Whys and Wherefores: Season 1, Issue 2
"Don’t be mad cause you can’t do what I can/Like when Jordan went up, took that shot and switched hands."
Being tall has plenty of advantages. Shopping for clothes is not one of them. At my “comedically tall” height — a phrase first used by my friend Tahlia to describe my 6’6” frame — trying to find pants with a proper inseam or shirts with sleeves long enough has been a process. As a kid, I was frequently directed to the Big & Tall section of big-box mall retailers like Belk’s or Dillard’s without the understanding those sections weren’t made explicitly for tall people; there’s a reason it’s called “Big & Tall” as opposed to “Big and/or Tall.” Whenever I was gifted with new clothes, there was an understanding they were fleeting. The rate at which I grew meant there was a real possibility I wouldn’t be able to wear them in a few months. Shoes were even more of a hassle; I’m a size 13 and have been for quite a while. I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve tried to get shoes at an actual store when I was younger only to realize they didn’t even stock my size.
There wasn’t a snowball’s chance in hell my parents were buying me Jordans when there was a chance my feet would be too big for them in a matter of weeks. My neighbor got a pair one year and I was so insanely jealous. I begged my parents to get me a pair of my own. The answer (understandably) was a resounding “No.” They couldn’t justify spending that much money on a pair of shoes I’d likely grow out of in record time. I did grow out of them, or at least in my interest in owning a pair did, for a long, long time.
Since San Antonio Spurs’ legend Tim Duncan went to Wake Forest, where Dad went to school, I watched the Spurs win a few championships, but never invested that much time or effort into following the NBA. Hell, I never spent a lot of time watching sports in general. Outside of attending football games in high school and college as a social activity, being obsessed about sports felt too much of a jock activity. I played lacrosse in high school, but even still I was more focused on video games and movies. Sports just seemed alien and inaccessible to me.
My move to DC hit right around the heyday of the 2015 - 2016 Golden State Warriors run; I remember watching a few of those games with my roommate and some of our friends at the now-defunct Buffalo Billards in Dupont Circle. It was, at first, just another social activity. But something clicked in a way it hadn’t before. Some of it was timed to the growing discussions around CTE in the NFL and the more progressive nature of the NBA in general. The other part of it was just remembering how much my Dad loved Duncan’s playmaking at Wake Forest. It wasn’t one straw that broke the camel’s back, but a slow collision of many factors.
A casual interest soon blossomed into a full-blown obsession. Soon I was watching any game I could, buying tickets to see live games, buying season tickets to ensure I could attend games more frequently, playing fantasy basketball, listening to basketball podcasts, collecting jerseys — on and on it went. And soon my thoughts turned back to those Jordans I’d so desperately wanted as a kid.
One of the few good things about the slow freefall to 30 is having more of a disposable income to use on random things. Sometimes, this manifests in truly silly purchases of clothing you wear once and then never again, or dropping absurd amounts of money on a replica lightsaber. Other times, it allows you the freedom to indulge in some nostalgia.
There have been countless stories about trying to buy sneakers. My acquisition of a pair of Jordan 1s is decidedly unremarkable. I woke up early in July of 2018 to try my hand at getting the Spurs-appropriate ‘Shadow’ colorway. I tossed my credit card information into the draw and waited. Nike’s SNKRS app then informed me that against all odds, I’d received a pair. To this day, these are the only really-hyped-up shoes I’ve been able to successfully purchase from Nike directly.
A victory this long-awaited might feel a little anti-climatic. To me, it was a near-perfect coalescence of growing interests, a nostalgic grail (in a Spurs-friendly colorway no less!), and making sure I got one of the last remaining “must-haves” for fashion fanatics. The timing of having my own Jordans was, in its own way, reflective of Mike’s ability to be clutch when it mattered most.
I just wanted to take a moment to thank everyone who reached out about last week’s first issue. The response was, frankly, overwhelming — but in the best way. This week’s issue (as promised!) isn’t quite as heavy, but I hope you connect with it in the same way. My Dad is going to show up in this first season a lot. As last week’s issue conveyed, he’s a big influence, and I draw a lot of my love of fashion from him.
This was a huge week for me from a writing perspective. I’ve been a GQ subscriber since I first started getting into fashion around 2011. I always wanted to write for them and finally got the chance to fulfill that dream this week as I wrote about why the first season of The Mandalorian works so well. If you haven’t read that piece yet, here’s the link.
In more Mando news, I wrote about the show’s sophomore season premiere for Complex. I think it’s really strong, although I do have some reservations about it. The review is spoiler-filled, so read it after you’ve watched today’s debut.
Finally, I spoke (briefly!) with fashion designer Todd Snyder about his superlative collaboration with L.L.Bean for SPY.com. I’ve been eying this collection since it was previewed earlier this year. It’s easily some of Todd’s best work and I’m glad I got a little insight into its creation.
Oh, and here’s a playlist of songs I liked this month.
That’s all for this week. Vote if you haven’t already. Next week is going to be crazy no matter what happens. I’ll try to have something to ease your mind, if only for a bit. Until then, hold tight and hang in there.
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