I've been wearing the same pair of shin guards since 2001 and before you say gross or disgusting like Shelley. Let me explain a little... I have very large calves, kind of freakishly huge calves that make it a pain in the ass to buy jeans. Since its hard to buy jeans that makes it impossible to find shin guards. Back in the late 90's- to early 2000's a few of the big names made combined with a fiberglass company, OSI, to make shin guards that would wold around your legs for a custom fit very much like a cast. Everyone involved assumed this venture would take off. And it didn't. So these went away leaving a bunch of crappy other products out there. The current pair I have were purchased back in 2001 and were an Adidas deal. These lasted up until last weeks indoor game when I was cleated pretty hard and the fiberglass fractured.
From Tuesday to Saturday I scoured every soccer and sporting goods store in the DFW area looking for either some NOS (New Old Stock) OSI or some XL NOCSE approved guards that would fit. Most of the shops were clueless in what I was asking for and tried to convince me som new Nike or Adidas crap guard would fit. After showing them the compression sleeve designed to hold the guard in place wouldn't fit around my guard they acquiesced. After about the third shop with the same salesman speak I developed a "fuck off" attitude. Finally the guy at Soccer Premier on Harry Hines (http://www.futbollatinomex.com/) (who thought he had some in the back a months ago but couldn't locate them) had a lead on some. At this point I felt similar to someone looking for forged Social Security cards or trying to get a bead on some oxycotin. None the less I was told the guy's at Golden Soccer off Josey and Beltline had a pair. After thanking the guy and buying some new outdoor boots to replace the Diadora's whose eyelet was broken in Monday night's game. I shot over there first thing Saturday morning and sure enough I found some from 1998 still sealed in the foil. They were an adult medium but it was as close to perfect as I've found in this ark of the shin guard covenant.
About 2005 I started looking for new shin guards. I purchased a few different models and nothing was on par with the Adidas or the Nike OSI guards I had before. Not only were they heavier, offered less protection, but none of them would fit around my freaking calves. Since I've been looking for these same style shin guards since 2003 I knew how crappy the odds would be of finding them. With my current shin guards broken I had to accelerate and expand my search.
From Tuesday to Saturday I scoured every soccer and sporting goods store in the DFW area looking for either some NOS (New Old Stock) OSI or some XL NOCSE approved guards that would fit. Most of the shops were clueless in what I was asking for and tried to convince me som new Nike or Adidas crap guard would fit. After showing them the compression sleeve designed to hold the guard in place wouldn't fit around my guard they acquiesced. After about the third shop with the same salesman speak I developed a "fuck off" attitude. Finally the guy at Soccer Premier on Harry Hines (http://www.futbollatinomex.com/) (who thought he had some in the back a months ago but couldn't locate them) had a lead on some. At this point I felt similar to someone looking for forged Social Security cards or trying to get a bead on some oxycotin. None the less I was told the guy's at Golden Soccer off Josey and Beltline had a pair. After thanking the guy and buying some new outdoor boots to replace the Diadora's whose eyelet was broken in Monday night's game. I shot over there first thing Saturday morning and sure enough I found some from 1998 still sealed in the foil. They were an adult medium but it was as close to perfect as I've found in this ark of the shin guard covenant.
After getting home and fitting them I"m very satisfied. If they didn't have the horrible 5 year old drawing that would be a lot better, but I'll have to do with what they are. I tried them out for my indoor game today and they worked wonderful. I never thought I'd be as happy as I could with something as trivial as shin guards but man am I a happy kid after getting these horribly ugly fiberglass guards.
