Entourage 33 - The Hunt for Fukijamas

The search for Kicks...on TV? Ya Right...

by RyB

Entourage Episode 33: What About Bob?

  There hasn't been anything on TV worth watching in quite awhile. Finding something that was created for Males 18-30 was almost impossible. If you found a show that looked like it might make the cut because of the hot chics or the comedic value, it turned out to be absolute crap by week 3. Thank God for Entourage.

  I have been watching since episode 1 and to tell you the truth, I don't remember why. The show wasn't excessively publicized and it's on HBO, so you didn't see a commercial for it every 5 minutes, like on the extremely wack networks. I think I saw an interview with Mark Wahlberg (you'll always be Marky mark, bro!) and he was discussing how he came up with the idea and basically developed the show. I decided it would be worth checking out. Go figure.

  It's not the greatest bunch of actors, but somehow they all have great chemistry together. How could you not? This show is every 20 somethings dream. One of your best friends makes it in Hollywood and you are along for the ride. Who wouldn't kill to become your celebrity friend's personal driver for a few hours a day. The rest of the time you are playing XBox, shopping for clothes, hats and sneakers or going to parties with celebrities and models.

  It's too bad the creators of Entourage couldn't truly predict how popular this show would become. They only made 8 thirty minute episodes the first season for a reason. Actually, the reason might have been that HBO is a cheap ass network, but what can you do? If they could have truly seen the future, there is no way in hell they would have cast Adrian Grenier as "Vince". He makes Keanu Reeves look like an incredible actor. Woah. Vince always has this shit-eating, stoner grin on his face, whether it's a serious, sad or funny scene. If it weren't for Jeremy Piven ("Ari") and Kevin Connolly ("E"), this show wouldn't have made it past episode 2. "Drama" and "Turtle" have definitely stepped it up over the past two seasons, but they were hardly entertaining or capable in season 1.

  The idea for this rant was influenced by Episode 33. A main stream hit show finally decided to focus on one of my true passions and one of the main topics of Thirsty13...The sneaker game! Most people look at me like I am crazy when I tell them how many shoes I have in my collection. I even have girls telling me I have more shoes than they do and I'm the one that's crazy (ya, OK). I don't know what it is, but most likely it was the influence of Nike and the man, Michael Jordan.

  I used to draw sneakers in class when I was a kid, while most were doodling or passing notes. In all honesty, I don't even have as many kicks as most SneakerHeads. I have friends that have me beat by hundreds and I own about 50 pairs! Limited funds over the years have slowed down my collection, but I'm finally back in the game. Now that I have that awful thing called "college loans" under control, I can finally score some sweet shoes on a regular basis. I have even begun to explore the possibility of purchasing some high end, limited edition or custom kicks. Let's hope this doesn't put me in a bigger hole down the road. It's the shoes, Money! I gotta have 'em!

  "Turtle", a certified SneakerHead, decides that he has to have the new limited edition Fukijamas. Although fictional, they capture the essence of what it's like in the hunt for those coveted kicks. Like the slacker he is, Turtle decides to show up just as the store open. Although he knows better (any SneakerHead knows there is gonna be a line), he has one ace in the hole; movie star Vince. The problem is, Vince refuses to use his celebrity for Turtle's gain. Pretty weak plot line if you ask me. The dude went along for the ride. Even that seems like a stretch in itself. Of course the store sells out in minutes and Turtle is down on his luck. The store manager announces that there are still some pairs available in the Valley. With a little bit of a pep talk from Vince (go figure), Turtle decides to make the last ditch effort. On the ride over, Turtle begs Vince to call the store to hold a pair of the Fukijamas and use his celebrity status for good. Turtle even agrees to take a size too large just so he can have a pair.

  If you are like me, you have done this at least once in your life. When they brought the Jordan V's (white with black sole) back for the first time, I decided to take a pair of 12's instead of 13's. Going up in size is one thing, but going down is another. You really have to fiend for that shoe in order to put up with the pain while you stretch them out. And yes, I wore them! Those are way too hot not to rock in public! I had to have them and I couldn't live with passing on one of my all time favorites.

  So back to the show. They make it to the other location, but end up being let down once again. DJ Gay-M, I mean AM, is at the register buying the last pair. Somehow this clown has more clout than the fictitious Vince. Once again, this is a bit of a stretch. I choose to ignore that fact because of my love for the show. Now things are really heated and Turtle is about to stomp around the store like a 3 year old in Toys R Us. Vince decides to hook up his fat little friend by making a few discrete calls. Finally, they end up in some sketchy back alley in the hood. It turns out it's Fukijama's place and he has a surprise for Turtle. After handing over a bag full of cash ($20,000!!!!), T gets the one of a kind, custom joints. They are pretty sick and even come in gold laced, custom box. Even considering their dopeness level, I definitely think Vince got screwed. Come on now, $20K for some spray painted kicks?

  This leads me to my last point or shall I say, experience. Just a few months back, I found out that Nike was releasing the DMP (Defining Moments Package). This was a dual package of the Jordan VI (All Black with Gold trim) and the Jordan XI (White with the Black Patent Leather!). Not only were these two of my favorite Jordan's of all time, but I had the chance to get them both at the same time with some excellent packaging and a few extras. The total price for the pack was around $350 (I believe) which was very reasonable. I knew it was a long shot, but I decided to try. I knew there was no way in hell I was going to get up at 4 or 5 in the morning to get in line. There were probably people camping overnight anyhow. My only shot was to call EastBay at exactly 12AM. I was out in Boston at a bar, but I stayed coherent enough to hear my alarm that I set for the call on my cell. I went outside to ensure that I could hear everything in order to place my order. I decided to start calling about 10 minutes early, just in case. I got the busy signal for about a half hour which is about what I expected. I was just about to give up, but the line started to ring, "Welcome to EastBay!". YES! I finally made it through. I was about to piss my pants in excitement. I went through a few options before I was about to speak with an operator.

  As I stood outside with a ridiculous grin on my face, I quickly switched to anger and rage. "We cannot process your order at this time. Good Bye." Click. I was no longer on the line. There was no explanation. No operator to at least tell me they had run out of stock. I was about to lose my mind! I was so close and just cut off for no reason. I would have rather gotten a busy signal the whole time. At least then I wouldn't have gotten Blue Balls.

  So basically, the moral of the story is...it pays to have rich, celebrity friends with connections when you are a SneakerHead. I need to find one soon. Anonimus!!! Where you at?