Y'know, when I worked retail as an assistant manager at a Spencer Gifts it was at the height of the Cabbage Patch Kid craze (damned ugly ass dolls). People would line up hours ahead of time on shipment day just to get the half dozen or so we would get in.

As time went on they got more unruly and impatient.

Then one day they knocked down the big glass doors just to get inside. Nearly trampled the manager, no small fellow himself.

After that we always unlocked the doors on shipment day with Louisville Sluggers visible and handy.

Never had another problem.

Just sayin'. . .

CBS Detroit:

Shoppers Waiting For Shoe Release Riot, Break Into Mall

Here is the Nike Air Jordan Retro XI that

drove sneakerheads crazy when they were

released Friday morning. (WWJ Photo/Pat Sweeting)

TAYLOR (WWJ) - Hundreds of shoppers who lined up before dawn to buy one of the season’s most wanted new shoes became unruly and began forcing their way inside Taylor’s Southland Mall on Friday.

A crowd of about 100 people planning to put a pair of limited edition Nike basketball shoes under a gift tree, or on their own feet, forced open a pair of doors almost three hours before the 8 a.m. opening and stormed inside. Another 200 people were gathered outside.

Southland Security called for Taylor police, who then summoned assistance from Dearborn, Dearborn Heights, Southgate and Brownstown Township to restore order. Once inside, police say there was some minor interior damage to decorations and benches that were toppled over during the scuffle.

A 21-year-old Detroit man was arrested for inciting a riot. Nobody was hurt.

This isn’t the first time that Nike has done a special limited release of a popular style of sneakers. But at the Finish Line store at Southland Mall, manager Deron Mason told WWJ’s Pat Sweeting he had hundreds of customers rushing in to buy the store’s 40 pairs of Nike Air Jordan Retro XI — which cost upwards of $180.

“That shoe, you know what, it was popular then back when Jordan dropped it in ’95. It was a shoe that was popular then after he came back from retirement and it came back out five years later and it sold out again. So, it’s been 10 years since it dropped and everybody wants that shoe like it’s a culture that everybody has got to have it,” said Mason.

The shoe sold out within 20 minutes at the store and Mason said he was offered everything from several hundred dollars to the title of someone’s car just to reserve a pair for them.

NBC Bay Area:

Mall Gunfire Over New Jordan Shoes

Malls across the country were flooded with customers.

Everybody wants a nice pair of shoes. So much so, that when the new Nike Air Jordan's went on sale this morning, people were willing to fire off weapons to get to them.

The SFist reports, around 6 a.m. this morning, shots were fired at the Hilltop Mall in Richmond, where around 3,000 were people were waiting in line for the latest Air Jordan 11 Retro Concords.

No injuries were reported.

The new Jordan's retail for $180. Some shoppers hope to resell them for twice that price. Friday was the first time the classic shoes were available in nearly 10 years.

The Richmond incident wasn't the only reported problem surrounding the new shoes. Malls all over the country experienced rowdy crowds waiting for the shoes.

Police were called to a shopping center in Redondo Beach, as well as Pineville, N.C., Atlanta, Seattle and Indianopolis.

A lot of people were unable to get the new Jordans. Some shoppers told NBC Miami they were maced by police and trampled by other shoppers.

"You can probably see by my face that I didn't even go to sleep last night just for these shoes," said Arthur Jean-Louis, who had waited more than 24 hours.

At least six people were arrested in the Washington area.