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Remembering the And1 Era
I had not realized how quickly this brand had dropped off until I heard their name mentioned in another thread here. Is there now a defined "And1 Era" of general basketball history? What years do you believe it spanned?
Unfortunately, I must admit my And1 days began way back around 1994, when Eastbay used to plug an endless stream of And1 catch phrase t-shirts in every one of their catalogs. Being in 4th or 5th grade at the time, I thought they were neat. So I developed a small collection of shirts like this:
[img]http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_kwo3ptzqyr1qzgajw.png[/img]
On my first day of 6th grade, I beat an overweight (though contentious) classmate in a game of 1-on-1. After game point, I broke into a strut and said something like, "Read the shirt, man. Read the shirt." The back of my And1 tee read: "I'm sorry, I thought you could play."
[img]http://images3.wikia.nocookie.net/adventuretimewithfinnandjake/images/f/f0/Facepalm.gif[/img]
Any thoughts on And1's demise or their once somewhat pretty good empire?
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Re: Remembering the And1 Era
And1 reminded me of stephon marbury. They had an awesome ad that on steph being in the playoffs. It was a big thing that steph was the only top rookie playing in the postseason.
Of course, they were the edgy brand then. Cant remember who else they endorsed. I think what killed the smaller brands was nike and adi buying converse and reebok. Converted them to low-end shoes. Sucks to have the big players controlling the niche market too.
Was monta ellis their last athlete?
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Re: Remembering the And1 Era
I still have some And1 sneakers somewhere.
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Re: Remembering the And1 Era
[QUOTE=franchise#3]I still have some And1 sneakers somewhere.[/QUOTE]
I still wear mine
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Re: Remembering the And1 Era
[QUOTE=gasolina]And1 reminded me of stephon marbury. They had an awesome ad that on steph being in the playoffs. It was a big thing that steph was the only top rookie playing in the postseason.
Of course, they were the edgy brand then. Cant remember who else they endorsed. I think what killed the smaller brands was nike and adi buying converse and reebok. Converted them to low-end shoes. Sucks to have the big players controlling the niche market too.
Was monta ellis their last athlete?[/QUOTE]
Yup, I remember when Marbury came aboard. I was trying to be a trendsetter back then and bought what I believe was one of the first pairs of And1 shoes (in 1997). The top half was white, the bottom black. In retrospect, they kind of looked like extra broke versions of the Jordan XII. Marbury wore them at one point or another but I feel like he had a signature shoe with And 1, and the pair I had wasn't them.
I think one of the real breakthroughs (prior to the mixtape revolution) came when Latrell Sprewell jumped on board. Anyone recall the American Dream ad campaign? [url]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s6DYYh5f2sg[/url]
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Re: Remembering the And1 Era
I watch And1 Mixtape Vol 1 at least once a month. Awesome music, and fun to watch Skip. The good ol' days...
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Re: Remembering the And1 Era
Don't know why people hate on it so much. It's a novelty and it's still going on today. Take it for what it is: entertainment
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Re: Remembering the And1 Era
[QUOTE=neilio23]I watch And1 Mixtape Vol 1 at least once a month. Awesome music, and fun to watch Skip. The good ol' days...[/QUOTE]
That had to be one of the last bastions of exclusivity, as far as mythical video footage goes. I remember short, cryptic commercials popping up here and there, showing a glimpse of some of the nastiest basketball plays I'd ever seen (occurring on outdoor courts via home video). Then I remember hearing the full mixtape was given to only those who bought a pair of And 1's from Foot Locker or something. Some people were lucky enough to have seen it, most not. For someone who did not grow up in a basketball mecca like New York, seeing that streetball footage was a revelation at the time. It was borderline sensory overload in terms of what I thought was possible on a basketball court and what I'd never even imagined.
Of course now, that mixtape would have been leaked to YouTube even prior to the commercial being aired.
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Re: Remembering the And1 Era
I remember buying a pair of $120 Kevin Garnett And 1 shoes...felt like boats on my feet though.
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Re: Remembering the And1 Era
[QUOTE=DaHeezy][B]Don't know why people hate on it so much.[/B] It's a novelty and it's still going on today. Take it for what it is: entertainment[/QUOTE]
Because courts were suddenly full of corny douchebags who thought it was the greatest thing ever to bounce the ball off the defenders head (then proceed to throw an obligatory brick from 25 feet) :lol
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Re: Remembering the And1 Era
[QUOTE=stax]Because courts were suddenly full of corny douchebags who thought it was the greatest thing ever to bounce the ball off the defenders head (then proceed to throw an obligatory brick from 25 feet) :lol[/QUOTE]
Between 1999 and 2004, I guarantee there was a dramatic 30,000% increase in streetball incidents related to or directly involving players attempting to bounce the ball off an opponent's face only to accidentally throw it three times too hard and less off the head and more off the nose, thus resulting in frequent stoppages of play featuring this exchange:
"Dude, what the hell!?"
"Dude, I'm totally sorry. That's not what I was trying to. . ."
"Dude, what were you. . ."
"Dude chill I'm sorry."
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Re: Remembering the And1 Era
[QUOTE=stax]Because courts were suddenly full of corny douchebags who thought it was the greatest thing ever to bounce the ball off the defenders head (then proceed to throw an obligatory brick from 25 feet) :lol[/QUOTE]
And they lost, so what's the big deal. It's not like everygame some And1 wannabe is pulling those stunts.
It's harmless fun. If you're losing to these guys, maybe you Should leave the court
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Re: Remembering the And1 Era
[QUOTE=DaHeezy]And they lost, so what's the big deal. It's not like everygame some And1 wannabe is pulling those stunts.
It's harmless fun. If you're losing to these guys, maybe you Should leave the court[/QUOTE]
Personally, my biggest issue was playing on the same team as those guys, not against them. There's one fellow in particular I remember. He lived that And1 life to the fullest. Completely upper-middle-class, non-urban with no style and limited basketball skill who dreamed he was precisely not what he was. He'd regularly hold 35-second stationary crossover clinics ending with him being forced to pick up his dribble and looking to pass so he could get the ball right back and continue his mixtape exhibition.
We had methods of avoidance. We wouldn't let him bring the ball up the court. We'd try to avoid swinging the ball his way in the course of the offense. But the most frustrating thing I remember about his game were those moments where he'd stumble upon a defensive rebound and he'd eye me streaking into the open floor. In every other walk of life, it'd have been a chest pass and breakaway dunk.
With this guy, we'd make eye contact and I'd already know what was going to happen next. He'd fake the chest pass then opt to cuff the ball and throw a one-handed, look-away, underhand float pass, like he was bowling but with the trajectory of a jump shot. That'd turn my rare chance to dunk into a impromptu game of "500". And if I was fortunate to come down with the rock, it was much too late to make a move to the hoop.
And obviously, true to his kind, he couldn't take any sort of criticism. If someone said anything, the entire game would devolve into some horrible back and forth where he'd then dominate the ball 3 times harder than he did before. You're right though, as horrible as he was to have as a teammate, he was a joy to play against.
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Re: Remembering the And1 Era
[QUOTE=Rake2204]Personally, my biggest issue was playing on the same team as those guys, not against them. There's one fellow in particular I remember. He lived that And1 life to the fullest. Completely upper-middle-class, non-urban with no style and limited basketball skill who dreamed he was precisely not what he was. He'd regularly hold 35-second stationary crossover clinics ending with him being forced to pick up his dribble and looking to pass so he could get the ball right back and continue his mixtape exhibition.
We had methods of avoidance. We wouldn't let him bring the ball up the court. We'd try to avoid swinging the ball his way in the course of the offense. But the most frustrating thing I remember about his game were those moments where he'd stumble upon a defensive rebound and he'd eye me streaking into the open floor. In every other walk of life, it'd have been a chest pass and breakaway dunk.
With this guy, we'd make eye contact and I'd already know what was going to happen next. He'd fake the chest pass then opt to cuff the ball and throw a one-handed, look-away, underhand float pass, like he was bowling but with the trajectory of a jump shot. That'd turn my rare chance to dunk into a impromptu game of "500". And if I was fortunate to come down with the rock, it was much too late to make a move to the hoop.
And obviously, true to his kind, he couldn't take any sort of criticism. If someone said anything, the entire game would devolve into some horrible back and forth where he'd then dominate the ball 3 times harder than he did before. You're right though, as horrible as he was to have as a teammate, he was a joy to play against.[/QUOTE]
You what I did when I played with them?
I yelled: "Quit showboating and pass the faulking ball!"
They cut that shyt out immediately.
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Re: Remembering the And1 Era
[QUOTE=DaHeezy]You what I did when I played with them?
I yelled: "Quit showboating and pass the faulking ball!"
They cut that shyt out immediately.
I[/QUOTE]
Sometimes that might work, but in this case it did not. As I alluded, direct criticism only made things worse. I'd say something like that, then he'd snip back and attempt to freeze me out while I attempted to freeze him out. Then if I made a mistake he'd let me hear about it. Then before you know it, the game has devolved into an unplayable mess. So then the next time, everyone tries to play it cool with that guy for the sake of the game. And eventually, it's just something folks learn to kind of live with to the best of their abilities.
Basically, I'm 6'3'' 170. Nothing I say is going to seriously intimidate a fellow adult on the basketball court. Further, my region was never one that believed in physical street justice, so we're usually left to attempt to solve matters in a civilized manner and often, it wouldn't work well. And1 guys would And1 through thick and thin. It was an uncontrollable tick. It was an addiction. We all had to work through it together.
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Re: Remembering the And1 Era
[QUOTE=Rake2204] It was borderline sensory overload in terms of what I thought was possible on a basketball court and what I'd never even imagined.
[/QUOTE]
Well said. Obviously, it wasn't quality basketball, but it was still really enjoyable. In the 7th grade, I'd watch it daily, and then proceed to head to the courts to play b-ball. Regardless if it seemingly promoted the wrong aspects of the game, it was still the type of thing that motivated me (and I'm sure many other teens) to go to the courts and play ball.
This [URL="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ul-t-tAEvNs#t=1m17s"]play [/URL]still blows my mind. I remember watching this clip over and over, and then practising reverse layups for hours at a time.
Maybe I'll watch it again now ha.
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Re: Remembering the And1 Era
[QUOTE=DaHeezy]And they lost, so what's the big deal. It's not like everygame some And1 wannabe is pulling those stunts.
It's harmless fun. If you're losing to these guys, maybe you Should leave the court[/QUOTE]
Haha I wasn't losing to them, I was losing the will to live watching their antics. :lol
I'm half kidding, I don't mean to sound too negative in the thread. Thinking back now, I did legitimately hate 'clownball' as I called it for a while, but f*** it live and let live, like you say it's harmless fun.
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Re: Remembering the And1 Era
I played with a coworker back in '04 who pulled that **** all the time 1-on-1, except he was really good. It was always fun watching him plow (no homo) our other coworker. The guy always had that "I'm good cuz I'm black" attitude and would always get pissed off when a Mexican guy beat him. :lol
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Re: Remembering the And1 Era
[QUOTE=stax] Thinking back now, I did legitimately hate 'clownball' as I called it for a while, but f*** it live and let live, like you say it's harmless fun.[/QUOTE]
Looking back, I think we can say it's harmless fun.
But it certainly was annoying to see wannabe street-ballers dribble away entire possessions, proceed to play no defence, only to attempt some fancy trick on a 1 vs 5 fast-break. It's the type of thing that drove gym teachers mad!
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Re: Remembering the And1 Era
Do any of you remember the Canadian ballers The Notic? Back when streetball was the shit I was much more into these guys. And 1 became too much of a fixed indoor entertainment.
[url]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zLSRjH1CY9Q[/url]
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Re: Remembering the And1 Era
I watched an And1 game live at MSG, they lost to the NY streetballers. Every time Hotsauce got the ball, everyone stood on their feet and watched to see what moves he would pull off, Do they still play? They used to have the series on ESPN.
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Re: Remembering the And1 Era
[QUOTE=neilio23]This [URL="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ul-t-tAEvNs#t=1m17s"]play [/URL]still blows my mind. I remember watching this clip over and over, and then practising reverse layups for hours at a time.
Maybe I'll watch it again now ha.[/QUOTE]
I knew exactly what clip that was going to be before I even watched. I loved that move too.
However, my watershed moment was a move that used to be on the commercials for HoopsTV.com (if basketball is your religion, HoopsTV.com is your church): [url]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Coa7E3LvHns#t=0m54s[/url]
I eventually ended up taping a special program off TNT called On Hallowed Ground and I'd just watch that clip over and over (and the Vince Carter alley-oop) until my friend stole the tape.
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Re: Remembering the And1 Era
I honestly miss this era. They got people playing basketball again and all of them deserve to be put in the basketball hall of fame.
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Re: Remembering the And1 Era
[QUOTE=RaininTwos]I honestly miss this era. They got people playing basketball again and all of them deserve to be put in the basketball hall of fame.[/QUOTE]
This is why I think Iverson should be put in the basketball HOF. I think AI had just as much, if not more street influence
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Latrell Sprewell used to rock some nice And 1 shoes on the Knicks. Than he switched to Dada. I don't think any NBA player has worn a pair of Dadas since like 2004 :oldlol: :oldlol: Up until a few seasons ago, Monta Ellis used to wear And 1. Now he just rocks Jordans.
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Re: Remembering the And1 Era
[QUOTE=DaHeezy]This is why I think Iverson should be put in the basketball HOF. I think AI had just as much, if not more street influence[/QUOTE]
Ya AI had a ton of street ball influence. He was drafted in 96 and the And1 stuff blew up around 2000.
But, AI will def. make the HOF regardless.
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Re: Remembering the And1 Era
[SIZE="7"][/SIZE][QUOTE=Rake2204]Sometimes that might work, but in this case it did not. As I alluded, direct criticism only made things worse. I'd say something like that, then he'd snip back and attempt to freeze me out while I attempted to freeze him out. Then if I made a mistake he'd let me hear about it. Then before you know it, the game has devolved into an unplayable mess. So then the next time, everyone tries to play it cool with that guy for the sake of the game. And eventually, it's just something folks learn to kind of live with to the best of their abilities.
Basically, I'm 6'3'' 170. Nothing I say is going to seriously intimidate a fellow adult on the basketball court. Further, my region was never one that believed in physical street justice, so we're usually left to attempt to solve matters in a civilized manner and often, it wouldn't work well. [B][SIZE="5"]And1 guys would And1 through thick and thin. It was an uncontrollable tick. [/SIZE][/B][B][SIZE="6"]It was an addiction.[/SIZE][/B] [B][SIZE="7"]We all had to work through it together[/SIZE][/B].[/QUOTE]
:roll: :applause:
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Re: Remembering the And1 Era
and1 was a great era
brought harlem globetrotters type style to new era...without the overt clowning
sort of a logical if delayed extension to the fab five....
the thing was...webber and company could ACTUALLY play, so it was swagger and style on top of SOLID skills..
webber, howard and rose had long careers because they had tremendous fundamental skills
and 1 pushed the swagger/style style above actual skill level....
fooled generation of kids into thinking that tricks were more important than shooting, passing, dribbling,cutting,defending,etc
having said all that very very entertaining to watch
my top and 1 moments
1.Hotsauce and crew went into the projects in Coney Island...playing against future nba player sebstian telfair....and holding a cell phone in one hand..hot sauce drove around 3 defenders and made a layup...he shut down the ENTIRE projects
2. NBA player Mike James or Darrel Armstrong.......got crisss crossed off his feet...by professor... literally fell on the floor during a game
3. the 720....and just seeing air up there do super human stuff
4. very skinny player out of chicago....telling the guys that you can't measure strength by looking at how big somebody is......then he put up 4 plates like it was nothing.....bench pressed 225 lbs super easy
5.Super athlete Spider....thinking he's a world class athlete and stepping in the boxing ring with a real boxer....getting his ass handed to him..but staying in there
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Re: Remembering the And1 Era
I was thinking about this thread last night. I remember one time I was persuaded to join the middle of a pick-up game at my school - so the people on court kind of knew me by reputation even though some of them were casual players - and the very first thing I did was put the ball between my legs, around my back and through the defender's legs, blowing by him in the process, and everyone went crazy haha. Good memories man.
[QUOTE=Rake2204]I knew exactly what clip that was going to be before I even watched. I loved that move too.
However, my watershed moment was a move that used to be on the commercials for HoopsTV.com (if basketball is your religion, HoopsTV.com is your church): [url]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Coa7E3LvHns#t=0m54s[/url]
[B]I eventually ended up taping a special program off TNT called On Hallowed Ground and I'd just watch that clip over and over (and the Vince Carter alley-oop) until my friend stole the tape.[/B][/QUOTE]
Wow I forgot about that! I remember trying to find it online (pre-YouTube) but no luck.
I've also been thinking about some of the other 'media' from the late 90s:
[IMG]http://i.imgur.com/sFToJ.jpg[/IMG]
I once did a portrait of Earl The Goat (based on John Huet's photo) for a school art project, circa 1998-99. :oldlol:
[IMG]http://i.imgur.com/hhoM9.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://i.imgur.com/OwcjP.jpg[/IMG]
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Re: Remembering the And1 Era
[QUOTE=Rake2204]
And obviously, true to his kind, he couldn't take any sort of criticism. If someone said anything, the entire game would devolve into some horrible back and forth where he'd then dominate the ball 3 times harder than he did before. You're right though, as horrible as he was to have as a teammate, he was a joy to play against.[/QUOTE]
This is how I'd imagine the Wizards players felt about Arenas.
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Re: Remembering the And1 Era
I don't miss the gameplay, I miss the shoes and t-shirts.
Back then they actually had innovative and good looking shoes.
I've had 2 pairs and both of them were excellent. One of them I'm still wearing for outdoor courts - and1 taichi.
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Re: Remembering the And1 Era
Wearing some And 1s right now.Probably gonna get the monta ellis shoes too.
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Re: Remembering the And1 Era
[QUOTE=Rake2204]I knew exactly what clip that was going to be before I even watched. I loved that move too.
However, my watershed moment was a move that used to be on the commercials for HoopsTV.com (if basketball is your religion, HoopsTV.com is your church): [url]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Coa7E3LvHns#t=0m54s[/url]
I eventually ended up taping a special program off TNT called On Hallowed Ground and I'd just watch that clip over and over (and the Vince Carter alley-oop) until my friend stole the tape.[/QUOTE]
Hoops tv was a shitty website. Skip to my Lou Mian Event and Black Widow was the only thing i remembered from the And-1 mixtape series.
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Re: Remembering the And1 Era
[QUOTE=DaHeezy]This is why I think Iverson should be put in the basketball HOF. I think AI had just as much, if not more street influence[/QUOTE]
Yeah, and you know... He was an MVP, 11 time all star, is 17th on the all time scoring list, 12th all time in steals, and was consistently one of the best players in the league for a long duration.
But his street influence is why he belongs in the HOF.
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Re: Remembering the And1 Era
[QUOTE=Rake2204]Sometimes that might work, but in this case it did not. As I alluded, direct criticism only made things worse. I'd say something like that, then he'd snip back and attempt to freeze me out while I attempted to freeze him out. Then if I made a mistake he'd let me hear about it. Then before you know it, the game has devolved into an unplayable mess. So then the next time, everyone tries to play it cool with that guy for the sake of the game. And eventually, it's just something folks learn to kind of live with to the best of their abilities.
Basically, I'm 6'3'' 170. Nothing I say is going to seriously intimidate a fellow adult on the basketball court. Further, my region was never one that believed in physical street justice, so we're usually left to attempt to solve matters in a civilized manner and often, it wouldn't work well. And1 guys would And1 through thick and thin. It was an uncontrollable tick. It was an addiction. We all had to work through it together.[/QUOTE]
Any idea what came of the guy? Prison? Good job?
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Re: Remembering the And1 Era
It was not a good era at all. I remember guys doing the same moves over and over and over until they finally passed the ball. Eventually you learn the pattern and knock it off their hands. But I don't care how nostalgic some are here, it was horrible basketball.
I remember complaining last year that I would go to the playgrounds and all I saw were kids shooting 3 pointers and 30 footers, and celebrating big time because they hit rim. I'm glad I'm not seeing that this year, so hopefully that's not the new era.
This year I'm seeing the kids moving the ball around.
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Re: Remembering the And1 Era
[QUOTE=jstern]It was not a good era at all. I remember guys doing the same moves over and over and over until they finally passed the ball. Eventually you learn the pattern and knock it off their hands. But I don't care how nostalgic some are here, it was horrible basketball.
I remember complaining last year that I would go to the playgrounds and all I saw were kids shooting 3 pointers and 30 footers, and celebrating big time because they hit rim. I'm glad I'm not seeing that this year, so hopefully that's not the new era.
This year I'm seeing the kids moving the ball around.[/QUOTE]
I'll break your ankles than pass the ball, that's ball movement!
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Re: Remembering the And1 Era
[QUOTE=jstern]Any idea what came of the guy? Prison? Good job?[/QUOTE]
I think he ended up putting on a fair amount of weight and becoming a cook. It's not like he was some dude I was physically afraid of though. It's just I'm not an intimidating person myself, so there's never a lot I can do about someone being a jerk on the basketball court besides getting into verbal altercations, ultimately trying to make the best of it, then talking about it years later on a computer forum.
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Re: Remembering the And1 Era
[QUOTE=jstern]It was not a good era at all. I remember guys doing the same moves over and over and over until they finally passed the ball. Eventually you learn the pattern and knock it off their hands. But I don't care how nostalgic some are here, it was horrible basketball.
I remember complaining last year that I would go to the playgrounds and all I saw were kids shooting 3 pointers and 30 footers, and celebrating big time because they hit rim. I'm glad I'm not seeing that this year, so hopefully that's not the new era.
This year I'm seeing the kids moving the ball around.[/QUOTE]
You are silly, you can't blame and 1 for that shit. Those guys stressed values of hard work and working on your fundamentals before trying that stuff, I remember main event preaching on that topic. You have to be very skilled to do those moves and people will always want to take shortcuts and go for flash instead of substance for almost anything related in life. How are you going to blame And 1 for people being dumb?
Here are the positives, And 1 got kids playing basketball and got kids outside in an era where all they did was play video games.
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Re: Remembering the And1 Era
i was a big professor fan.
[IMG]http://static.tumblr.com/9zmye4n/KqYl41pov/the_professor_and1.jpg[/IMG]