![]() There's holding on every play in a pro game, so why not look for a little edge? The new Nike digs have made the jerseys fit much better than back in the day, but the guys I talk to in the league are still relying on double-sided tape. This stuff is a must for the big boys up front, linebackers that are asked to defeat blocks and even for defensive backs. The result? It acts like glue for the jersey, and there isn't much to latch onto unless you want to lose a couple of finger nails in the process. The equipment managers layer the shoulder pads with this double-sided tape and squeeze the jersey on top. Here's a quick guide to how players skirt the rules - and a reminder that they will do just about anything if they think it gives them an edge on Sundays. Now, uniform tech in the NFL gets better every year, so rigging jerseys or pads isn't as essential as it used to be. You lost yards because of a flapping sleeve. There was no escape for Bradford, no way to spin free, with a massive defensive lineman holding on to an oversized jersey that would be better suited for a Halloween costume. Manufacturers have responded by moving their logos toward the toe of the shoe instead of on the side (another literal example of logo creep!), even for players who go spat-free.— - Earlier this season, Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Sam Bradford was sacked when a defender grabbed his jersey sleeves and yanked him to the ground. Because the tape can obscure the Nike and Reebok logos, the The more typical football spat involves tape looped under the sole or under and around the ankle. To Uni Watch's knowledge, Moore (whose nickname was, of course, "Spats") is the only player whose tape was restricted to the upper part of the shoe. The long version, in Moore's own words, is available by scrolling down to Why'd he do it? The short version is that it provided more ankle support The godfather of the spatted look wasĬolts halfback Lenny Moore, who wore so much white tape over his black cleats that it often looked like he was wearing white cleats. Football players don't wear actual spats, natch, but the way they tape their ankles In case you're scratching your head: Spats are cloth coverings that fit over the top portion of shoes or boots. Rainone might have wandered into the deep end of Lake Obsession here (not that Uni Watch would know anything about that type of behavior), and his swipe at "clunky black cleats" seems a bit misguided, but he has adroitly identified an oft-overlooked subsection of gridiron stylings, so let's humor him long enough to investigate the whole spat phenomenon. Well, that might be pushing it a little bit, but you get the idea." In fact, I think the spat should make it into other sports. "Spat culture has a great following - the pregame ritual of a good spat can almost rival Notre Dame's visit to the Grotto. Up-and-coming black-tape spat (most often seen on the Chicago Bears). "Distinct spat styles include the college spat (which often involves a bare calf), the NFL spat (which is so greatly displayed by Dante Hall and probably accounts for 98 percent of his punt-returnĪbilities), the 'fat-man spat' (primarily found in NFL Europe, where almost everyone uses the spat, including the linemen), and the My feet became so accustomed to the spat that in Friday walk-throughs, it sometimes felt that my ankles would explode on the turf due to 'lack-of spat.' It made cutting so much easier - I could almost put the outside of my foot against the ground with little or no chance of a twisted ankle. And the spat is completely functional: Having played football in both high school and college, I can't imagine what I would have done without the spat. ![]() Not to mention black cleats with low white socks - horrid. Who wants to wearĬlunky black cleats with high white socks? Gross. "The absolute best look in football, undoubtedly, is the spat - the over-the-cleat ankle tape job that looks soooo cool. Reader Matt Rainone recently sent such a communiqué, which can only be fully appreciated by reading it in its entirety: ![]() Every now and then, an e-mail arrives that's so brilliantly detail-fixated, so unswervingly minutiae-fetishistic, that it single-handedly reconfigures Uni Watch's weekend football-viewing habits. ![]()
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