The Beautiful Game

I'm not a die-hard soccer fan, but there's one thing I like about it: It requires virtually no special equipment to play. Get a ball, any ball, and you're good. That's why it's as popular with suburban middle-class kids as it is with street kids in Rio.

It's not that you can't buy expensive versions of these things: Balls, cleats, shin guards. But they don't make you that much better at the game.

Skill outmatches gear. At the highest level of performance, a shoe that's a smidge grippier might make a difference. For anybody else? Just focus on getting better.