Final Four Gear

March Madness is in full swing.  This is a fairly exciting time in the sports year - the WBC championship was last night, the Stanley Cup Playoffs are on the horizon, and MLB's Opening Day is right around the corner.  

With the Final Four on the horizon - check out this shirt with the 2009 logo.  Once the Final Four is officially in place, you will have a chance to grab a shirt with the logos of all four teams on it.  

This might be a cool memento if you're from Detroit and plan on catching at least one of the games - but other than that, I'd go team specific so that you can wear the shirt again in the future at a game.  

NCAA Basketball

I'm watching the Minnesota Gophers take on the Virginia Cavaliers on ESPN this evening.  This got me thinking about sports gear for basketball games.  We've discussed this from the ladies' side, but haven't talked about men's gear yet.  

Nothing looks lamer and more dated that an old, faded basketball jersey with some forgotten jerk.  In general, I avoid basketball jerseys all together.  They look cool on the court when you're actually paid or give a scholarship to play - but you look like a tool wearing one with no shirt to a game - I don't care how hot it is outside.  

In general, I think it is a pretty decent life rule to avoid being mocked on blogs run by female sports fans.  In general.

Instead, check out these performance t-shirts made by Nike.  Newer t-shirts can be pre-made with a sweet distressed look.  There are a lot of options.  I would recommend avoiding t-shirts with oh-so-clever basketball team slogans or sayings once you hit adulthood.  The Well Dressed Sports Girl and I haven't exactly come to a consensus on this last point - so we'll maybe open it up again for another post.  

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.

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.   

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.