I saw kid wearing a pair of the Oak Derivatives while watching my older sister’s indoor game. He was the best player on her team…my mind was set…I had to have a pair of the Jack Tripper-esque Sambas.

There was one problem…the Samba Derivatives were only sold for a limited time.

Eventually I came across a pair…in a Play It Again Sports store. Yep…I bought and wore a pair of used shoes. It kind of grosses me out now…but at the time, at the time I didn’t care.

For those keeping score at home, they looked better than they felt. I got so many blisters from those bastards.

The scan is courtesy of the Fall 92/Spring 93 Soccer World catalog.

I predicted that Djibril Cisse would be the first player to don the boot…he’s never struck me as one to shy away from anything flashy. I was wrong…I spotted both Franck Ribery and Niklas Bendtner wearing the boot over the weekend. Ribery wears them better.

When I was growing up you could only find black boots. One season my sister and I got shoes from Wal-Mart…”Sprints.” They came in either black or white…I remember thinking I looked goofy as hell in white shoes. I had no idea white shoes would soon become the norm in 20 years.

While outdoor boots primarily came in black…indoor shoes were far more colorful.

Adidas Gazelles were generally sold with the disclaimer “Not for designed for training”…although the cats I played with always wore them as indoor shoes. I know, I ran with a fast crowd.

Here are a few colorful gems from the Fall of 93…courtesy of SoccerPlus.

I like that he’s wearing Puma’s while modeling the Adidas Warm Up. Rudi and Adi Dassler are pleased.