The Jersey Boys

I am not judging, but I don't get grown men who wear jerseys. I see them everywhere, grocery stores, restaurants, even at church. Mostly they are worn by men who bear no resemblance whatsoever to the person whose name adorns the back of the garment, unless Dez Bryant somehow morphs into a middle aged white dude when he is not on the football field.

I don't know why it bothers me, it just does. Like I said, I am not judging and I really don't have a problem with how other people choose to express their support of a particular team.  It's just not something I understand. I would never, as a grown man, wear what amounts to a replica of the work attire of another grown man to show my admiration for said individual.  To me it would be akin to showing up for a doctors appointment wearing a lab coat with a stethoscope draped around my neck. 

When I was a kid I had jerseys. I remember being very proud of an Earl Campbell Houston Oilers jersey and my Pittsburgh Steelers jersey bearing the name and number of the great Franco Harris. I guess I had a thing for stocky running backs. But when I grew up, I put away childish things.  Now if I want to support a team, I will wear a t-shirt or a hat with the teams logo, maybe a golf shirt if I am feeling upwardly mobile that day.  I guess I associate the wearing of a jersey with idol worship, in essence the wearer is saying; "I want to be this person when I grow up." The problem is my friend you are grown up and chances are your career path does not include playing time in the NFL (I know, if not for the knee injury in high school you would have made it) so maybe it is time to let that dream go.

There was a stretch of my radio career where I spent about 200 nights in a year in a locker room. My job was to interview players, take the sound back to the radio station and cut it up for use in updates the following day.  I interviewed guys like Michael Jordan, Nolan Ryan, Troy Aikman, etc. One of the reasons I think I was good at it was I never looked at it like "OMG! I am talking to Nolan freaking Ryan"! It was always one guy doing his job by talking to the other guy about how he did his job. Maybe that is why the whole jersey thing escapes me. I see athletes as guys doing their jobs...entertaining as hell and fun to watch, but just guys, not gods.