Shoes

[Welpe]

Don't misunderstand me, I wasn't calling anybody a poser. I was afraid of looking like or being perceived as one. Now that I've gotten a few years in here in my chapter, I'd be more likely to wear them if they worked for me. I have wide feet though so it's hard to find shoes that fit well other than NB.

[JRutledge]

Originally Posted by Welpe

Don't misunderstand me, I wasn't calling anybody a poser. I was afraid of looking like or being perceived as one. Now that I've gotten a few years in here in my chapter, I'd be more likely to wear them if they worked for me. I have wide feet though so it's hard to find shoes that fit well other than NB.

I was not offended by what you said one bit. I simply am trying to make the point that shoes are so person and what feels good should be worn no matter what others think. Now if you live in a place that requires only all-black shoes that is fine. The problem is it is hard to find a shoe that is made that way anymore. And the shoe companies are not doing us a favor and making them all-black, so you have to go with what is available. I just think we need to get over a logo or a little stripe on the bottom that is all.

Peace

[CT1]

When our state started allowing white on shoes last year, I went to the Adidas Turf Hog. Very comfortable on both grass and turf fields, although I always change out the manufacturer's insoles for thicker one on all my sports shoes.

[BktBallRef]

Originally Posted by Forksref

Personally, I like all-black because some of the white stripes, zig-zags, whatever, look clownish. Also, a "uniform" means all the crew members should wear the same design. I could maybe go with some white if all of the crew looked like a team.

Uniform? Team? How many teams have you seen wear all the players were wearing the same shoes?

Officials wear different belts, different styles of shirts, pants, different Northwestern style socks. Some wear lanyards, other finger whistles, different types of flags, bean bags and down indicators.

Personally, I don't think it matters whether two officials has a Nike Swoosh on their shoes while the three others have the Reebok stripes. It's just black and white. As I said, I've purchased a pair of the Zig Magistrate shoes. While I'm not crazy about the white sole, they shoes feel great!

To each his own.

[Forksref]

Originally Posted by JRutledge

Is it not uniform to wear the same style in shirt or pants? Because if you look at many different uniform items like shirts, pants or even flags and bags they are different too.

And since shoes are so personal of a feel and not every shoe is going to be sold all black, not sure what the big deal is. The fans or coaches never say a word about our shoes.

Peace

If there are different shirts or pants in our crew I have never been able to tell. I don't care about fans or coaches. We have our own standards of dress. Must be my military experience, but I like a "uniform" appearance. Those shoes that are not sold all black are made black by our crew members to make us look like a team. "Attention to detail," as I heard so many times in the Navy. It pays off.

[JRutledge]

Originally Posted by Forksref

If there are different shirts or pants in our crew I have never been able to tell. I don't care about fans or coaches. We have our own standards of dress. Must be my military experience, but I like a "uniform" appearance. Those shoes that are not sold all black are made black by our crew members to make us look like a team. "Attention to detail," as I heard so many times in the Navy. It pays off.

Actually you can tell the different shirts apart rather easily as well as pants, especially the black style all have a little differences you can notice quickly if you are familiar the styles. Most of the time you do not have to be very close either to tell the differences.

Then what do you do when someone has a shoe that is black because they either had to black them out or the sole of the shoe has gray or black and the other crew members are not so obvious?

The point is we can nitpick all these things. I just know that I am not going to wear a shoe you like because they feel good on your feet. As stated before, no one cares about this but officials. And if we all have to be the same, we better buy everything from the same company or order the same brand or we will not be perfectly uniformed.

Peace

[Texas Aggie]

The white on the shoes look better with the black pants. All black shoes, to me, don't look very good. On my crew we all wear the NFL Reeboks (not Zags) and they're good shoes. I'd like to see what Nike comes up with for the NFL guys. For subvarsity (and on varsity with others not on my crew) everyone is going to have their own different shoes -- Reebok, Nike, Adidas, NB -- its all good. The only reason you can tell who's wearing what on TV is that they show the officials up close. From the stands, no one knows what the wing on the other side of the field is wearing.

I couldn't care less what anyone thinks about my shoes. I wear running shoes for hoops and have a difficult time finding mostly black ones. Several years ago, I told my college supervisor it (the running shoes) had to be that way and he said it was fine.

[Steven Tyler]

Originally Posted by CT1

When our state started allowing white on shoes last year, I went to the Adidas Turf Hog. Very comfortable on both grass and turf fields, although I always change out the manufacturer's insoles for thicker one on all my sports shoes.

You can get these shoes for as little as $30.00 bucks at Academy. The shoestrings will wear out before the shoes will.

[asf-07]

Can anyone comment on how the Reebok Zig shoes fit (either football or basketball)? Do they run big, small, or true to size?

Thanks.

[Welpe]

Lengthwise they fit about right but they seem to run narrow. I wear a EE to 4E in NB but have been able to wear most other shoes fine so I don't know if it's Reebok sizing or my foot size changing.

[mbyron]

Originally Posted by Welpe

I wear a EE to 4E ...

You too? Here's a picture of my feet:

[waltjp]

Originally Posted by Welpe

Lengthwise they fit about right but they seem to run narrow. I wear a EE to 4E in NB but have been able to wear most other shoes fine so I don't know if it's Reebok sizing or my foot size changing.

I have a wide foot with a high instep. It makes it difficult to find shoes that fit properly without having to purchase a 1/2 or full size larger.

I've always liked New Balance because they were available in wide sizes and was disappointed when they discontinued my old shoe and replaced it with the 950s.

I've had good luck recently with Reeboks. I wear the Low Quag for football and baseball (bases) and have a pair of Field Magistrate plate shoes.

I've also found that my feet have grown about 1 full size over the last 10 years.

[Welpe]

You're lucky, I wish I could fit into the new Zig magistrates as I really like them. They are just too narrow. I still see the NB 995s kicking around, I may just pick up another pair of those.

[Rich]

I just bought a pair of Turf Hogs for this coming season.

[BktBallRef]

Originally Posted by asf-07

Can anyone comment on how the Reebok Zig shoes fit (either football or basketball)? Do they run big, small, or true to size?

I normally wear a size 13E. The Reeboks aren't available in a wide shoe, so:

In the basketball Zigs, I bought a 13.5 and they worked great.

In the football Zigs, I ordered a 13.5 but they're just flat out to small, width and length. Returning them for a 14.