THE LOOP — Yonata Staffney never doubted that spending three full days standing in line would be a hellish experience. But it didn't stop him.
On Tuesday, Staffney and four friends piled into a car in Dumfries, Virginia, and drove 12 hours to 32 S. State St. in the Loop, so that they could be among the first customers in Chicago's first Nike store solely dedicated to Jordan-brand products when it opens Saturday.
Bringing nothing but folding chairs and some extra clothes, the group spent the better part of the week enduring chilly temperatures, intermittent rain and mind-numbing boredom. They haven't showered in days, they're paying a small fortune to keep their car parked on Madison Street, and they have to stay constantly on guard for jealous onlookers coveting their spot in line.
From the moment it all started, Staffney knew he didn't have a choice.
"I've loved Jordans pretty much as long as I can remember — at least as far back as middle school — and it's only gotten worse since then," Staffney said. "I've just been spending more time and more money on more shoes. I guess it's just become a kind of addiction at this point."
Friday afternoon, Staffney and his friends were among hundreds of people camped along the sidewalk waiting for the store to open its doors. Starting on State Street, the line snaked west along Madison Street, then back up Dearborn Street all the way to Monroe.
At the very front, slumped half-concious in a gray camping chair, was Jason Camarillo.
Camarillo and a few friends arrived early Tuesday evening and set up two small tents, but police soon told them to take them down. In the days that followed, they took turns grabbing food from Subway and Chipotle, using Target's bathrooms and charging their phones at the adjacent Verizon store.
For Camarillo, the exclusivity of Jordan shoes is what makes it all worthwhile, he said. With a collection of more than 100 shoes, most of which he's never worn, he said he was drawn to the idea of owning the kinds of limited-edition shoes that are difficult or impossible to find outside the store.
"I remember back in middle school, I was one of the first ones to have the shoes [Michael Jordan] wore in 'Space Jam,' and everyone wanted them," said Camarillo, who's lived in Little Italy his whole life. "And that feeling definitely carries into adulthood... There's a lot of pride that comes with having something that everyone else wants but can't get."
A few spots down the line, Andrew Samaan agreed that the craze was "all about status."
"Asking why someone would go through so much for some shoes is like asking why people drive around in Bentleys — it's so they can be seen," said Samaan, who came from his home in Bolingbrook to get a spot in the line Thursday morning. "And social media has only made it bigger and crazier — everyone wants to jump on Facebook and Instagram to show off what they got."
But Samaan's longtime friend and line-buddy Obed Benitez had a much simpler goal: profit. Some Jordan-brand shoes, like the Jordan 2 Don C's, sell for $275 in retail but go for more than 10 times that online.
If he could buy the maximum-allowable three pairs of the shoes Saturday, which are held in limited stock, Benitez would be able to make a killing afterward, he said.
It's an idea that's often crossed the mind of Staffney, who said he's waited in similar lines for shoes dozens of times in the past five years. But for all the experience he's gained, he said, it never gets easier.
"This sucks, there's no way around it. It's cold, it's boring, it's exhuasting, it's stressful," Staffney said. "But once I get those shoes in my hand, it'll all be over. They'll belong to me, to sell or to keep. They'll be mine."
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