I played basketball somewhat seriously over a period of six years, and one thing that I could never get my head around was the obsession with shoes. Every star in the NBA comes out with their own personalized shoe that can be bought by the average joe for some extortionate price.
I've played a lot of other sports (Volleyball, Athletics, Rugby, Soccer) and I've never encountered anything like this. Whenever I've asked someone why, they have failed to give any reason for this obsession with shoes.
Can anyone give any insight into this fetish for new, flashier shoes that ballers seem to have?
Comments
I agree though, in a sport like skateboarding where image is practically everything, you need an awesome pair of shoes, and damn some of those shoes are awesome.
Anyway, back to basketball now and I do agree that the people who take it seriously all go out and buy super expensive shoes which probably aren't any better than the last pair they had. My friend buys Air Jordans, and I don't see the point.
I gotta ask though, you listed sports you've played and you put "athletics" in there. What does that mean? Athletics is a broad term here in the US so you got my curiosity up.
When I was a kid I had a checkered pair and thought I was the shit. I also had black, white, red, hot pink, turquoise, bright yellow, a Spuds MacKenzie pair with pawprints on them, high tops, low tops, the extra tall high tops that you fold down, you name it.
Confessions of a former Chucks junkie.
As for the obsession? I'm not sure.