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We don't have to tell you this, but at Sneaker Report we love sneakers. That being said, with our deep love of kicks comes the knowledge that with great sneaker power comes great sneaker responsibility. Sneakers can slip off and turn an otherwise flawless athletic feat into a sports blooper for the ages. Sneakers can be used as projectile weapons, so needless to say, things can get serious.
Though a good pair of sneakers can be your best friend, here are some disastrous moments when your kicks can turn against you if not used properly, check out the 10 Worst Sneaker Mishaps in Sports History.
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No. 10 - Thaddeus Young Money
Sometimes the best defense is giving the offense a flat tire. After Joel Anthony gave Thaddeus Young's kicks the flat tire treatment during a first round playoff game, Young refused to be kept down. He hustled back on D like a bawse. Though we give Young points for effort, he didn't exactly look graceful trying to cover Chris Bosh with one foot. Color commentator Jeff Van Gundy, went on to claim that the flat tire was a strategic move and that "every advantage should be exploited" in the playoffs. That statement is probably the biggest mishap in the whole situation.
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No. 9 - D. Wade's Cruel Intentions
Wade apparently learned from Van Gundy's advice, as the Heat were involved in yet another shoe-related situation in the next year's playoffs. Wade was guarding Mike Bibby as he tried to in-bound. Bibby's shoe slipped off and Wade craftily tossed it away. Some of you out there might try to give Wade points for competitive spirit, but seeing as the Heat already held pretty much every competitive advantage, and Bibby actually made his team worse, this just feels like insult to injury ... but, it is also pretty funny.
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No. 8 - Son Yeon-Jae Feels the Rhythm ... Too Much
Mark this moment down for posterity readers, as this may be the first and last time that rhythmic gymnastics are discussed on this page (though I wouldn't be surprised if it was involved in the sequel to this piece). Perhaps, this is more of a slipper mishap than a sneaker mishap, but Yeon-Jae lost her footwear during the Olympics last summer and still qualified for the finals. That didn't mean the 18 year-old wasn't mortified after losing her kicks on an international stage. The South Korean gymnast said, "“I was very embarrassed as it’s never happened to me before,” still red-faced from the ordeal. It's all good girl, we probably would have thought it was just part of the routine.
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No. 7 - A Sign ... That You're Kind of a Jerk
Overeager fans often go to great lengths to get a signature from one of their heroes. Sometimes they go too far. Durant got the same treatment from the international community that President George W. Bush got back in the day when a fan tossed shoes and a Sharpie at him in hopes of getting an autograph. Durant, understandably, wasn't too eager to oblige. Judging by the video, all the dude got was a lecture from an irate security guard.
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No. 6 - I'll Beat You with One Shoe On
"I'll beat you with one shoe on" is the kind of idle boast kids make to each other on the playground and never expect to actually have to make good on. Dejen Gebremeskel put the saying to the test when he took first place at the 2011 New Balance Indoor Grand Prix only wearing one shoe. Apparently a master at stating the obvious, Gebremeskel said afterwards, "It's really hard to run in one shoe." We guess it's not that hard dawg. Mo Farah, the race favorite who was beaten by Gebremeskel said, "I'm quite surprised by the pace." Man, these long distance runners provide some witty, entertaining post-game remarks, don't they?
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No. 5 - Rondo Learns his Lesson
A veteran like Rondo knows how to handle embarrassment with grace. This is evident here, as he looks far happier in losing his shoe than most of the other ballers on this list. More importantly, he is a man that learns from his mistakes. In another game in which Rondo found himself shoeless, he was able to adjust his kicks on the fly and lead a fast break.
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No. 4 - The Music City Miracle
The poor Bills. Even when they find a way to overcome the odds, well, the odds seem to overcome them. In a hotly contested 2000 game against the Titans, QB Rob Johnson seemed to have the game in hand after a drive he led while wearing only one shoe ended with a field goal with 16 seconds left. Despite the heroic effort of the journeyman QB, the Titans managed to return the ensuing kickoff for a game-winning TD. Fast forward a decade and, well, not much has changed in Buffalo ... except 9 starting QBs and 5 head coaches.
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No. 3 - Adding Insult to Insult
There have been many NBA player shoe slip ups over the years, but rarely any as unfortunate as Brook Lopez's 2011 mishap. First, Lopez missed a shot, then he lost his shoe, and finally the ball bounced off his back while he retrieved the shoe and landed out of bounds. Did we mention that there was one minute left in regulation and it was a two point game? Did we also mention that the Nets lost on the next play? When asked why Lopez chose to pay attention to his shoe rather than the ball, coach Avery Johnson replied, "That's another thing we have to learn." That's kind of like your parents telling you that they "aren't mad, just disappointed."
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No. 2 - Ladies and Gentlemen, Your 2010 Cincinatti Bengals
The mishap here is more on the part of the Bengals than Brad Smith, who returned a punt for a TD wearing only one shoe. Even though one of his kicks flew off, Smith was still able to beat the Bengals D to put the nail in the coffin of a tight fourth quarter game. If something like this happened this season, we feel like it would be the other way way around, with the Jets reaching inexplicable levels of incompetence and the Bengals finding a way to pull it out against all odds. We guess that's what they mean when they talk about parity in the NFL. We are still waiting for the Bengals to win a playoff game though, as videos tike this remind us just how cursed Ohio NFL teams have been.
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No. 1 - Danica's Sneaker Sabotage
"Something's f***** up." was all that Danica Patrick could bring herself to say after she was thrown off course by a fan's thrown shoe. After leading for most of the race in Montreal's Summer Nationwide Tour last summer, she was forced to pull out of the competition after the thrown shoe damaged her car. Granted, this wasn't a sneaker Danica was wearing, but this is also one of the only sneaker mishaps in which someone could have been seriously hurt. We suspect this is the latest in a long line of sexist acts against Patrick, who has taken endless heat in her attempts of cross NASCAR's gender barrier. Though we are sure the sponsorship cash from the awful GoDaddy commercials is nice, we applaud her for continuing to race in the face of anti-woman red-neckery. Check out the video of the dastardly shoe here.
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