Converse NCAA Friday Flashback: Elevate

The year is 1997, everyone knows about the Bulls winning another Championship. Something you may not know is that the first Harry Potter book was released. I didn't know this, but I also haven't read any of them so this may not be news to anyone but me. Also in 1997 in a completely unrelated event Converse entered the new season with a new basketball sneaker called the Elevate.

Converse NCAA's Friday Flashback:

Converse Elevate

There were a few different colorways of the Elevate, but I could only find these. Brevin Knight, Bobby Jackson, Ben Wallace, Bobby Phills, and others laced these up at some point in the 1997-98 season. The Elevate featured React Jucie in the heel and the use of the ghillie lacing system.




Another interesting feature below is the diamond outsole which goes back to the Chucks. As you can see the design was set up really well for some nice colorways and Player Exclusives.

So I tried really hard to find some pictures, but I had to go to gettyimages, so please excuse the stamp, I haven't paid for a membership yet. Stamps aside, you can see in the first three pictures the late Bobby Phills sporting the Elevates pictured above. Then in the last picture you can see Ben Wallace in the white/black colorway.

Well that's all for today, It's getting really close to 3000 hits and I think we're going to make it, but if can please spread the word. Thanks again for reading and enjoy your weekends, I'll see you on Monday.

Converse NCAA's Weapon Wednesday Mike Giant Sample

Hello one and all to Converse NCAA's Weapon Wednesday. I am going to jump right into today, a few months ago the first pics surfaced of Converse collaboration with artist Mike Giant. You can find a report here from Hypebeat. One of the shoes in the collection is a Weapon Mid featuring black patent leather. You can see this Weapon directly below.

You can also purchase this Weapon over at Overkill Shop. Mike Giant is an artist that seems willing to try anything and in this case he brought his talents to some of the most legendary Converse ever. Below are what appears to be some samples to an unreleased version of the Weapon. Now I can't confirm that these are Mike Giant Weapons, but the appear to be in line with design and color scheme of the other Weapons.

Oh, I almost forgot big ups to hlwxpno1 from taobao for serving these up for auction.

Alright, well that's it for today. NBA season is going to be on us really soon so I am hoping to have some more info on who some of the new Converse players are. There hasn't really been that much talk about shoe contracts for the upcoming rookies, for such a deep class this I wouldn't have guessed that it would be that way. So by team picture day we should have a better idea, safe Chris Bosh last year, what a shame. Anyway, enjoy the rest of your weeks and I'll be back on Friday, thanks for reading and I'll see you all then.

Jack Purcells, sort of.

Good Monday to you all. Before I get to today's topic I just want to let everyone know about a new goal for the blog. I really want to get over 3,000 hits by the end of the month, this seems like a reachable goal, but I just wanted to ask anyone that enjoys this blog to tell you friends.

So I figured I've been doing this for a few months now and I can't recall ever doing anything Chucks or Jack Purcells. So today I want to dive into some Jack Purcells, well sort of. Below are three different shoes from the Jack Purcell line. I've only seen these on Converse websites outside of the US and on auction sites from China and Germany. So at best these haven't made it here yet or they could just be samples. Either way it's pretty interesting to see the expansion of the JP line, I mean I love the Dance Slips and all, but they're just not for men. There is another model out there, but I can't find the pictures I saved anywhere. They're probably on my computer back home, oh well someday.

The first shoe appears to be similar to an old training or running shoe. I don't really like the big Jack Purcell in the middle of the shoe, but it could just be because it's just new and seems out of place.



The shoe below is a little more casual, but still features the familiar smiling toe cap and stitching that makes them Jack Purcells. White/Pink, White/Navy, and White/Lime, these are very simple and clean colorways. I would really like to see these someday soon.

The final model is a little more of a traditional look for Jack Purcells. The outsoles and toe cap seem to make these look really fast. The Grey/Green is a nice colorway, but it really seems to come alive in the White/Yellow/Navy.


Well that's all for today, I am still upset about not finding the other pair, basically they made use of the heel tap triangles and put them in the mid sole. Okay, so that sounds weird reading it, but I have no better way to describe them, so I hope to locate them soon. Thanks for reading and come back Wednesday for more. Tell all of your friends, thanks again.

Converse NCAA's Friday Flashback

So I got up this morning and found a game from 91 playoffs between the Bulls and the Celtics. As I watched Parish, Mchale, and Bird take it to the Bulls I can't help but remember the days when Black and White Converse were as much a part of the Celtics as not having a Celtics dance team....oh wait. Regardless of recent changes, there aren't any current Celtics wearing Converse, at least at the end of last season. It just seems wrong that there isn't a Celtics player wearing Converse, hopefully this will change soon.


Converse NCAA's Friday Flashback

Converse Wave Conquest

While I don't have that many pictures I did find some interesting shots of the Wave Conquest, a shoe in the early 90's that featured Converse Energy Wave technology. Below are Robert Parish and Larry Bird game worn versions.

That's all for now, I hope I can find some more pictures of these. Thanks for reading and enjoy your weekends.

Converse NCAA's Weapon Wednesday

Great few days around these parts as UK pulled out a close game against U of L and we're ranked for the first time in 23 years, yep right after I was born. With a win like that people are finally talking about UK, which is good, except we play Arkansas this week. Oh well, this isn't a football blog, this is a Converse blog. In fact it is Wednesday so it's a blog about a Converse Weapon.





These are some samples again from TaoBao, but there is something about these that I might actually like. I can't put my finger on it, maybe it's the design in the with the light blue/green. I don't know, if these are coming out or not, but I actually hope they do. Anyway, not a whole lot for today I've got to start studying for a math test tomorrow. Anyway, thanks for reading and check back on Friday for a flashback.









Thanks, hlwxpno1 for the pics.

Converse Century Update. Myspace is your friend.

So, no joke literrally two minutes after I posted earlier I came accross a promo video for the Converse Century campaign. Added to Converse Century it says "Go Ahead. Disrupt the Status Quo."



http://myspacetv.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=15719404



click over here to see this truly amazing video, it's on myspace so I am not sure how to get up here. Thanks

Converse Century

If you're a frequent visitor to this site then you know that 2008 marks the 100th year of the brand. I've been trying to figure out what they would call this upcoming year. Converse 100 or 100 years of Converse were options I suppose, however it's looking like they will be going with something different. I was on the newly designed Converse Singapore website, and I noticed some interesting stuff.

One is a new basketball shoe shown at the beginning of the flash, it's a few shoes in but don't click on anything until you see it. The other interesting piece of information comes from the links section. Once you click there you'll notice a sign proclaiming 08 and the Converse Century.

From there I decided to get a little crafty. Turns out ConverseCentury.com is registered to Converse Inc. I've also seen part of the logo on www.conslive.com. However I can't save the picture there either. I am working on finding one I can post here. However, it does look like Converse Century will be the tag line for 2008 and the 1ooth year of Converse.

Thanks for reading and check back for pictures of the logo.

Converse NCAA's Friday Flashback

Welcome to Converse NCAA's Friday Flashback. It's been a big week here in the Bluegrass as everyone is very excited for tomorrow's football game with the Cards. Game starts at 7:30 and is going to be on ESPN Classic. Often times I am critical of ESPN, but they may have gotten this one correct. So in honor of the big game I thought I'd share a little Kentucky Wildcat Blue and White with everyone today. Now I know it's not actually Wildcat blue, but it sure isn't Red/Black/Yellow. I don't hate Louisville, in fact I think it's great for the state and football here, but just this week I do.

Converse NCAA's Friday Flashback

Converse All Star Basketball

I am also coming with a basketball shoe this week, I felt like it had been a little while. So these are basically just a Chuck Ox, with the Chevron and Star and some different stitching. However, I really feel like less is more here. It's very simple, clean, and to the point.

I just can't get enough of the Chevron and Star, so nice.

Well not a lot to say this week, since these aren't my shoes and I know very little information about them. Well if you're not in this area you should check out the game tomorrow night at 7:30 on ESPN Classic. Thanks for reading, have a great weekend.

Converse NCAA's Weapon Wednesday

So I've always been told that Black and Brown don't mix, unless they're on the same shoe. I am not sure I believe that either so when picking out dress shoes I tent to be sold black or brown kinda of guy. With that being said here are the Weapons for this week. A more subtle design than last week's. This sample Weapon is mixing browns and blacks like the Patriots do with great players and cheating.

I am still a fan of this colorway, but I'd probably rather have something in all browns. Something like....

Now that's more like it. Anyway I am not sure if either one of these will drop, so keep your eyes peeled. Alright I am out like Greg Oden's rookie year, thanks for reading.

Converse Articles

Well good Monday to you all. Just a few updates here. Over the weekend, the 2000 hits mark was passed. So thank you all very much for checking out the blog. I don't really have much for today other than a few links to some Converse articles . The first two are on Marquette switching over to Converse. This was the first article that I saw. Then a few days later a smaller article showed up here.

Then this morning I found an article about the growth of the brand. It's pretty interesting, check it out here. Also I found an article about Converse Japan working with an American doctor to develop a "barefoot" shoe, here. It sounds great, I just hope it finds its way here.

Alright well sorry for the short update, but I am supposed to be writing a paper for an Anthropology class. Anyway thanks for reading and I'll be back on Wednesday.

Converse NCAA's Friday Flashback: 84 Olympics

Team USA's Gold Medal performance in the American games and therefore qualifying for the 2008 Olympics in Beijing has inspired me. Not in the way that Miracle on Ice inspired me, but still. So for today's Friday Flashback I thought I'd go 1984 Olympics on you.

Converse NCAA's Friday Flashback Presents:

Converse 1984 Olympics

The first two pictures (above and below) come from my collection while the others come from eBay.

I must also say that there is a difference between the two different pairs. Mine actually have LA84 in gold on the Chevrons. However in the pictures below you will not see the LA84, from reading the description on the eBay auction these shoes were samples for the Olympic Committee. Minus that little detail the shoes appear to be identical.

One feature I really enjoy in this shoe is the sweeping toe cap. In the pictures above and below you can get a good look at what I am talking about. I like how it carries over to the sides of the shoe and connects to the sole.

Below is a picture of the outsole of the shoe. It's nice and simple, but I really love the use of the Star in a Square logo. This one is in the late 70's early 80's with sharper edges for the square and the star.

The use of the Olympic logo on the heel tap and tongue is very nice touch. Everyone once and a while you'll find a pin floating around on eBay with this same design. Converse was one of the official sponsors of the 1984 Olympics in LA.

Finally below is a look at the inside of the tongue the committee tag.

I am working on getting some more pictures from Magic and Bird's dream team shoes so maybe by the time Team USA takes the court in Beijing I'll have some more. Thanks for reading, and enjoy your weekends.

Converse Showtime

A few weeks ago I showed a yet unknown Converse shoe. Since then I've found new pictures of a different colorway. I've also found out more about the shoe. It's called the Converse Showtime. These shoes along with other Converse models are featured in the lasted KICKS magazine, published by SLAM Magazine. These shoes are are also for sale over at Converse.com. I am pretty sure that they're just 65 bucks. One of the best features on The Showtime is the use of the "The First School" Slogan. Anyway here are some more pictures below, thanks for checking out the blog.

Converse NCAA's Weapon Wednesday

It feels like a really long time since I've updated things here. I took Monday off and therefore missed a lot. So I may try to update tomorrow night before the Friday Flashback, but we'll see. However, I wanted to get back into the Weapon Wednesday format today. I mentioned a few weeks ago that I had found a bunch of Weapon Samples on TaoBao.

Based on this first picture of the sample card this Weapon is or was planned to be a Journey's exclusive.



I was going to actually link to the auction but I can't find it now. So I want to thank "h l w x p n 0 1 " for posting all of these amazing Weapon Samples.

This Weapon features 3 shades of green and some royal blue in the toe cap.

Now I have no idea if these Weapon's will actually be released. And I am not sure if I would rock them or not. At this point though I think I would wear just about any Weapon. There should be some Core Weapon's like Chucks, JP's, and One Stars that are always produced, that being said any time a Weapon comes out I am always excited.

Alright well I hope you enjoy this little update. I know there wasn't a lot of content today, but there will be more to come. By the way, sometime today or tomorrow we'll get over 2000 hits, which is just awesome. So thanks again for checking out the blog, please keep it up and tell your friends.