This weekend's "Space Jam" Air Jordan 11 release is a sneaker that means different things to people of different generations. For the younger crowd, it's another chance at the frenzy-inducing 2009 edition of the same shoe. Older sneakerheads cherish it for its role in Space Jam, the 1996 movie that made the footwear famous. Among that crowd is Eric Lichtig, who had the good fortune to be an extra in the movie while he was in high school.
According to Lichtig, part of the movie was filmed near his school. A classmate of his knew the director, Joe Pytka, and used that connection to get an introduction to Michael Jordan.
"[Pytka] introduced us to Michael-freaking-Jordan. I was seriously in awe," Lichtig told Sole Collector. "MJ was really nice and shook our hands. He had an assistant following him around and carrying his stuff, along with a pair of white/black Air Jordan 9s. I totally stole Jordan's Gatorade off his chair."
Lichtig said he and his friend spent a week watching the filming. His friend's connection with the director paid off even more when Pytka introduced them to a Nike rep on-set, who gifted the boys Air Jordan 10s and Air Max 95s.
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