From the Vault: Air Jordan 1 Mid "Old Love/New Love" Pack

From the Vault: Air Jordan 1 Mid "Old Love/New Love" Pack

Looking back at one of Jordan Brand’s first two-shoe releases, and how it was way ahead of the current Jordan 1 Mid trend.

Matt DeSciora

After Michael Jordan’s second and last retirement from basketball, Jordan Brand needed a way to keep sneaker collectors interested in Air Jordan shoes. The brand would continue to produce new Jordans with innovative performance technology, but without its namesake endorsing them in the NBA, it would have to be creative with the marketing of its releases. One thing Jordan tried and ultimately succeeded at was introducing a storytelling concept to the collection. The Air Jordan 1 Mid “Old Love/New Love” pack from 2007 are pioneering colorways that offer a look into Jordan’s personal life beyond basketball.

Dubbed the “Beginning Moments Pack,” the “Old Love/New Love” are a tribute to MJ’s passions: basketball and motorcycle racing, the latter a hobby he picked up post-retirement. The “Old Love” looks to the original Air Jordan 1 High “Black Toe” for inspiration while the “New Love” is informed by the team uniforms worn by the professional motorcycle riders on the Michael Jordan Motorsports racing team. The “Beginning Moments Pack” was originally released on April 21, 2007, and was the first two-pack release since the Air Jordan 6/11 “Defining Moments Pack” from January 2006.

Like the “Defining Moments Pack” the “Beginning Moments Pack” came in a double-stacked, slide-out box with an era-specific insert booklet. The retail price was $200. Yes, back in 2007, you could purchase two, brand new Air Jordan 1s at once from Nike for less than a new Air Jordan 11 from the brand in 2022. Inflation!

Another interesting quirk about the Air Jordan 1 Mid “Old Love and “New Love” is the embroidered Jumpman on the heel. Uncommon today, the branding was actually found on many Jordan 1s released in the 2000s. But if we’re being honest, the extra logo wasn’t well received by some hardcore collectors who preferred to have their Jordans look as “OG” as possible. The Jumpman was ultimately removed from the Air Jordan 1 in the early 2010s.

But the signature branding was proudly on display on the back of the “New Love’s” first-ever standalone release in 2017. A release that many sneaker collectors, including this one, see as the conduit for the Jordan 1 Mid’s explosion in popularity in recent years.

Inexplicably, Jordan Brand has yet to bring back the Air Jordan 1 Mid “Old Love” in spite of the mid-top shoe’s surging popularity. And old school, original Air Jordan colorways have never been more popular. Although the “Old Love” isn’t an OG release, it looks a lot like the modified, mid-top Jordan 1 “Black Toe” that Jordan wore in his rookie season. We’re hopeful that 2022, the 15-year anniversary of the “Beginning Moments Pack,” will be the year Jordan Brand re-releases the “Old Love” or heck, the “Beginning Moments Pack” in its entirety.

Shop the Air Jordan 1 Mid “New Love 2017” and all Air Jordan 1 Mids at Stadium Goods.