CHAMPAIGN — What's so great about a pair of shoes that you're willing to get up early on the Friday before Christmas and wait in line for them, with no guarantee you'll be able to buy a pair?

"THE MAN was wearing them!" exclaimed Ruben Clark, a Prime Sole employee who guarded the Champaign shoe store's supply room, where a dwindling cache of Nike Air Jordan 11 Retro Concords were being housed.

"It's Jordan. It's about the greatest basketball player in the world," said Julio Duckworth, a Champaign resident who arrived at Prime Sole, 1726 W. Bradley Ave., around 8:20 a.m. Friday.

"I always wanted them when I was younger," he said. But by 10:30 a.m., the store's supply numbered around 14 pairs left and Duckworth was still in line.

"It's not looking too good," he said.

Across the country, shopping malls and sporting goods and shoe stores were coping with large crowds as buyers anticipated the release of the Jordan 11s, or Concords, a retro shoe originally released in the mid-1990s.

In Seattle, police reportedly used pepper spray to control crowds and, in Georgia, some people were arrested after forcing their way inside a store before it opened.

In East Central Illinois, crowds were much more subdued, according to police.

The Champaign Police Department responded to a call from the Finish Line in Market Place Mall where store employees became concerned when a crowd waiting outside the store grew to about 75 people and the store only had 18 pairs on hand, said Sgt. Tom Frost.

"When we got there everybody was calm, cool, collected. There was no disruptive behavior," he said.

Police remained in the area for about an hour while store employees ushered four or five buyers into the store at a time, Frost said.

At Prime Sole, Clark said, there were some tense moments when some people were accused of cutting in line. The police also responded to a call from that store and remained on the scene for about 30 minutes until tempers cooled.

Thirty-nine-year-old Dion Brazil of Champaign was one of the lucky ones to score a pair at Prime Sole. He said he buys Air Jordans "all the time."

Nike released the first one in 1985 and has debuted a new edition every year, prompting many customers to become collectors.

"They're retro. They're a reminder of my youth," Brazil said of the black-and-white 11s.

"I knew they were going to be popular, but I didn't expect that many people," said Dina Steele, co-manager of Glik's, located in Danville's Village Mall.

When the store opened at 9 a.m. Friday, a line of about 30 people had formed. Glik's sold out of the adult sizes within 30 minutes. By early afternoon just a few children's sizes remained.

People from six hours away have been calling the Finish Line store in Danville's Village Mall, asking if they had any left, said John Johnson, the store manager. The store had about 16 pairs and sold out quickly, he said.

"They're a limited edition so once they're sold out, they're out," he said, meaning, no more shipments to the stores.

The shoes retail for about $180.