Back in the day, every year six footballing hopeful had a pair of Adidas Predators in their arsenal.
The original Predators came out in the early 90’s and before long they were in the boot-bags of anyone who was anyone when it came to the pitch, reports the Mirror.
I remember an auntie of mine buying a pair for me after taking me to the Liverpool FC store when I was about nine or ten. I was always a shite footballer but with these on my feet I felt like a God.
However, despite coming out in the early 90’s, a recent excavation at Vindolanda Roman in Northumberland has accidentally revealed that they may be much older than we first thought.
Here’s some Predator’s:
And here’s the ancient equivalent:
They look pretty damn similar to me…
Volunteers at the site’s most recent annual excavation unveiled over 400 ancient roman shoes from a ditch at the area, all of which bearing a striking resemblance to the Adidas Predators we know and love.
The ditch where they were found was part of the massively defended early Third century fort at a time of constant warfare with northern British tribes.
Dr Andrew Birley, Vindolanda director of excavations, said:
The Roman shoe was meant to be worn indoors so that you did not bring the mud from outside inside.
It offered comfort and flexibility and its similarity to the Predator shows that although the Romans did not have the benefit of playing football, good design stands the test of time.
Or is there more to it than Andrew seems to suggest? Maybe it was a time traveller…
And before you call bullshit – remember that this isn’t the first time incredibly old Adidas trainers have been unearthed.
Back in April, scientists in the mountains of Mongolia unearthed a 1,500 year old mummy clad wearing, you guessed, a top notch pair of Adidas.
Now I’m no conspirator but personally, something seems very fishy about all of this…
