(Editor's Note: Philadelphia area sports writer Ben Horrow contributes weekly to Authentically Speaking.)
By Ben Horrow
Last Thursday, the news broke that the Orlando Magic had finally completed a deal involving their star center Dwight Howard. In a four-team swap, Howard became a Los Angeles Laker. The Magic received a number of draft picks and young players while the Philadelphia 76ers received the services of Andrew Bynum and sent Olympic gold medalist Andre Iguodala to the Denver Nuggets.
With so many big-name players on the move in one trade, it begs the question of what to do with their uniforms. First, from a team perspective: What does the Orlando Magic do with the thousands of Dwight Howard jerseys and t-shirts they had been planning on selling during the upcoming season? They could throw them away, give them away, keep selling them, or, at least with the jerseys, change them to represent players still associated with the Magic.
Because major sports leagues cannot predict the winner of their given championship, all leagues are forced to produce apparel that shows that either team involved has won. For example, the NFL made t-shirts and hats that declared the New England Patriots Super Bowl champions, but the New York Giants won the game, thus making the Patriots Super Bowl gear useless for sales. In this case, the NFL sends the unwanted apparel to charities that need clothing. Does the same system apply to Andre Iguodala Philadelphia jerseys as well?
For fans, the decision is usually simpler. Jerseys, as well as other sports apparel, are expensive, and thus few fans discard clothing representing an individual who no longer plays for their city’s team. Sometimes, as happened in Cleveland, fans will use their apparel to make a statement in response to a favorite player leaving. LeBron James incited many fans in Cleveland to burn, throw out, rip, cut, and destroy jerseys of his that bore the Cavaliers emblem.
What will Orlando Magic fans do with now obsolete Dwight Howard jerseys? He blatantly stated that he would not return to Orlando and caused a lot of chaos prior to his departure. Only time will tell.
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Authentic Store Buzz: Green Bay plays Cleveland Thursday night at Lambeau Field and the Packs home authentic Nike Elite jersey will make its 2012 debut. The Aaron Rodgers retail model is pictured above at our Center City Philly location.
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Authentically Speaking Trivia Time: Besides all National League teams that wore the 1976 centennial patch, how many other teams wore a commemorative patch during the 1976 MLB season? Answer in Tuesday's edition of Authentically Speaking.
Friday’s answer: The New York Giants wore white at home in the 1956 NFL Championship Game because the Chicago Bears didn’t have a white jersey, and the Giants did. This was the last game played before TV and the NFL dictated for the 1957 season that at least one team had to have a white (contrasting) jersey to off-set a team’s colored jersey as the black and white television age was moving towards its explosive and colorful decade of the 1960s.
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