In recent years, we have seen quite the superstar line-up wearing this slightly obscure tennis sneaker from the ‘80s, so which shoe did Travis Scott and LeBron James actually wear? It’s the Nike Mac Attack!
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But let’s rewind for a second and make us comfortable in the idea of living in the ‘80s, “Take on Me” and “Africa,” that kind of ‘80s, with fluffy hair and the looks you nowadays see at ‘80s parties. Of course, rap took over too, but we at SNS have already talked about ‘80s hip hop at any chance we get, therefore, it’s “Tainted Love.” Ok, now we have set the scene. Enter: John McEnroe. Tennis bad boy number one that makes Nick Kyrgios look like Swedish Birthday mornings, a fun platter with a flag on it. Some might not know that besides that he was born in Germany, John was a Nike head, a Swoosh-loving racket swinger that won Wimbledon in his beloved kicks from Oregon. In those years and decades, tennis was dominated by fun and cleaned-up players, so it was quite fun when John McEnroe became a superstar, even though swearing, cursing, and showing his emotions were part of his daily on-court behavior.
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In addition to that, white sneakers were dominant on the tennis courts and still are today, so it was a statement when John McEnroe showed up in his semi-signature sneaker, the Mac Attack, which was mainly grey-ish. The shoe was only released in one colorway in 1984. Mind-blowing by today’s standards to create a shoe and don’t even bother to make more colorways. Well, that was the ‘80s. And please remember, signing McEnroe to Nike was new and risky but also the blueprint of what Nike was about to start; in that way, John was a groundbreaking experiment that checked all the boxes and paved the way for athletes that weren’t your grandma’s favorite poster boy. Apropos poster boy, maybe one of John’s most famous advertisements was with Nike, reinterpreting James Dean’s Rebel Without a Cause image.
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Let’s get down to the juicy stuff. The Nike Mac Attack never retroed, re-released, and never had multiple colorways; it was a one-time thing! That’s it. Again, unthinkable in today’s sneaker world, and maybe even back then, but that was just it, a snapshot in the tennis sneaker world that got its closest almost-retro release in the Nike Manor from 2012. Crafted with a leather upper and featuring mesh elements for improved breathability, the Mac Attack had a ¾ high collar and a Light Silver/Black colorway.
Until now, there is still no word on any retro release, so how LeBron James and Travis Scott have gotten such a pair in perfect condition is almost impossible, leaning towards the possibility that a retro was planned and produced but never made it to the market, or, that the Mac Attack storm is slowly approaching. Who knows.
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