Though “His Airness” Michael Jordan has not put on a jersey in three years, the popularity of collecting Air Jordan shoes continues among teens. Strolling through the hallways, students can be seen sporting the latest in shoe styles from Birkenstock loafers to Nike cross trainers, and from Reef’s flip flops to Pumas. But by far the biggest shoe fad among male teens at WJ are the Air Jordan brand shoes which debuted in 1985.

WJ students such as senior Michael Rahimi is like other students in that he persists in collecting the line of Air Jordan shoes. Rahimi said, “Growing up on the streets of Seattle, Washington, I began sporting Jordan’s as a youngster. As a kid, I knew I had to start a trend, and as you can see I took on the challenge with great ease.” What many people wonder though is if the guy has been retired for three years, why are kids still shelling out hundreds of dollars for his shoe. Well, for Junior Tyrell Rollins, the retros have historical and stylistic value. Said Rollins”I like Jordan’s because the best basketball player of all time wore them.”

While teens think it’s fashionable to sport the Air Jordans, coming up with money to purchase the expensive shoes can create a dilemma. The shoes, especially shoes released this spring/summer such as the retro 13’s at $149.99, the 20’s at $174.99, the retro 10’s at $124.99, and the soon to be released Dub-Zero’s $149.99, are expensive shoes and can take a long time to save up for. Freshman Garrett Gillin said. “Since Jordan’s are expensive, I have a job which allows me to get as many shoes as I want, no matter what the price is.”

For Air Jordan shoe lovers, this summer will be an exiting one. Nike will re-release the retro 10 cool blue’s on June 11, the new Carolina blue Dub Zero’s on June 18th and the all black retro 10’s on July 10th. Students like Rahimi have been anxiously awaiting the re-release of the summer line of shoes. “I am looking forward to getting the limited edition retro Ice Blue X’s, and Retro White/Dark Green XIV’s just for a WJ shout out.”