Shoe Gallery Miami’s Jordans XX3 Finale Release
Photos and Words by David “DRO” Rosario (www.davidrosario.com)

The red searchlights spun around the Downtown Miami skyline and could be seen from afar on the evening of December 23, 2008. The elusive “Finale” (final) colorway of the Jordan XX3’s were on their way to being released at Shoe Gallery. Since news broke about the release, a small group of dedicated sneakerheads made way to Shoe Gallery almost 11 days before the actual release. They set up shop for a camp-out until the sneakers were released on December 23rd. 22 other Jordan brand retailers around the country joined Shoe Gallery in releasing the final colorway of the XX3’s. A total of 529 pairs (23 per store) were sold worldwide, making them ultra-exclusive.

Shoe Gallery always goes far and beyond to treat their dedicated customers right and this release was no exception of that. Red searchlights greeted them and made Shoe Gallery the eye of Downtown Miami on the night before Christmas Eve.

Everyone who got their pair was grateful to finally be able to hold their prize and get to finally…well, go home. The first person in line was proud to be number “one” and Shoe Gallery gave him a few additional pieces of gear on-the-house in a show of their appreciation. It was funny that throughout the 11 days of the camp-out, a few of the people in line worked out a system were they would alternate going home and then come back in line and switch and etc. A great show of dedication mixed with a bit of maturity. With that, see ya next year with the Jordans 2009 coming soon!!

KOBE BRYANT SURPRISES A HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL TEAM. PHOTOS OF THE EVENT AND ADDRESS FOR SNEAKER PURCHASE BELOW.

As you may or may not know, Kobe Bryant recently unveiled his fourth signature shoe, the Zoom Kobe IV last week in Los Angeles. It was said to be the lightest basketball shoe ever, weighing in at 11.6 ounces. Since then, anticipation has been building as it was announced that he would officially bring them on to the court for the first time at tonight’s Miami Heat game against the Lakers.

Immediately upon arriving to Miami, Kobe had made plans in his tight schedule to make sure he visited one of South Florida’s premier high school basketball teams. That being, Dillard High School in Broward. The only catch was that it was going to be a surprise to all the kids.  Dillard High School holds claim to holding Florida’s 2007-08 Boy’s State Championship, as well as four titles in a row from 2001 – 2004. So it was only natural that Kobe would be drawn to speak to the collective.

To sum up the events that took place at Dillard’s gymnasium – the kids didn’t know what hit them. They were going about their usual practice routines and drills, but an onslaught of unusual courtside media and cameras sparked the curiosity of the team. They knew something was happening. And soon enough Kobe stepped in and took the team by surprise. Kobe spoke with the team’s head coach, who after seeing the team run fast towards Kobe – coach jokingly shouted that “if they could only run this fast on the court, we’d be at a real good place this season.” Obviously joking because given their impressive drills ran during the practice we observed, the team seems to be in great shape and doing just fine.

Kobe talked with the kids and the media a bit and talked about his newest sneaker release…and…the widely sought “Venom” colorway. Not only that, but Kobe presented his biggest effort to the kids – an opportunity to design their own free custom pair of the Zoom Kobe IV’s via NikeID. The kids were estatic and couldn’t wait to have their turn at creating their very own pair. The locker room was transformed into a mini-design studio/workshop for the kids to get their creative sides in action.

All in all, it was a great show of character by Kobe to step up and offer his time to these kids. Although it may be small to you and me, this could serve as a great confidence booster to these kids to keep striving to achieve what they’ve always dreamed of achieving.

Photos of the entire event and detailed sneaker shots below…