Today at PSAMP, we’re gonna take a look at some weird generic Winter Classic merch. I’m still kinda pissed the Pens lost, so I’d rather remember it by mocking the unlicensed gear some street vendors and peddlers tried to (and succeeded at, in certain cases) pass off to fans.
Thanks to everyone that sent this stuff in.
Hit the jump…
We’ll start off with one from the original Winter Classic in 2008. Thanks to Jason for this. He says:
“even though it’s Buffalo-based, would this qualify as unlicensed pittsburgh merchandise? Ice Bowl? Really?“
Wow, I totally remember the Penguins playing the Sabres in an outdoor game. I also remember it alternately being referred to as the “Ice Bowl.” But the official logo looked a little more something like this.
The eBay description states:
“PRICELESS PIECE OF HISTORY
FOR THE SPECIAL HOCKEY FAN
ICE BOWL WINTER CLASSIC FROM JANUARY 1, 2008
BUFFALO SABRES VS PITTSBURGH PENGUINS
THIS IS A HIGH QUALITY NHL HOCKEY JERSEY. IT IS WHITE WITH WHITE LACES ON THE CHEST. IT HAS A SABRES EMBROIDERED LOGO ON EACH ARM. ON THE FRONT IS THE WINTER CLASSIC ICE BOWL EMBROIDERED PATCH. THE BACK HAS THE NUMBER 08 EMBROIDERED.
BEAUTIFUL, JUST AMAZING AND COMPLETELY PRICELESS!!! VERY, VERY RARE!!!!!“
Somehow, I doubt it is priceless and/or rare. Well, maybe rare, but definitely not priceless.
Next up comes from battle bot. He says:
“boom“
This one actually has a pretty clean design. I’d wear it if it actually said WINTER CLASSIC rather than HOCKEY CLASSIC. That just makes it look cheap. What a missed opportunity. Worst thing that happens is you get a cease and desist from the NHL. This vendor shoulda rolled the dice.
Here’s a handful from Steve. He says:
“Ice Classic Spectacular > Bowl Games“
We’ve already seen Ice Bowl and Hockey Classic names in this post to this point, so it’s only fitting that we’re evolving into Ice Classic Spectacular. What a convoluted description. These shirts also use the time-honored local tradition of just showing the star player’s number (in this case, sid’s 87), to bypass any copyrights or trademarks. We all have an association with the number 87 in Pittsburgh, much like we do whenever 66 or 68 are mentioned.
And finally this awesome generic jersey from Woycheck at the game. He says:
“Epic unlicensed jersey“
Ahh yup, there we go. What a way to round out our look at the variety of generic Winter Classic merch. This fantastic unlicensed jersey has the word PITTSBURGH in place of player’s name. And the font of PITTSBURGH resembles the font used in many other unlicensed pieces. (1, 2).
Thanks again to everyone who sent this stuff in. I got a kick out of it.
If you have any unlicensed Pittsburgh sports gear, or awesome generic sports gear from any team, send them to me and I’ll post them.
(thanks to Cotter for the banner pic)
