Monday, September 10, 2012

If the Shoe (Color) Fits...

Well, the Packers' 2012 season is underway.

That's about the sum of the good news we can take away from today's miserable performance. Well, that and the fact that some Packer players will still be allowed to wear their traditional black cleats.

Green Bay Packers' Aaron Rodgers reacts during the second half of an NFL football game against the San Francisco 49ers Monday, Sept. 10, 2012, in Green Bay, Wis. The 49ers won 30-22. (AP Photo/Mike Roemer)
The Packers have traditionally worn black cleats, from the team's founding until the early 1970s. By 1974, most Packers had switched to the white cleats popularized by Joe Namath in the prior decade. The NFL later introduced a rule requiring all members of the team to wear a designated shoe color, either primarily white or primarily black (with team-color accents), and the Packers remained a pale-cleat team through the 2008 preseason.

For Week 1 in 2008, Aaron Rodgers' first game as a starter, the Pack had a surprise for the fans, racing out of the tunnel in throwback black cleats, and that's been the team's look ever since. Players who stepped outside of the all-black look were financially penalized by the NFL, as Clay Matthews was last season for accenting his throwback uniform with gold cleats.

This year, with Nike taking over the league-wide uniform contract, the NFL has relaxed its shoe rules somewhat, allowing players to choose special Nike cleats in team colors in addition to the team-standard black or white. Greg Jennings wore the new Nike cleats in last January's Pro Bowl, and Donald Driver tweeted a picture of his recently.

San Francisco 49ers' Michael Crabtree (15) gets past Green Bay Packers' Tramon Williams (38) during the second half of an NFL football game Monday, Sept. 10, 2012, in Green Bay, Wis. The 49ers won 30-22. (AP Photo/Mike Roemer)
A closer look shows us Tramon's team-colored cleats, different in design to those tweeted by Donald Driver:

I'm not a huge fan of these green-and-gold cleats (either pattern). Cleats are one of those things I don't like to see emphasized, and I like having one more visual link to Lombardi's original Packer design. I'm just glad that the green-and-gold cleats are optional and not yet mandatory.

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