Cleatology – Beans Talks Boots

When other people involved in soccer share their thoughts on soccer boots it always interest me. From professional players to everyday Sunday league Joe’s, I am always interested in finding out how others experience the same pairs that we all wear. A few weeks back I spotted a great article from Beans over at TheOriginalWinger.com (you might recall that we featured Dunny in the Cleatology series last year) and got thinking about prior posts I had seen him write – so I went back through their archives to find some great posts worth sharing with you.

1. First up, the article that actually drew my attention – Original Boot Game. Below is just an excerpt from the article, where Bean’s gives his thoughts on the development of boots over time, in particular the color (pointing out the fact that players in the 70’s wore white boots quiet often). Great article!

“Writing this post has made me think about my own preferences towards boots and whether I prefer the classics from my childhood, or the new technologically advanced boots of today. For me, the answer is a bit more gray than it is black and white.

In many ways, classic boots are like classic cars. They have some great styling and they are not over thought. If you pop the hood on a muscle car from the 1960’s, you’ll notice how little is actually under there. But what is there gets the job done remarkably well. Older boots are like that to me. Soft leather, some stitching, fold down tongue, molded or removable studs. That was pretty much it. Not a lot to them, but they did the job ever so well. If you need any examples of this, look no further than the adidas Copa Mundial and the adidas World Cup.

As boots continue to become more technical, the claims continue to be made that they can enhance the attributes of players. If this is the case, I’m all for that. Technology has played a huge role in the development of athletes in all sports. Players are stronger, faster and arguably better than their predecessors. If soccer boots can contribute to the continuation of better players, then I’m all for it. And if they can even help me in my game, then they are certainly doing something right.”

2. A second article that caught my eye highlighted a bunch of really cool old school boots. Check out the selection of images at Inspired By – Throw Back Boots.
3. The final post is called Stomping Grounds. This is less of an actual boot post, and more one built on memories of where you have played growing up. It appealed to me because I thought back to the boots I wore as a kid, boots that included Puma Kings(a preferred choice) and many pairs of blue Lotto’s. I actually never owned a pair of Adidas Predators until I came to college, even though ever other player I grew up playing with had a pair at one stage or another. It also got me thinking about my team growing up – Castle Villa!