John Kim 
In 2010, the Sneaker News staff brought the sneaker category to March Madness, starting with an all-out slugfest between Air Jordans, Nike Basketball, Air Force 1s, and SB Dunks – with the Air Jordan XI coming out on top as the best sneaker of all-time. Since then, we’ve continued the Madness with two straight Air Jordan categories, so a felt a change was due. Choosing Foamposites for this year’s tournament seemed like the perfect call, andwith Foams evolving from a regional hit to a nationwide phenomenon, it was time for our loyal readers and Foamposite fanatics to crown the best ever. Thirty-two Foam candidates have been narrowed down to two, and we can say with confidence that no other releases since the original year in 1997 deserve to be in the Championship Round than the two featured here. The voting starts now, so take a look below to see why the Royals and Galaxy each deserve to win this coveted title and be sure to place your vote as we near the conclusion of this successful Sneaker News March Madness Foamposite Tournament.
VOTING STAYS OPEN UNTIL APRIL 9th, 11:59 PM EST.
RESULTS WILL BE REVEALED ON APRIL 10th.
VOTING FOR CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND IS AT THE BOTTOM
FINAL FOUR VOTING RESULTS
MATCHUP #1 – The original Royal demands its respect as it defeats the ParaNormans to advance to the Final Round.
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MATCHUP #2 – The Galaxy proves its opponent to be inferior once again as it dominates the popular Coppers to head to the Finals.
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Nike Air Foamposite One “Royal”
This is the shoe that started it all. In 1997, it stuck out like a sore thumb, causing consumers to glance at the shoe with hesitation; it looked nothing like Nike had ever produced before, and it certainly wasn’t priced to be a top-seller, with the $170 MSRP being one of the highest priced shoes for Nike in a long while. The Foamposite was still a hit among hardcore Nike Basketball fans and design nuts, and over the years the Foamposite went from being a cult hit primarily in the DC and NYC area to one of the definitive sneakers in Nike history. The original “Royal” is considered to be the father of this Foamposite craze, and despite the numerous times this shoe has been re-released, it still beat out the limited ParaNormans, which was a heavy favorite to advance to the Championship round.
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Nike Air Foamposite One “Galaxy”
Foamposites had been firmly ingrained into sneakerhead culture, but Nike was ready to take it to the next level. In 2012, Nike Sportswear unleashed the “Galaxy”as part of the 2012 All-Star Pack, and immediately the sneaker sent shockwaves throughout the sneaker community and industry as a whole. Due to the riots and mayhem that went down during All-Star Weekend – all for this shoe – Nike was forced to rework its sneaker release procedures and moved the entire process to Twitter. Copping kicks was no longer a simple in-store purchase – all thanks to this sneaker. Alongside that effect, the term “Galaxy” booked its ticket to the Hall of Fame of sneaker terminology, with the dazzling outer-space themed graphic instantly elevating and sneaker it touched on. The Galaxy steamrolled through the competition as expected, and now it has its first competitive battle as it takes on the Royals in the Championship round.
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