One could consider this the golden age of the cleat game in the NFL, as one-offs and specially designed shoes are all the rage. Gone are the days of no one noticing what kind of cleats a player is wearing on the field. It’s all about finding a way to one-up the competition on the scoreboard and looking fresh while doing it too.
No one in the NFL takes his cleat game as serious as Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Antonio Brown. He’ll step his game up another notch this weekend with a tribute to his father, Eddie, who also was an Arena League legend with a nickname of “Touchdown.”
It’s just the latest in a long line of unique cleats and NFL fines this season for the brash and amazing wide receiver. Brown has given us a Kimbo Slice-Jose Fernandez tribute, some Muhammad Ali cleats (that the NFL made him remove at halftime) and perhaps my favorite, the Arnold Palmer tribute cleats.
Antonio Brown — Gets 'Arnold Palmer Tribute' Cleats … Hail to 'The King' (PHOTO) https://t.co/aurcdtvlxL
— TMZ (@TMZ) September 30, 2016
So, why honor his father now and not earlier in the season? According to his shoe artist, Corey Pane, it was actually a surprise for Brown (via ESPN.com’s Jeremy Fowler):
“And with his father’s cleats, Brown didn’t know about them until this week. Pane surprised him. Pane tries to work in advance, then ships the cleats to Brown or gives him shoes in bulk if he comes to Pittsburgh.”
.@AntonioBrown previews Michael Jordan tribute cleats: https://t.co/z49xh9BOZa pic.twitter.com/dWW1P3mXn7
— SoleCollector.com (@SoleCollector) October 27, 2016
However awesome and well-received the cleats have been by fans and onlookers, the NFL hasn’t exactly taken too kindly to him. Brown has been fined a few times this year and asked to remove cleats on multiple occasions.
Don’t worry, he won’t be getting fined for these cleats though, as he will be doing what he’s done with other designs this season — take them off following pregame workouts.
It’s just a shame that the NFL doesn’t allow for some individual creativity to be shown, especially when there are good and personal messages behind the designs. Then again, they don’t call it the “No Fun League” for nothing.
[ESPN]
