Ready for the big game? Don't forget the socks!

Packing my stuff up for Regionals.

Very excited about playing tomorrow.  I've got everything I need ready-- including the uniform matching wristbands and several pairs of perfect socks.

One thing I've realized as a veteran player is that you can't underestimate the importance of good, comfortable socks.

I have experimented with a lot of fancy socks:

lots of socks

So far these three pairs are my favorite

favorite socks

I was not always a sock connoisseur.  I grew up on cotton socks that came in packs of 10 from K-Mart and I was happy with that through my whole college career.  My boyfriend at the time tried to convince change my ways (perhaps he was tired of my clammy, smelly feet). "Once you go synthetic, you'll never go back!" I agreed with him. I had no desire to get myself hooked on $8 socks so I stayed away from them.

I don't know when I bought my first pair of fancy socks.  But in this one instance my boyfriend was right. Fancy socks are the shit.  I will never go back to cotton.

How to buy fancy socks

I am so well renowned for my fancy sock buying skills that I once had a friend call me from the isle of Dick's Sporting Goods asking for advice.  Overwhelmed with all of the choices, she just wanted to buy socks for a friend for his birthday.  What a great idea!  I know very few guys who don't love birthday socks.

Fancy socks highlight their performance benefits by using different colors to show different thickness variations and stitching patterns.  Most fancy socks have extra padding on the balls of the foot and the heel for reduced chafe-age.  There is less material at the arch of the foot and sometimes on top for improved breathability.   Some socks are fairly tight around the arches, supposedly for arch support.  But getting arch support from fabric of any sort seems fairly ridiculous.  However, the tighter the sock, the less chance of having a wrinkle that will lead to blisters.

this must be why my handler cuts are so squirrely

Most of fancy sock buying is about the marketing.  At the Under Armor store they have three types of socks, one kind for stability, one kind for straight ahead speed, one kind for agility. I am not making this up!  Does anyone seriously believe that the pattern of stitching on socks will measurable affect performance?  Last time I was there I laughed at their ridiculousness and then paid $5 for the agility socks.

Buying fancy socks requires a certain suspension of disbelief.

Unintended consequences

1. I am now hooked on fancy socks. Be forewarned that once you start, you can't stop.
2. Losing one fancy sock in the dryer means you lose both. The thing about fancy socks is that most of them now are specifically left or right foot labelled for better fit. Or maybe it's a conspiracy. When I lose the left foot sock of two pairs, you can't just put the mismatched socks together for a new pair. When losing socks in the dryer, make sure you alternate losing left/right socks. This is tricky though as I've found the dryer seems to have a preference for left footed socks.

Closing Thoughts

I will also never turn down birthday socks.  November 9th.  Just sayin' ;)