Like Mike

To be perfectly honest with you, a piece of me recognizes the naivety of youth that would elicit the impassioned desire to own a pair of Air Jordans. A young male becomes enamored with his favorite professional athlete and he wants everything affiliated with him: jerseys, trading cards, or basketball sneakers. It is a big part of his male adolescent life. However, these were not children scratching and clawing for the latest edition of Air Jordans-these were adults. Camped out in the hundreds from city to city to buy the new Air Jordan Retro XI. Last time I checked, Michael Jordan's last game occurred over eight years ago; with his last game as a Chicago Bull at over thirteen years ago-when he was unquestionably in his prime.

Nevertheless, what we witnessed yesterday across the country was the genius, the brilliance of branding and marketing. So wickedly brilliant, individuals can get whipped into a frenzy, some even driven to robbery for a pair of shoes that are impossibly cheap to manufacture. Now, I don't expect a little kid to understand the concept of cheap overseas production and even cheaper labor, but an adult male should know better. The same adult male that probably does not own a decent pair of dress shoes to wear at occasions that matter: a wedding, a funeral, church service, or even a job interview. So then again, maybe they don't know any better. It really is sad because one has to wonder what type of example they are setting for their children. Guys...do better! And pull your pants up for goodness sake. And to baby girl standing out there with them, the word is pneumonia...not ammonia.