11/13/2007

Big feet, small skates

Here are some fun facts on a relatively slow day. I am not sure if this is well known, but most hockey players wear skates a few sizes under what they wear in normal shoes. The reason is of course to keep the foot from sliding around in the skate. I think even my skates were one or two sizes smaller than my shoes.

Chris Pronger
, apparently, is a size 9 or 10 in regular shoes, but he wears a size 6 in skates! It almost makes me think of those little girls (not that Pronger makes me think of little girls) in China who were forced to tuck in their feet to fit those tiny shoes because it was fashionable to have extremely small feet back then. Their feet would be deformed and they'd even have trouble walking.

Having skates that fit perfectly is of course essential. The greatest defenseman of all time, Bobby Orr, didn't even wear socks. That doesn't sound very comfortable, but it clearly worked for him.

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