Nike Shine Through

            Recently, Nike came out with their “Shine Through” collection, or basically just a group of similar colorways for all of its different soccer cleats. The boots in this collection all have a white base, with logos and the outsole as bright, vibrant colors. Of course, with such an improvement as drastic as a color change, there is a price increase as well. For an already expensive shoe such as the Mercurial Superfly, this new price is up to $290, a price that would be considered extremely high for many, but obviously not for some. Nike, and other brands as well, continues to release new editions and collections of shoes at similarly high price points, yet is still able to do it over and over again. Obviously, the price is not an issue for some, and their support drives further releases.

            The release, and supposed success, of these cleats draws up the discussion of what soccer shoes are becoming today, and if we really like where they are going. First, and probably least important, is the idea of what these cleats should look like today, where many prefer the classic “plain black and white” feel that doesn’t really attract attention but the majority of large releases today consist of bright colors. Personally, I don’t mind bright colors, and the white with bits of color in the Shine Through collection are not as extremely colored as other releases, but I also like the simplicity that an all or mostly black shoe brings. Also, the increasing price and demand of premium soccer shoes is another change. Basically, all players want the same cleats as the professionals, but some are able to more or less ignore the price for them while other can’t afford them. While it’s unfortunate that many are excluded from these shoes, I appreciate the fact that those who want, or are able to pay for, premium boots are able to get them, and I think that opportunity is here to stay with the ever-growing demand for them.

MLS Best XI

            Each season, MLS officials, players, and leaders vote on the players that they feel should make the top eleven players in the league, making a team out of them. This vote resulted in a 3-4-3 formation, voting for 3 defenders, 4 midfielders and 3 forwards. This season’s MLS Best XI is a notable group, with many of the players included having one of the best seasons of their career. Despite the growing nature of the MLS, all of the nominees have been on the list before except for two. Even as players Landon Donovan and Thierry Henry are set to leave the league after this season, they were included nevertheless after what have been great seasons for both. Donovan reached notable career statistics for himself and also broke the record number of times being included in the Best XI, now up to seven times. Henry makes the list for his third time, along with teammate Bradley Wright-Phillips who has had an exceptional season as well. Scoring a remarkable 27 goals in the regular season, Wright-Phillips tied the league record for most goals scored in a season.

            Another player making the list is Robbie Keane, making it 3 years straight after scoring 19 goals in the season, joining teammates Landon Donovan and Omar Gonzalez. In fact, all players making list are from just five different teams: DC United, LA Galaxy, Portland Timbers, Seattle Sounders, and the New York Red Bulls. This raises question to the credibility of the selections, making me wonder if they are truly chosen by the best performing players or if all of the best players are actually on the same selection of teams. Either way, it shows that the selection at least should be only taken for what it is; a naming of the most popular, current players in the MLS. Rather than a definite judgment of players with some elaborate process for deciding, it really means very little, and I feel that, although it is interesting to look at and read about, it is relatively unimportant to even the MLS.