His Name is Al Harrington. He Sells Sneakers.

Driving around New York City on Sunday afternoon, passing by Madison Square Garden while the New York Knicks were north of the border getting beat by the Raptors, I saw an enormous banner that nearly caused a shock based accident. Here I am, minding my own business, listening to a youtube-produced blend of a Natasha Bedingfield and Notorious BIG song (sounds idiotic, but it's actually a banger), and there it is, hanging down the length of the Garden: a full length picture of Al Harrington, pimping his new shoes. Why even mention this here? Don't most athletes, especially basketball players, have their own shoe deals? Yes, of course they do, but this is quite different on several levels. First, and most obviously, he's Al Harrington. At 29 years of age, he's been in the league for 11 years, played for 4 teams, and has averaged an extremely pedestrian 13.5 points per game over the course of his career. Suffices to say, he has to be one of the more average, non-descript, uninteresting players to get his own shoe line in recent memory. But, beyond that, what's interesting is the shoe itself, and where it's being sold. No, not at Foot Locker, or Champs or Finish Line or any of those places. The Protege is available only at K Mart. More shocking than that--the price, at only $34.99. OK, where do I begin. Let's take a look at the shoe before we make any judgements. I'd say, not bad. It's offered in black, and in at least one other style. So, not bad. For 35 bucks, certainly doable. At least when you compare it to the Starburys... Similar colors, granted, but these are clown shoes. And, though it is hard to beat a 15 dollar pair of kicks, you get what you pay for. Many people I've talked to that got duped into purchasing the "NBA player's" sneakers tell me that they're uncomfortable. For 20 more dollars, you'd have to think Big Al's are a bit nicer on the feet. The other issue I have to bring up with Harrington's sneaker is how he got to be the face of the line. There's no way anyone at K Mart came to him and said, Al, we've been waiting for you to reach the level of mediocrity that you've sustained now for 11 years, and we're finally ready to reward you with your own sneaker line. On the other hand, did he go into them with the idea? Who knows. It is a great thing though. Recession or not, basketball sneakers costing 75, 100 dollars is absolutely insane. Who ever came up with the idea of having Al Harrington sponsor these sneakers, I say to you, strange choice, but great idea.