Nice Kicks: Enough about Grant’s shoes. Honestly, what were your thoughts when FILA first presented the Stack to you?
Jerry Stackhouse: I really thought it was a hot shoe. My guys that I grew up with came to the FILA headquarters with me when they first had my shoe ready. When we saw it for the first time, I was trying to be all cool and act like a real business professional – trying not to be so giddy and excited, but I was bubbling on the inside. I was being so nonchalant, and it got to a point where the FILA people didn’t think I liked the shoe at all. I had to reassure them that I wanted to be with the brand, and I loved the shoe [Laughs]. I really thought it was good-looking shoe, and I was so excited to have a signature shoe in my rookie season. You don’t see rookies with signatures shoes these days.
Nice Kicks: What about the FILA Stack II?
Jerry Stackhouse: The Stackhouse I was a lot more comfortable than my second signature. I still loved the Stackhouse II though. I remember having a Super Bowl spot for the Stack II that was pretty interesting. Everybody was on those, but my personal favorite was the Stack from a look and style standpoint.
Nice Kicks: I remember that commercial spot. That was the one featuring you dribbling on the building beams.
Jerry Stackhouse: Man, shooting that commercial was crazy. First off, they came and picked me up after practice in a helicopter and took me from Philly to New York. It was my first time riding in a helicopter, and that was a pretty weird experience. When I got there, they explained to me that they wanted me to run across the beams, and I was like, ‘What?’ It wasn’t as high in the sky as it looked, but they actually had me running on beams. It was pretty cool though. The final product was awesome.
Nice Kicks: We’re seeing the Ewings, Iversons, Kemps, and much more from the 90s return, including your shoes. Why do you think there’s such a demand from that decade? In your opinion, what made that decade special?
Jerry Stackhouse: Signature shoes were so hot in the 90s. Everybody wanted to have the signature shoes of their favorite players, and the 90s were the height of that. But in the latter part of the 90s, the signature shoe kind of went away for a while because the companies weren’t giving out big deals like they were in the early-to-mid 90s. It became to rare to have your own shoe. That happened within the course of my deal, but I think everything is going back to the 90s. It’s all vintage right now. You could throw the Stacks on with some camouflage pants and a t-shirt and be good. That’s how we used to do back in the day. It’s the same thing now.
