Back when I umpired baseball, in a time when a guy wouldn't be caught dead in tights, I wore old fashioned longjohns behind the plate to keep the shin guard straps from chewing up my legs. In the early 80's, one of my duties as a college basketball mgr. was to check on the officials. I was shocked one night when I walked into their dressing room to see Dale Ford, who was also an AL umpire, wriggling around on the floor trying to get into a pair of pantyhose. They laughed at my bemusement and he explained that they were great for compression on the legs.
As times changed, I eventually bought some Under Armour cold gear leggings for late season football games. Eventually I discovered lighter weights that are perfect for year round wear. As you get older, the compression on your legs helps a bit. I still usually try to wear the long leg compression shorts in August and September. The Copper Fit compression socks are less than $10 and come up to the bottom of the knee and are a heckuva lot cheaper than the stuff the runners wear.
