With its intricately stitched, paper thin upper, to its exaggerated, air-brushed midsole and heel forefoot Low2Ground airbags, the And1 Franchise Mid is my favorite shoe of all time (The Air Jordan XX3 is a close second; more on them on Monday). I’ve always had an affinity for footwear, but the Franchise forever changed how I viewed sneakers. To this day, I’ve never seen a design more deliberately provocative, yet righteously eloquent. You dig what I’m saying?

Back in October of ’07, before the official release of the shoe, three sample pairs were being auctioned off on eBay. One seller was negotiating away a white/orange pair at a starting price of something like $9.99 (I think the auction ended at like $15.00). They were a size 14, and I had just purchased a pair of a3 Superstar Ultras from Steve, so funds were low. I ended up letting the joints pass me by, figuring I’d see them again. More than a year and a half passed until I laid eyes upon them. In the interim, I ascertained the sneaker was a player sample for Phoenix Suns journeyman Jumaine Jones, and added six pairs of the Franchise to my quiver. But I did indeed find them this summer. My pair is still a size 14, (Jumaine’s size) and I ended up paying three times the original ’07 auction price, but it didn’t and still doesn’t matter. I’ve been on the detective tip for nearly 20 months, impersonating Sherlock Holmes, looking and searching for the pair…And I finally got ‘em!