybody. Me and this shoe go back. We go back to '95. Now I know New York's been on this shoe way before then but you have to keep in mind Ohio is late to everything so they didn't really get caught up with Tims until like '99. So for a 11 year old Hip Hop head like myself, these shoes were a must. I was the first person I knew with a pair of these shoes and by a good distance. Since then I've gone every possible route of the Timberland and every style but the sandals and after all the different types I still chose this one over all other. I would wear these shoes to my funeral if the casket opened up all the way. In fact I might have to make a provision to my final wishes so that instead of opening my coffin from the waist up that mine is only open from the waist down. That's the only way to go out. That way if you see somebody on the other side you don't like you can stomp them out properly. I've owned as many Timberlands as I have Air Force Ones and thus they are just as much a part of me and probably more since I've been wearing them longer. Solid classic show. Real inexpensive if you go through the right channels and just like the Air Force's they are the most susceptible to becoming grasscutters quick if you don't take care of them. Take care of them and they should take care of you for a good 3-4 months on average.

1.) Now at this time some of you will feel where I'm coming from and some of you well be like WTF at me choosing the Nike Air Shake Ndestrukt, but lucky for you I know what I'm talking about . These were the greatest shoe of all-time . Excluding nobody. The dopeness of this shoe surpasses anything you or anyone you know has ever done. Yes you. Unless Jesus was your right hand man and I would need to check your birth certificate to back up such a claim than yes I'm talking to you. These shoes save lives. I owned three pair of them and I wish I had purchased more. My personal favorite colorway were the all black with the green and white trim. I shut down a lot of people with these back in my day. Even when I reintroduced them in '04 on Ohio State's campus I had people stopping me every five seconds asking me how much and where. Durable,comfortable, original (they tie up on the side for Christ sake) and relatively inexpensive ($90) when I first got them back in the '96. Dennis Rodman was a weird basketball player and even weirder human being but the man knew what was up when he fashioned these I must say. Come to think of it, he always did. The Air Darwins and the Air Worm's he had with Nike were on point as well although I never had the opportunity to own either pair. Oh well, I can dide a happy man because these shoes were the ultimate.