If The Shoe Fits

 "It's gotta be the shoes!" That's what Mars Blackman would have had us believe back in 1989. It wasn't the extra long shorts. It wasn't the short socks. It wasn't the haircut or the vicious dunks. 

It was Michael Jordan. Who many people believe was the greatest basketball player of all time. The shoes he wore, designed specifically for him, originally sold to the public for $64.99. Back in 1985, this was an outrageous price for a pair of sneakers, but plenty of folks ponied up the cash in the hopes that maybe in fact it was the shoes. 

Four years ago a pair of game-worn autographed Air Jordans sold at auction for $672,000. And somehow, in 2020, this price did not seem outrageous. 

If you have read this far, you are probably already putting together your imagined response from me.

I will say that this makes sense. 

What doesn't make sense is a former game show host best known for cheating at golf selling his own personal brand of sneakers for $399. These spurious gold lamé high tops with a chunk of an American flag plastered around the ankle went on sale just one day after a court in New York City fined the twice impeached former president $355,000,000 for fraud. A "lucky" bidder was able to get an autographed pair of these Made In China kicks for $9000. Roman Sharf, the founder and CEO of luxury watch dealer, Luxury Bazaar was the "winner" of the auction. 

I am certain that somewhere in all those numbers an equation can be generated to determine just how "important" each of these shoes truly is. From out here it looks like the early favorite would be Michael Jordan. Mike has had his share of financial setbacks and challenges, but his revenues remain ahead of his fines. Mike came back from retirement and played with the lowly Washington Wizards. Legacy untarnished. He played baseball for fifteen minutes or so with the Chicago White Sox. Legacy untarnished. He hasn't played competitive basketball for more than twenty years now, but his shoes still sell. 

The guy who regularly cheats at golf believes that selling sneakers will dig him out of the whole in which he has inserted himself. His legacy is secure. But not in a good way.