Super Bowl XLVIII may be one of the coldest in NFL history, but Nike's latest innovation may make it one of the fastest, too. The sports apparel company recently announced that Broncos and Seahawks players will wear its newest football cleats, the Vapor Carbon Elite, for the big game.
The new cleats succeed Nike's previous model, the Vapor Laser Talon, which helped players run faster, but only in a straight direction. Unfortunately, few NFL players only run in a straight line. They cut, juke, spin and shuffle. According to a statement on the Nike website, the designers of the Vapor Carbon Elite used a 3D print design to create a shoe that gives players better traction in all directions.
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But before Marshawn Lynch, Richard Sherman or any other players see their first snaps, Nike's new shoe has already proven its worth in the lab. Nike researchers aimed the new design at addressing "zero step," the stance a player takes before he strides, according to Smithsonian Magazine.
Football is commonly referred to as "a game of inches," and a player's first step can often foreshadow the success of a play. The studs on the cleats of Nike's new shoe have significantly improved traction, a development that could prevent players from slipping, even marginally, and ultimately impact the outcome of a game.
“The zero step isn’t actually a step,” Michael Johnson, an Olympic gold medalist sprinter whose company is partnered with Nike, told to Wired Magazine. “It’s propulsion.”
The Vapor Carbon Elite will face its first test on Sunday night in relatively harsh conditions: a low of 30 degrees and a 30% chance of rain, according to weatherbug.com.
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