POP! That’s what the Nike Air Penny II does the moment you see them. They pop; they stand out; they warrant a double take. In my travels, I’ve found there are only two classes of thought when it comes to Anfernee Hardaway’s second signature shoe: 1) Love, 2) Hate. Whichever belief you subscribe to, there’s no denying that it’s a unique piece of footwear.

The wavy, foam midsole will either offend you, or captivate you. The 3M trim around the laces will either look out of place, or be the perfect contrast to the wild design. These shoes walk that fine line between being genuinely different and trying too hard to be different.

ANECDOTE TIME! (Nice transition, right?). Penny Hardaway made me love basketball when I was a kid. Here I was, a born and raised New Yorker who liked the Knicks but still wore a royal blue Penny Hardaway jersey because I admired his style so much. It was love at first sight with these sneakers, in this exact colorway, when they released in 1996.

Down the block from my junior high school, De La Salle Academy, was an Athlete’s Foot on W. 96th and Broadway. At the end of each school day, I was Roald Dahl’s “Charlie” and these sneakers were my chocolate bar. I’d walk into the store, admire them, and sort out my bargaining chips to convince my mother I needed the shoes. She listened and nodded, but being the expert negotiator she is, she countered and came up with a strategy to make me wait a little longer.

Purchase day finally came. We drove to the Athlete’s Foot where I knew them to be on a Saturday afternoon, and the black colorway was gone. Sold out, the store worker said, no new shipments expected. Well, I couldn’t leave empty handed. Being 13, I thought if one store was sold out, then they all were. And I couldn’t run the risk of suggesting a citywide manhunt for them, because how patient could I expect my mother to be?

So I compromised with myself. I still walked out of that Athlete’s Foot with the Air Penny II in a box, but in the White/Atlantic Blue colorway. The sneakers were still loved dearly and worn with passion, but I could never get over the pair that got away.

Until now. (Nice dramatic conclusion, right?)