Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Superfly
Nike, which released their latest line of 'Mercurial Vapor' cleats early last year, has recently released (or rather, will in a couple months time) their newest edition.
The "Mercurial Vapor Superfly."
Yes. Superfly. I can't imagine them naming it something stupider.
Previously, companies such as Nike and Adidas released their newest editions of cleats roughly every two years, corresponding to the World Cup and European championships (i.e. gigantic advertising).
The difference between each (2-year) generation of cleats is probably the difference between, say, Microsoft Word '98, and Word 2000.
Now, it seems, the generation gap has been reduced even more, with Nike leading the charge.
I suppose it makes sense from a business point of view, with soccer becoming more accessible (not only through the television, but through youtube, streams... the internet in general). But, as one who enjoys his cleats, there is a point where I feel somewhat cheated. Like when Apple lowered the price of the iPhone months after it was released. Kind of.
I'll probably continue writing about this trend later. (soccer shirts for example, home and away)
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wow. they really do exploit innocent rich kids that always want the new cleat. And I guess they ditched that stupid flap on the last vapors, thus proving flaps don't do anything.
ReplyDeleteuh.
ReplyDeleteif 'innocent rich kids' were their only markets, i doubt they'd stay afloat..
true, that was just back handedly pointed at Danny :p
ReplyDeletejk
Alright please allow me to defend myself....and Nike. Kim, I will say that the difference between vapor 3's and 4's was very small, and they added the lace cover just to make the difference look bigger. Flywire, however, is an absolutely revolutionary concept in athletic footwear that Nike first introduced at the Olympics last year with great success. From experience, I can say that cleats truly do make a difference, and in particular, the weight of a boot. I can point you to a number of tests that show that while lighter cleats do not make you faster, they do enable you to use less energy while running at the same speed. So instead of Ronaldo running top speed for say 30 meters in regular boots, with Superflys he can run top speed for 31 meters, which can mean the difference between meeting a cross for a tap in and missing the ball by inches. Completely worth it if you ask me. If you are talking about "innocent rich kids" being conned, what you should have mentioned is the $350 retail value that Nike has given the Superflys. I don't know if even I can defend that price tag. Another note: Is it a coincidence that the last 7 Premier League golden boot winners have all worn Mercurial Vapors?
ReplyDeletewell of course it isnt a coincidence... half of those winners was one person... henry..
ReplyDeletenike occasionally will make something a lot better, yes (the development of 'shox' or whatever was apparently pretty revolutionary), but i cant imagine the vapor 5s, 6s, and even 7s being anything out of the ordinary. espeically if they start coming out every year