When you hear about the Philippines, a few things come to mind. The first is Manny Pacquaio, the second is the disproportionate number of Instagram models that you follow religiously who claim to be at least part-Filipino and the third is our (yeah, I’m one of them) love of basketball. There’s been videos, books and countless think pieces about our obsession with the sport, despite our lackluster performance in international competition. When Andray Blatche might be the greatest Filipino (no, seriously, Blatche is one of us and it took a presidential declaration to make it happen) to ever lace up for the national team, that might be an indicator of how far we have to go.
But regardless of our record against the best in the world, we still have a passion for hoops that is second to none. We love basketball like America loves football. And it’s because of that love that Nike has really made the country one of their top overseas priorities. So whenever you hear news about Nike athletes making their yearly Asia trips during the summertime, you can bet that the Philippines is going to be one of the critical stopovers. Especially when Kobe Bryant is one of the headliners.
The Black Mamba’s ties to my motherland run strong. Ever since his days as a rising star with adidas, Bryant has been establishing a connection with the Filipino people that is not unlike the bond he has with his fans in Los Angeles. While he does a lot of the typical clinics and exhibitions that all visiting athletes do, his inquisitive mind that only recently has come to light here in the U.S. (the muses and out of the box influences) was in full display even at a young age. You don’t see LeBron or KD dressing up in our traditional barong attire and doing a Tinikling dance, but here’s Bryant back in 1998 doing the damn thing…
Filipinos will line up like a bunch of sneakerheads lining up for a retro if it means they will catch a glimpse of their heroes, but with Bryant, it’s a little bit more. While we never got Michael Jordan because Nike wasn’t really into doing those tours until late in his career, we got the next best thing and Mamba seemed to genuinely give a sh*t whenever he came to Manila. We loved having him as much as he seemed to love being there. So instead of paying homage to the Mamba, we were the ones being honored last year when Nike dropped the Kobe 8 Philippines Pack, a timed exclusive collection of team bank colorways. For a brief moment there, the Philippines was the center of the sneaker world as Pinoys and everybody else in the U.S. were furiously making calls to relatives back home to see if they can cop a pair.
It wasn’t a guarantee that Nike would go back to that well once again with the Nike Kobe 9, but imagine our surprise when they did and it turned out to be more than any of us could ever imagine.
Designed by Nike’s Erick Goto (who happens to be half-Filipino), the Nike Kobe 9 EM “Philippines” brings together so many elements of Philippine culture that touches not only our love for the game but our spirit as a hardworking, yet quirky, nation. From the busted tsinelas that we play on even though they feel like retros to the jeepneys that are the heart and soul of our tough transportation system, it is a far cry from even the great special edition kicks that Pacquiao used to get before a big fight. This was Nike saying “thank you” to our country. Sure, a greater way of saying “thank you” would be not to price it like a PRM release, but we’ll take it. It is one of the best Kobe 9s ever made and I’d say that even if I wasn’t a Filipino. Maybe… and yes, doing this write-up makes me feel like an a-hole because I don’t have a pair
Images: Nike | The Associated Press | Locker Room Legends
The post #KoFBestOf2014: The Nike Kobe 9 EM “Philippines” Is A Love Letter To Pinoys Everywhere appeared first on KicksOnFire.com.
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