After three weeks of fun, the SN March Madness Sneaker Tournament is down to the illustrious Final Four. With only the winners of each of our four regions remaining, the level of competition is pretty serious going into the final showdowns. In a battle of b-ball juggernauts, the Air Jordan XI will face off against the Air Foamposite One in one matchup, while the infamous Pigeon Dunk goes toe to toe with the iconic white on white Air Force 1 in the other. Keep reading for some analysis on each of the remaining shoes and place your votes to send your favorites to the finals. Polls will remain open until Sunday night at midnight EST, so make sure to get your votes in, and stay tuned for our final matchup on Monday night.
SN MARCH MADNESS SNEAKER TOURNAMENT
FINAL FOUR
[2] AIR JORDAN XI
The Air Jordan XI was a pre-tournament favorite and bonafide championship contender. Originally released in 1995, the Air Jordan XI broke barriers and re-created molds with the use of patent leather, a carbon-fibre spring plate, and a polymer-coated upper. The last three Air Jordan XI releases (Defining Moments, Collezione Package, Space Jam) were all met with unparalled celebration, and future XI releases should expect the same. It is no surprise that the Air Jordan XI had weathered the first three battles with ease, but its Final Four match-up against the Nike Air Foamposite One will prove to be the XI’s first real bout of competition and should go down to the wire.
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[5] AIR FOAMPOSITE ONE
A Nike rep visited Penny Hardaway at his home one day to discuss the future of the Penny signature line. In the rep’s bag of goodies was a peculiar looking shoe; the moment Penny laid eyes on it, he said “That’s the shoe I want to play in.” The Nike Air Foamposite One became an instant classic and was a shoo-in in our selection of Nike Classics. Given the recent slew of special colorways like Eggplant, Dirty Copper, and upcoming Varsity Red, the Foamposite One and it’s surging momentum easily handled two Nike titans in the Air Max 1 and Air Max 90. Despite it’s lower-half fifth seed, the Foamposite was no sleeper; it will face off against the legendary Air Jordan XI in what some might say is the real championship match-up of the Sneaker News March Madness Sneaker Tournament.
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[1] PIGEON DUNK SB
The Nike SB Dunk Pigeon was the lone remnant of the Dunk SB bracket which included eight contenders and just as many honorable mentions. The Jeff Staple designed SB Dunk experienced universal support despite being such a limited item. The release of the NYC-inspired shoe caused absolute mayhem and escalated the camp-out to an unsafe level; Riots, deadly weapons, police intervention, and media coverage resulted from the release event and in turn gave the Pigeon Dunk SB a folklorish aura, living only on computer screens. Despite its top seeding, the Pigeons had no easy route to the pinnacle of the Dunk SB bracket, as it took out arguably two of the greatest SB Dunks of all time; it looks to utilize that momentum against its match-up against its surprising opponent in the white-on-white Air Force 1.
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[4] WHITE ON WHITE
The Nike Air Force 1 in the white-on-white colorway is a classic shoe that has been a footwear mainstay for over two decades. But over the last few years, it had gracefully taken a backseat to make way for newer technology and designs, while some attribute its diminished popularity to it being past its prime. However no other shoe came more ready to battle, as the AF1 in its most recognized colorway brought its old-school gameplan, winning with simplicity and time-tested fundamentals. The white-on-whites pulled off a stunning upset over the #1 overall seed in the second round and blew by the Kaws Air Force 1 in the Elite Eight. As the representative of the Air Force 1 Bracket, the white-on-white Air Force 1 takes on the Pigeon SB Dunk in the penultimate match-up of the March Madness tournament and once again looks to come out on top.
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FINAL FOUR VOTING
FINAL FOUR MATCHUP #1
[2] AIR JORDAN XI vs. [5] AIR FOAMPOSITE ONE
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FINAL FOUR MATCHUP #2
[1] PIGEON DUNK SB vs. [4] WHITE ON WHITE AF1
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ROUND 4 SCHEDULE
THURSDAY 4/01 – ROUND 3 WINNERS ANNOUNCED/FINAL FOUR BEGINS
MONDAY 4/05 – FINAL FOUR WINNERS ANNOUNCED/FINALS BEGIN