Adults wearing team jerseys
 

There was an interesting ESPN Sportscenter segment today, concerning appropriateness of adults wearing team jerseys.

Anyone have thoughts on this? I recently acquired a game-used Dallas Cowboys jersey that fits me like it would fit a Cowboys player, except my gut is a little bigger. Obviously, even to me, wearing this in public with my gut would be inappropriate, but how about after another 10 pounds worth of sit-ups, and only to a Cowboys game?

Everyone in Seattle is wearing Seahawks jerseys, no matter age, condition, gender, etc. So Linda Cohn can bite me. Really, I would let her, but she would have to wear a bridle.

no thanks
 

It's not for me, but I have zero problem with other people of whatever age wearing them. I own and have owned jackets and shirts with team logos on them, but have never personalized it to someone's number. Just doesn't seem right to me, and that would be true if I were svelte and cut rather than in the body by Budweiser that I currently occupy. FWIW, I never have asked for an autograph from someone younger than me either, although I rarely seek autographs period. Just seems kinda creepy awkward.

I also feel kind of weird asking guys younger than me for their autograph - I've asked a few professional runners, but no 'big 4 sport' athletes who were younger than me.

But I will be getting Paxton's autograph, as I have a ball pitched during his MLB debut, and it's screaming for his autograph.

IMO, Autograph seeking is completely out of the question for adults by themselves. Now if you have your kids with you, it's different.....ask away for them. I'm also not the jersey wearing type. Give me a nice team logo shirt, hat, jacket, hoodie etc. but waking around sporting a jersey with some guy's name and/or number just isn't for me personally. The problem with jerseys of current players is 9 times out of 10 that player will eventually be traded away or sign with another team, then you're stuck with a worthless out of date jersey.

Wear a jersey if you a want. It's a free country. Why did ESPN say it was inappropriate?

I would never ask a celebrity for an autograph, but that's me.

I'm 48 and I wear my Devils and Mets jersey when I go to games.

I never watch ESPN and couldn't give 2 shits what anyone there thinks about anything, period. :D

I'm not into wearing jerseys. But then, I'm also a Chicago fan who lives in St. Louis.

I have no problem with it except for the dorks who have their names put on a players jersey. I personally think its stupid.

I can't imagine why wearing a team jersey would be inappropriate. I'm 27 and wear jerseys during the season. Although I do get a few looks since I am a Vikings fan and live in New Orleans.

Pretty much the way I feel too.

Guess I'm a dork, then.
And proud to be one!

I collect game used Padres jerseys, and no, I don't put my name on them or alter them in any way (other than washing them…some GU collectors don't wash their jerseys, and that's a matter of preference).

I do have 1 jersey with my name on it; I also collect former SWC football jerseys. I am friend with the former equipment manager at SMU, and I bought several GU jerseys from him over the years. One I purchased had never been worn in a game and was brand new with no nameplate, so he created a nameplate for me, which I thought was cool. Hence, my dorkiness…

I have no problem with fans wearing jerseys, or adults wearing jerseys, or adults asking for autographs. Not sure if the side topic was sports autographs or any autographs, but I used to also go to local Sci-Fi and com icons and get autographs from current and former TV and movie stars, and I am as old as they were in some cases. I've also gotten autos in-person (as an adult) from Darrell Royal, Jackie Sherrill, Grant Teaff, etc., and they have no problem with it and were glad to talk and visit about the old SWC….

Not sure where ESPN is going with this; I think just enjoy your hobby. That's why there are penny sleeves, protective sheets, card savers, hobby boxes, TPG, etc. so that everyone in the hobby can store/view their cards the way they choose. Likewise for jersey and GU collectors….;)

I don't wear jersys, (unless im playing) & have never asked for an auto.
I have no issue with adults who do, its just not something I would do.

The irony calling someone a "dork" for wearing a jersey with their name on it - on a baseball card forum - is not lost on me. We are all dorks.

Wearing Jerseys has become mostly acceptable for adults. Especially the souvenier jerseys. I'm not sure I'd wear a game used Jersey around, although I did wear the one I own as a Halloween costume one year.

Wearing team jerseys used to be very frowned upon in bike racing circles. The idea being that it took some serious ability to earn one. Early team and club ones were almost like biker gang jackets.
By the late 70's there were some team replicas for fans, and with the 7-11 team being big in the US by the late 80's the marketing value overcame that resistance.
But you'd NEVER wear a championship jersey - Not the TDF yellow, WC or Olympic stripes, none of that.
The US team jerseys looked similar to older national championship jerseys, and there are some period replicas from the early -mid 80's.

Eventually the marketing value of the jerseys became enough that now any fat middle age wannabe can wear the world championship rainbow stripe without much teasing. Maybe the odd look from those of us who still believe those stripes NEED TO BE EARNED......But that's a shrinking group. (I'm one of them)

Steve B

From a Yankees fan perspective, the only jersey that no adult or child should ever wear in public is a Red Sox jersey.

I will let Mets jerseys slide only because it's nice to support the less fortunate.

I thought this funny…well played.

Much like the teams the jerseys are same quality.

I've got a decently sized jersey collection. Okay, not collection, but rather as part of my wardrobe. NFL and NBA, pretty much just cavs and browns, with the exception of a Jurevicius Buccaneers jersey. MLB-wise, multiple teams official style, Tribe-wise I'm fine with the unnoficial styles as well. Just whatever looks good. I wear 'em all at one point of another, and it really doesn't matter where. I generally wear 'em when I'm doing the backyard wrestling shows too, I guess it's kinda my character's wardrobe..

As far as auto's. It's been forever since I've asked for one, not that I have any problem with it, just don't find myself in too many situations to ask. Usually, if I do meet someone, I don't have anything significant worth having that person sign, so there's no point asking. WTF am I gonna do with a signed napkin?

At a game, I might have 'em sign whatever jersey I'm wearing, which was pretty much the idea behind my wardrobe of jerseys. But even then, I'm not that interested in going out of my way for one.. I also, WILL NOT pay a player for an autograph.. I don't care who they are, or how bad I want it. They usually overcharge anyways, at least based on what you could buy it for on the open market.

I usually get all my direction regarding proper decorum from ESPN.

I didn't really understand where ESPN was going with the discussion, either. The commentators had no more credibility than we do, and there was very little logic behind their words, but they did sound entitled to tell us their rules.

They did say that if you are at a football game, you have to wear your team's colors, and kind of the same for sports bars while watching your team. I plan to attend the Cowboys/Seahawks game wearing my Cowboys jersey, but will bring a larger Seahawks jersey to put over it, in case there's trouble.

Scott <===cowardly dork

For me the general rule is gameday, sure...why the hell not? Any other day, no. Oh and no basketball jerseys because it's not the 90's and you're probably not a rapper.

They also agreed that if you wear a basketball jersey, you HAVE to wear a t-shirt underneath....but then no one can see your tattoos, so you lose out on another way to look like an NBA playuh.

Remember when no one looked like Dennis Rodman except Dennis Rodman?

Jerseys
 

So,

I am a 35, a bosox fan and wear jerseys every now and again...

My two favorites are a Berkshire Blackbears gamer, and my vintage (store bought) Mike Greenwell Sox away jersey...

I idolized Greenwell growing up and can't tell you how many compliments, head turns and high 5's I have recieved at Fenway in response of the jersey...

If the jersey fits, than wear it!

I never wear the team colors. My favorite team is the Packers and I don't wear green and gold even when they're in the Super Bowl.

I wear baseball caps, and specifically pick one that no one else wears in Seattle. My current is an Oakland A's and my previous was a black Milwaukee Brewers. I've gotten some joking snide remarks over the A's cap. There's no way I'd wear a Mariners cap in Seattle. Perhaps if I lived in Atlanta.

It's hilarious that a bunch of guys who have made a career of jocksniffing (see Lebron) should be weighing in on such beefy matters as whether an adult fan should wear team jerseys.

I mostly wear caps or sports related t-shirts of some sort. I have a bunch of jerseys but rarely wear them and if I do I choose the oddball ones or non-Chicago stuff at home here in the Chicago area, At times it can feel weird or out of place but....who really cares what other people wear? Frankly, I've seen women wearing stuff that they really shouldn't be seen in but that's a whole 'nuther subject.

Trying to generate outrage just for the sake of being outraged? IMO, ESPN is largely unwatchable anymore beyond live games. The network has made the move from reporting the news to creating the news. So much of ESPN anymore is just talking heads expressing phony outrage about things that are completely meaningless.

All you have to know about ESPN is they pick the most obnoxious players to become commentators. I see Terrell Owens as a future commentator. It's about ratings.

I'm sure in debates the producer says "Okay, you take this side and you take that side. When I so 'go,' start arguing." Not that it's different in many cable news shows. The last thing they want are two people who agree with each other.

And, while I'm on the grumpy old man schtick, CNN.com has become People magazine. ESPN has an excuse-- after all, it's about sports and games.

Wearing a jersey story that could also be in the getting autograph stories thread....

I was at Cubs spring training a couple year ago wearing a replica 1968 Cubs jersey, #26, Billy Williams. We got to the game early so I went to the tent Ferguson Jenkins has set up for his foundation, as I was looking over the things that the players had set out on the table Jenkins looked at me and offered to buy the jersey from me. He said they were hard to find, I smiled and said no and mentioned it wasn't his number. He asked me to turn around so I did, he said, "Oh! Billy, he's a friend of mine, do you want that signed?" Of course, I said yes, that would be great. Fergie asked if I was going to be at the game the next day, I said no. He asked if I had another shirt, then said leave the jersey with him and come back after the 7th inning. He'd get Billy to sign it for me. I came back after the 7th, Fergie smiled and handed me the jersey signed Billy Williams H.O.F '87 on the back...I thanked him profusely, it made my day. It would gave been wonderful to meet and thank Billy personally but I can't complain. It doesn't of a PSA cert or any authentication except for Ferguson Jenkins, another Hall of Famer's word.

As long as it doesn't negatively impact my or others lives, people can do whatever they want in my opinion. When it start to affect me, then we can discuss. Enjoy your jerseys if that's what you like. But please pull your pants up. I don't need to see your stained drawers.:p

I'm sure that in the future there will be a lot of stories like that about Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez, etc. J-U-S-T J-O-K-I-N-G ! ! !

That was a great story - thanks for sharing!

I remember when Michael Irvin was hired as a t.v. sports commentator. Irvin would never have been allowed on a Tom Landry team, but was typical of the guys that the Jerry Jones era (error) brought in to change the 'squeaky clean' image that the Cowboys had had for over 25 years. I was disgusted with Irvin, and stunned to see him on television as an announcer, but as you point out - it's all about ratings. A coke-head as a role-model for our kids? :confused:

Athletes are not role models. They are paid to play a game, not to be good people.

I agree. An athlete might be a better athlete than you are but that doesn't make them a better person.

Sport is an integral part of our society. Introducing team sports to our youth is important for their development as human beings. Children watch adults and use them as role models. Lots of people get paid to do things, but that does not relieve them of their other responsibilities in life. Professional athletes ARE role models. Michel Irvin wasn't a good one. Giving bad role models jobs as public figures, in my opinion is a really bad idea.

So, back to the original subject, I love wearing my jerseys to games or sporting events, or even watching the game at home. I don't wear current players, but I have Red Wings Ted Lindsey and Darren McCarty jerseys. For the Packers, I have a Boyd Dowler jersey. My favorite jersey to wear is a San Diego Gulls jersey, people don't know what to think of it. I never really thought about it, but I guess somewhere I sub-consciously choose retired players as a tribute to the teams history. I have never been interested in buying a current player, I think part of that is that they may be traded, then I have a jersey for a player on a rival team. Anyway, I am a superstitious hockey freak, and when I got my first Red Wings jersey, they won the Cup, so now I feel like I have to wear one, or I might just bring down some bad juju on the team. Lol.

No issue here, however, when an adult man couples wearing the jersey with a cap turned around backward, well, I have to draw the line somewhere.

I draw it at the vertical line below the waist. If this shows, regardless of what you are wearing, you have to be ejected from whatever venue you are in, unless it is under my sink. Exception made for some females.

Agreed. Jersey is acceptable, but no backward baseball cap with jersey, and no calling people 'dude' or 'bro.'

Middle aged man with untucked oversized football jersey and backward baseball cap says "I am very annoying and own the complete Jim Belushi movie collection on DVD."

I have oddly complicated feelings about how jerseys should be worn, but don't have any particular objections to them actually being worn in general. I like to see accurate jerseys, and get annoyed (and yes, it's completely my hangup) seeing a Yankees jersey with a name on the back. My wife bought me a Yankees home jersey with the right number on it (31, I'm a big Dave Winfield, Hensley Meulens and Ichiro fan), but it has Winfield's name on the back. I don't think she had it customized that way, I think she just found a good deal on it, so she got it. When I saw it, she even guessed my reaction as being mixed, and exactly why it was mixed. I'll be taking a seam ripper to those letters sometime in the near future.

I also don't like seeing jerseys customized for players, but in the wrong historical context. I can't stand seeing a mid-1990s Padres orange/blue pinstripe jersey with Winfield, Fingers or Smith on the back because the players never wore that particular version of the Padres jersey.

However, I have no problem with a hugely customized jersey with all kinds of crap stitched on to it (like lots of Japanese fans do with the jerseys they wear to games). If you're not going to be faithful to a particular jersey/player combination, then customize the crap out of it.

I have an Astros home jersey with Roger Clemens' name/number, and an Astros away jersey with Andy Pettitte. They are of course, the old style, and I wear them to Astros games against the Mariners. Seems kind of cool, but it could make me look like a tool - I have no idea.

Of course, there are also guys like me who are fashion disasters even when wearing 'normal' clothing, so jerseys are just another accident in a long chain.

It's perfectly fine to wear whatever sports attire to a game. That's an entirely different occasion than walking on the street or going to church. Its standard if not expected for fans to wear their 'team colors' at the game. A Monday through Friday suit-and-tie accountant, and perhaps even your reverend, will wear a team jersey to a game.

Couple of questions here. So if you were alive and older than say Babe Ruth in 1927 and you met him you wouldn't have asked for his auto unless you were with a child??? Whats the difference between you being a fan and a child being a fan? Also, whats the difference between a jersey and any other pair of clothing going out of style or being worn out? people don't wear the same clothes they wore a couple of years ago for the most part. not trying to be rude but your logic doesn't make any sense to me. You are allowed your opinion by all means but to say something is out of the question is a little ridiculous.

I have a Randy Moss Vikings jersey and I love it. I wore it every Sunday for years even after he was traded. He was a great player for my favorite team and that never changes.

I lived in Boston for 15 years and I swear more persons wore sports gear than suits and ties. In fact in Boston, wearing a sports jersey or a sports team jacket/coat out anywhere in town is like dressing up. I wore my satin blue Cubs Team coat for over ten years and got treatment like it was a Burberry.

I have a buddy from Boston living in the Atlanta area. When the Sox play there I go down there to see them at Turner; I think we spend almost a week planning out which individual gear we're each going to wear for each game.

For me the difference between 1927 and 2014, asking for an autograph as an adult, is that in 1927 adults asked for autographs as fans while in 2014 many of them ask for them as dealers. I would be embarrassed that the people around me and the player would associate me with other adults who are not getting the autograph as a fan.

But I have to admit, I was even a little embarrassed asking for autographs after the games as a 14-yr old back in the early '70s, primarily because there were lots of younger kids around me who were unable to get to the player, either from shyness or smallness, and players weren't making any effort to get to the little kids. I had to get most of my 7-yr old brothers autographs for him.

I wear jerseys often and don't give a rip snort what anyone else thinks about it that sees me.

To each their own for the most part,

Mike

I have a few yankees jerseys from attending fantasy camp...and to be totally honest I feel silly wearing them...as they tend to go down near my knees!

I have no issue with others wearing them...but not for me!

My sentiments exactly. The most important thing for every baseball season is that the red menace is thwarted. If the Yankees win too, that's nice.

As for the OP, there are two venues where adults can proudly wear their team colors: the ballpark and the little league field. Everywhere else it just looks sad. Not to mention that there is no clothing product so uniquely unsuited to the middle aged male physique as a team jersey. And no, the vertical pinstriping is not slimming in that case.

As for the autographs issue, the list of people I'd ask for one is small but has nothing to do with age, just accomplishments. The last person I asked for a signature was Eric Idle; before that, Ken Norton. With most celebs I would probably ask to take a photo instead.

I lived in SF during the 49ers glory days and there were "Forty-F***ing Niners" shirts everywhere.