'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Next time you head to the gym, look around for an Allen Iverson arm sleeve. They are everywhere, and it's not just here in Philadelphia. Do you ever wonder why? Legendary as a Sixer, Allen Iverson started trends. One was the arm sleeve.
How'd this arm sleeve trend begin?
In 2001, Allen Iverson would become the NBA MVP, All-Star MVP, and the success of the year originated as bursitis caused his right elbow to swell. Allen Iverson was a shooter, and the "shooters sleeve" was born. The Sixers trainer at the time, Lenny Courier, cut a piece of compression stockinette, suggesting Iverson wear it over the elbow, and the man they call Bubba Chuck scored 51 points that night. He never took it off. Subsequently, Allen Iverson put a hardworking team on his back and went to the NBA Finals, where Philadelphia lost to Kobe Bryant, Shaquille O'Neal, Phil Jackson and the Los Angeles Lakers.
Imitation is the best form of flattery
Allen Iverson was so loved, whatever he did, was emulated.The shooters sleeve was now everywhere, and many times the person wearing a sleep didn't have an injury. This was the fashion statement Allen Iverson created. The cultural icon was to hip hop what fellow Sixers legend Julius Erving was to jazz. There was a similar effect. Doc was such a flashy, classy dresser that the afro he rocked became a cultural assessory icon itself. Flash forward, and it's Allen Iverson's cornrows along with the sleeve. Go to any game on the asphalt and someone on the court will be wearing an arm sleeve. That same person might be wearing a 3 on his or her chest or AI kicks on their feet. Scoring all the points and swearing they look like Allen Iverson.
He was cool with that love. Spoke about it as we looked into a crowd full of arm sleeves at his retirement ceremony: “Honestly, it hasn’t really sunk in yet. When you’re a child growing up, you think about these things. My greatest moment, as far as my career, was just getting drafted. When you have stuff like this happen, it’s just extra. It’s a blessing from God. I feel proud of myself, not because I got my jersey raised, I’m proud because I didn’t lose it (crying) the way I thought like I was. I’m just happy. It’s a great day. I’m going to remember it for the rest of my life and I’m just glad that everybody that was a part of it could be here to see it happen.” So the subculture of admiration for Allen Iverson continues on through an arm sleeve, or the cornrows I wear now writing this.
Fashion
Was it Allen Iverson, or his unapologetic fit with the times that made people want to be like him? The fashion persists. Allen Iverson is so far removed from playing in the NBA, yet arm sleeves are everywhere. I wonder if those wearing them understand the origin.
Other sports
The arm sleeve has now infiltrated football and baseball. Many health benefits are associated with arm sleeves. Your grandmother or your little sister might be wearing one. Does wearing an arm sleeve make you play better? Could it be a placebo of sorts that tricks the mind into thinking you are Allen Iverson on the treadmill? Speed walking with your neighbor or working side by side with someone wearing a sleeve at a construction site?
Allen Iverson Impact
Why do we want to be like some and not others? Why do we attach ourselves to some athletes, yet others rub us the wrong way. Allen Iverson has an effect to him that spreads a lively flair throughout the room. That's his energy, and if the energy of Allen Iverson continues on through the fashion or health benefits of wearing an arm sleeve?
We could do worse.
Also check out: Latest NBA News, Rumors and Updates
Guess the Lakers players!
