Air Yeezy, please

If you haven’t heard about Nike’s Air Yeezy by this point, chances are you’re either older than 40 with no kids, you wear heels or you’ve been in jail the past two years (and even then you might’ve heard of them).

In case you didn’t know, the Air Yeezys are sneakers designed by rapper and producer Kanye West. At first glance they look like something you’d wear to the moon, as they do actually glow in the dark.

West wanted to create something that looked like it came from the past – and it does.

The shoe is a high-top sneaker made somewhat in the mold of Nike’s 1987 Air Assault. It’s equipped with perforated leather and a forefoot fabric strap. It has a “Y” lace lock and a “Ylephant” pattern on the strap. The shoe comes in light gray, black, white and tan.

As you’re reading this, I’m out in Chicago looking for a pair for myself. I think most are sold out at this point, but I’m not giving up hope. The real reason I’m in town is to see West perform at the Chicago Theatre.

The way the shoe has been accepted reminds me of the “Star Wars” phenomenon in some ways because of the lines of people that form for days. Only these aren’t Luke Skywalker groupies, these are bona fide sneaker-heads.

I’ve seen videos of people sitting outside stores all over the country for days just to buy a pair of Air Yeezys, and I can’t say I blame them. I used to think to myself, “Who are these weird people who would wait outside for days to buy something?” But now, I am one of those people.  

When the shoes came out, I seriously thought about driving from my home in Fort Wayne to go to Chicago just to wait in line for a pair. Actually, the only thing that kept me from going was my internship. I had to work, but I even thought about blowing that off.

I knew that it would’ve been going way overboard, but that’s what’s so cool about it. I’ve heard stories of people spending their rent money on these shoes.

It’s like a party atmosphere event once they actually hit the stores and the doors are opened. I’ve seen videos of sneaker stores popping champagne in the middle of the shoe floor like it was nothing. Music blares some of West’s greatest hits from stereos while people dance and celebrate their opportunity to walk around in  their fresh new Air Yeezys.

Both West and Nike should be proud and even bigheaded. It’s not often you see a simple sneaker released with this much fanfare. If there were more pairs of the Air Yeezys made, these shoes might be on that level, too.

I guess this is what happens when the biggest name in pop culture meets the biggest name in sneakers.