Kicks

There is a particular type of experience, in which you become aware of an opportunity of great interest, only too late to do anything about it. I've had such an experience before, more than once. It's kind of like amnesiatic deja vu for me, I guess, because I can't recall offhand what was involved in previous instances, but I know what I'm dealing with tonight.

I'm not really sure why, but lately I've been reading a lot of NBA (basketball) related articles, rankings and lists. Back in the 90's, I was an obsessive fan, but these days my hoops dabbling is occasional at best. Anyway though, tonight I was reading about the NBA in the 70's, which got me to thinking about the ABA (American Basketball Association) which then tripped my mind to the great Nike Roswell Rayguns commercial from 2002. The Rayguns being a fictional ABA team populated by then-current NBA players, most notably Vince "Dr. Funk" Carter. Great high-concept commercial, and being a graphic-design enthusiast, I have always loved the Rayguns' logo:

So, I did a bit of googling to see if there had ever been any Rayguns merchandise. Lo and behold, I came across this article, dated January 24, 2013. Last year, Nike released a set of Rayguns-themed retro shoes. So very recent, and yet I sensed before even checking...so far away. The market for collectible basketball shoes is insane. The going prices are certifiable, and I have yet to become wealthy. It may not have even made a difference had I not been a year too late, but I still felt like a cruelly twisted victim here.

(Just to note - I'm joking in my use of words like "cruel" and "victim" - this is intended purely in good fun. May pain is real but knowingly ridiculous.)

But because I'm a glutton for punishment, I subjected myself to an eBay search. Among many listings of unsurprisingly pricey kicks, I find these beauties:

NIKE BARKLEY POSITE MAX PRM ALL STAR 2013 RAYGUN AREA 72

That's not the actual pair listed in the item, but it's the same model. Wild, mesmerizing color scheme. There are two pairs left in my size, Buy It Now for $334.95. A sane person would shake their head and move on with practical resignation. But I actually passed a moment considering the possibility of spending money that I don't have to buy this, something that I absolutely don't need.

And here's the kicker (pun intended! as always) - I would literally wear them. Keeping a pair of great shoes locked away in a hermetically-sealed vault is counter intuitive to me. It would be like recovering the bodies of extraterrestrials from a crashed ship and storing them underground, public denials and all. These babies need to walk some streets.

I love interesting, limited-edition or deluxe things. I love aliens. And there is a nearly-forgotten part of me that never completely died, that longingly drools over cool basketball shoes. These kicks are all of those things in one, and I want them so bad that it almost hurts. That's so pathetic, but it's true. If I were a wealthy man, I would buy a pair and wear them on a UFO pilgrimage(s). Just one of those things that I would get a kick out of doing.

Also, I've been listening to Dido's No Angel album while typing this, because the song "Here With Me" was what played over the credits of the WB show Roswell. I should probably make a playlist for that UFO pilgrimage. That'd be cool.