Jerseys a NO-GO?

[ProvidenceRI]

Nope, I agree with Sports Guy on that one. You don't play for that team, so your name shouldn't be on the jersey.

Well by the same logic:

you don't play for that team, so you shouldn't be wearing their jersey.

or

you are not Tom Brady, so you should not be wearing a Tom Brady jersey.

[DGivens87]

If you're over 20 and wear a jersey outside the home, you're an idiot. Thank God someone had the balls to say it.

and you, my friend, are an idiot for making such an inflammatory comment like that on this board...

Let people wear what they wanna wear. I don't understand why people have to hate on certain fashions. Yeah, I personally don't like it when people wear jerseys 4 sizes too big for them, but you don't see me going out of my way to say "if you wear jerseys 4 sizes too big you're an idiot".

I agree with RickV, there are certain functions where you shouldn't wear a jersey, like out on a date, to a holiday event (except 4th of July), a business meeting, or anything work/business-related. But fluff you for calling me out when I feel like playing pool or heading to the ballgame rockin a cap and a jersey.

[WSU151]

Well by the same logic:

you don't play for that team, so you shouldn't be wearing their jersey.

But I can support my team by wearing, or at least attempting to wear, what the team wears.

you are not Tom Brady, so you should not be wearing a Tom Brady jersey.

I know I'm not Tom Brady, and I'm not trying to be Tom Brady when I wear my jersey. I wear a Tom Brady jersey because I am a fan of Tom Brady. And when I'm not playing a game, who cares if it's not my last name on the jersey?

The name template on the back indicates that "the person who is wearing this jersey has the last name ____"

No it doesn't. The name template on the back indicated that "the person who is wearing this jersey IS A FAN OF _____". If I'm not playing the game, my name doesn't have to be on the jersey.

I think it's kinda lame when people put their own last name on the jersey. Should it be you wearing the #12?? Is that what you're trying to say? Are you going to join the team and take over? And why do I need to know what your last name is, especially when I couldn't care less? It just seems you're trying to live out some lost fantasy by putting your own name on it. My two cents.

[Jigga]

If you pay for the :censored:, you can do whatever the :censored: you want with it. Chop in up in little pieces and burn it if you want to. If you want to put down $100 for a jersey with your name on it, then damn it, you go right ahead. "Fan" is short for "fanatic" meaning the :censored: we do isn't supposed to make sense. You can't tell someone how to be a fan. You can't tell someone when and how to wear their jersey.

My name isn't Ralph Lauren, but I'm wearing a Polo shirt as I write this. Oh my name isn't Sean John (Combs) or Stacy Adams either (or Hanes) but I'm rocking their :censored:, too.

[ProvidenceRI]

Should it be you wearing the #12?? Is that what you're trying to say? Are you going to join the team and take over? And why do I need to know what your last name is, especially when I couldn't care less? It just seems you're trying to live out some lost fantasy by putting your own name on it. My two cents.

I don't have any jerseys with my name on the back.

But at least people who wear those show some sort of self-pride, and logic. Though, they may be uber dorks.

I am fine with people wearing jerseys. But, I do prefer when people wear jerseys with no numbers, or at least no name on the back.

I am just trying to show that there is no logic in the Sports Guy's reasoning. He's just being a hater.

Sports Guy also ripped on people for wearing jerseys of inactive players on it. I guess he feels everyone can afford a new jersey every year on top of the overpriced tickets and concessions.

[ProvidenceRI]

If you pay for the :censored:, you can do whatever the :censored: you want with it. Chop in up in little pieces and burn it if you want to. If you want to put down $100 for a jersey with your name on it, then damn it, you go right ahead. "Fan" is short for "fanatic" meaning the :censored: we do isn't supposed to make sense. You can't tell someone how to be a fan. You can't tell someone when and how to wear their jersey.

My name isn't Ralph Lauren, but I'm wearing a Polo shirt as I write this. Oh my name isn't Sean John (Combs) or Stacy Adams either (or Hanes) but I'm rocking their :censored:, too.

This has got to be the post of the year.

He even censored it for the kids.

[Jigga]

If you pay for the :censored:, you can do whatever the :censored: you want with it.  Chop in up in little pieces and burn it if you want to.  If you want to put down $100 for a jersey with your name on it, then damn it, you go right ahead.  "Fan" is short for "fanatic" meaning the :censored: we do isn't supposed to make sense.  You can't tell someone how to be a fan.  You can't tell someone when and how to wear their jersey. 

My name isn't Ralph Lauren, but I'm wearing a Polo shirt as I write this.  Oh my name isn't Sean John (Combs) or Stacy Adams either (or Hanes) but I'm rocking their :censored:, too.

This has got to be the post of the year.

He even censored it for the kids.

First of all I would like to thank God, because without him I wouldn't be here...I would like to thank the Academy...my mom and dad...my agent...and my fans. Thank you.

[rmackman]

I think it's obvious you don't wear a jersey to dinner, to prom, to your wedding, to a bar mitzvah, to a funeral, to church/temple, meeting your girlfriends parents, etc. First off, I usually own a collared shirt of my favorite team just in case I go over to a girlfriends parents house for a football game. Then I look more presentable and can root for my team. We all know I have a ton of jerseys. I can wear them to work b/c I'm allowed to. Some people like it at work. I've had guys ask me where I can find them. I used to wear them to class. I definately wear them during a game. I do own an authentic Dolphins jersey with my name and HS number on it, but I never wear that outside the confines of my own house. It was a gift from my dad. Point is, you just have to know how to wear your jersey. I hate it when kids go out for a night on the town and wear jerseys. You don't do that unless you're walking across the street from the ballpark because you just came from a game. Some people just don't know when to wear it but you're not a dork if you have a jersey.

[VitaminD]

I think it's obvious you don't wear a jersey to dinner, to prom, to your wedding, to a bar mitzvah, to a funeral, to church/temple, meeting your girlfriends parents, etc.

You would think so, wouldn't you? But shockingly, there are far too many people who wear jerseys at clearly unacceptable times. Our neighborhood church has, on average, 8 or 9 Eagles jerseys in the congregation. Even during the offseason. I think I'm the only male under 75 who attends services in a coat and tie. Whatever happened to "Sunday best", and a little outward sign of respect? I know my Sunday best isn't my Jevon Kearse gamer... which is why it stays off until I'm home and church is over.

As for the "which name goes on the jersey" issue, it's simple: if you didn't earn the jersey (by making the team), don't make yourself look foolish by putting your name on someone else's number. If you're wearing a Patriots' #12 with "KOVALEWSKI" on the back, you're not fooling anyone. It's Tom Brady's jersey, and it tells the world "I think I'm Tom Brady, and I'm wearing his number to show how alike we really are." If you want a customized jersey to show allegiance to a team, and you want it customized with a number, might as well be thorough and get the proper name. If you've gotta have your own name on your back, get the jersey of a guy with your last name... or go join a rec hockey league where they put names on the back of jerseys, and show the world you made a team. My two cents, keep the change...

[pcgd]

I wore a jersey once to work.

I was leaving at 10am to go to a Cardinals playoff game.

I think I was ok.

[sc49erfan15]

I agree with a lot of what you guys are saying. Jersey to prom, church, formal event, etc? No. Jersey hangin' out with friends, laid-back social outing, etc etc...what's wrong with it? I, like 9/10 of the people on this board, own quite a few jerseys, and I wear them to class, around the dorm, etc.

And how are you supposed to wear a football or basketball jersey without a number or name? How many people remove the nameplates (and in the case of Swingman or EQT jerseys, numbers) from their jerseys?

[VandyDelphia Mike]

So here are your choices:

1) Get a jersey, but out of fear of trying to be an athlete when you aren't one, pull out the numbers and the name on it so that all you have is a blank jersey, or ...

2) Buy a t-shirt and/or sweatshirt of the team in question.

I like option 2). 1) might work for hockey, but only hockey.

[leopard88]

. . . to prom, . . .

Off topic (if anyone cares to respond) --

Is it proper/preferred to say "to prom" or "to the prom"? I have always used the "the" and it drives me crazy when it is dropped (as in "Pretty in Pink", which then drives my wife crazy when I invariably bitch about it). I am just curious if I am in the minority on this.

Same goes for "playing catch" vs. "have a catch" (a la "Fields of Dreams"), by the way. I never heard the phrase "have a catch" until college and it generally bothered me.

If everyone ignores me on this, no problem. I just felt compelled to bring it up because I obsess over this issue.

[fiasco!]

pretty much games only for me.

HOVA said it best:

nigga, one life to live i can't let a day go by

without me being fly, fresh to death

head to toe, until the day i rest

and i don't wear jerseys, i'm thirty plus

give me a crisp pair of jeans, nigga, button ups

s-dots on my feet makes my cycle complete

what more can i say, guru play the beat

[Braylon17]

I wear my authentics when I want and where I want. I don't need a writer from ESPN.com to tell me how cool or uncool I am. My friends do a fine job of that.

I am not a big fan of having my own name or nicknames on my jerseys. Although I do enjoy going to Browns stadium on Sunday's to see "BUBBA 69" and "SNAKE 00" in the crowd. Personally, if I am going to drop some good coin on an authentic I like it to have to current players names on them.

Now if we could only keep the players on their current teams so that the names and number would never go out of style...

[Bouj]

I don't even think this is the most inflammatory thing ESPN had posted yesterday (but that is only because I think Scoop Jackson is an idiot). But Hruby did get under my skin.

Hruby comes off as an elitist know-it-all snob who gets off telling people how smart he is, correcting you any chance he gets, and showing how "cultured" he is. And for those of you who aren't an ESPN Insider, you might have missed the recap on his chat yesterday. He totally kept going, mocking people who wear a team t-shirt instead of the jersey, and grown men who wear caps (said it was a dead-giveaway that you have a bald spot).

OF COURSE you shouldn't wear a jersey to a wedding or formal event or prom or church or date. But what exactly is wrong with dressing casually in a casual situation? Should I be getting dressed up to go to the mall? To go shopping anywhere? To hang out with my buddies?

(And I think the lone exception to the "jersey-on-a-date" rule is that you are going to a game on a date, but even then, I had better have been dating this girl for a little while.)

Now, nothing this guy says is going to make me change how I dress or how I feel about myself. It just gets under my skin that ESPN basically had someone write on their website that their customers (any sports fan who wears a jersey) look like idiots and have no style. Good work.

[RickV]

. . . to prom, . . .

Off topic (if anyone cares to respond) --

Is it proper/preferred to say "to prom" or "to the prom"? I have always used the "the" and it drives me crazy when it is dropped (as in "Pretty in Pink", which then drives my wife crazy when I invariably bitch about it). I am just curious if I am in the minority on this.

Same goes for "playing catch" vs. "have a catch" (a la "Fields of Dreams"), by the way. I never heard the phrase "have a catch" until college and it generally bothered me.

If everyone ignores me on this, no problem. I just felt compelled to bring it up because I obsess over this issue.

I agree with you. You go to THE prom. It is a noun and deserves the article THE.

As for "have a catch", I had never heard the term till the movie. I, as you do, always said playing catch.

[leopard88]

I agree with you.  You go to THE prom.  It is a noun and deserves the article THE.

As for "have a catch", I had never heard the term till the movie.  I, as you do, always said playing catch.

Thanks for the reply. I feel better now.

Apparently, "have a catch" is more or less a PA/NJ thing. The guy who used it in college was a fraternity brother from Philly. Also, the "Reel Classics" extras for "Field of Dreams" mentioned something about it being Mid-Atlantic. Of course, I'm from Maryland and had never heard it. Maybe Vitamin D, BBTV, BigEd76 (sorry if I skipped someone) or one of those guys can provide further insight.

[DG_ThenNowForever]

As for "have a catch", I had never heard the term till the movie. I, as you do, always said playing catch.

I'm fond of saying "Let's have a chat," but that's me.

So far as wearing jerseys is concerned, I don't. My fandom used to be limited to MLB caps, period. When I was 17, I really wanted a Mats Sundin jersey, but could never justify the necessary $200. I've since ventured to a nice fleece Syracuse sweatshirt and I wear Syracuse basketball t-shirts to the gym. To me, that's enough.

If I went to NFL games often enough (I've been to four in my life), I'd probably buy a jersey. As it is, I'm okay without. Plus, the girlfriend would never let me out of the house wearing one.

[BallWonk]

I can't say I really disagree with the writer. Sure, he's a hater, but some things are worth hating. Like, you know, the Packers. Anyway, my own rules would be:

1. Jerseys are fine when participating in, attending, watching, or traveling to and from an actual sporting event.

2. Jerseys are fine when puttering around the house or doing chores on or near your own property.

3. You can wear jerseys outside the house when doing weekend activities, like grocery shopping or taking the boat out or hitting Home Depot. Just be aware that you look like a dope, unless it's a jersey you actually earned through participation in an athletic event and the people around you are aware of this fact.

4. Wearing jerseys in any other context doesn't make you look like a dope. It makes you a dope.

If that seems harsh, keep in mind that I have violated rule 4 myself from time to time. We're all dopes sometimes.

My corollaries would be:

1. It's better to put your own name on a jersey than someone else's name. It's less ridiculous to play make believe that you, the fan, are yourself a member of the team than to play make believe that you are actually a some other person. But even then, names are trouble.

2. It is always safe to wear a number without a name. A reasonable person can read that as a tribute, not a personality disorder, whereas any reasonable person will wonder about the sanity of a grown man trying to pass himself off as Mike Schmidt (to cite the most commonly worn named jersey here in DC).

Again, I have violated these corollaries, so the first stone I throw is at my own glass house.