"Your Sneakers or Your Life" - Sports Illustrated Cover story in May 14th 1990

[lamontbdc]

i remember Cris Webber had like the 1st pair of nike's that were like 189 when they dropped. the fucking all gray pair with the lime gray laces were classic. they need to put those back out. anyway some kids got killed over Webber's shoes. So he dropped his nike contract and signed with Fila and put out some cheaper shoes. Same reason why Grant Hill went with Fila's at the time.

 

[lamontbdc]

cats in dc used to get got for their eddie bauer coats...i remember a kid got his joint took right across the street from the school at bus stop after school let out

hell yea my grand parents wouldn't buy me an eddie b/c of that shit. i had a bootleg eddie. my man Jaques got to big ass slashes on both sides of his face. Nigga tried to rob his eddie but he didn't want to just give it up. that sliced his face up.

 

[Michael_Malice]

old head post

i remember everyone wanted them georgetown starter jackets lol

Co-Sign. I got hit by them Jump Out Boys got my Georgetown Starter and them Patrick Ewing joints, with the strap you would let hang off the back, trying to take a shortcut home. I had just got that joint the day prior. Had to walk the rest of the way home cold and fucking barefoot with some fresh Footlocker footies.

everybody was fuckin with the charlotte hornets starter

at it seems like there were alot of cowboy ones and miami hurricane ones

Them Hornets Starters was the business on the block. A fresh Hornets Starter with them Kevin Johnson "React" Converse joints with the green gel in the bottom. I used to rock that hard.

 

[Michael_Malice]

Niggas stayed getting hit up for them "Thriple Fat Goose" joints.

 

[freshb651]

Co-Sign. I got hit by them Jump Out Boys got my Georgetown Starter and them Patrick Ewing joints, with the strap you would let hang off the back, trying to take a shortcut home. I had just got that joint the day prior. Had to walk the rest of the way home cold and fucking barefoot with some fresh Footlocker footies.

Them Hornets Starters was the business on the block. A fresh Hornets Starter with them Kevin Johnson "React" Converse joints with the green gel in the bottom. I used to rock that hard.

lol @ you wearing Ewings

 

[Michael_Malice]

lol @ you wearing Ewings

Them Ewing joints was hot my nigga.

 

[I.B. Blackman]

......I had this one right here. Back when the bulls were the BULLS.

Maaaaan, you couldn't tell me SHIT when i got this jacket.

 

[bigev240]

Yeah in Newark shit was nuts in the 80's people getting killed for kicks, Starters and Leather Gooses... Shit was wild... They mayors son, got shot in the neck for a leather goose

Yea I remember that...all of Newark was shook back then. One of my friends from high school got rob for his halley Hanson jacket.

 

[I.B. Blackman]

Niggas stayed getting hit up for them "Thriple Fat Goose" joints.

.....Dopeshit.

 

[king hassan]

Co-Sign. I got hit by them Jump Out Boys got my Georgetown Starter and them Patrick Ewing joints, with the strap you would let hang off the back, trying to take a shortcut home. I had just got that joint the day prior. Had to walk the rest of the way home cold and fucking barefoot with some fresh Footlocker footies.

Them Hornets Starters was the business on the block. A fresh Hornets Starter with them Kevin Johnson "React" Converse joints with the green gel in the bottom. I used to rock that hard.

Man them shits were ill, that Teal and Purple was the business. And they had just came into the league when I was in high school

 

[GettinLo]

Man them shits were ill, that Teal and Purple was the business. And they had just came into the league when I was in high school

Old nigga post... LOL

On the low I remember that shit too...

 

[lamontbdc]

i remember when i was young and seen a dude rocking a Magic starter jacket. i thought Magic Johnson had his own starter jacket. I didn't even know the orlando magic was a real team til they got Penny. then i was oh shit that's where the magic starter jacket comes from.

It was all about that georgetown starter jacket. i begged and begged for that shit. my uncle had got robbed for his and once again my grandfather was like nigga you can get that george Washington starter ain't nobody stealing them shits.

yeah them hornets starters were on point

 

[GettinLo]

i remember when i was young and seen a dude rocking a Magic starter jacket. i thought Magic Johnson had his own starter jacket. I didn't even know the orlando magic was a real team til they got Penny. then i was oh shit that's where the magic starter jacket comes from.

It was all about that georgetown starter jacket. i begged and begged for that shit. my uncle had got robbed for his and once again my grandfather was like nigga you can get that george Washington starter ain't nobody stealing them shits.

yeah them hornets starters were on point

Honestly there wasn't a wack starter ever (if we're talking about the satin joints)...

 

[king hassan]

Old nigga post... LOL

On the low I remember that shit too...

LOL You already know. And true, the drug dealers had that shit on lock. Niggas started fronting like the were serving just to get the girls. And that Chicago Blackhawks joint was hot too. And that's when fitted's used to run about 12-15 bucks. NIggas used to get them shits snatched right off they heads

 

[sniperk]

I remember when LL Cool J was rocking that red Troop suit on SNL. I ran out and grabbed the blue Troop jacket version of it (I was in Los Angeles at the time). When I came back home to Toronto, I had to fight kids almost every day like Mike Tyson to keep from getting robbed of it.

The worst time I was at the mall with my homeboy wearing the jacket and the girls used to be all over me for it (it is funny now because the shit was only a Troop jacket... hahaha!!!). About 6 or 7 dudes who belonged to a local gang called the BK posse came over to me and asked me to let them "try on the jacket". That was code for giving up the jacket and in return they would let you slide without getting jumped. Since we were in a busy mall with lots of security, cops, etc. they were still hesitant to just start beating me up and taking the jacket without a huge commotion occuring. I walked out towards the mall exit at Sears with them following me knowing that Sears had video cameras all over the store. Me and my boy walked over to the sporting section and each grabbed an aluminum baseball bat. I then got really loud and crazy yelling out so everyone could hear "You wanna rob me for my jacket? I will fucking bust your head open. C'mon!!! C'mon!!!!" In reality, I was scared as shit. I was about 16 years old at the time and I didn't know if these guys were strapped or what. Security came out of nowhere in about 2 minutes and, since half of those dudes were legally banned from the mall for causing shit in the past, they ran out of there like Usain Bolt...haha. I just got a stern warning from security after that situation but I had to lay low for awhile and couldn't even wear my own jacket around until I had my other friend's older brother squash things for me with them BK posse dudes. SMH.

The jacket looked kind of like this (but didn't say LL Cool J on it):

 

[GettinLo]

I remember when LL Cool J was rocking that red Troop suit on SNL. I ran out and grabbed the blue Troop jacket version of it (I was in Los Angeles at the time). When I came back home to Toronto, I had to fight kids almost every day like Mike Tyson to keep from getting robbed of it.

The worst time I was at the mall with my homeboy wearing the jacket and the girls used to be all over me for it (it is funny now because the shit was only a Troop jacket... hahaha!!!). About 6 or 7 dudes who belonged to a local gang called the BK posse came over to me and asked me to let them "try on the jacket". That was code for giving up the jacket and in return they would let you slide without getting jumped. Since we were in a busy mall with lots of security, cops, etc. they were still hesitant to just start beating me up and taking the jacket without a huge commotion occuring. I walked out towards the mall exit at Sears with them following me knowing that Sears had video cameras all over the store. Me and my boy walked over to the sporting section and each grabbed an aluminum baseball bat. I then got really loud and crazy yelling out so everyone could hear "You wanna rob me for my jacket? I will fucking bust your head open. C'mon!!! C'mon!!!!" In reality, I was scared as shit. I was about 16 years old at the time and I didn't know if these guys were strapped or what. Security came out of nowhere in about 2 minutes and, since half of those dudes were legally banned from the mall for causing shit in the past, they ran out of there like Usain Bolt...haha. I just got a stern warning from security after that situation but I had to lay low for awhile and couldn't even wear my own jacket around until I had my other friend's older brother squash things for me with them BK posse dudes. SMH.

The jacket looked kind of like this (but didn't say LL Cool J on it):

TROOP = Too Rough On Other People

 

[Michael_Malice]

Once upon a time not long ago
When the playa from the Pointe didn't have no flow
A nigga hit me for my tennis shoes, walkin to the sto'

 

[king hassan]

LOL remember niggas getting took for these too

 

[bigev240]

Cats use to get jacked for these too

 

[b*braze]

I remember this happening consistently in the early 90s.

It was and still is sad.

Gangs adopted local and national sports' teams logos as their emblems, and certain team colors meant you were representing a gang, even if you weren't involved in one. (Pittsburgh Pirates, Indiana Hoosiers, LA Raiders, The Chicago Bulls Black and Red jersey, LA Kings, etc).

Spike made a good point about the conditions that existed in the first place, that not many people cared to address. And for some athletes to take up the cause, it becomes a double edged sword.

Some will be looked at as doing it for publicity (even if they actually care), while others will be looked at as "not knowing enough about the matter" to become a spokesman for the issue.

it aint a baseball fitted cap not affiliated out here