5 Iconic Super Bowl Halftime Show Sneaker Moments

The ice on in the booth collided with the heat all over the stage as the Super Bowl LIII halftime show was not just a medley of hits, but also a range of rarities.

Though Maroon 5 headlined, Travis Scott stole the show by debuting his Air Jordan 6 collaboration from Jordan Brand months before its release. Far from selfish, La Flame laced Adam Levine in his Travis Scott x Air Jordan 1 High that many would consider the best sneaker of 2019.

Missouri City and Los Angeles showed out onstage, but it was Sir Lucious Leftfoot from The A that came through with the kryptonite. Forever a fan of Jordans and never relegated to matching, Big Boi went against the grain and rocked the very rare Air Jordan 3 Tinker "Oregon" PE that only decorated the Ducks on that year's football roster. Leave it to Atlanta’s own for a fresh take on the Dirty Bird.

Justin Timberlake's Man of the Woods menswear-meets-streetwear look was led somewhat surprisingly by Jordan Brand.

Popping up in the pair that MJ pulled out for the 1988 Dunk Contest in Chicago, JT paid homage to both the GOAT and Prince in Minneapolis by covering the Purple One in a 3M-accented pair of White/Cement 3s.

Dubbed the Air Jordan 3 JTH, this flip on the White/Cement Air Jordan 3 served as a launchpad for the Tinker Sketch rendition of the Air Jordan 3. By adding a Swoosh to the upper portion of the icon—as the story says that Hatfield had originally intended—the AJ3 suddenly saw more branding and new life. Bringing Justin flash into the fold both literally and figuratively, this collaborative colorway put a reflective finish on the complementary Swoosh for an optical illusion on the big stage under the bright lights.

Said to have equated to $2.86 million worth of marketing exposure for Jordan Brand, JT's clean kicks and "Filthy" single saw the Jumpman jumping over all advertisers without breaking a sweat.

Known more for nip slips than kickflips, the 2004 Super Bowl halftime show stands as the most polarizing performance in the sport spectacle's storied history. 

While Justin Timberlake rocked Nike Air Force 1 Highs in the music video for "Rock Your Body," Nike Dunk Lows provided his base during the infamous Super Bowl striptease with Janet Jackson. Though few eyes were on his feet, the Olive/Camo Dunks JT rocked proved as on-trend in 2004 as they do now.

An inline Dunk—not an SB—this 2004 release saw Timberlake as a member of Team Early only one month into the year. Covered by baggy khakis, the low top Dunks exemplified the once-famous Be True to Your School basketball shoe in the midst of its lifestyle rebranding. Following up early iterations of Dunk retros relegated to Japan and fat-tongue favorites that would change the game, these inline Dunks have risen in the resale ranks in recent months.

In the late ‘80s and early ‘90s, Flea, Anthony Kedis and company were known for wearing Air Jordans ranging from the OG Chicago 1s to the celebrated Steel 10s. In the mid-2000s, they took it to the other side when they released a collaborative adidas Superstar.

At the 2014 Super Bowl XLVIII halftime show, the stars showed their stripes as they bum-rushed Bruno Mars’ headlining performance in Originals oddities and performance pairs.

On the base, Flea flew around in the adidas Crazy 8—originally dubbed the adidas KB8 as the first signature shoe for local Lakers legend Kobe Bryant. Ahead of Kanye and the curve, Kedis rocked the mic in the adidas Energy Boost running shoe—the brand’s breakthrough in modern cushioning a year before the Ultra Boost rocked the world. In 2015, adidas would keep that same energy by having Jeremy Scott dress Katy Perry and her colleagues in collaborative clothing full of pop art cache.

A half-century of Super Bowls underway meant one mammoth performance. Hailing Queen Beyoncé to headline, she got the job done in spectacular fashion will a little help from her friends.

Rocking Louboutin boots herself, pop’s elite popped off in sneakers styled to stand out. Her hubby’s best bloke, Chris Martin of Coldplay, perhaps set the stage for the marketing impressions Jordan Brand could expect in years to come. More known for “Fix You” than Nike by You, Martin (or his stylist) made the most of the Jordan Spizike being on NIKEiD by dressing it in a Crayola colorway Howie Mandel would love.

Less loud and more classic, Bruno Mars made it clear he was all in on the New Jack Swing sound by rocking a black leather tracksuit with matching Nike Cortez sneakers and gold dookie ropes. The Cortez has always had a home in Nike’s catalog but belongs to the West Coast the same way Cali claimed the Chuck Taylor. While Kung Fu Kenny gets due props for bringing the Cortez back to the mainstream, Bruno Mars made sure to unarchive the classic to bring that extra bit of bass to the Super Bowl stage.