1982
JORDAN, HIS RELATIONSHIP WITH NORTH CAROLINA IN THREE ACTS
At the beginning of the eighties, a throw done by Michael Jordan made him the champion of the NCAA’s (National College Athletic Association) men’s basketball division and started a relationship with North Carolina that has evolved through four decades and has changed the style of basketball.
March Madness marks the decisive moment in the college basketball tournament, but in 1982 it became much more than just that. North Carolina’s victory over Georgetown brought a player to the limelight, a player known back then as Mike Jordan in an era in which he wore Converse, very short shorts, and there was no three-point line and the shot clock seemed to never end.
Georgetown, the losing team, had been one of the first big universities to join Nike. Their 1972 to 1999 coach, John Thompson, was one of the biggest names in American basketball, and he opened Nike’s doors to universities and the brand responded with special designs. With that throw in the last few seconds, Jordan avoided what could have been one of the first significant wins for a Nike team.
That throw turned Mike into Michael Jordan, a young man that risked a move that rightfully belonged to the star of the team, James Worthy. We all know Jordan’s story, as two years later he arrived at the NBA to change the game and its style with Nike, the brand that he had made suffer.
1989
When Michael Jordan started to take up an important place in the NBA, he asked the Bulls for a change in the construction of the uniforms to lengthen the trousers. In the movie Space Jam, that mixed real stories and fictional narratives, it is said that Michael used to play with his college trousers underneath the official Bulls’ one, and so Michael needed to size up. Even though there are some images in which we see Jordan wear trousers underneath his uniform in his first seasons, the story seems to be more of a one-time anecdote than universal truth. Space Jam can be a fun movie but it can’t really be counted on as a film that can guarantee credibility as it shows Jordan playing against a team of alien monsters. According to other people, Michael was sizing up to hide his legs as they were too lanky. At the same time that Michael was becoming the best NBA player the league’s trousers were increasing in length, adapting itself to a new style.
The college league, which was usually riskier, turned Jordan’s extra-long trousers into a symbol of a new generation commanded by the Fab Five, five players from Michigan who also popularised black sneakers with black socks. Despite not winning any titles, that Fab Five is still remembered for their playing style, but also for their rebellious nature.
1999
Just as Jordan had become an idol, some North Carolina players started wearing Jordan’s as a tribute to a player that had come out of that university. The next step seemed to be quite logical, turning North Carolina into a Jordan university. A process in which new teams were also included and with which they now have Marquette, Houston, Oklahoma or Florida, as well as exclusive designs for Oregon. And, of course, Georgetown and Michigan. A combination of professional and personal relationships that are a nod to history and to Jordan’s legacy; Tex Winter (who used to be the coach to Michael in Chicago and also in Marquette) and old teams of Jordan players like Jimmy Butler, Blake Griffin or the ex-baseball player Derek Jeter (Michigan).
Limited editions, colours inspired by UNC and tributes to coaches with which Jordan remembers his college era.
