Buffalo Bills Throwbacks

The Buffalo Bills are wearing their throwback uniforms today, which we think are pretty sick. The Bills wore some pretty blah uniforms in the 1990s, so we're happy they went a little further back in the archives for these bad boys.  This Mitchell & Ness throwback hat  compliments the jersey perfectly.  

In a pinch you could also rock the Reebok version of the lid, but I think it is a little too flashy to go with a jersey that is supposed to look retro.  

Ashley Judd Delivers, And is Super Hot

I'm sure that on the top of Ashley Judd's New Year's Resolutions is to acquire the lavish praise of some start up sports bloggers, so I thought we could give her an early start by posting this today. Several weeks ago, before the election, Ashley Judd - a die hard Kentucky basketball fan, promised that if North Carolina went blue for Obama, she would sit in the midst of the North Carolina student section.  Well, North Carolina went for Obama and she watched her favorite team get trounced in the middle Chapel Hill.

Sitting in the opposing team's student section isn't an easy thing to do, so I wanted to give Ashley Judd props.  Plus, she looks  fantastic in a simple white shirt and jeans.  A grey Kentucky shirt would work here too - contrasting from the students in Tarheel Blue.  I'm also digging the athletic hair buns - a nice contrast to those terrible pigtails we've recently explored.  

So once again, big ups to Ashley Judd.  She deserves some 'cred. 

Well Dressed Girlfriend's take: It's great.  You doubters out there are no doubt confused about what might seem like an apparent 180 on the pigtail issue.  But face it, the Princess Leia look works for AJ--it neatly wraps stylish, practical, sexy, way fun, and even a little sophisticated into, well, two buns I guess.  She pairs the 'do with a simple jeans and t-shirt duo, but the look is practiced.  Her shirt fits impeccably, and even with the cropped photo I have no doubt the jeans do as well.  This is not some thrown on $12.99 special she picked up at the student store on her way out of Lexington.  This shirt is well loved and hugs in all the right places without trying too hard.  Plus, kudos on the sleeve length.  If AJ is anything like me, she snapped up this find after becoming immediately smitten with the perfect shortness of this short-sleeved gem.   Too much analysis of the plain white t-shirt?  Sorry, but it's simply perfect, and should be celebrated even if her team isn't.

In short, go for this look.  There's no obvious make-up in sight (it's a ball game, folks...), she looks relaxed, yet is wearing a jump-out-of-your-seat-friendly outfit.  The snap reaction looking at her?  Definitely a dyed in the wool fan.  She even resists the impulse to dress it up just a little with some jewelry.  AJ, you sparkle enough as it is.  Thanks for being a model fan.

Lids NFL Clearance

Lids is having a clearance on NFL hats, some as low as $15.  I bought one last night.  I just thought I'd share.

NHL Third Jerseys - Guest Reviewer!

My sister and I are native Minnesotans, which makes us qualified to comment on all things hockey.  I decided to ask her for some comments on these new third jerseys for a few select NHL teams.

Ottawa Senators - The new Senators logo has really grown on me. I have a beer cozy with the new logo that reminds me of Canada - and beer.

Well Dressed Sister - "Nice masculine colors.  Not so much for the ladies." 

Buffalo Sabers - I really like this old school look.  Buffalo has lucked out with this third jersey and the new Bills logo.  

Well Dressed Sister - "The logo is fantastic.  The horizontal lines aren't exactly slimming." 

Pittsburgh Penguins 

Well Dressed Sister - "Those are far more feminine colors.  Might not work so well for the men at the game.  Penguins are cute though." 

Well Dressed Sports Guy - Funny you should mention that, Sis.  Elizabeth Banks has a scene in Zack and Miri Make a Porno where she is wearing this sweater as a night shirt.  It is pretty friggin hot in case you were wondering.

Well Dressed Sister - "Whatever." 

Boston Bruins - I'm not a huge fan of the Bruins regular jerseys, so I like the third jersey.  That said, they are a bit too reminiscent of a bumble bee for my taste.

Well Dressed Sister - "I second that opinion.  The bee that is.  These jerseys must make the entire team look like a swarm of angry bees.  Which I suppose isn't necessarily a bad thing."

Thanks, Sis!  I'll let you know next time I need a third opinion.

Well Dressed Sister: "No problem.  Just to warn you I have stronger opinions about baseball uniforms."  

SI.com rates the new NHL third jerseys here. 

40% Off Personalized MLB Jerseys Today!

Ahh Black Friday, the one day of the year that people are dumb enough to trample their fellow human beings in order to get cheap plastic.  My contempt at the post-Thanksgiving rush aside, there are some really great holiday deals out there today.  MLB.com is having a sale on customizable jerseys today - 40% off.  

If you've been thinking about making one of these anyway, now is the time.  We'd suggest avoiding some clever nickname on the back - just stick with your own last name funnyman - and don't be ridiculous by picking the number 69, it makes you look like a teenager.  Stick with a classic number like 10, or 7 or, I don't know - 21.   For the one customizable jersey that I own, I decided to stick with the year of my birth. 

The advantage of these jerseys is that you will never be traded.  Modern teams tend to tweak jerseys every couple of years - but a standard customized home jersey should last you longer than that of your favorite player. 

Happy shopping!

Thanksgiving NFL Throwback Jerseys

Two NFL teams traditionally play on Thanksgiving - the Detroit Lions and Dallas Cowboys.  Both teams have worn throwbacks for the special Thursday game.  The Cowboys wore their throwback duds last week, and the Lions are set to wear theirs for Thursday's game; but it got me thinking about those two teams throwback jerseys.  

The Lions recent history hasn't exactly been storied - but these Barry Sanders throwbacks from 1994 should remind you of greener pastures.  These jerseys look solid with a grey hoodie underneath.  

We at The Well Dressed Sports Fan sort of like these Tony Romo throwbacks, but not enough to recommend them more than their current white threads.   They look eerily like the current NFL Pro Bowl jerseys, which are pretty god-awful.

The Titans and Seahawks also play on Thursday - two teams with unfortunate jersey histories. Neither will be sporting throwbacks, but I thought I'd give their jerseys a look too.  The Houston Oilers Warren Moon jersey is pretty cool - but while we normally love powder blue throwbacks, we're not head-over-heels for this jersey.  The darker blue was also a better look for the Seattle Seahawks.  We, do, however, like hat logos that stretch from side to side on the front (think Seahawks, Broncos and Bills rather than the 49ers or Raiders).  If you're feeling festive - and not trying to attract a member of the opposite sex anytime soon - check out this Seattle Seahawks knit hat.  Wowza. 

Props to Oregon, but . . .

I like to give props to Oregon for being creative with their football jerseys. The Well Dressed Sports Girlfriend vehemently disagrees, but I like the mesh detailing on the shoulders.  The basketball jerseys on the other hand? Whew, these things are not attractive.   

So Close, and Yet So Far . . .

In our first version of this post, we called out Leonardo Dicaprio for wearing what we thought was a throwback Boston Red Sox cap. Well, we were wrong.  He actually appears to be wearing this UCLA Bruins lid.  Thanks to a reader for pointing this out.  We're used to seeing the powder blue UCLA caps, like this.  

Sometimes we get a little excited here at The Well Dressed Sports Fan and we jumped to a conclusion on this one.  We retract our official wrist slapping, Leo.  Please accept our apology.  

Big Game

Cal defeated Stanford in the 111th Big Game yesterday.  Olympic swimmer Natalie Coughlin was looking good, rocking a simple blue and yellow Golden Bear t-shirt.  (Getty Images)

Also showing the Golden Bear's some love is Adam Sandler, in his upcoming flick Bedtime Stories.  The shirt is great, but were not thrilled with the plaid shirt - it is a little Happy Gilmorish.  Sticking with the plain tee and jeans would look better, but still not as good as Miss Coughlin.  

Why I Hate Pigtails, or, Have Some Class, Ladies

I hate pigtails.  There, I said it.  There is just something that rubs me the wrong way when I see that girl--you know who I mean--who just loves, with a capital giggle, Team X and shows it by spouting off a tiring list of all the time she and Dad watched games, how alienated she is from all the other girls because she was always such a tomboy, where she got her too-tight jersey and brand new cap.  And worst of all, the whole time she's sporting those damn pigtails.  It's the uniform, apparently, and I hate it.  First, does she really think she's the only girl to like sports?  (Yes, she does.)  Second, does she really think she stands out as Simply Adorable is half the femal population in the stadium is donning that 'do?  (Yes, she does.)  Third, does she really think that anyone will ever think she casually walked into the sporting event looking like an overgrown grade schooler?  Come on guys, have you ever seen as many pigtails as you do at 7:05 at Wrigley Field?!?!?!!!1  Think about it: not at work, not at school, not at bars (not even sports bars), not at the grocery store, electronic store, hot dog stand (unless it's in a stadium), the opera, the prom, track meets, restaurants, Central Park, or a sailboat.  It's just not natural past the age of 7.  In short, forced cute, well, isn't.

Please, girls, have a little class.  Seeing such a trite display of fake tomboyness--nearly buried under gobs of black mascara and peach lip gloss--makes me feel like I've been slapped in the face with that stupid limp rope of hair dangling from your skull.  Harsh?  Definitely.  Catty?  Certainly.  (And yes, I could put pigtails in my hair, and yes, it looks cute.  And yes, I like sports and spent my childhood catching frogs and playing with Legos.  But taunting full grown men with the combination of naughty schoolgirl locks and authentic team jerseys is not my idea of romance OR a fun evening.)

Maybe my words will anger you, or perhaps they will make you think twice about falling into the mold once again.  And if you see a girl three rows back, smiling, with loose hair awkwardly falling in her eyes, you'll know you've made my evening.

(*Note: This does not apply if you are a Vikings fan and are wearing a traditional Viking helmet.  In fact, you even get extra points for being extra festive.  So girls, if you can't give up your pigtails, maybe think about giving up your team and heading for Minneapolis.)

Should I Wear that Free Tee?

We've all been there.  You go to a game with your friend and they are handing out free shirts to the first 5,000 fans.  Despite the fact that the free shirt is so large that it will only fit freaks the size of Andre the Giant properly, your friend enthusiastically puts it on. He swims though the shirt, working his way past the image of that terrible new mascot your team is trying out and turns his big brown eyes to you and says, "Sweet dude!  Free shirt!"  Um, yeah.  Free shirt.

There are two types of giveaways as far as The Well Dressed Sports Fan is concerned.  The first falls under the category of "free stuff to give to your nephew or Dad".  The second type of giveaway occurs only during special games - playoff baseball and basketball and rivalry college games.  In the above picture, Penn State has successfully accomplished a "white out" effect.  The Golden State Warriors, during a recent playoff run, gave out bright gold t-shirts that read, "We Believe".  

In the second kind of instance, it is just fine to throw on the oversized t-shirt.  What the hell, right?  Go for it.  The effect only works if everyone is doing it and you don't want to be the tool that decides at that very moment they've never been a sheep in their life and they refuse to play along.  

In the first example, limited free shirt, hat, or trinket giveaway - just pocket the damn thing and worry about it later.  

Don't be "That Guy"

A recent gem in the St. Paul Pioneer Press chronicled the large number of drunken fans who missed the Minnesota Vikings play the Green Bay Packers this Sunday.  Not only did they drop $40 plus on tickets, they missed an epic game, ending with an Adrian Peterson touchdown scamper and a last second missed field goal.  

I've witnessed first hand the ills of sports drunkenness and I'm here to steer you away from this disease.  It is very important to remember that I am not a doctor, I just consider myself a drinking enthusiast. 

Tip 1: Remember that it takes 45 minutes for the average Joe to process alcohol.  Remember that beer you shot gunned right before heading through the gates?  It is going to hit you right at the start of the second quarter.  This could be a good thing if you had an ever so tiny buzz when you polished off that Bud Light, but if you've already had to much to drink you could be heading for disaster in the middle of the game.  

Tip 2: Know your limit.  This sounds obvious, but a lot of people clearly forget where the line is between having a good time and being so wasted that they won't remember the outcome of the game.  Remember that everyone has a different limit.  Don't force your friend that is three inches shorter and hasn't eaten anything all day to do four shots with you unless you're willing to help him out of the game.  

Tip 3: Make sure you've eaten.  A lot.  That bowl of cereal this morning ain't going to cut it if you're having a few before a noon game.  Go to the game early and eat some protein.  Grill some chicken or have some steak and concentrate on having a good time grilling that, rather than just concentrating on taking shots.  

Tip 4: Limit yourself to one beer at the game.  When I go to a baseball game on a hot summer day, I might leisurely have two beers.  At a football game, you're standing and cheering quite a bit - so it isn't super convenient to have a drink in your hand for four quarters.  I try to take off just before half time to grab a spot in a short line to get a beer.  

Tip 5: Consider drinking after the game instead. This works especially well for dry college stadiums.  If you have season tickets, plan on hitting the bars with your friends after each home game that your team wins.  Bars and restaurants get crowded with the post-game rush, but this adds to the atmosphere if it isn't overly crowded.  The beer is typically less expensive, the selection is better, and you can stand around and re-cap the game with your friends.  

Here and there: A number of Ebbets Field Flannels t-shirts are on sale.  Despite how amused I am by these, please avoid this or this if you are looking to meet a cute female fan at the game. The coolest NFL hat might be this Bills hat.  I think the vast majority of the NFL hats look almost NASCARish.  

Distant Replays is offering a series of Ivy League throwback hockey jerseys that will knock your socks off.  Know anyone who went to Yale?  How about Dartmouth?

Dealing with the Rain as a Sports Fan

I'm heading out the door soon to watch a college football game.  It is raining like cats and dogs and the venue is an outdoor stadium. Something about football in the elements makes the game all the more epic.  This can add to the excitement of being a fan, but it can make for a pretty miserable prospect for being a fan.

Quick Tip: The most important thing about watching a sporting event in the rain is that everyone in your party has a positive attitude about it.  

If the sporting event you are going to may or may not get cancelled by the rain, make sure to have an alternative event planned.  If you going with your family, take them out to lunch or dinner in the town or city that you travelled to instead.  This will brighten the mood.  In the case of my girlfriend, Well Dressed Sports Gal likes going to sporting events when the weather is nice, but her fandom doesn't extend to rain, sleet or snow. Fair enough.  Take a buddy to the game instead and have a nice evening at home with the ladyfriend afterword.  

If your traveling partner is game for traveling to the event, be prepared.  A simple store bought can of waterproofing spray will go a long way.  Bring a waterproofed rain jacket.  Hopefully for you, you've already waterproofed your favorite cap just in case.  If not, shame on you, a can of this stuff is only six bucks.  

Quick Tip #2: If you plan on bringing an umbrella, check on the venue's website to make sure they are allowed in the stadium.  

What I've got my eye on: I just purchased a custom made college football jersey.  Here is hoping these become a trend. I'd go with the commemorative World Series Champions Phillies t-shirt or sweatshirt rather than a cap.  Why?  You can pass it on to your kids and it might be a while until your squad wins another world championship (or your city for that matter Philly).  

A line of vintage t-shirts at Ebbets Field Flannels is really making me salivate.  Check out this San Francisco Seals longsleeve shirt.  Also available are the Rosewell Rockets, Denver Bears, and Jersey Giants. You can wear these under an open zip up hoodie for maximum effect.