What's the worst you've ever been burned on a jersey purchase?

[AndrewPF]

"Dice-K"? i believe that is against the rules of jersey etiquette my Bostonian freind:) (Some article i read linked from here, I'm sure someone would still know of it)

But hey, if someone would be clueless about etiquette, its gonna be a red sox fan

hey, people have them, like legit officially licensed ones

[OB33]

This one

[DGivens87]

Johhny Damon. For a while after he went to the Yanks, i wore it with the word "SUCKS!!!!!!!" written in sharpie under "Damon". When i get around to it, I'm going to patch "Dice-K" over "Damon SUCKS!!!!!!!"

Similar thing happened to me. I bought my mom a pink Damon Red Sox shirt for Christmas in 2005, about three days before he signed with the Yankees. I still gave it as a present, and knowing that she wasn't as die hard a Sox fan as I am, I was hoping for the best.

When she opened it, she shouted "ARGH! TRAITOR!" , and after giving my mom the explanation of why I got it, she said she still wanted it because she thought (and still thinks) that he's cute. Oh Mom...

[brawdon77]

Daunte Culpepper replica Vikings jersey--my first NFL jersey and less than a year later, he was off to Miami.

Last year when the Vikings unveiled the new uniforms, I purchased a Koren Robinson replica believing that he was going to repeat his good 2005 season...he didn't to say the very least--busted again, Vikings release him, Packers sign him, and then he's suspended for the 2006 season. I still wore it on game days last season though and plan to do so again this year. By the way, my second choice was Brad Johnson.

[WJMorris3]

Not a purchase, but my mother managed to buy me a Ty Detmer Eagles jersey the day before he went to the 49ers.

[Mingjai]

Not a purchase, but my mother managed to buy me a Ty Detmer Eagles jersey the day before he went to the 49ers.

Still have it?

[Ferdinand Cesarano]

This thread is funny. When I saw the title about being burned on a jersey purchase, I figured that the topic was going to be buying jerseys online that turned out to be poorly made or counterfeit.

But it never would have occurred to me that, if a guy leaves the team, this also counts as you (the jersey buyer) being burned!

The jersey is still good! It is still a tribute to that player / that team / that moment in history.

I am not a big jersey collector, but I have owned a few. And, I'd have to say that most of the wearing of these jerseys was done after the guy left the team in question.

For instance, I had a Rick Cerone no. 10 Yankee road jersey that I certainly wore a lot during that unfortunate period of 1985 through 1989 when Cerone played for three other teams, in between his first and second stints in the Bronx. I can tell you that, amid the sadness of that dark day in 1984 when the mighty Cerone was traded to Atlanta for Brian Fisher, I certainly didn't consider my jersey to be ruined!

Going farther back, when we were kids, my brother (who IS a serious jersey collector, by the way) and I had these Met and Yankee t-shirts that had numbers on the back. (But no names! We didn't play that crap in 1973!) The Met shirts had the numbers 41 (Seaver) and 3 (Harrelson) on them; the Yankee shirts bore the numbers 15 (Munson) and 1 (Murcer).

Anyway, when Murcer was traded to the Giants after the 1974 season, I certainly did not put away the no. 1 Murcer shirt; I continued to wear it, and it simply took on a new meaning.

So, jersey buyers, don't fret -- those jerseys have not been ruined. Don't just give them away or consign them to the dusty recesses of your closets. Wear them with pride, confident that, by wearing a jersey that is not current, you are showing that you have a sense of history.

[Joshawaggie]

i've had pretty good luck, i usually go for safe bets, but one year my mom had bought me a Vikings jersey, #27 Corey Fuller... she probably bought it for a good price, problem is, it was because he had been waived/FA (I dont' remember which) by the time I got the jersey.

[gosioux76]

First off, this is a great topic.

I had pretty good judgement from the get-go, when the first authentic jersey I had ever purchased was a 1995 Dan Marino jersey with the 75th anniversary patch. Marino, I knew, would always be a legend.

But then my luck got worse.

Following the Vikings should-have-won-the-Super-Bowl season of 1998, I bought a Randall Cunningham replica. Turns out he sucked the next year and was promptly replaced by Brad Johnson.

A few years later, my family attempted to buy me a navy Twins alt. home jersey. I specifically wanted one with no name on the back. Not knowing any better, they bought just a generic Twins jersey that beared no resemblance to what they wore on the field. So I exchanged it at Champs Sports, which only had jerseys with Jacques Jones' name on the back. Now he's with the Cubs.

And finally, I bought a blue France world cup jersey last summer with Zinedine Zidane's name on the back. I wore it proudly at a local pub as I watched him headbutt Marco Materazzi in the only moment casual fans seem to remember about the World Cup. While I still wear the jersey proudly -- like Marino, Zidane's a legend in his sport -- I have to put up with them morons offering to headbutt me everytime I'm seen wearing it in public.

I've been holding off buyin a new Vikings jersey, since the team has really had no stars or players that might be around for a while. I'm leaning toward Jim Kleinsasser, since we were both at UND at the same time, but Adrian Peterson could be promising.

[spyboy1]

I've been holding off buyin a new Vikings jersey, since the team has really had no stars or players that might be around for a while. I'm leaning toward Jim Kleinsasser, since we were both at UND at the same time, but Adrian Peterson could be promising.

I seriously think your best options for Vikings jersey are Chris Carter, Fran Tarkenton, Alan Page or Carl Eller. The current state of affairs does not lend itself to immortalizing any of the current roster and there's sure to be some real house cleaning when coach Childress gets fired this coming season or perhaps the one after...

And to whoever bought the Ray Bourque jersey, it's a total classic. Hall of Famers jerseys are hardly ever a mistake in a case like his.

JeffB

[BallWonk]

A few years later, my family attempted to buy me a navy Twins alt. home jersey. I specifically wanted one with no name on the back. Not knowing any better, they bought just a generic Twins jersey that beared no resemblance to what they wore on the field. So I exchanged it at Champs Sports, which only had jerseys with Jacques Jones' name on the back. Now he's with the Cubs.

...

I've been holding off buyin a new Vikings jersey, since the team has really had no stars or players that might be around for a while. I'm leaning toward Jim Kleinsasser, since we were both at UND at the same time, but Adrian Peterson could be promising.

If you want a numbered jersey with no name, you can't go wrong ordering from Exclusive Pro Sports in Rockford, IL. You'll get the best possible work and you'll pay less than just about anywhere, even for a brand-new authentic jersey. And they do Twins jerseys just right.

For the Vikings, I sympathize. Were I buying a Vikes jersey now, I'd either get it blank or I'd get it with an unnamed 88 or 80. Any real Vikings fan will understand instantly; if anyone asks you what your number means, you can assume he's a Bears fan and disinvite him from your next gameday party. Also, Bud Grant wore 86 in his brief NFL playing career. A Bud Grant tribute jersey could be fun.

If you want to show your Minnesota pride but not actually endorse any of the nonentities on the roster right now, there's always 32, for the Star of the North being the thirty-second state, or 58, for Minnesota joining the union in 1858, which makes next year the sesquicentennial.

[EatSleepJeep]

A #2 Grant Vikes jersey would be funny because of his "That 2nd place money adds up" quote in response to losing 4 Superbowls.

[IceCap]

A red Vince Carter Raptors jersey, the year before he left for New Jersey.

Still, that doesn't sting as much as this other jersey I received as a Bar Mitzvah gift. The husband of a friend of my mom works for Vaughn, the hockey equipment company. They specialize in goalie equipment. Back then I was biggest CuJo fan you could find. Long story short, my mom's friend had been able to use her husband's connections to get a Joseph Leafs jersey signed by CuJo himself. This was during the 2000-2001 season. By 2002 he had left Toronto.

[HatManTC]

in high school, my best friend bought a replica Chargers Natron Means uni. only to have him be traded to the Panthers later that summer. i believe he still has that jersey to this day.

had someone give me a replica Cleveland Browns Kevin Winslow jersey. i never it because he is an idiot. and his father is an idiot too. over hyping that accident my butt. its not like "dont ride a motorcycle" wasnt in his contract. i guess reading wasnt his strong point when he went to the "U"

hey whats a good way to get screen printing of a jersey with out damaging the actually jersey?

[gosioux76]

If you want a numbered jersey with no name, you can't go wrong ordering from Exclusive Pro Sports in Rockford, IL. You'll get the best possible work and you'll pay less than just about anywhere, even for a brand-new authentic jersey. And they do Twins jerseys just right.

For the Vikings, I sympathize. Were I buying a Vikes jersey now, I'd either get it blank or I'd get it with an unnamed 88 or 80. Any real Vikings fan will understand instantly; if anyone asks you what your number means, you can assume he's a Bears fan and disinvite him from your next gameday party. Also, Bud Grant wore 86 in his brief NFL playing career. A Bud Grant tribute jersey could be fun.

If you want to show your Minnesota pride but not actually endorse any of the nonentities on the roster right now, there's always 32, for the Star of the North being the thirty-second state, or 58, for Minnesota joining the union in 1858, which makes next year the sesquicentennial.

I solved by Twins jersey craving in other ways. I bought a retro powder blue double-knit jersey personalized with with #14 and Hrbek. Can't go wrong there. And I would have no trouble buying a modern Twins jersey and putting #7 and Mauer on it. As far as I'm concerned, he's already a local legend.

I've been looking for an adequate Vikings throwback, but they're usually either a poor knock-off or way too expensive. And honestly, I don't think I'm that interested in a throwback as much as I am in having the franchise employ a player worthy of my money.

[BallWonk]

I solved by Twins jersey craving in other ways. I bought a retro powder blue double-knit jersey personalized with with #14 and Hrbek. Can't go wrong there.

No, you certainly cannot go wrong with a Hrbek jersey. Great choice! It's fun to meet, if only virtually, another Hrbek fan. I can still work myself into a lather of angry outrage over the Gold Glove awards Don freakin' Mattingly won on account of being a great hitter in New York that should have gone to Hrbek, the best defensive first baseman I ever saw in the 1980s. If you could draw a virtual bubble, a half sphere extending 9 feet from first base in any direction, all a Twins fielder had to do was pass his throw anywhere through the surface of that bubble and Hrbek would make the play. Looking at Hrbek at rest, you'd never imagine how quick and lithe he was, or how far he could extend himself in any direction.

They used to say that water covers two-thirds of the earth's surface, and the rest is covered by Kirby Puckett, but I always felt that overlooked the bubble around first base that effectively served as an event horizon from which no thrown ball could escape.

[gosioux76]

I solved by Twins jersey craving in other ways. I bought a retro powder blue double-knit jersey personalized with with #14 and Hrbek. Can't go wrong there.

No, you certainly cannot go wrong with a Hrbek jersey. Great choice! It's fun to meet, if only virtually, another Hrbek fan. I can still work myself into a lather of angry outrage over the Gold Glove awards Don freakin' Mattingly won on account of being a great hitter in New York that should have gone to Hrbek, the best defensive first baseman I ever saw in the 1980s. If you could draw a virtual bubble, a half sphere extending 9 feet from first base in any direction, all a Twins fielder had to do was pass his throw anywhere through the surface of that bubble and Hrbek would make the play. Looking at Hrbek at rest, you'd never imagine how quick and lithe he was, or how far he could extend himself in any direction.

They used to say that water covers two-thirds of the earth's surface, and the rest is covered by Kirby Puckett, but I always felt that overlooked the bubble around first base that effectively served as an event horizon from which no thrown ball could escape.

This is clearly off topic, but I always found it to be scandalous that Kent Hrbek was never appointed to an American League all-star team. If my memory serves, he was similarly outraged and had boycotted the all-star process. I loved the guy. I played first base and wore #14 because Hrbek made me realize that even kids from Minnesota can grow up and make it into the big leagues. Not that it got me far, but he was a worth role model nonetheless.

[Yac12]

One I forgot about. In either the late 80's or early 90's I got a Bears jersey with #10 Willis. P.T. Willis was one of my favorite college quarterbacks growing up and I thought he would be great for the Bears.

[WJMorris3]

Not a purchase, but my mother managed to buy me a Ty Detmer Eagles jersey the day before he went to the 49ers.

Still have it?

Yes, though it fits me like the skin on a frankfurter now.

[hwcsoul]

I was always a huge Felix Potvin fan when he was with the Maple Leafs, and being from Boston, I used to tell my college roommates that if Potvin ever signed with the Bruins, it'd be what we called an "instant jersey purchase." Boston signed him in 2003, and true to my word, I ordered an authentic white Bruins Potvin jersey. That season, Andrew Raycroft has a monster year, winds up as the starting goalie, and Felix appears in only 28 games before disappearing from the league altogether. I still love that jersey, and I'll always be a Potvin fan, so I can't call it a complete burn. As a result of all of this, I'm not the biggest Raycroft fan though!