When we think of sports stories, we tend to think of tales of epic on the field glory or incredible against all odds come back stories.

Well, on the new podcast sports explains the world, you'll hear some of the wildest and most surprising sports stories you've never heard.

And also some stories you thought you knew, like how Nike, Michael Jordan, and a very specific NBA uniform rule accidentally created a black market for basketball sneakers.

This unhinged and unregulated reselling market is projected to reach $30 billion in sales by 2030 and everyone from common criminals to Nike executives to Michael Jordan's own son have tried to secure their part of the bag.

But how did basketball shoes become so incredibly valuable from award winning journalists across the globe.

Sports explains the world goes beyond leagues and stats to share stories like this one and so many that will redefine your understanding of sports and their impact on the world.

I'm about to play a clip from sports explains the world to hear this and other incredible stories from the wide world of sports.

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The foundation for a sneaker Ponzi scheme was laid more than half a century ago in Eugene, Oregon.

Eugene is a key part of sneaker history in part because it's home to University of Oregon with its world renowned track program.

In the 1960s Oregon track coach Bill Bowerman teamed up with one of his athletes, a middle distance runner named Phil Knight, to start a sneaker business called Blue Ribbon Sports or BRS.

BRS was basically night selling imported Japanese Unitsuku Tiger sneakers from the trunk of his car.

But a few years later, Knight and Bowerman started making shoes and formed what we now know as Nike with its famous swoosh.

In an early sign of its marketing savvy, Nike released its first shoe, the Nike Cortez, during the 1972 Olympics in Mexico.

Nike originally wanted to call it the Aztec, but that name was already taken by Adidas.

So they went with the Cortez as in a non-Cortez, the man who conquered the Aztecs.

And it made sure US Olympic athletes had those shoes on their feet.

This put a fledgling Nike on the map, but as the 1970s turned into the 1980s, Nike still wasn't atop the sneaker game.

It was more middle of the pack, and then along came Michael Jordan.

Michael Jordan was one of the most exciting young players the NBA had ever seen.

And Jordan initially wanted to sign with Adidas.

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