Class is Permanent
As a football fan, I believe some of the main attractions in this sport are the personalities who are attached to it. Individuality matters. Authenticity matters.
Conor McLeod (@ratboiiiiiiiiphotos) is one of these personalities.
Conor has been paying homage to some of the most recognizable football clubs and countries around the world through his vintage kit collection; which impressively features a number of shirts that have been archived in football history. Conor, with some help from his plush pal (we will get into that later) has created a platform cementing some of the best moments in kit history by way of curated photographs.
I had the opportunity to chat with Conor about his kit collection, photography, and more.
What is it about retro shirts that speaks to you? For me, the sponsorships, the collars, and the long-sleeve vibes are just unmatched.
“I am always drawn to quality and iconic sponsors that we do not see nowadays. For example, Dr. Martens for West Ham is a personal favorite; South London Press for Millwall or Captain Morgan’s. Even Doritos (Wolves), Nintendo (Fiorentina), and a bunch of others we have had over the years like: Sega, Pepsi, McEwans Lager, Vodafone, TY, Fujifilm, etc.”
Like myself, Conor appreciates a good sleeve design on a shirt, and stands behind the opinion that nobody is or has done it as well as Kappa. Conor is also a fan of collars on kits, and believes that long-sleeves are far superior to short-sleeves, and that is a hill he is [metaphorically] willing to die on.
“I also like Away shirts a lot, as clubs always have a bit more license to have fun or get a color scheme you do not always associate with the club; like the Millwall 1996/97 Green and White shirt or a bunch of the Scotland kits from the 90’s. I also enjoy when any club treats us to a Pink shirt.” Selfishly, as a Juventus fan, and an admirer of the 97/98 kit, I could not agree more.
The current state of football kit designs currently resides in a cyclical purgatory of re-creating shirts that resemble and replicate what once was. How do you feel about modern day kits? Do you feel like they have regressed in a sense? In terms of not giving you that nostalgic feeling. There are not too many shirts out there that I can see myself being in awe of 20 years from now.
Conor believes that we are in an unfortunate position where there is not a lot of individuality within football shirts anymore, and whenever we get something that resembles a glimmer of the past - the football shirt community goes crazy for it.
“I miss the days of FILA, ASICS, Reebok, Champion, and Lotto making shirts - I want all these manufacturers to be making shirts again.Kappa is on the rise and they are doing some of the most beautiful shirts of the past few years, in my opinion. Umbro also deserves credit; they have been pushing the envelope.”
Another great point was made during our conversation about the current state of kits in football. They are expensive, and change every year. Some clubs even release up to four kits a year, which makes it difficult for fans and collectors to keep up with the pace of production.
“That is insane. I bought a Rangers Orange and Navy striped shirt this season (their Third kit), and I think the club have worn it once. What is the point? I think we should go back to the days of Home and Away shirts alternating each season, so you have the shirts for a two-year period and occasionally bring a Third shirt out for special occasions.”
After spending some time chatting about gripes, it was time to switch gears a bit, take a look into the proverbial lens and focus on what makes Ratboiiiiiiiiphotos a special personality.
Photography is extremely important when we talk about the nostalgia factor and getting that warm fuzzy feeling when looking at a bombshell of shirt. Some of my favorite football kits are my favorites because the design is world-class and there is a specific photo of a player in the shirt that lives on to this day.
Finally, the full-circle moment. Garfield and the reason behind the Roma kit consistently getting call-ups to start. Earlier, I mentioned personalities in football, so I was curious…
Garfield has to be Conor’s favorite personality off of the pitch, right?
Conor has always been a huge cartoon fan. Garfield was Conor’s dad’s favorite cartoon, so growing up it became his, too; and just like football shirts, he is convinced that they were better in the 90’s - when then they felt more unique. “Cartoons nowadays… it is hard for me to watch what they have done to the classics, in terms of animation. We have gone backwards, and I feel it is the same with football shirts.”
When the time came to decide to start photographing football shirts, he wanted to do something different. “I found the Garfield football plush in my collection and thought - “who better?”
Who better? That takes us into Conor’s favorite personality on the pitch.
“My favorite player is Francesco Totti. I am a huge AS Roma fan. My first experience of football was the 2002 World Cup where I fell in love with Italian football. Totti was at the forefront of that, so I ended up becoming a Roma fan. The fact he stayed at Roma his entire career only adds to that. I’ll forever be gutted I never saw the man play in the flesh. He is my GOAT.”
Conor is an icon in his own right when it comes to the vintage kit game; and from what I have seen, he is making a strong case for considerations as one of the GOAT collectors.