Just (For) Kicks

Although they may lack the "collectibility" that other pieces of game used equipment have, I can understand the appeal of cleats and shoes to a certain extent.

They're often colorful, have intricate details and designs (newer ones, anyway), and are much more readily available compared to jerseys and helmets. More often than not, they're autographed (for those who value that sort of thing).

Here are the turf shoes Ryan Longwell is wearing in the photo above, from a game against the Vikings in the Metrodome in 2002:

If I were going to acquire a few pairs of shoes to augment my collection, why not obtain Longwell's, since he's currently the Packers All-Time leading scorer, and they are the tools of his trade?

Here are a pair of Charles Woodson's cleats, from last season. I just like the look of these:

While wearing them for practice, taping the shoes wasn't a necessity:

But in deference to the NFL's footwear rules, shoe logos other than Nike or Reebok need to be covered in on-field action. This photo with Woodson (tangling with Roddy White of the Falcons in a game from last year) shows the shoes mostly covered in black tape:

The number of shoes worn throughout the course of a season can vary greatly from player to player. Here's a brief article from Packers.com, posted on Sept. 7, 2001, that illustrates this:

Whether it's raining, snowing, sunny, turf, or grass, NFL players have shoes made specifically for every type of condition and surface.

Look inside almost any NFL locker and you'll find a veritable shoe store. According to Green Bay Packers head equipment manager Gordon "Red" Batty, each player is an "individual" when it comes to his footwear.

"While Brett Favre may go through only four or five pairs a year, we have a guy like LeRoy Butler, who is known as the 'shoe master' around here," says Batty. "He goes through almost 50 pairs of shoes a year."

The other extreme according to Batty, are offensive and defensive linemen. "They tend to get attached to their shoes, wearing them for a few years," he explains. "You should have seen the shoes Russell Maryland was wearing when he came in here. We finally got him into a new pair recently."

Following is a chart describing the typical types of shoes players have ready for game day:

SHOE TYPE--SURFACE USED
Seven-cleat shoes (standard football cleat)--Dry grass, short grass fields
Long cleats--Longer grass, thicker sod, rain
Short cleats--Short grass, southern field like Miami
Turf shoes--Wet or dry turf
Turf shoes for rain--Turf shoes with a "gripper" bottom
Flat-bottom/Basketball shoes--Turf, dry grass for linemen
Molded bottom/shark bottom--Short or dry grass, frozen fields

Wow. 50 pairs a season for LeRoy Butler? Don't overpay for those, I guess.

On an unrelated note, I received the 2009 Packers Media Guide this week (thanks go to Jeff Blumb, Director of Packers P.R.). This is an excellent publication that I acquire every year; indispensable historical info of great use to game used equipment collectors.