I haven’t had a favorite athlete since I was a kid (still love you, Ryne Sandberg and Keith Tkachuk), back when you needed a reason to have a certain number on your youth league jersey. But I’ve got a favorite player again. His name is Stefon Diggs and he’s a wide receiver for the Minnesota Vikings. Is it because he’s one of the 30 best receivers in the game right now? No. I just found that out after I googled “Stefon Diggs.” It’s his shoes. For the Vikings preseason game tonight against the Seattle Seahawks, Diggs will be rocking a custom pair of Starbucks-inspired cleats.
According to the Washington Post, Diggs is a big-time lover of the big-time coffee chain. And what better way to show the proper respect when heading to the home of the mermaid than by wearing them on your feet? Made by Mache Custom Kicks, the Nike cleats have ben redesigned to look like a Starbucks coffee cup, complete with cup sleeve, drink order on the toe, and even his name misspelled as “Digz” on the back.
If you want to see these bad boys in action, though, you may want to tune into the game early. ESPN’s Darren Rovell stated on Twitter that Diggs would be fined if he wears the cleats during the game and noted that, “During pregame warmups, players can wear any design they want, so long as it doesn’t depict commercialized or trademarked logos, other than the league-approved footwear brands (Nike, Under Armour and Adidas). The cleats also can’t have anything that would be deemed offensive or express political views.”
Mache defended Diggs, stating the athlete was promoting Starbucks in any “official” capacity, “just some artistic expression for a mans love of StarBs.” Now, I’m not one to say that professional athletes need any monetary assistance from us layfolk, but if Diggs wears these during the game and gets fined by the No Fun League, I’m starting a GoFundMe to pay the fine.
So Stefon, please wear the shoes during the game. Also, maybe consider a custom pair of Intelligentsia cleats for that Chicago away game?
Zac Cadwalader is the news editor at Sprudge Media Network.
*all images via Mache Custom Kicks
