It's Gotta Be the Shoes, Right?

Posted: Thursday, April 05, 2007 7:00 AM by Jaclyn Levin

(From Dan Barbossa, TODAY Associate Producer)

I remember growing up playing basketball and wearing converse all-stars, no joke! They had zero ankle support and barely any sole on them, but hey if they were good enough for my hero at the time Pistol Pete Maravich when he was my age then they were good enough for me.

Times are different today of course, I have sold out since then and purchased my share of Jordan's, I mean they were cool and still are cool and everyone was wearing them. Sure my mom was a little apprehensive about buying me a pair of $120 sneakers when I was 14 and would grow out of them in a year, but hey she wanted to make her first born (and favorite) son happy. I mean what mother wouldn't.

This brings me to the story we did today on Stephon Marbury's line of shoes and clothing, Starbury. WATCH VIDEO His new Starbury II shoes came out on April 1st and cost $14.98. Yes $14.98. Now let's just take a moment and compare that price to "hot" basketball sneakers available in stores now:

-The latest Air Jordans, the XX2, retail for $175.
-Allen Iverson's Reebok Answer X Pump Basketball Shoe runs $124.99.
-Lebron James' The Zoom Lebron IV from Nike costs $99.99.
-Carmelo Anthony's shoes, the Jordan Melo M3 cost $115 and
Converse has Dwayne Wade's, Wade 2.0 that go for $99.99.

So what makes the Starbury II's much cheaper than these brands? Is it the quality? No, cut down the middle they are all essentially the same shoe and the shoe has credibility as Stephon wears the shoes in all the games he plays in. Well then what can it be, because it just sounds too good to be true right?

Is it greed? Is it the fact that parents will pay over $100 for a pair of their child's favorite basketball players' shoes? I don't have an answer for you.

What's special about the Starbury shoe line to me is that ANYONE can buy them. I mean a kid who gets an allowance or has an after school job can afford to buy the shoes themselves without their parents help. It's a social movement that is giving kids a quality product, endorsed by a guy who knows how hard it can be for a parent to get a kid those pair of shoes that he/she wants.

To quote the basketball analyst Dick Vitale, who when asked about the NCAA March Madness tournament why there were so many upsets, "Parity, Parity, Parity."

This shoe and the how it so accessible to everyone hopefully will bring parity to the basketball sneaker niche, where even a Cinderella can have a "cool" quality shoe for a reasonable price.

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Comments

I sure wish these had been available back in the 80's when my sons were in high school. Shoes were a "status symbol" then and are now as well. As a single parent, I struggled trying to keep up. These shoes I'm sure are a God send for alot of parents.

B. Norman, Alcoa, TN (Sent Thursday, April 05, 2007 4:17 PM)

My husband and I are senior citizens and we would love a 15 dollar pair of shoes. Where are they in Las Vegas?

Alice Peters (Sent Thursday, April 05, 2007 4:38 PM)

Where can I buy a pair of those, my grandson would love a pair. God bless you something I can afford. live in Las Vegas.

Arlene Jaron Las Vegas Nevada (Sent Thursday, April 05, 2007 4:46 PM)

info on this story should have included where these shoes can be purchased. only steve and barry's can be seen, and being a resident of Georgia have never even heard of this store. also, no info on their (Steve &Barrys) website on ordering these shoes....why report a national story if the sales are only going to be regional?

V Morris (Sent Thursday, April 05, 2007 5:14 PM)

Yes yes yes. Parents,GrandParents Aunts Uncles. this is your chance to speak with the all mighty Dollar. Buy Buy Buy. Basketball began with a peach basket, a large ball. That does not sound like an expensive start. What happened?

Janet Sandonato, Sun City, AZ (Sent Thursday, April 05, 2007 6:38 PM)

Janet Sandonato, Sun City, AZ (Sent Thursday, April 05, 2007 6:39 PM)

My boys (6 &10) both purchased a pair of Starburys for the last basketball season for $15.00 each at Steve and Barry's. Both pairs of shoes look like brand new after the first season. My older son asked for another style of Starburys for Christmas and all shoes look like new. He wore them through winter outside and they clean up better than any other shoe I have seen. We've owned Puma, Converse, Adidas, Nike and just about every shoe and these have been the best, hands down! We purchased the Starbury uniform (jersey and shorts) and what a value. (I should be getting paid for this advertisement) What a great thing Mr. Marbury has done. Thank you!

Jeff Bakunowicz, Wisconsin Rapids, WI (Sent Thursday, April 05, 2007 6:57 PM)

By selectively quoting from Ralph Nader's letter to LeBron James, Celizic's TODAYshow.com piece made it look like Nader was only giving praise to Stephon Marbury and Steve and Barry's for affordable shoes, but ignoring the likely use of sweatshop labor in their manufacturing. This is irresponsible reporting. Here's how that part of the letter actually reads: "[Marbury] has challenged the entire basketball sneaker industry, in part, to present inner-city kids with an affordable (yet still stylish and well-made) alternative to the $150 shoes that you and others endorse. That Marbury's shoes, produced by Steve and Barry's, are made in China suggests it is likely they are manufactured under sweatshop factory conditions, given that independent trade unions are illegal in China. Hopefully Marbury's efforts toward positive change will soon lead him to address worker's rights as well." Read the full letter here: http://www.leagueoffans.org/4lebronletter.html

Shawn, Washington, DC (Sent Thursday, April 05, 2007 7:14 PM)

I am very excited about these shoes. I have two sons and paying 150 for each breaks our bank. I agree with Teena D'Annibale, Shippensburg, PA who said just say no when you can't afford, but it is wonderful that now I can give them something they like and they feel good about wearing it. I hate peer pressure, but the fact is it does exist, so the shoes are a blessing. Debbie in Cosmopolis, WA

Debbie Myhre, Cosmopolis, WA (Sent Thursday, April 05, 2007 7:42 PM)

I was never a big Marbury fan but thats change;I have no words to describe how much admiration I feel for him now not only as a great player that he is but as an humanitarian that he has become with a move like that.What goes around comes around I wish Mr. Marbury the very best all thru his life.

Arnaldo (Sent Thursday, April 05, 2007 7:50 PM)

What can you do when your child asks for $150 shoes? Say no! All four of my children have played sports; their performance has not been negatively affected by wearing cheaper shoes. When we mindlessly spend our money on name brands or hot brands we are teaching our children to be shallow and greedy. While I am impressed with what Mr. Marbury is trying to do, I take issue with the idea that the other high end name brand shoe companies are taking advantage of consumers. These companies can only charge what consumers are willing to pay for their products. If consumers are silly enough to consider a swoop or any other brand insignia worth twenty times the cost of a less well known brand shoe, then they should pay it and quit complaining. No one forces us to by those shoes! Mr. Marbury can offer his shoes at a much cheaper price because the reality is that most basketball/athletic shoes are made in the same locations and of similar materials. The only difference is the trademark symbols or designs. You the consumer are paying for the 'coolness factor' when you shell out big bucks for most name brand tennis shoes.

Renee P (Sent Thursday, April 05, 2007 7:58 PM)

Great effort in the part of Stephon! I was just wondering if Steve and Barry are thinking of exporting these shoes to other countries as well.

Gerson, QC, PI (Sent Thursday, April 05, 2007 10:11 PM)

WOW :) Thank you for coming out with such a wonderful idea. Mr. Marbury here in Fayetteville North Carolina we have a non profit organization called TEENS DO CARE INC. and what we do here is help children that do not have the means to do sports, modeling, singing or anything that we can do to keep them of the streets. This gives us the opportunity to get then shoes for a game that is going to be going on in May. God bless you and everyone that is helping you. We need positive roll models like you to guide our youth. Thank You very much :)

Juana Fernandez Fayetteville, North Carolina. (Sent Thursday, April 05, 2007 10:43 PM)

I just have to say that I am heavy into the shoe culture but I refuse to pay more that 40.00 for a pair of shoes. With that being said, I am a fan of both Shaq's Dunkman line and Stephon's Starbury line. I own several pair of both lines and so do my children. NICE SHOES AT A NICE PRICE!!

31 Year OId Father of Three, Houston (Sent Thursday, April 05, 2007 11:20 PM)

Great man, great idea, great shoe! Bless you Stephon, Bless you! More NBA Players need to get on board with Stephon Marbury & Ben Wallace and start wearing the Starbury shoes!

Arthur J, Killeen , Texas (Sent Friday, April 06, 2007 12:30 AM)

Remember the documentaries you have seen about the markup on clothing in this country? This man has eliminated the 2000% markup, which shouldn't have been there in the first place, but he is still using overseas child labor. Common sense! There isn't any way a pair of $15 shoes can be produced in America. So some other child is making the $15 pair of shoes you are buying for your child. Not real fair, is it?

Bonnie Dudley, Batavia IL (Sent Friday, April 06, 2007 3:32 AM)

Hi, I just want to say that I always watch your show (I'm in my senior year of college) when I wake up in this morning but I was a bit disheartened because unlike most kids/adolescents/adults (what am I?!?) I do not have a mother (she died form cancer when I was 16) and the segement about having a special partership with mom for life made it seem like one is a nobody without a mom as his/her other half. Also, I don't have an active dad to compensate for having no mother and while this segment was all right for those with active mothers , you sould at least in the same episode of "Today" have featured some kids without mothers or with deadbeat mothers because they are out there contriary to sterotype. So please, this upcoming Mother's Day I hope you remember people without mothers.

Victoria Leonard, Schenectady NY (Sent Friday, April 06, 2007 8:14 AM)

STEPHON AND BEN I WOULD LIKE TO THANK YOU BOTH. YOU ARE THE TRUE DEFINITION OF A SUPERSTAR.AND YOU ARE IN IT FOR THE GAME AND NOT THE MONEY, YOU BOTH ARE GIVING BACK TO ALL COMMUNITIES LIKE EVERYONE SHOULD. I BOW TO THE BOTH OF YOU GREAT MEN.AND IT JUST GOES TO SHOW YOU THAT YOU CAME FROM VERY GOOD PARENTS ,WHOM TAUGHT YOU VERY WELL. HATS OFF TO YOU.

MS. E KOKOMO,IND (Sent Wednesday, April 11, 2007 11:42 AM)

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