The Biggest Sneaker Moments from Fanatics Fest

The world of sports and passionate fandom collided once again for the third annual Fanatics Fest. Unlike your typical sports collectors convention that attracts your usual cast of retired athletes and fans that are close to retirement age, Fanatics Fest is aimed at the younger demographic with stars still in their prime making headlines and going viral. It might not be conceivable to see Tom Brady, Jay-Z, or Livvy Dunne popping up at the local card show at the local hotel’s convention space, but at the annual meeting of the Sports Illuminati hosted by Michael Rubin, anything’s possible.

Past Fanatics Fests have produced a handful of interesting sneaker moments, including James Harden popping up in a luxury car that matches his latest signature shoe drop or Kevin Durant releasing an exclusive colorway of the Nike KD 18. Beyond the premeditated attempts at going viral, the star power of Fanatics Fest means things are just gonna happen organically and unexpectedly. Here’s a look back at some of the more eye-catching sneaker moments from the convention.

LeBron James Debuts The Purple Victor Victor x Nike Air Force 1 Low

LeBron James has waited so long to make a decision that even Adam Silver has made a comment about the delay as the NBA tries to get its upcoming regular season schedule finalized. Since he will no longer be a Laker, he can take as long as he wants and show up at festivals and conventions debuting new colorways of the upcoming collabs, like this purple colorway of the Victor Victor x Nike Air Force 1 Low that reportedly will release late this year. The purple is a little bittersweet since it is Laker colors, but it’s for the best because if he wore any other pair, people would infer it to be a hint of where he’s going next.

The Travis Scott “Secret” Merch Booth

Located near one of the restrooms at the Javits Center was a pop-up Cactus Jack merch stand that was rather lowkey compared to the other activations at Fanatics Fest. Along with the exclusive pieces was merch that’s part of Travis Scott's wider Nike Total 90 collaboration for the World Cup. While that wouldn’t be surprising in any other context, Cactus Jack merch typically can take months to ship after the initial order is placed. In this case, the only people who could have worn Cactus Jack merch during the actual time frame of the World Cup were people at Fanatics Fest who had to take a bathroom break.

James Harden’s Lamborghini Matches His adidas Harden Vol. 10

James Harden and adidas have made a habit of having their superstar show up to events in a luxury car wrapped in the same colorway as his latest sneakers. Fanatics Fest was no different as Harden wore his adidas Harden Vol. 10 Pink Lemonade to match his Lamborghini Huracán. The recently released colorway is one of the most stunning pairs from what has been a stunning run for the Harden Vol. 10 to date. And yet, matching the kicks to the car is somehow more relatable to the average millennial than gifting a streamer with their own player-exclusive.

Kevin Durant Is Disappointed In The Youth

Kevin Durant might not be the most relatable person in the world considering he’s 7-feet tall, one of the greatest pure hoopers of all-time, and owner of a Nike signature shoe line that’s a year away from its 20th entry. But there are times when KD feels just like the rest of us - like when he expresses his love for Call of Duty (he was at a panel for the game while wearing Nike Air Max 95s) - but especially when he lets out an exasperated look as the kids let him down.

At last year's event, as he was about to sit down at the 40/40 Club, which is situated above ground, he signaled to the crowd below that he would sign some items. While he was able to grab a shirt and a pen, a few more items went up in the air including a basketball and the Nike KD 7 in the Uprising colorway at the time. The look on KD’s face as the kids took it too far is not unlike the look he might give a referee after a bad call or his phone when he’s checking his mentions.

Bronny James Shows Off Footy Skills

Now that Pops is moving on from the Lakers, Bronny James has a chance to prove that he is actually a serviceable NBA player who will chart his own path outside of his father’s shadow. But if things don’t work out, he can always give the MLS a chance. While rocking a pair of Converse Chuck Lows, Bronny was at the FIFA activation and he displayed a level of skill that indicates he’s not just some random fan who plays EA FC online. Of course, seeing him on the pitch is worlds apart from Fanatics Fest, but it’s a small glimpse to what could have been.

CM Punk Gaslights Cody Rhodes in Union x Air Jordan 1

Let’s be honest, the build to this year’s SummerSlam has been middling at best. Outside of the Oba Femi versus Brock Lesnar Hell in a Cell battle that will serve as the finale of their trilogy and maybe Brock’s last match, nothing on the confirmed card so far has piqued the interest of the people.

During the SummerSlam Kickoff event at Fanatics Fest, CM Punk and Cody Rhodes tried to inject some life into their feud by doing away with their friendly rivalry and turning it into something darker. Punk, wearing the Union x Air Jordan 1 Black Toe, tried the “little brother” approach to get Rhodes and the fans into a frenzy, but it will be interesting to see if they can keep that going for the next month.

World Record Jump Set In The Reebok Engine A 26

Shaquille O’Neal was at Fanatics Fest to promote his new Dunkman league along with the athletes participating in the competition like Darius “King Dac” Clark. The dunk specialist managed to make history when he broke the vertical jump world record for 53 inches while wearing a pair of the Reebok Engine A 26, the brand’s follow-up to the Engine A that signaled the brand’s return to hoops. Whether or not the record holds up is debatable as the Clark made it with a running start instead of a stationary position, but it is still impressive nonetheless.

Justin Bieber Wears The SKYLRK Matter Daddy Everywhere

World Cup halftime show downer performer Justin Bieber was everywhere in the New York and New Jersey area to remind people of his hold on a segment of pop culture and to promote his SKYLRK lifestyle brand. He was wearing his SKYLRK Matter Daddy sneaker in light blue at Fanatics Fest as he was going through a bunch of challenges like shooting from distance or kicking field goals before hosting pop-up shops for his brand in the city.

The SKYLRK tour continued with an appearance at the first-ever FIFA World Cup halftime show in a light brown colorway of the Matter Daddy that brought the energy down to a half-awake senior citizen as he sang his melancholy hit “Everything Hallelujah.” Should have just been Shakira the whole time.

Dan Marino “Signs” DJ Khaled’s Air Jordan 11 Miami Dolphins PE

Some things are just better left on mute…

The ultra-rare Air Jordan 11 sample in Miami Dolphins colors has been in DJ Khaled’s possession for some time, as he is fond of letting the world know he has one of the few pairs in existence. It took a few years, but he finally got legendary Dolphins quarterback and NFL Hall of Famer Dan Marino to sign the shoes… except he didn’t sign the shoes. At last year's event, Marino signed the cardboard insert of each pair and posed for a picture with Khaled. Maybe that was what Khaled requested, as signing the sneaker might actually devalue them, but most people are going to look at this clip and wonder what both Khaled and Marino were thinking.

Rob Gronkowski Signs A Fan’s adidas Sambas

Fanatics Fest was made for an athlete like former New England Patriots tight end and four-time Super Bowl champion Rob Gronkowski. Whether it’s interacting with fans or participating in all of the goofy events like being dunked in 500 gallons of Raising Cane’s sauce, Gronk was an MVP of the weekend. One moment that will not be lost on sneakerheads was the Hall of Famer signing a fan’s adidas Sambas. It’s unclear if the fan asked their sneaker to be signed or if Gronk did it spontaneously, but it definitely lines up with Gronk’s M.O.

Juan Martinez

From video game journalism to veteran of the sneaker blog era to podcasting about well, everything, Juan is smiling through it all and can't believe this is his life. After recently getting into Formula 1, he now has hot takes about who the greatest driver of all time is. Email: juan@soleretriever.com