Respect and it's always down to personal taste. But since you asked:
* Pimples on midsoles is whatever--to me. Again, personal opinion. But no one can see them, me included, when wearing them. I don't care about this issue, though I would for sure prefer there were none. But it's basically irrelevant to me.
* Number on heel, printed or embroidered, is the least of my concerns. Again, just me. But since none of the OGs I ever had were embroidered, the fact the SJ's had it is just more of a bonus than anything I ever cared about.
* Patent cut is NOT "supposed" to be that high. They went overboard after years of going ludicrously low and hearing nothing but our complaints. So they responded almost in the extreme on the opposite end of the spectrum. It looks clunky. I still love SJs but they are still more "off" than the 11 retros that have followed.
* Similarly to the last point above: If you don't see the padding difference, look again. Squeeze the nylon upper of the SJ and then squeeze the Concords or black/reds. It's plain as day. The Concords and black/reds are made the same way as the OG versions in that regard. The SJs are a joke in comparison.
These are the reasons behind the statements. No hate and, again, it's all subjective to some degree. But as someone who had the OGs of 11s, I can unequivocally tell you that the Concord and black/red retros are far more faithful to the OG versions than the '16 SJs. For me, the proper upper padding and the slightly lower patent cuts end the discussion. Little bumps on the midsole from the modern molding process, and numbers on the heel, do not concern me. BUT that's just my old, OG *** talking LOL
