We have lived 40 miles north of Raleigh for the last 17 years. Our oldest granddaughter Mary, 26, lives and works in Raleigh, and got swept up in Canes frenzy during this year's Stanley Cup playoffs. Feverishly swept up. She and three friends somehow got tickets to last night's game in Las Vegas. Mary had never been to Vegas, nor had she ever attended an event anything like a Stanley Cup finals game. She flew back in to Raleigh this morning via a redeye flight and headed to work, because 26 years olds can actually survive things like that. I can't wait to hear her tell grandmother and I all about her trip.
It feels like sports teams and leagues went very quickly from "we don't know what we're doing" to "let's try to squeeze out every dollar we possibly can."
Somewhere in the middle of that, they realized fans would buy team merchandise.
Somewhere near the end of that, they started spending millions and millions of dollars to push crappy Fanatics merch onto people.
I'm Joe's age and I vividly remember wearing the home team's jersey, but only on jersey day. The team would hand out very cheaply made polyester shirseys to the kids and, for one day, we could all be Rod Carew, especially if you could shove an entire pack of Hubba Bubba into your cheek to make it look like you had a wad of 'baccy in there. Unfortunately, one time through the wash and I was Randy Bass. If only the other numeral had come off instead, then I could have at least been Larry Hisle.
As an adult, I have a ton of ball caps, but only two jerseys. One is the replacement for the long ago destroyed Carew top. The other, a Sabres #72 sweater with Tage Thompson's name on the back bought by my wife because it was on sale, not because of any connection to the player. I was born in Buffalo before moved away when I turned 4. Because of that, I can't claim to be any kind of die hard fan. But it is something fun to wear around Atlanta and strike up a conversation.
Hockey jerseys work very well for fans because they can accommodate those of us who don't look particularly like professional athletes. NBA jerseys are the worst on that account.
I definitely agree on the camaraderie. Back in the day, the San Antonio Rampage hockey team had hockey jerseys for the Spurs. It is still my favorite for wearing around town during the playoffs when the city is completely transformed. There is nothing like a one-team city when that team is contending. The only bad thing is it is summertime down here before the playoffs start, so it is brutal to wear in May and June.
For many years I owned a record store. One of my regular customers was a slightly portly middle-aged guy who was a die-hard Mets fan. He'd often come by wearing a Mets jersey, a Mets jacket, and a Mets cap, and I thought he looked ridiculous. One time I think I even said to him, "Are you coming straight from Little League or something?" This was back in the day when it was almost a requirement for music retailers to be kind of obnoxious.
But what drives me totally batty is the Yankees fans who go to the game with faux jerseys sporting the players' names on the back. That is not the Yankee Way and should not be endorsed by the franchise nor allowed by the public. And as I'm typing this I'm starting to realize just what an old crank I am. Enjoy that jersey, Joe!
I guess we are both old cranks then because I too abhor the faux Yankees jerseys with names. Every once in a while I'll see someone at Nats Park wearing one and it makes me roll my eyes so hard.
Joe- as a man who suffered the Browns being ripped out and moved to Baltimore, you should be able to empathize with the following sentiment. Peter Karmamos is, like all owners, evil. He took my Whalers away. The Hurricanes don't exist. No one won the cup.
My best buddy in college came to Texas from Connecticut and was a huge Whalers fan. We were in Texas, so those that were hockey fans adopted the Stars when Dallas robbed Minnesota. Not my style.
Never really having a team, I cheer for all the Canadian teams when the playoffs roll around. It's been too long since anybody won the cup.
We have lived 40 miles north of Raleigh for the last 17 years. Our oldest granddaughter Mary, 26, lives and works in Raleigh, and got swept up in Canes frenzy during this year's Stanley Cup playoffs. Feverishly swept up. She and three friends somehow got tickets to last night's game in Las Vegas. Mary had never been to Vegas, nor had she ever attended an event anything like a Stanley Cup finals game. She flew back in to Raleigh this morning via a redeye flight and headed to work, because 26 years olds can actually survive things like that. I can't wait to hear her tell grandmother and I all about her trip.
It feels like sports teams and leagues went very quickly from "we don't know what we're doing" to "let's try to squeeze out every dollar we possibly can."
Somewhere in the middle of that, they realized fans would buy team merchandise.
Somewhere near the end of that, they started spending millions and millions of dollars to push crappy Fanatics merch onto people.
This is why I feel zero shame buying bootleg merch.
I'm Joe's age and I vividly remember wearing the home team's jersey, but only on jersey day. The team would hand out very cheaply made polyester shirseys to the kids and, for one day, we could all be Rod Carew, especially if you could shove an entire pack of Hubba Bubba into your cheek to make it look like you had a wad of 'baccy in there. Unfortunately, one time through the wash and I was Randy Bass. If only the other numeral had come off instead, then I could have at least been Larry Hisle.
As an adult, I have a ton of ball caps, but only two jerseys. One is the replacement for the long ago destroyed Carew top. The other, a Sabres #72 sweater with Tage Thompson's name on the back bought by my wife because it was on sale, not because of any connection to the player. I was born in Buffalo before moved away when I turned 4. Because of that, I can't claim to be any kind of die hard fan. But it is something fun to wear around Atlanta and strike up a conversation.
Hockey jerseys work very well for fans because they can accommodate those of us who don't look particularly like professional athletes. NBA jerseys are the worst on that account.
I definitely agree on the camaraderie. Back in the day, the San Antonio Rampage hockey team had hockey jerseys for the Spurs. It is still my favorite for wearing around town during the playoffs when the city is completely transformed. There is nothing like a one-team city when that team is contending. The only bad thing is it is summertime down here before the playoffs start, so it is brutal to wear in May and June.
No such thing as a hockey jersey, they're sweaters
For many years I owned a record store. One of my regular customers was a slightly portly middle-aged guy who was a die-hard Mets fan. He'd often come by wearing a Mets jersey, a Mets jacket, and a Mets cap, and I thought he looked ridiculous. One time I think I even said to him, "Are you coming straight from Little League or something?" This was back in the day when it was almost a requirement for music retailers to be kind of obnoxious.
But what drives me totally batty is the Yankees fans who go to the game with faux jerseys sporting the players' names on the back. That is not the Yankee Way and should not be endorsed by the franchise nor allowed by the public. And as I'm typing this I'm starting to realize just what an old crank I am. Enjoy that jersey, Joe!
Those Yankee jerseys with names really are the worst. And the worst of the worst are the ones that say "RUTH 3."
I guess we are both old cranks then because I too abhor the faux Yankees jerseys with names. Every once in a while I'll see someone at Nats Park wearing one and it makes me roll my eyes so hard.
Let's Go Canes!
Joe- as a man who suffered the Browns being ripped out and moved to Baltimore, you should be able to empathize with the following sentiment. Peter Karmamos is, like all owners, evil. He took my Whalers away. The Hurricanes don't exist. No one won the cup.
My best buddy in college came to Texas from Connecticut and was a huge Whalers fan. We were in Texas, so those that were hockey fans adopted the Stars when Dallas robbed Minnesota. Not my style.
Never really having a team, I cheer for all the Canadian teams when the playoffs roll around. It's been too long since anybody won the cup.