We Hung With Victor Cruz to Kick Off Foot Locker's "Week of Greatness"

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Complex Original

Image via Complex Original

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It's the most wonderful time of the year in more ways than one for sneaker aficionados right now. That's because starting this Saturday, the folks at Foot Locker are kicking off the third annual "Week of Greatness."

When we were invited to the launch event last night at Clyde Frazier's Wine and Dine restaurant in New York, we pounced on the opportunity to see what Foot Locker has in store for the 2014 Holiday Season. After all, we were curious to see how they could possibly top their Mike Tyson-starring campaign of a year ago.

For starters, Foot Locker brought in New York Giants wide receiver and noted sneaker enthusiast Victor Cruz to host the event. Cruz, who recently covered Footwear News sneaker issue, was still rocking a pair of Air Jordan 6 Retros despite his leg injury sustained last month. In sitting down with the Super Bowl champ, we found out that his performance shoe of choice is the Nike LeBron 12. When asked what his favorite colorway of the shoe was, Cruz explained his affinity for the NikeiD platform and that, of course, he uses New York Giants blue and red when designing his 'Brons. Also, for those of you wondering, Cruz told us that his leg is "doing better."

When it came time to debut the follow up to last year's classic "Week of Greatness" commercial, Foot Locker dropped the bombshell on us that there would be four different spots this time around. An immediate hush came upon the room, as everyone eagerly awaited to see how Foot Locker could possibly outdo themselves from a year ago. The silence soon turned into raucous laughter, as premier athletes like Manny Pacquiao, James Harden, John Cena, Derrick Rose and Tim Duncan turned in fantastic comedic performances in the spots. Once again, Foot Locker knocked it out of the park.

Image via USA Today
Image via USA Today

Once the speeches were made and the commercials were aired, it came time to peruse what everyone was there to see: the footwear. The Air Jordan 6 Retro that Cruz was wearing were one of a dozen or so prominently featured selections at the event. Kicking off the performance releases set to drop during the "Week of Greatness" will be the Nike KD7 "Lightning 534." Dropping on November 25, the New York-inspired shoe pays homage to the iconic Empire State Building nighttime imagery. On November 26, Nike will follow up the KD7 with another entry into the Kobe 9 Elite series. This "Hyper Crimson" colorway of Mamba's ninth signature shoe is said to get its inspiration from Kobe's unmatched strategic basketball IQ. Rounding out the performance releases will be the Air Jordan XX9 "Infrared 23." Set for a Black Friday release, these Jordans figure to be prominently featured on the NBA hardwood during the holiday season due to their festive colors.    

All in all, it was pretty much a night of greatness appropriate for kicking off an entire week of greatness. Check out Foot Locker's star-studded "Week of Greatness" 2014 commercials below.

Stephen Fiorentine is a freelance writer from Long Island. He loves his New York Giants and Yankees, as well as Cool Ranch Doritos. Follow him on Twitter.

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