Should Michigan Be Worried About its Footwear?
http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/football/blog/dr_saturday/post/Neuheisel-E…
According to Neuheisel, the reason his players are having foot troubles is the thinner European cleats are squeezing too hard.
Rivals thinks he may be on to something, which begs the question, how many freaky foot injuries has Michigan sustained since we switched to Addidas, and can we blame them on Old Europe, and if so, should we change Ann Arbor's potatoey side dishes to "Michigan fries" or "Bo Fries" or something?
Or is Rick Neuheisel a jackass?
April 18th, 2009 at 11:46 AM ^
Maybe the adidas cleats are narrow, but it's not like it's a European thing in general. I had a terrible time finding shoes that didn't slop around.
April 18th, 2009 at 12:07 PM ^
potatoey side dishes!!! Yes, Rick Neuheisel is a jackass, but that does not mean footwear should not be checked out for potential injury problems.
had any freaky foot injuries and none of the coaches or players have said anything about the shoes. may be much ado about nothing.
They may be narrow in stores, but I have a feeling they make changes to college athletes.
As a life long soccer player I always wore Adidas and because of that I developed some brand loyalty. Adidas always had the best and tightest fit, which is what you wanted out of a soccer shoe. You wanted them to feel like gloves on your feet in order to get a better 'feel' on the ball when you strike it. It was always ok to go a size up because, not only were they wider, you wanted to have some play in front of the toe for the extra socks that you wear (in the cold at least). I have noticed that even the cross trainers and basketball shoes tend to be pretty thin, and I have narrow feet as well.
Whether or not this causes injury is up for debate, but it is true about their shoes. Maybe Neuheisel is unaware of the whole 'half sizes' thingy.
And no, no name change for potatoes. Adidas is German
So french fries are safe, but sauerkraut victory cabbage is still fair game.
Okay, in that case, from now on, I'm only eating Annarburgers.
I hate Adidas shoes with a passion. I once had a pair of running sneakers and I had huge blisters on my feet. So this thought definitely crossed my mind when I found out that Michigan switched to Adidas, which should stand for All Day I Distress About Sores (on feet, that is). I heard that players at any school are free to choose whatever football shoes they want, regardless of the company that makes them. That does not seem to the case.
I searched Google images for pictures of Brandon Minor, for example, and lo and behold, in photos from 2008 games he is wearing Adidas, as are other teammates who are in the same pictures. (http://www.zimbio.com/Brandon+Minor) In photos from 2007 and earlier, however, he and everyone else are wearing Nike. (http://www.daylife.com/photo/03jf2KL4gGePq) My thoughts and prayers are with the team's feet.
April 18th, 2009 at 11:53 PM ^
Did you seriously think Adidas, despite paying us $7.5 million a year, would allow us to wear any brand of shoes?
As for your blister situation, it's likely that the shoes you bought didn't fit properly. If you'd bought the same shoe a half-size bigger, the problem probably would have been solved. (Sizes can very a little from one company to another. Sometimes I wear a 10.5, and sometimes I wear an 11.) If Adidas shoes just mysteriously caused blisters, regardless of size, they likely wouldn't have sold as many shoes as they have.
Michigan lacrosse has had some similar issues as well this year. A couple of players are having foot issues and the trainer thinks it has to do with the addidas cleats.
Adidas and all other large shoe manufacturers design and make shoes for every level of athlete for every sport. It's shockingly that simple.
No conspiracy here. Go about your day.