I really think the jockstrap fell out of favor simply because they were for most boys uncomfortable. I was lucky my first jock fit well. My second jock was the worst…waistband too tight, pouch too rough etc… there was no care as to fit or function.
There were no alternatives or variety in most stores. You bought what they had. There wasn’t any resource to purchase different brands or discuss options as to what was on the market.
Hell, as an old guy who’s into jocks it seems I need to try a bunch of different brands to find what works for me.
So it’s no wonder once my generation hit adulthood they mostly trashed their middle school straps and never looked back. If jocks were made like women’s bras with different waist sizes and pouch sizes and lengths etc… The jock might not have faded in popularity. The old 3 sizes fit all model just doesn’t work well for sales.
I agree with your reasons why jocks were not what they were supposed to be. But, I stand my my reasons for the disappearance of jocks too. I did a lot of research on it.
In my town me and my buddies started wearing jocks at 11 years old. We weren't required to until about age 13. Our town only sold them in adult small, medium and large. So our tiny boy's equipment was swimming in our adult pouches. But we were so happy to have become the "big guys" that it didn't matter. We were studs! Supermen! Jockstraps were a rite of passage.
When our equipment finally grew, the pouches were still too loose to do what they were supposed to. The generation before wore jocks, underwear and pants high up on the waist just at the ribs. So the long pouch pulled up high and the bottom cupped the balls. (photo below).
However, our generation moved the waistline down to the hips and so the pouches were too long. BIKE never shortened the pouches to keep up with the times. Some guys wore their jocks high on the waist, far above their gym short's waist band to get support. Most of us just had saggy pouches. But everyone I knew still thought it was a great athletic garment.
Our little town only had one store and they did not sell the youth model. That was stupid because all of us were swimming in the pouches, even after puberty. One boy's dad took him to a bigger town and bought him a youth model. We were all jealous. A few boys somehow got other models. One brand had the pouch made out of the waist band material and it was real snug, like the old military jocks (photo below). We envied those guys too. We knew there were better jocks, but they weren't available for us. So we just made do and dreamed of the day when we could shop for ourselves at a bigger town.
In high school jocks were still popular for active times after school, and always for swimming. In college where you could wear what you wanted, all the guys wore jocks. But by that age we had access to different brands, and in those days many of the brands made low rise jocks with snug pouches that kept your balls from bouncing. We had cars and could drive to other towns, and we didn't have to explain to our parents that we wanted to shop and compare.
When jock wearing died, many companies went under. BIKE and the other brands that survived still had the long pouches. One day I went to a big sporting goods store and asked the young sales guy where the jockstraps were. He took me to the aisle and we talked. He was on his college football team. He cussed jockstraps. He said the pouches were too long and pulled back to his asshole and the back of the pouch got stuck in his ass. He hated jocks.
I have always been a rancher and outdoorsman, so I need jocks all the time and its the only underwear I own. So I spent a lot of my life looking for the perfect jock, or having my wife modify a BIKE on her sewing machine. Some of us went to secondhand stores and found the older, snugger jocks in the underwear bin. Today the world is a wonderful place for a jock wearer!
I am glad that Jockstrap Central and other sites are creating and carrying a variety of brands now, and providing a place where brothers can share their experiences with the different brands. It really helps shopping, and you don't have to travel.
Current photos: Two different pouch sizes. Both are supposed to be "one size fits all". This proves that you have to try different brands.
A BIKE made to wear high on your waist if you want any ball support. It is useful if you have a boner, but otherwise the pouch is too long. (I am semi-hard in this photo.)
Second photo of my old military jock, guaranteed to give snug support for everyone. I am soft in it. It barely keeps my cock in it, but I would rather wear this one.