McGrath

You would be surprised how diverse footwear in the world of sports can be. I mean you could go with Michael Johnson's gold shoes, anything worn by roller-derby stars, even the ultra-complex professional wrestling boots — because faking it requires only the best in podiatric protection.

But without a doubt the best and most unique footwear is that chosen by some kickers and punters: nothing at all.

Now, while sumo wrestlers and swimmers all go barefoot, that is by necessity of the sport rather than choice. No, when football players decide to let their feet go naked, it's all about personal choice.

It takes some serious onions to go barefoot on a field with 21 other guys basically running around with nails on their feet, more than half of them running after the guys whose toes are in their birthday suit. I mean if one of those lumbering lunch wagons known as defensive lineman meandered their way onto a kicker's most important body part, then he could quickly go from playing football to having his foot shaped like a pancake and being able to play little else than curling.

Plus, have you ever had to kick something without shoes on? There's a reason you probably don't do it all the time. It's about as pleasurable as head-butting a porcupine — or Sonic the Hedgehog, for that matter.

A football isn't like a kickball. It's quite dense, and in cold weather it is often comparable to kicking a small boulder.

Barefooted kickers often have bloody phalanges at the end of their contest looking like Vienna sausages doused in Heinz. It's not a pretty picture.

Kickers are always considered to be weenies, but kickers who go barefoot aren't just anti-weenie, they are all real men's men.

Point: barefoot kickers.

Poppy

Being such a Project Runway buff, McGrath naturally believes he can win this Point-Counterpoint. Sorry, my friend, all I have to do is search through my closet to find the best sports footwear.

Air Jordan XIs? Nah

Snow shoes? Tempting, but no.

Penny Hardaway Air Maxs? Nope, Lil' Penny ruined that one ("Tyra Banks, fool!").

L.A. Gears? Maybe.

Chuck Taylors? Pretty close. Those Larry Johnson — not the Chiefs' L.J. — grandmamma Converse shoes were as cool as a cucumber. Or at least the commercials were.

Shaq's Dunkmans? Heck no!

The best sports footwear, without a doubt, is the Reebok Pump basketball shoe. What better way to compete with Nike's "Air" cushioning than to pump it up and air out?

Plus the concept itself was as cool as a cucumber. If you felt you needed that little boost to get up and touch the rim, just bend over and give your shoes a little pump.

The shoes themselves may not have been the best looking, but you can't beat a tongue with a basketball on it — one that Pumps up at that.

Reebok Pumps made basketball shoes what they are today. Expensive, ugly and virtually unable to live up to whatever so-called features they provide. I mean the Pump was a good idea, but seeing how it turned out, all it really did was make the shoe heavier — in essence completely ruining the whole concept.

But that's what makes it the best sports footwear — even with a flawed concept, it remains one of the most iconic shoes of the '90s — so much so that Reebok re-launched it two years ago and continues to sell it in stores. All it needs is a not-so good basketball player to promote it. Harold Minor, a.k.a. Baby Jordan, should've been all over that.