words // Brandon Richard

With the 2011 NFL Football season officially underway, Eastbay Memory Lane continues to take a look back at some of the most memorable training footwear from the 90s. Though Nike’s training category was one that extended beyond football, the late-90s were filled with models that were linked to some of the NFL’s biggest stars. Guys like Barry Sanders, Deion Sanders and Brett Favre had signature Nike footwear, as did hard-hitting Pittsburgh Steelers running back Jerome Bettis.

Rarely will you find a player and a team that were as good a fit for each other as were Jerome Bettis and the Steelers. Bettis aka “The Bus” resurrected a career that appeared to be trending downward when he was traded from the St. Louis Rams to Pittsburgh in 1996. Bettis responded to the trade by posting the two best seasons of his career in 1996 and 1997. Recognizing the resurgence of Bettis, Nike offered the hard-hitting running back his own signature shoe. The result was the Nike Total Air Bus, a turf shoe with a present-day cult following that helped introduce Total Air for Nike’s training category.

Take a look at two colorways of the Total Air Bus Max, as well as a few other turf trainers, in today’s Eastbay Memory Lane.