Championship Gear

One of the things I was most looking forward to this football post season (with the Steelers doing so well) was a chance to order some championship gear. You know, the hat, the t-shirt, the sweatshirt, the thong, the socks, the turban, all proclaiming the Pittsburgh Steelers Super Bowl XXXIX Champions. The badge of honor letting the world know you are a fan and that your team won it all.

Letting my mind think about being able to buy some of that stuff jinxed my team but also made me think about the last time I got to buy championship gear.

I really think that my last championship piece of apparel is a 1993 WVU Big East Championship T-shirt, and I haven’t seen that shirt in about 3 years.

Before that you would have to go back to the late 70’s/early 80’s to find any other championship gear, maybe a Steelers “One for the Thumb” shirt, or a “We are familee” shirt, but it has been a dry spell.

The teams I consider “my” teams are the Pittsburgh Pirates, Pittsburgh Steelers, and West Virginia Football and Basketball. Teams I root for, but don’t consider “my” teams are Duke Basketball, Pittsburgh Penguins, and occasionally the Orlando Magic (but I haven’t watched a whole NBA game since 1998).

I don’t think I would buy championship gear for the “root for” teams. Maybe Duke, but I like them because of Coach K and his principles not that I went there or anything, but had I gone there I would have all the championship gear I could wear.

The closest I got to ordering championship gear was when the Steelers won the AFC in 1995. I almost ordered an AFC championship hat, but they were so ugly that I couldn’t bring myself to do it. They were brown and orange. Yea ugly. Plus I have something against a conference championship (unless it’s college). Yea it’s nice, but if you don’t win it all then it doesn’t really matter.

So I guess I will have to wait through another season. If WVU wins the Big East Tournament, I will buy some gear, if somehow the Pirates win the NL I will buy some gear, and if the Steelers win the Super Bowl I will buy some gear. (Side note: Next year’s Super Bowl is Super Bowl XL, so if the Steelers win it then all my gear will look like the generic stuff you find at Gabe’s Pittsburgh Steelers XL champions. It will look like a shirt size rather than championship gear.)

I need to find that 1993 Big East Champs shirt and dust it off although I think it is only a large.