Daniel HuggettUpdate: Click here for official information regarding these sneakers
Despite a 7-5 finish for the UT football team, Nike has been keen to provide Longhorn fans with a plethora of on-feet options throughout this disappointing season. Since around the start of training camp, the footwear giant has released two pairs of running shoe and a sportswear shoe for fans of the burnt orange and white. This trend of released UT sneakers looks to continue, as images of a Texas Longhorns Nike Free X Metcon 2 have been leaked online.
Although Nike has equipped many of the Longhorn athletic teams with Metcons since 2016, this pair marks the first time that a UT branded version of the now legendary training shoe line has been created and released to the public. Additionally, this pair of Free X Metcon 2s are the first UT trainer we’ve seen since the Free TR 8 “Texas” that released back in 2018.
Sporting a muted aesthetic similar to the Texas Pegasus 36s, these sneakers feature a primarily black and dark grey upper with hints of burnt orange sprinkled throughout. What looks to be a woodgrain pattern is present on the tongue and insole. Branding wise, the Longhorn logo is printed on the insoles, and the word “Longhorns” is displayed on the lateral side of each shoe near the collar.
Personally, I’m really not a fan of how these turned out. While I am thankful that Nike opted to release a pair of training shoes (after deviating from that style of sneaker for a while), these really do nothing for me from a colorway perspective. Burnt orange and black can be a great combination if executed correctly, but this pair in particular looks like a shoe made for Oklahoma State fans.
Additionally, the minimal amount of branding doesn’t make these feel special at all. If you removed the “Longhorns” font from the side of the sneaker then these look like a regular colorway of the Free X Metcon 2. Nike obviously wants to make each release as generic as possible to cut down on costs as well as produce them for more schools, however there comes a point where a team specific colorway becomes so watered down that it fails to be even that.
I acknowledge that the Texas Pegasus 36s and React Element 55s also had this problem to an extent, they both still felt like UT specific colorways and I had no problem picking them up day one. While I am glad to see Nike attempt to release more University of Texas sneakers to the public, I would rather them release fewer pairs if that meant each sneaker felt unique to the University of Texas.
As per usual with leaked images, there is currently no release date for this pair of Texas trainers. If past models are any indication of pricing, then expect these to retail for $130, a $10 price increase from standard colorways of the Nike Free X Metcon 2.
What are your thoughts on these UT Metcons? Do these not feel specific enough to the Texas Longhorns, or is the black and burnt orange combo too sick to pass up?
Images via @US_11
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