(Editor’s Note: Today’s post is from our own Jamie Rathjen, who turns his attention to football socks. Appreciate! – PL)
Reader Max Weintraub recently sent an email as follows:
Has resident football expert Jamie Rathjen written about the seemingly ever-increasing length of socks worn by professional footballers, at least in the Premier League? Aside from trendsetters Luke Shaw and Jack Grealish (whose socks barely cover their obligatory shin guards), it seems most players these days wear their socks on their knees.
Max may have written in reference to players like Liverpool’s Darwin Núñez (pictured above) and Harvey Elliott, who indeed sport a long-socks look.
I watched every Premier League game from last weekend and found at least one long-socked player in every team. They are by no means a majority, but certainly a significant minority. Of course, the Premier League is only a men’s league in one country, but its players come from several dozen countries, so it’s not a bad starting point to observe this type of trend.
Max’s point opens up the broader topic of football sock length, which is worth exploring. We tend to think of football socks as usual arriving just below the knee, so it can look aesthetically jarring when they are longer or shorter than that. They are traditionally meant to be worn tucked on top and often have a contrasting top called a rollover. But if a player doesn’t turn the ball over, it effectively stretches the socks.
The Premier League is not the only circuit where we find this look. Another prominent example is USWNT/Washington Spirit winger Trinity Rodman, who wears long socks fairly consistently, regardless of team or kit:
This isn’t really a new phenomenon — I can find examples from way back in the day First NWSL season in 2013 – but it seems to be growing.
Max is also right about the two short-socked players he named: United left-back Shaw and Manchester City winger Grealish both bend their socks down to their shins, as seen here:
But cropped socks aren’t a new trend either. DC United right back Chris Korb, for example, was in low socks for most of the decade:
While a few players wore cropped socks during last week’s EPL matches, they weren’t as common as the long-sock look.
One of the reasons for the variation in sock length is that football Laws of the game require the wearing of socks but remain silent on the details and particularities. Just as we’ve seen in other sports, socks on the football field have started to become the least uniform part of the uniform (even though there is at least color consistency across the board). the team). Instead, they are personalized according to player preferences. It’s especially common for players to cut off the bottom and wear their own socks underneath, as seen here:
Equipment regulations don’t really address the appearance of socks, other than what logos or designs may appear on them. The only rule on length is that the socks must cover the shin guards. Grealish, the short-socker, completes his look by wearing child size shin guards and it seems Shaw is doing the same. However, I have never seen long socks publicly explain why they do this.
The current state of bottom diversity in sports was well illustrated by the image used by EA Sports on Monday to announce the addition of the NWSL to the FIFA 23 game:
As you can see, six of the 12 players have long socks (including Rodman, who represents the Spirit), and three have at least short socks.
Update: Coincidentally, here’s a new Twitter thread about how football socks often not suitable for women.
ARTICLE! Epic article on the new substack
Okay, folks, I’m pretty excited about this one: For this week’s Uni Watch Premium article on Substack, I interviewed famous music producer/engineer/guitarist Steve Albini, who you may know- be thanks to the bands he led (Big Black, Shellac). , his production credits (Nirvana, the Breeders, Robert Plant and Jimmy Page, and countless others), his numerous speeches and manifestos regarding the music business, and his recent parallel career as a professional poker player.
Albini may seem like an odd subject for an interview with Uni Watch, but his career has included a surprising number of college-related and college-adjacent moments, and I’ve had a lot of fun thinking about them. The resulting article is crazy – about 6,500 words.
You can read the first part of the article here. To read the whole thing, you will need to become a paid subscriber to my Substack, which I hope you will consider doing. (If you subscribe, you’ll also have access to my full Substack/Bulletin archive.)
While I have you here: Next week’s Premium article will be the final quarterly installment of “Ask Me Anything”, the series in which you can ask me a question – about uniforms, sports, Uni Watch, me or anything else – and I do my best to answer. If you would like to ask a question, please feel free to send it here. (Please note that this is not the usual Uni Watch email address.) One question per person, please. THANKS!
Looking Ahead: The annual MLB Season Preview column will premiere on Substack on March 28, just before Opening Day.
Astro vs. Astro
During last night’s Astros/Venezuela exhibition game, Stros minor leaguer Jose Betances helped out by pitching for Venezuela – all while wearing his Astros uniform. This set up a strange Astro vs. Astro matchup.
It is not uncommon for minor leaguers to substitute for the WBC team in these exhibition games. In last night’s Giants/USA game, for example, Giants minor leaguer Evan Gates pitched an inning for Team USA, wearing an USA jersey. without number or NOB. But he still had his Giant pants.
Too good for the ticker
Reader Michael Clary’s father received this Expos souvenir brochure during a visit to Jarry Park Stadium. Pretty cool, right? Here are the interior pages:
“My father also gave me a souvenir batting helmet (item #509), a women’s “Go-Go cap” for my sister (item #524), a coffee mug for my mother (item #524). 526) and some logo badges (item no. 501),” explains Michael. “I still have the helmet, mug and badges, but the go-go cap is long gone.”
Can of the day
I love the combination of green and orange, so I’m thinking of buying this one and sticking a houseplant in it, but two things are holding me back. First, it costs a little more than I would like to pay. And second, look at the eye of the “R” – the block observation is false. Everywhere else it’s up and to the right, but in this place it’s down and to the right. Ugh! One of those “you can’t ignore it” things.
Other than that, a very nice design.
