NBA And Popular Culture: The Jordan Jump Man Logo/Brand
In this paper I will be dissecting and analyzing my pop culture artifact which is the Jordan jump man logo/brand. The Jordan brand was first introduced by a 21 year old Michael Jeffrey Jordan through signature Air Jordan shoes released in 1984 (Inside access, 2014). Before we begin to understand the impact of the Jordan brand, it is important to understand the origin of the creator of this cultural fashion brand. Born in Brooklyn, New York, Michael Jordan was the youngest of three brothers. He attended North Carolina University where he proceeded to start making noise by winning multiple awards and scoring a game winning shot to win the 1982 NCAA championship (Dodds, 2016). The part of Jordan’s life that he is most well recognized for by society is his NBA career. After being drafted by the Chicago bulls in 1984, Jordan went on a tear and averaged 28. 2 points per game as a rookie. To put that to perspective, an NBA all-star (top 20-30 players in the league) averages around 20 to 25 points per game. Jordan was extremely talented and athletically gifted with long limbs and huge hands. The basketball world had never seen such a phenomenon at such a young age. He carried on to consistently dominate the league, win 6 NBA championships (2 ‘three-peats’), and many other honors (MVP, Hall of Fame, etc. ).
However, Jordan being the greatest NBA player of all time is only just a secondary justification of why the Jordan brand is such a popular and acclimated source of fashion and athletic wear in society. The primary aspect that transcended the Jordan brand to future popular culture (beside Jordan himself), was the aspect of a black athlete signing with the titanic of athletic footwear and apparel company that is Nike. This led to the creation of the Jump man brand, which is a section of Nike which advocates Air Jordan apparel. The iconic jump man logo will be immortally recognized as a part of pop culture for its history and cultural significance. I have followed the NBA and all the outstanding athletes that have left their mark on the game since a young age. I never got a chance to witness Michael Jordan due to the difference of generation and era, however his immense influence is still felt through the narrative of the NBA. All players, commentators, and reporters talk about Jordan as if he is a god compared to the current generation. Even though I have only seen highlights and interviews, I tend to lean towards supporting and buying Jump man apparel. Not because of the highlights, but because of the mass culture in the certain demographic of basketball that chooses to support it. This quantitative approach of how many people choose Jordan’s Jump man over Adidas or Puma has a high influence on not only me but all basketball fans/society. This is a prime example of ‘Hegemony ‘in terms of the basketball society. According to “Gramsci (2009)”, the “term 'hegemony' to refer to the way in which dominant groups in society, through a process of 'intellectual and moral leadership' (75), seek to win the consent of subordinate groups in society. ”(Storey, 2012).
In the artifacts case, the previous generation of Jordan specialists continue to be the dominant group of society (hegemonic) that win over the current generations loyalty. My little brother grew up watching the NBA and has begged for Jordan shoes. This shows me that mass culture easily manipulates us (not just me) and we choose to be part of whatever the current popular culture is. Although it is manipulative to see every other NBA player and fan wear a pair of Jordan shoes every day, the Jump man symbol to me is more than just an athlete’s dominance over the sport. My Artifact is a symbol that can relate to multiple social relations and is proof indirectly through its origin and creation. Jordan’s brand was not only the beginning of a new NBA culture, but more importantly it was a stepping stone to sponsorship and assimilation of African Americans athletes into the basketball culture (Rise of the NBA). Michael Jordan was the first modern African American athlete to be signed by a major company like Nike. “His meteoric rise in the advertising industry showed that black athletes -- even those that played a city sport such as basketball -- could indeed rise to the top of the pop-culture world” (Lomonico, 2013). The NBA was a sport that was quickly declining had Jordan not arrived. He revitalized the league and created an enormous fan base. If you watched the NBA then you were a fan of Michael Jordan, to put it simply.
The league revolved around Jordan and his brand ‘Jump man’, therefore the brand quickly became a popular culture within the sport of basketball and its fan base. Although Jordan’s era is long gone, his brand symbol has become the origin of all athlete (of all races) relations with multimillion dollar companies. Many African American NBA stars today have followed in Jordan’s footsteps and have contributed to the exponential growth of the sport of basketball. A well-known example of this can be LeBron James; along with a global following he has carried on the essence of Jordan by maintaining popular culture of basketball through his partnership with Nike and exceptional role in societal issues (equality). Michael Jordan’s brand has symbolized the upper echelon of basketball apparel since the beginning of the modern basketball era. It provides the basketball world with a brand that represents the pinnacle of excellence, and continues to be promoted as the highest class of apparel.
All things considered, the Jump man logo continues to be symbolized as a highly ranked icon (in terms of athletic clothing) that basketball society desires to represent and support, all while its history of breaking racial barriers within the NBA, and its ongoing role of equality for all athletes is what established its dominance early on. The artifact targets mainly two types of basketball fans; the adult fans and the youth. Representation of the Jump man logo brings immense forms of stimulus to the fans that can acquire it however the inflated prices of Jordan can easily boycott a mid-lower class population (mainly youth). All the modern era basketball fans grew up hearing the phrase “be like mike”. The phrase was more than just a call to follow Jordan’s path of ultimate NBA success, it is a symbol that people are willing to work harder for and pay extra for. Not to mention, the shoes and apparel bring a kind of fashion approach to basketball that has always been invigorating in the sense that it brings that same stylish yet chill aura that was associated with Michael Jordan. Although the icon is expensive, in a way the expensive, high qualified and global brand instills a kind of loyalty. This up-to-date fashion and loyalty reinforces Jordan brands deep roots and high class within the NBA culture.
Nonetheless, the Jordan Brand has always boycotted itself from lower income class of fans. This can easily be seen as an indirect yet slow process of diminution of the fans loyalty carrying on. With the immense rise of stars and the creation of their own signature apparel, many varieties of price ranges have been fostered. This causes continuous challenges as the number of fans are increasing and so are the options of affordable brands, thus causing possible boycott with future generations. Even though the Jordan brand challenges and reinforces relations of power in the NBA simultaneously, its origin and roots constantly help reinforce its importance as a founding popular culture. The Jordan Brand has for many years served as popular culture in terms of sports, but recently has become a part of high culture.
Williams Shakespeare’s poetry was known to be “popular theatre” in its time, and now serves as the “epitome of high culture” (Storey, 2012). What started off as an art of basketball culture revival, is slowly being recognized as high culture within societal athletics. Recently Jordan Brand and popular French soccer team, Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) collaborated to create sportswear that represented the Jump man icon. The 19 year old PSG forward Kylian Mbappé expresses, “They’re beautiful, so I’m proud to wear them,” and, “For me, it’s an honor to be able to wear these shoes. It’s the quality that matters […] it’s an exceptional opportunity to present Jordan in Europe and the whole world. ” (Storey, 2012). The Jordan Brand has become such a notable icon due to high culture in basketball and America that it has begun to influence athletes and organizations from other sports across the continent. With the collaboration/ support of PSG and its athletes as a stepping stone, the jump man icon can greatly widen its area of interest. Its original point of domination remained to be Basketball and the NBA for decades, but now can migrate to new sports. Not only will these cause a collateral growth in pop culture of sports in general within society, but it will ensure to put the Jordan Brand on a steady path towards global recognition and high culture. ReferencesBrumfitt, S. (2018, July 24). NBA and Popular Culture | Jordan, Kobe and LeBron in London.
