Beaten up, falling apart, with a generous rip down the side. Do you know what I’m talking about? Well it’s not a broken down building, they are Peyton Ramsey’s cleats.

How would you look after nearly five years of being filled with smell, passion, hard work, and size 12 feet? These cleats have withstood practices, scrimmages, and state playoff games.

Ramsey purchased his current cleats in his eighth grade summer of 2012. With no intentions of keeping them for this long, Peyton still wears his cleats to this day. I was curious to see what makes this three-star quarterback, ranked number one in the state, and committed to Indiana University want to continue to wear these cleats day in and day out. “Superstition,” said Ramsey. “That’s the only reason.”

I don’t think anyone can blame Peyton, he was the GCL South Co-player of the Year in 2014. He threw for 2,062 yards and 13 touchdowns. He rushed for 908 yards and 12 touchdowns.

These cleats must be magical. No wonder buying a new pair of cleats hasn’t crossed his mind. The only problem Ramsey will face when he continues his academic and athletic career at IU next year is that he will have to finally change his cleats, considering IU is sponsored by Adidas.

It was clear Ramsey was going to have a hard time separating from his good luck charms. “They’re my babies. The peanut butter to my jelly, the pumpkin to my pie, the hop to my scotch,” said Ramsey.

He is still going to bring his cleats with him to college, because if he ever gets the opportunity to slip them on, he will take advantage of it.

Craig James, defensive coordinator, spoke with me on why Under Armour wanted to sponsor Elder Football.

“They saw one of our kids wearing a long sleeve UA shirt in a picture that was in USA TODAY in 2000. They asked if they could send us some product, and we’ve been with them ever since.”

Nearly sixteen years of wearing UA gear has led Elder Football to many GCL titles, State playoff game wins, and back to back State Championships in 2002 and 2003. Just after one year of wearing this gear, Elder won State two times in a row, it sounds like UA is the real deal, and so are their products considering the fact that Ramsey’s cleats still have breath in them after five years of wear and tear.

Under Armour has been Elder Football’s only sponsor. “Nike has tried to get in, but we have the loyalty and quality service UA provides,”  said James. It is clear to many people that the company has shot up in popularity in just a matter of years.

Kids see the pride of Elder football wearing the UA gear on Friday nights, and it makes them want to be apart of it too.

Now the real question is, does quality of gear determine performance on the field?

“Our success always is a reflection of how the players work. They just look better than everyone else doing it,” said James.

Ramsey clearly isn’t all about looks on the field, he just plays his game, and is very successful at doing it. Doug Ramsey (father of Peyton) buys his all-star son a new pair of cleats every year, and still hasn’t realized that he has never worn them. Drew Ramsey (younger brother of Peyton) will never have to worry about having to buy new cleats ever again.

“He has about four brand new pairs of cleats in his closet. Drew is going to be set when he grows up,” mentioned James.

Who ever knew that a beat up pair of cleats could take a kid so far. Ramsey’s cleats will be something that will be remembered in years to come. Under Armour should be proud of how well these cleats have held up, and how much honor is put into wearing them. I can say, they’ve been very successful in making one kid’s dream come true.