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Kobe vs. Jordan: USC & UCLA Wear Iconic Kicks in Crosstown Rivalry

The USC Trojans and UCLA Bruins used their rivalry game to debut player-exclusive footwear.

Pat Benson

The UCLA Bruins wore Air Jordans and the USC Trojans debuted Nike Kobe cleats during Saturday's rivalry game.
The UCLA Bruins wore Air Jordans and the USC Trojans debuted Nike Kobe cleats during Saturday's rivalry game. / IMAGO / ZUMA Press Wire
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Who is the greatest player of all time (GOAT)? Not only is the answer unclear in sports, it is equally murky in the performance footwear world. Fans love to debate Kobe Bryant versus Michael Jordan, and the debate surfaced in a different way on Saturday night.

The 2024 edition of the Crosstown Rivalry between the UCLA Bruins and the USC Trojans looked a lot different than usual. It was a late kick-off, and the pristine field at the Rose Bowl was soaked from rain.

However, fans still got to see both schools rock their home uniforms (a timeless tradition) and debut the best cleats their respective brands had to offer (a new twist on the classic game).

UCLA set the tone for the rest of the college football landscape earlier this year when they debuted all-gold Air Jordan 3 cleats for home games and icy-white Air Jordan 1 cleats for road games. Michael Jordan's first and third sneakers are widely considered his most popular models.

Jordan Brand has recently redesigned the old-school basketball shoes for the football field, and the first recipient of player-exclusive colorways was none other than the company's flagship school on the West Coast.

Even when covered in rain-soaked grass, UCLA's Air Jordan cleats popped off the screen and resonated with college football fans from coast to coast. Who knew dirty Air Jordans could look so good?

Online shoppers can find several colorways of Air Jordan football cleats on the Nike website, but the gold colorway remains a player-exclusive for UCLA.

In an attempt to checkmate their rivals, USC unveiled Nike Kobe 6 cleats in a player-exclusive colorway just a few days before the big game. The "USC" colorway sported a black snakeskin-inspired upper contrasted by garnet and gold Swoosh and Kobe logos.

Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant's sixth signature Nike sneaker is beloved by fans and has never hit the football field - until Saturday night's game in the Rose Bowl.

Sports reporter Gabriel Duarte shared a video of the cleats during warmups and said, "The new USC Nike Kobe 6 custom cleats look so clean in person, might be one of the best looking cleats I’ve ever seen."

Luckily for football players everywhere, the Nike Kobe 6 "Grinch" football cleats are on the way to the public this holiday season. Even better, fans can expect to see Nike-sponsored NFL players rocking the kicks on field soon.

Even the most provincial college football fans had to give it up for the aesthetics of the 2024 Crosstown Rivalry. Even in the rare instances of the weather not being perfect in Southern California, the two teams more than make up for it with their uniforms and kicks.

While USC defeated UCLA 19-13, the Kobe versus Jordan debate rages on. Thanks to last night's rivalry game, the argument has an extra element to consider when discussing the two star's iconic signature sneaker lines.

Football fans can follow Sports Illustrated's Kicks On SI for all their footwear and apparel news from the sports world and beyond.

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Pat Benson
PAT BENSON

Pat Benson covers the sneaker industry for Sports Illustrated's FanNation. Previously, he has reported on the NBA, authored "Kobe Bryant's Sneaker History (1996-2020)," and interviewed some of the biggest names in the sports world. You can email him at 1989patbenson@gmail.com.

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