Jordan Brand knows how to do it big. After arriving in Miami and being taken to the Fontainebleau in Miami Beach, we hopped on a yacht from the hotel to an undisclosed location somewhere in the heart of Miami. White walls, red mood lighting and the portraits on the walls were closeups of the next shoe in the legendary Air Jordan line: the Air Jordan 2010.
We're escorted into this room where above the stage with two stools and a white podium (with the AJ 2K10 shrouded in secrecy), is this steam/fog cascading with a light shining through it and the Jumpman logo illuminated. For all the media that were hand-selected to be here, we weren't allowed to take any pictures or video, so I'm trying to paint you a picture. Basically, it was sick.
As I sat front row and center, the anticipation was starting to build. Was Michael Jordan himself in the building? What about Dwyane Wade, the newest member of the team? The place was swarming with secret service-looking guys in black suits, so for all I knew President Obama was going to come out and unveil the new J's.
The two also wondered what would happen if they had played in the same era:
"I think Mike retired the year before I came in the League... strategically," said Wade laughing.
"He thinks he can beat me, but I know I can beat him," said Jordan. "It wasn't meant to be. I wanted to play Jerry West and Elgin Baylor, but never had the chance."
If we're putting the Jordan-era Bulls, who had a number of other superstar players, against Today's Heat ...well, we'd have to take the Bulls. Sorry, Wade.