words // Zack Schlemmer
With the much hyped All Star Weekend release of the Nike Air Flight One in its original 1994-95 "Orlando" colorway as well as the glow in the dark "Galaxy" edition, this week's Classic Commercial brings to you the original Nike ad starring Penny in his prime discussing what it takes to be great with an ode to his mother and grandmother.
The Nike Air Flight One was Penny's first signature shoe, even though it doesn't officially bear his name. With the recent release of the Flight One, many of us Penny Hardaway fans were thrilled to finally get a pair of the first ever retro of one of his best shoes. The very limited release and battle with resellers surely caused a few headaches and complaints, but with more pairs reportedly popping up now from retailers (Thanks, Eastbay!), a few more of us were able to acquire our pair.
The Flight One was worn by Penny during his second NBA season with the Magic en route to the 1995 NBA Finals. Even though the Magic lost to the Houston Rockets, Penny leading a team to the Finals in only his second season shows how great he was and would have continued to be if his career wasn't cut short due to injury.
"Superstar? I got it made, right? I went from nothin' to somethin' overnight? Well don't believe the hype". In this commercial Penny lets you know that it takes hard work and dedication to become great. An ad like this is refreshing with today's overhyped and overpaid professional basketball players with egos bigger than their game. Penny keeps it real and shows that he remained humble during his rise to basketball greatness.
