Jersey Faux Pas for fans at sporting events

[hockey week]

Did that article seriously call these Flyers jerseys bad?

I'm not sure.. this confused me as well.

From what I can tell reading the rest of the list, the author was an obvious Pittsburgh fan.

I think it's just a weak jab at a state Rival.

Empty Netters is a long-running column for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the newspaper. It was obviously a jab at a cross-state rival, written by Pittsburghers for Pittsburghers. Which is why I added that note, "don't wear the rival's jerseys unless they're playing". Other than that, I think it's a solid list.

And of course, everybody has the right to wear whatever you want, but we don't wear many things because of public ridicule...I don't see how this is any different. More snobbish, sure, but not truly different.

[Xodius]

Went to my first San Jose Sharks game a couple weeks and kind of debated wearing my Sens jerseys but didn't. Went to the game and saw a plethora of unique jerseys from a few different leagues; it was actually quite refreshing seeing a lot of unique hockey fans there. Even saw someone in a Sens jersey, which brought the biggest grin to my face.

The reasoning I've always been given about wearing hockey jerseys/merch that doesn't have anything to do with any of the team or players is that it's just a show of love of the game. You're a hockey fan, you show it by wearing your colors.

[ncs53]

If you follow any of these "rules" you just might want to take a look at your priorities. Wear what you want, where you want, when you want, and don't give a flying about what anyone else thinks about it. That, folks, is the only "rule" that matters.

I promise you that when I don my Blue Jackets home jersey and wear it to the game tomorrow night, I will give absolutely zero -s what anyone else thinks about my choice of apparel. I'm there to have fun. I'm not at all concerned about jersey "faux pas", "rules", "pet peeves", and so on...

Thats your call - just prepare to be publicly mocked (behind your back of course) and possibly have your faux pas posted on this thread or a similar site... if wearing your Boo Jax jersey when you feel like it is worth it to ya, have at 'er.

Right, because I care about about the opinion of someone who thinks "Boo Jax" is witty. What part of "I don't care what people think" flew over your head, chief?

EDIT: Just curious, why would a bunch of people at a Blue Jackets game mock someone for wearing a Blue Jackets jersey? Especially when a good percentage of those people are wearing jerseys themselves?

Oh well. Some people never leave high school. I wouldn't worry too much about that guy making fun of me. He's Canadian he has enough problems as it is.

[_RH_]

There are hundreds of funny pictures on this blog:

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nhl-puck-daddy/jersey-fouls-koval-suck-blackhawks-17-seconds-sinking-202259849--nhl.html

[wonderbread]

I'm seriously considering getting only personalized jerseys, not because i want to pretend i play for the team or whatever but because I currently have a celtics kg, pats welker, bruins seguin, and red sox papelbon jerseys that i don't like as much anymore because they aren't on the teams, if i got personalized jerseys i wouldn't have this problem anymore, and not have to get new jerseys unless they change the design, which for 2/4 i don't see that ever happening and the other 2 aren't going to change any time soon.

Is the Papelbon jersey a home jersey or road jersey? If it's the home it shouldn't be a problem since it wouldn't have his name on the back.

The red home alt that I bought from a thrift store, I think it was originally a blank that someone added the name and number on wrong, it's probably my least favorite jersey

[Buster]

My biggest pet peeve is people wearing jerseys of a team that isn't playing in the game that they are attending. I know not everybody agrees with me on this, but it's something I don't like.

Red Sox fans are the worst.

I go to games in Baltimore to see our teams when they come to town because I'm less than an hour from Camden Yards. I'm a White Sox fan and my wife is a Yankees fan. So at the Orioles and Yankees game, whole families of Red Sox-dressed fans came with big cardboard syringes to yell vulgarities at Jason Giambi, kids included. There was a row of them in front of me, very annoying. We stood behind a family of 4 all dressed in PINK Red Sox garb, the father included.

Why they came to the White Sox-Orioles game? I guess to boo the Orioles, who were basement dwellers back then,

I understand they love baseball, but to follow the Yankees around just to act like idiots it a bit disturbing.

I don't agree with the sentiment here that adult men can't wear jerseys. I don't often, my most recent jersey is a Clinton Portis, but if you're a fan going to a game, go ahead and wear your team's jersey. It would be a little odd if you're wearing them every day or wearing every team known to man, but if you're at a game for your team, I don't see the problem, Just make sure it fits properly and isn't 10 sizes too big. Same goes for your cap.

The only time I'd caution against it is when you're in Philadelphia. Unless you're big enough to beat off your attackers, I wouldn't wear a jersey that isn't representing the City of Swiss Cheesy Love.

[Buster]

5.) Pitiful in Pink:

(coolhockey.com.)

We understand and accept women have certain curves and body features which hockey jerseys really don't compliment well. But that doesn't excuse the abomination known as a women's jersey. Hockey jerseys are meant to big and bulky in order to fit over padding. They're not intended to show off the results from your Pilates class. That's why they came up with the little black dress.

Blah, talk about taking things overboard. I prefer women to look like women and show off what makes them a woman. Do you want your wives and girlfriends to actually get into sports are do you want to be a jerk about her wanting to wear the team colors because it's not an "authentic, official, pro cut" jersey? Way to get them on yoru side. If you act all anal about jerseys, all you'll do it turn them off to joining you watching a game. Let the ladies have their fun and wear their fashion jerseys.

This is far better to look at

than this.

/Proud to be straight.

[BrianLion]

I don't know, you're talking to someone who thinks wearing a jersey at all if you're over the age of 15 is a foul. But I know I'm in the minority here on that one.

I do agree though that getting your own name is bad (again assuming you're over the age of like 8). Makes you look like even more of a large child.

The age component comes up a lot when we discuss this. For the record, I think 15 is a little extreme as a cut off point. I think college guys can probably get away with it, at least in a casual situation. Kids in my classes wear jerseys a lot and I don't really think about it. And it seems OK for pretty much anyone to wear a jersey to an actual sporting event... or at least you won't stand out in one, as half the people around you will be wearing jerseys too.

my point in naming that age was more or less child vs adult. I think adults (even people in college) look silly wearing jerseys but YMMV.

[Buster]

I think using random acronyms in conversation looks silly.

[TheOldRoman]

Blah, talk about taking things overboard. I prefer women to look like women and show off what makes them a woman. Do you want your wives and girlfriends to actually get into sports are do you want to be a jerk about her wanting to wear the team colors because it's not an "authentic, official, pro cut" jersey? Way to get them on yoru side. If you act all anal about jerseys, all you'll do it turn them off to joining you watching a game. Let the ladies have their fun and wear their fashion jerseys.

First off, your mileage may vary on what one considers attractive on women. Seeing a cute girl in a real jersey isn't bound to give anyone a raging hard-on, but I think it's a good look in many cases.

Obviously the pink crap sells or they wouldn't keep making it, but to me it seems like pandering, degrading crap. Like "Well, you're a woman. We can't expect you to actually care about the team and wear their colors, so we'll make you tight pink gear so you can sorta support the team while playing Candy Crush and waiting for the game to end." I mean, there are plenty of actual women (some even attractive!) who wear team colors and can show their team spirit without looking like a tart. They can make shirts flattering to the feminine physique without revealing the midriff. Women don't have to wear pink, skin-tight belly shirts with spanky pants at all times. I doubt very many women are going to stop being sports fans, to the extent they are now, if they aren't given access to pink baby-shirts with team logos. Ten years ago before this pink gear came out, I'd still go to baseball games and see some women dressed like streetwalkers, wearing 8 inch heals and showing as much skin as you'd see at a beach. They still went to games.

[hockey week]

Blah, talk about taking things overboard. I prefer women to look like women and show off what makes them a woman. Do you want your wives and girlfriends to actually get into sports are do you want to be a jerk about her wanting to wear the team colors because it's not an "authentic, official, pro cut" jersey? Way to get them on yoru side. If you act all anal about jerseys, all you'll do it turn them off to joining you watching a game. Let the ladies have their fun and wear their fashion jerseys.

First off, your mileage may vary on what one considers attractive on women. Seeing a cute girl in a real jersey isn't bound to give anyone a raging hard-on, but I think it's a good look in many cases.

Obviously the pink crap sells or they wouldn't keep making it, but to me it seems like pandering, degrading crap. Like "Well, you're a woman. We can't expect you to actually care about the team and wear their colors, so we'll make you tight pink gear so you can sorta support the team while playing Candy Crush and waiting for the game to end." I mean, there are plenty of actual women (some even attractive!) who wear team colors and can show their team spirit without looking like a tart. They can make shirts flattering to the feminine physique without revealing the midriff. Women don't have to wear pink, skin-tight belly shirts with spanky pants at all times. I doubt very many women are going to stop being sports fans, to the extent they are now, if they aren't given access to pink baby-shirts with team logos. Ten years ago before this pink gear came out, I'd still go to baseball games and see some women dressed like streetwalkers, wearing 8 inch heals and showing as much skin as you'd see at a beach. They still went to games.

I know numerous women who complain about the pink jerseys. All they want is a team jersey that fits them correctly, and they're really hard to find, apparently. But the pink stuff is everywhere. They say it's saying that women can't be fans like guys, they have to be set apart. Take that for what it's worth.

Really, my biggest problem with the pink stuff is that it's all one template. Same jerseys, different logos. If they at least were the same pattern as the standard jerseys, they'd be better.

But I also hate the all-black jerseys that have been popping up, too. What? you're too ashamed to wear the team colors? You don't want anybody to know what logo you're wearing until they're up close? They're stealth fans, I guess.

[Generic]

This is the best list of these I've seen

http://blogs.post-gazette.com/index.php/sports/empty-netters/15362-jersey-foul-bill-of-rights-12-16-08

It's obviously pro-Pittsburgh, but admittedly, Pens' bandwagoners need this stuff more than most fanbases. Replace #9 with "don't wear your rival's jerseys" and it works pretty perfectly

Only one I don't agree with is the hood one. W/e, it's a hood is my thought.

[spartacat_12]

Blah, talk about taking things overboard. I prefer women to look like women and show off what makes them a woman. Do you want your wives and girlfriends to actually get into sports are do you want to be a jerk about her wanting to wear the team colors because it's not an "authentic, official, pro cut" jersey? Way to get them on yoru side. If you act all anal about jerseys, all you'll do it turn them off to joining you watching a game. Let the ladies have their fun and wear their fashion jerseys.

First off, your mileage may vary on what one considers attractive on women. Seeing a cute girl in a real jersey isn't bound to give anyone a raging hard-on, but I think it's a good look in many cases.

Obviously the pink crap sells or they wouldn't keep making it, but to me it seems like pandering, degrading crap. Like "Well, you're a woman. We can't expect you to actually care about the team and wear their colors, so we'll make you tight pink gear so you can sorta support the team while playing Candy Crush and waiting for the game to end." I mean, there are plenty of actual women (some even attractive!) who wear team colors and can show their team spirit without looking like a tart. They can make shirts flattering to the feminine physique without revealing the midriff. Women don't have to wear pink, skin-tight belly shirts with spanky pants at all times. I doubt very many women are going to stop being sports fans, to the extent they are now, if they aren't given access to pink baby-shirts with team logos. Ten years ago before this pink gear came out, I'd still go to baseball games and see some women dressed like streetwalkers, wearing 8 inch heals and showing as much skin as you'd see at a beach. They still went to games.

This. If I were a female sports fan I would find this to be very condescending. Pink is fine if it's for breast cancer awareness but I think society has started moving past the whole "How do we make it appealing to women? I know we'll make everything pink!" mentality. I've seen some women wearing these at games before http://www.lavertydesigns.com/store.asp and it's a great look (the Sens have even started outfitting their hostesses with them). It has the proper team colours/logos/striping but is still appealing to women who want to look feminine (not to mention they're sexy as hell).

Also, those of you that were watching CBC's Hockey Day in Canada coverage were treated to probably the worst jersey foul I've ever seen courtesy of Ron MacLean (and yes that is a Flames toque):

[IceCap]

I wouldn't worry too much about that guy making fun of me. He's Canadian he has enough problems as it is.

[TheOldRoman]

I've seen some women wearing these at games before http://www.lavertydesigns.com/store.asp and it's a great look (the Sens have even started outfitting their hostesses with them). It has the proper team colours/logos/striping but is still appealing to women who want to look feminine (not to mention they're sexy as hell).

Well, those are more a show that one can look like a streetwalker while showing team pride. I don't think all that many women would want to wear those (and even fewer have the figure to wear them). By feminine, I mean that they make jerseys styled like the team jerseys, just tailored for women. They also make team shirts in ladies cuts, too. Ladies can wear team gear without having to put on a baggy men's t-shirt with sleeves down to their elbows.

[Ferdinand Cesarano]

Of all of these, the only thing I can agree with as a faux pas is wearing a Yankee jersey with the name on the back. It was also mentioned that the "JETER 2" Yankee jerseys frequently have the wrong number font; that is something else I hate to see on any jersey. I see both of these things often on Red Sox jerseys as well.

But most of the other comments make no sense to me. I will never understand why some people think it's bad to wear a jersey other than that of one of the teams that are playing. I say that it's great to show off who your favourite team is anywhere at all, even at a game in which it's not participating.

About getting your own name on a jersey, not only do I disagree with the idea that this is a faux pas, but I strongly endorse doing this when getting a jersey. Last weekend I went to the Queens Baseball Convention (where my brother Mike Cesarano was part of Paul Lukas's panel on uniforms), and I saw plenty of people there with their own names on jerseys. I thought that that was great.

We sometimes refer to wearing a jersey as "supporting the team" or "showing allegiance to a team". Nonsense. A person wearing a jersey is broadcasting something about himself/herself. The team logo being sported is just a means of achieving this self-promotion.

Now let me say that I wear hats, not jerseys. I have nothing against the wearing of jerseys; I certainly don't think that they're inappropriate for adults, as some here have said. But I generally don't wear jerseys anymore because the shirts in my favourite sport, soccer, are polluted with advertisements. I did, however, manage to find a Chelsea practice top that has no sponsor logo; and I bought a Cosmos jersey before they ruined it with a sponsor's logo. And when I was a Yankee fan as a kid I had a couple of Yankee jerseys.

But mainly I wear hats. And I would wear my Chelsea hats anywhere at all. This doesn't promote Chelsea as much as it promotes me; it promotes me by means of my announcing my love of Chelsea. And the same would go for a hat that shows anything else about me, such as my favourite musical group, a TV shows that I love, the name of my home borough in New York City, or my political ideology. In fact I have caps of all of these things.

(Lest there be any confusion about whom/what I am promoting, I also have a hat that says my full name "Ferdinand Cesarano". And I just recently bought the Rochester Red Wings' "FC" hat after I saw it on this board.)

We need keep our priorities straight. In the relationship between you and a team (or between you and any other entity in the culture), the important one is you. The team or other cultural entity is there to be used by you; and, when you display its logo, you are using it as a vehicle for your self-promotion. So I would urge everyone to embrace this, and to proudly wear your own name on your jersey.

[OnWis97]

I've seen some women wearing these at games before http://www.lavertydesigns.com/store.asp and it's a great look (the Sens have even started outfitting their hostesses with them). It has the proper team colours/logos/striping but is still appealing to women who want to look feminine (not to mention they're sexy as hell).

Well, those are more a show that one can look like a streetwalker while showing team pride. I don't think all that many women would want to wear those (and even fewer have the figure to wear them). By feminine, I mean that they make jerseys styled like the team jerseys, just tailored for women. They also make team shirts in ladies cuts, too. Ladies can wear team gear without having to put on a baggy men's t-shirt with sleeves down to their elbows.

Yes.

Every time I go to a game and see team clothing that is either pink or covered in sequins/sparkles, I immediately think that the woman wearing it is just there because it's cool and cannot name the visiting team. That's probably unfair of me, but that's the message I think it sends to an extent. When I see a woman in a woman's cut t-shirt or jersey with the appropriate team colors (and they DO make women cut replicas), I don't think that. The woman's cut is fine. It's not about making 'em dress like men. But the message of the pink and sparkly is "I'm just here to be here; I love Joe Mauer because he's cute but can't name another player." Again, it's unfair...the girl in pink may know more than the one in team colors (or the guy in the $200 authentic) but it's not the message I get from it.

I agree with whoever above said that a female fan should almost be insulted at the idea of wearing that stuff.

[Anubis2051]

Of all of these, the only thing I can agree with as a faux pas is wearing a Yankee jersey with the name on the back. It was also mentioned that the "JETER 2" Yankee jerseys frequently have the wrong number font; that is something else I hate to see on any jersey. I see both of these things often on Red Sox jerseys as well.

I HATE when people complain about the name on the back of the replicas. They're $100 cheaper that way. I'm sure most fans would rather have them without the names, but Majestic doesn't make replicas that way, which makes no sense but it is what it is. The only way to get a replica without a name is to buy a blank and get it numbered yourself, or find a smaller sporting goods store that sells ones that they pre-numbered without the names. The point is, don't blame the fans because Majestic can't get it right.

And before someone jumps in and says "if you can't afford the real thing, you shouldn't have one at all," I want to point out that that isn't true. They make $10 t-shirts too. If that's all you can afford, but you want to support your team, than you can buy that instead of the $25 one. Same thing with jerseys.

[Ferdinand Cesarano]

The only way to get a replica without a name is to buy a blank and get it numbered yourself,

You have provided the simple and obvious solution.

[Anubis2051]

The only way to get a replica without a name is to buy a blank and get it numbered yourself,

You have provided the simple and obvious solution.

One that still costs more than a replica, not to mention takes more time and requires finding a place that will do that.