The Daily Jordan: Air Jordan VI/XI Defining Moments Pack – 2006

Where were you in the early hours of January 28, 2006? A good guess would be that you were feverishly refreshing your browser to get the Air Jordan VI/XI “Defining Moments” pack to load, so maybe just maybe you could add-to-cart and navigate your way through the server. The DMP, as it was colloquially known at the time, was among Jordan Brand’s first batch of packs to drop, and it honored Michael Jordan’s first and fourth NBA title wins with gold-kissed versions of Air Jordan VI and Air Jordan XI. The significance of each model was that Jordan wore the VI to win his first ring – huge milestone – and the XI to win his first ring of the comeback second three-peat run.

Priced at $295, the DMP provided you with both exclusive sneakers in a matching commemorative, slide-out double box, with a fold-out brochure detailing the significance of the release. Which you really only got to read if you were fortunate enough to know somebody that knew somebody or else made it through that server gauntlet online. As you might imagine, there were horror stories about trying to procure this pack. You name it – everything from select stores selling their tiny allotment to employees with nothing to offer waiting crowds, to only a couple packs hitting certain spots, to Eastbay overselling and directing reps to call customers personally to explain that the order they thought they had on lock wasn’t going to happen after all. And remember that by 2006, sneaker fans hadn’t sniffed an Air Jordan XI Mid retail release since the 2000 and 2001 retros. Strong hunger for the patent leather classic had built up, even to the point that many of those who secured a pack then sold off the VIs to put toward another pair of the XIs being peddled on the resell circuit.

You can still find split packs and whole packs on eBay, just make sure you’re armed with between $1000 and $3000. But just think – with Jordan Brand bringing back retros of retros like the Air Jordan 5 White/Metallic Silver and Air Jordan 4 “Oreo,” maybe there’s a chance the DMP can come back for an encore in the near future. Sans release day hassle, please.