Air - 氣墊傳奇

Air (Air/氣墊傳奇) is an 2023 film. Released in the theaters for a short theatrical run before it made its way to Amazon Prime Video where I caught it. The movie stars Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, and Jason Bateman. The supporting cast include Marlon Wayans, Chris Messina, Chris Tucker, and Viola Davis. The story of how Michael Jordan choose Nike, but does not officially make an appearance.

The movie is based in 1984 after the NBA Draft. Nike is currently running as the 3rd shoe company in basketball sales, but leads the country in running shoes. Adidas and Converse are both ahead of Nike in the game and have signed the top NBA players. Additionally, Adidas is recognized as the urban leader. Nike has their budget of $250K to split between 3 guys. Matt Damon plays Sonny Vaccaro, the head of Nike’s NBA basketball talent scouting department. Sonny sees Michael Jordan as a game changer for basketball and wants to bet all $250K on him, including a shoe developed exclusively for him. Sonny must convince Michael Jordan to sign with Nike. Can Sonny navigate through the business and basketball worlds?



As a basketball fan who grew up on the Lakers, I had not really heard of Michael Jordan (MJ) until the Lakers lost to them in the 1991 finals. During the 90s, I say MJ show up all over the place, including SNL. I am a bit sad that the LA market did not broadcast many Bulls games for me to see MJ's early high flying days. But did see him through the 90s on TV a lot more.

The movie itself assumes you know of the legacy of MJ and his impact on the world. With that assumption, the movie is understandable. For my kids, they didn't get it. And they didn't get why an whole shoe endorsement stuff as they do not wear any of that stuff generally. My last pair of Nike's were the Barkley ones that he wore in Phoenix. After that, I have exclusively only worn New Balance since the mid 90s for sneakers.

The movie itself is a great story of a guy who has his sight set on changing the game. To endorse one player and to develop a shoe for him and to name it after him. In 1984, that was not the norm. Nowadays, Air Jordans are in a class of its own.