Why the Hate Against Mids?

We can always see that the sneaker community has 2 type of people in it - those who are involved
for the culture and those who are a part of it just for the hype. And some of them are a mixture of
both! The perception of a sneakerhead regarding shoes can differ and they are affected by many
reasons. The Air Jordan 1 High was first released in 1985 and is considered as the “king” of
sneakers. It is the most respected silhouette because of the sneaker’s history and cultural
significance. The Air Jordan 1 Mid first came out in 2001 and the time gap between both releases
had an impact on the respect the sneakerheads held for the Mids. For all the people in the sneaker
community, the Mids seemed to lack in nostalgia. They didn’t have any historical or cultural
significance too. The Mids seemed to be a last effort by the company to make a cheaper silhouette
with the classic OG colourways. The community thought that the AJ1 Mid completely removed the
barrier of exclusivity.

Not The Air Jordan High -
The ultimate reason why the Mids are hated could be because it’s not the Air Jordan 1 High. It is
quite obvious that the sneaker heads would choose a sneaker which holds more value. Another
reason is that even though the Mids and Highs look quite similar, the material of the high tops is
way better than the Mids which are made with low grade leather or materials like suede and nylon.
The sneaker community’s expectation from this sneaker is what really hit their sales. They expect
this shoe to match the quality of the high tops, however we know that isn’t possible.

(IMAGE 1)

Easy to Cop -
The Air Jordan 1 Mids are very easy to cop even at retail prices. They rarely get sold out
immediately after being released and are still available in stores. That’s why many people think its
not necessary to pay a price above retail. Thus, mainly resellers don’t plan on keeping such pairs
because they make minimal or no profits. Since the Mids have less hype, collaborations and history,
resellers don’t hold much value for it. And these days, a significant number of sneaker heads are
resellers themselves, so they choose those pairs which they can flip. Then the Air Jordan 1 Mid
often gets left behind.
Influence of the Sneaker Community -
The hate or intolerance towards the Mids had started a long while back, however with social media
taking over, the hate has spread much faster. Many people in the sneaker community want to find
ways to blend in with the rest of the crowd, thus, even if they don’t have any personal dislike
towards the shoe, they will hate against it just because everyone else is. The hate of many sneaker
heads towards Mids is not based on any valid justification rather only on everyone else’s opinion
towards the shoe. This has made the Mids a common victim to this problem. This system acts as a
discouragement for the people to purchase the shoe they actually want.

(IMAGE 2)

Lack of Hype -
Many modern day sneaker collectors usually try to follow trends. Even if the sneaker doesn’t have
historical significance, many pairs are brought for the sole reason of hype. Very soon, sneaker
collaborations were introduced where famous people from different industries became a part of the
sneaker world. The prices of such sneakers reached crazy high prices and because of the famous
names attached to the pairs, a lot of people entered the trend of collecting sneakers. These collectors
don’t purchase mids just because they aren’t hyped. The reputation of the Mids was ruined because
there weren’t enough collabs and the pairs didn’t have any special colourways.
Do the Air Jordan 1 Mid really deserve all this hate? As a personal opinion, I don’t think they do,
because they are truly worth the price you pay. The quality might not be the best, however it is
much cheaper as compared to the high tops. For any person out there thinking to start a sneaker
collection, this would be the perfect buy for it’s price. And the hype for this silhouette could easily
shoot up if Travis Scott or Off White releases a Mids collab. Those pairs would be sold out within
seconds. In conclusion, don’t let anyone else dictate your taste, cop which pair pleases you thr
most!