The Starter Jacket Trend

By Patrick Ronan
feedback@barstoolsports.com

Today most of us only rock the gear for our local sports teams. Whether it’s a Sox hat, Pats’ jersey, Celtics’ shorts, or Bruins’….socks? Sorry, I ran out of articles of clothing.

Either way, we all know it is a cardinal sin to be wearing the colors of an opposing team in this neck of the woods. That is, unless you want a half empty coke bottle thrown at your head when your back is turned.

But let me take you back to a time some of you may not remember. When things were different. A time when World Series rings and Lombardi trophies were nonexistent. A time when the local four SUCKED!

This time is called the 90’s.

And before you get on my case, I do realize that the Pats, Sox, Bruins, and C’s all had numerous postseason appearances during the decade, but it is fair to say that Boston was nowhere close to the sports town it is today. The town was in a severe championship draught. It was the only decade that one of the major four did not win a world championship.

So as a child of the 90’s, as weird as that sounds, it wasn’t very cool to be wearing anything with Boston affiliation around the schoolyard when other teams were bringing home the titles.

I did have loyalty and I did have pride in my local squads. I heard the stories of yesteryear of men named Bird, Orr, and Fisk. I still would go to the Garden, Foxboro and Fenway and cheer for my boys, no matter how mediocre the team.

But that didn’t make me feel like a winner in the least bit. My teams were shitty and I wanted to be a winner, god dammit!

So let me date myself here and remind you of the one outlet every child had to escape the grasps of Beantown’s boring teams: The Starter Jacket.

I may be calling out to only a certain generation here, but any parents or older siblings of younger kids in the early to mid-nineties will be able to relate to this explosion of pre-teen fashion.

The puffy rain-resistant back with the oversized team logo. The collar that went a little too high for comfort and made growing the hair out a tough decision. And of course, the big shiny “S” zipper that usually fell off within the first three weeks of wearing it, making the cool zip-up in front of the older seventh-grade girls a bit awkward.

The way I see it, there were three types of Starter jacket-wearers back in the day.

The Band Wagon Coat Whore. The Color-Me Bad Trend Starter. And the Logo’s Too Cool For School Guy.

The Band Wagon Coat Whore:

He was the guy who had a different jacket every winter. And the jacket was probably of one of the following teams: Chicago Bulls, Atlanta Braves, Dallas Cowboys, San Francisco 49ers, Montreal Canadians, New York Yankees, Pittsburgh Penguins, L.A. Kings, and yes…even the Boston Celtics.

These were the kids who were so insecure about their local roots that they had to be connected to the best team in each major sport. He was usually the kid who thought he was much tougher than he actually was, but the kids still kept their distance at recess.

Because you don’t mess with the kid with the Bulls jacket.

I mention the Celtics because in the early 90’s, with Bird just retiring and the Celtics still somewhat competitive, young kids wore the Green with pride. Because of what our parents told us about this unbeatable dynasty back in the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s, some were brainwashed to still believe that the Boston Celtics were always going to be special.

You probably even saw some Celtics Starters in schools across the country in towns like Denver where the basketball program was laughable.

I am proud to say I was never one of the Band Wagon Coat Whores. I stayed away from the dynasties because I couldn’t stand Michael Jordan, Emmitt Smith, or Steve Young. As a matter of fast, I hated all those great teams from the 90’s and all the kids who wore their jackets.

Was I jealous? Probably.

I leaned toward the other two types of categories.

The Color-Me Bad Trend Starter:

These kids had balls. And I was one of them.

I see myself in old pictures with my past Starter choices on and I say to myself: What the hell was I thinking?

It’s the first time I’ve admitted this to anyone in years. Brace yourself…

I owned a Carolina Panthers jacket.

That was tough to admit, but therapeutic. But anyone in this category had one jacket they’d like to forget.

In this tier, the colors of these teams were just UGGGGLY. And DSS should pay a visit to some of our parents for letting us be seen in public wearing them. Off the top of my head, a couple other teams come to mind that were just heinous to the eye: Green Bay Packers, Charlotte Hornets, Phoenix Suns, Tampa Bay Buccaneers(old logo), Oakland A’s, Seattle Supersonics and Calgary Flames. I’m sure you can think of more. E-mail the Stool and share your horror stories.

Side note. Thank God that old Buccaneers logo/colors were changed. That was just the most hideous thing I had ever seen.

The thing about wearing these jackets was that sometimes the jacket scored a touchdown and you got some compliments for wearing it. The risk paid off. And more kids would buy their own and just like that, it was cool.

The Charlotte Hornets jacket is one in particular that spread like wildfire in my town. But with Grandma-Ma Larry Johnson on the team, why wouldn’t it?

If you’re wondering, the Panthers trend didn’t catch on. And coincidently, neither has anything else I’ve ever worn.

The Logo’s Too Cool to School Guy:

You had to respect these kids. They rocked the coolest logos in sports and they did it with style.

Not every one could get away with sporting the Raiders silver and black or the New Jersey Devils Black and BLOOD red.

Some of the other cool logo starters that were prevalent in my school: San Jose Sharks, California Mighty Ducks, Orlando Magic, and Miami Heat.

Again, if I’m missing any key choices in your wardrobe, remind me.

There weren’t a whole lot in this elite group. But those who bought them and could wear them on a day to day basis without getting the dreaded “that jacket just isn’t you” comment, congratulations!

You were neither the band wagon whore or the weird kid with the freaky looking coat. You had a badass looking jacket and back in middle school, that was pretty damn important.

The Starter jackets said a lot about the person. So do me a favor and think back to a time when Boston teams were in the dumps. What team were you wearing?