Got possibly the last Event 37 Air Force 1s in the wild.
Fuck eBay prices, and fuck scalpers. At the end of the day, these are just a pair of Uptowns. Subtlety fly, but not $400 and up fly.
I’ve been to 8 different Nike outlets between NJ and CA over the last week and a half…and finally bagged ‘em.
Rest of the story, and pics to follow…
So, once upon a time Nike released an Air Force 1 that took design cues from Daigo’s comeback win over Justin Wong from Evo 2003. The first run of these shoes, at 1st run retailers quickly sold out. The next (and final run) wasn’t large enough to sell through at Foot Lockers, etc…and went to Nike Outlet Stores only.
I missed the first run, only to see eBay flooded with pairs of these shoes for triple to quintuple MSRP. I have been combing Nike Outlet stores in my area of the East Coast over the last few months, but have given up for the most part.
Last week, I was in CA for a friend’s wedding-and peeped a few Nike Outlets out West, with zero luck.
On a lark…after returning to home base, and at the Atlantic City NJ outlet stores doing some shopping-I walk into the Nike Outlet. These were sitting right on the endcap:
They were even my size, I couldn’t believe it. The last pair in the store:
I got the shopworn discount for these being open box, and a manager’s discount for a smudge from some greasy-handed beach goer gripping these up. (Not worried, it will buff out). The bag was initially missing. I asked around and a sympathetic clerk found it in the break room.
Walked out paying $40 less than MSRP for unobtanium sneakers.
The little touches are really thoughtful. The motif is SF III all the way, but not hitting you over the head with it full weeb mode.
The canvas upper, is reminiscent of a Gi. (Ken) The afterimage of the swoosh and ‘Nike Air’ an homage to super-move shadows. The top eyelet is the burst color during parrys. The inside tongue tag, are all the inputs Daigo entered to win. The blue pinstripe (Chun Li) and blue heel and sole (Life Gauge).
Yeah, this post is some nerd shit. Hella long, and lots of pics. What evs.
RayForce came on an F3 "white board" as well as a "yellow board" variant with a daughter board. This is the white board variant that was more common in Japan.
