My company did a “Decades Day” yesterday, where people could dress as their favorite decade.
Much like a Halloween costume, I put minimal effort into this fashion choice, but I decided early on that I was aiming for the 90s.
I have a delicious pair of gaudy blue, black, and white Converse that I can best describe as “classic Orlando Magic design if the blue and black were inverted.”
I also have a jean jacket, which is truly a timeless look but seems particularly 90s.
Those two combined nicely with a Seattle Mariners hat autographed by Ken Griffey Jr. (like, autographed in the mass production line. I’ve never met the Griffey Jr., though I hear he knows how to party).
But of course, as a basketball wackadoo, I needed something hoops-related to complete the ensemble. And it got me browsing through my collection of jerseys.
When I was a kid, I had at least one jersey of every NBA team. Growing up in Chicago meant multiple Bulls jerseys, and I’d also get multiple players if I liked the team or the uniforms. If the uni was something like the radical forest font of the Minnesota Timberwolves, I had to pick up multiple color schemes — in this case, a black Kevin Garnett jersey and a reversible blue and white Stephon Marbury.
(A brief thank you to my parents for helping foster this bonanza.)
As my collection grew, so did my propensity for getting more obscure players. I secured a Reggie Williams Golden State Warriors jersey because I like left-handed sharpshooters and the bridge logo is cool. He played a mere 104 games with the Warriors (and only 206 in his NBA career).
I also have a Jason Kapono Charlotte Bobcats jersey, which is notable for being incredibly bright orange. My favorite Kapono memory is when he appeared on the show Sport Science to see how quickly a human can shoot a basketball.
As you might have guessed, the answer is “quite quickly.”
Ultimately, I opted for one of the NBA Jam shirts from Homage—it’s like this one but with Dikembe Mutombo and LaPhonso Ellis—which is probably the most 90s game one can imagine.
But this exercise also got me thinking about sports memorabilia in general.
Beyond jerseys, there are all kinds of fun gear people might have. Maybe they caught a foul ball during a baseball game, unpacked a super bizarre basketball card, or snagged a mouthguard that flew out of someone’s mouth at a football game.
You may even have your own favorite piece of sports memorabilia. If you do, I hope you display it proudly. We all deserve to rock what we love.
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