|
"He dribbles past one defender, two defenders; gets ready to shoot, he shoots and the goalkeepers saves it with the tip of his glove!"
Football or soccer as it's known in the United States is the most popular sport in the world, but every in every sport there is a least like position and in football that position is the goalkeeper.
There is a saying in the world of football that goes "Goalkeepers are either crazy or strange" And that is 100% true. Back in the day, there were no goalkeeper gloves, goalkeeper use their
bare hands to stop shots at the goal. Just imagine trying to stop a ball that travels around 60 miles per hour with goalkeeper gloves? I'm sure you will have a swollen hand for the rest of the week
and that is not even counting when the goalkeeper accidentally does not time correctly a shot he twist a finger, that will hurt for at least a couple of weeks.
Goalkeeper gloves have gone through major innovation throughout time. Some of those innovations are better palm grip, finger protection, and wrist protection.
Let's start with better palm grip. Have you ever tried to grab a soccer ball with one hand, unless you have a humongous hand I bet you the ball slipped from your hand, the reason is soccer balls
have become lighter, and their leather surface has become slicker. This improves their travel speed. As a result, goalkeeper gloves manufacturers have improved their goalkeeper gloves designs by
adding better palm grip. If you thought it was hard to grab a dry soccer ball without goalkeeper gloves, imagine what would happen with a wet soccer ball? And that is the reason why goalkeeper gloves
have improved palm grip, because not only do goalkeeper gloves perform great in a dry environment when the palm becomes wet they become even stickier. Pay attention next time a football match starts
and you will see how keepers grab their water bottle and pour water onto their goalkeeper gloves, to make them even sticker during the match.
Finger protection has been added to goalkeeper gloves, because of the same reason better palm grip was added. Since soccer balls travel faster, keepers would use the tip of their fingers as last
minute action to block the shot. Therefore, goalkeeper gloves manufacturers started adding finger protection such as little air bags and gel protection to prevent goalkeeper fingers from twisting.
Some of those gloves enhance protection are adidas goalkeeper gloves, and nike goalkeeper gloves.
Finally, as you can see goalkeeper gloves have been improving at the same rate soccer balls and the game of soccer has been improving. And it all comes down to make football a more exciting game,
if football matches become more exciting more fans will go to the stadiums, and everyone has fun.
|
