The Daily Jordan: Air Jordan II “Countdown Pack” – 2008

The Air Jordan “Countdown Pack” releases of 2008 paired many classic J’s, and brought back one in particular that hadn’t been seen at retail in over 20 years.

When the Air Jordan II/XX1 pack released on April 26, 2008, it did so without much hoopla. Sure, the black suede and red trimmed XX1 was very well executed and a clean colorway but the quiet Air Jordan II, with its very white upper and scant red accents, didn’t exactly elicit camping lines nationwide. Which is a shame. This is an historic shoe, the shoe Michael Jordan wore for Bulls home games during the 1986-87 NBA season – the season he burned everyone with a career-high 37.1 points per game average and exponentially expanded his ability to take over games at will.

But like silt in a riverbed, time has a way of silently covering up certain products from the 1980s. Things that were incredible when they released and then one day you forget they ever existed. Like Cracker Jack cereal, Teddy Ruxpin, and these Jordans. Alas. Air Jordan II was all but erased from existence until the White/Black-Red colorway retroed in 1995, then forgotten again until the next retro in 2004, then forgotten again until the Countdown Pack in ’08.

White/Varsity Red returned as a retro a second time in June 2014 and sold out many popular sizes through the weekend, a testament to sneakerheads’ slow but steadily growing appreciation for this co-founding father of Air Jordan signature shoes.

Many Air Jordan 2s in White/Varsity Red can be found for great deals these days. This pair, for instance, can be had from the_rube_of_all_trades on eBay.