Vice Watch: Buy me a Jersey

I am not a man of many vices, but the ones I do have I embrace fully. Beer, clearly to anyone who has known me more than 5 minutes, is one of them.

But I have a weakness for jerseys. Especially baseball, but almost any sport is of interest.

I acquired a new jersey at the Nationals game last night. Not an official, but what is called a "fashion" jersey. Its not something the players wear, but it could be. This one is white with red sleeves and blue trim. "Washington" is printed across the chest like it is on the official away jersey (which is gray - as is baseball custom). It also features the 2008 Nationals Park inaugural season patch on the sleeve.

The Nats only have 3 official jerseys, 4 if you count the batting practice jersey. This is far too few. Most clubs have 4 - not counting the BP jersey. Some clubs, like the Padres, seem to have dozens.

In my personal collection I have the home and away jerseys. I have the 05, 06 and 07 BP jerseys (the 08 is the same as last years). I don't own the red alternate jersey that is usually worn for home Sunday games since it looks just like the 05 BP jersey. I also have a Senators jersey and two Expos jerseys - one the 04 BP jersey - the last in Expos history, and a Cooperstown Collection powder blue jersey. And I have two "fashion" jerseys (the one mentioned above and one from the last year at RFK).

Then I have 3 Cubs jerseys which I share with the Mrs, who grew up a Cubs fan. I have the home pinstripe, the away and the 06 BP jersey.

I also have a Brewers jersey, because I have to like a team called Brewers. I also own a powder blue Blue Jays jersey. That was a memento from our trip to Toronto a few summers ago.

And that's just in baseball. I also have 2 Capitals & 2 Redskins jerseys. I'm sure I am leaving one out...

You may ask why not Wizards? Well, for one I am not a big NBA fan, and I don't really like the way the Wizards jerseys look in general. Plus they are tank tops. I don't want to pay big bucks for a glorified wife-beater.

I have in the past considered a DC United jersey, but never went through with it. Seems a waste of money that could be used on a baseball jersey. Plus they now have a big VW logo on them. Corporate logos on jerseys is common in soccer. I sell sponsorships for a living, so I guess it makes me something of a hypocrite to say I don't like corporate logos on jerseys.

There are some out there I would still like to get, which is what the wife worries about everytime I go to a ball game...