Michael Jordan's competitive fire is legendary. MJ's desire to play and win at anything, be it golf, cards, motorcycle racing or, of course, basketball is unmatched and unyielding. This relentless pursuit of competition even made its way into his first NBA contract, with a unique clause that specifically allowed for Jordan"s "Love Of The Game" to play in basketball games anytime, anywhere, regardless of potential injury liability. This need to play whenever he can provides the inspiration for the new Jordan x Converse "The 2 That Started It All" pack.
While this clause primarily applied to the playground pickup games Michael frequented in his hometown, the most famous examples of this clause being exercised are the legendary UNC alumni games that took place in 1986 and 87. The September 6, 1986 game between competing squads of Tar Heel alumni was the first game played in the brand new Dean Edward Smith Center, and featured MJ wearing the first ever Jordan PE colorway, as Carolina blue was added to the heel of his "Chicago Home" Air Jordan 2's. The next year's game on June 28th, 1987 saw the UNC alumni squaring off against a star-studded UCLA alumni team, this time with Mike wearing low top Jordan 2 PE's. For this pack Jordan honors both of those games by adding the date of the second game to the heel of the original 1986 PE 2.
The other half of the pack, the Converse Fastbreak, were MJ's preferred sneaker to play in during college. They are also the sneaker he wore during his gold medal winning performance in the 1984 Olympics, when his love of basketball and love of country compelled him to play even after he had already been drafted by the Bulls, risking possible injury. To honor both his UNC career and his Olympic feats, The Fastbreak returns here in white and Carolina Blue.
The Jordan x Converse "The 2 That Started It All" pack will be available to purchase on June 28th at 10am both in-store at 1106 Chestnut St. and via email order at lapstoneandhammer.com.
