I didn’t realize until I went to a Nippon Professional League game in Japan just how much sports fashion is a thing here in the United States. Walking the streets there, you don’t see a whole lot of NPB merch being worn. Sure, you see some ball caps, some stickers, that sort of thing. It isn’t until you get to the stadium where people literally put on their jerseys and other gear over their business and casual attire like a sort of situational costume.
Here in the States? Licensed sports apparel is big business because people wear them for all sorts of things. Want something that’s casual? Bet. We got hoodies, we got pajamas, we got T-shirts. Want something a little more professional? You can get a polo shirt or a button-up shirt or a tie or the ever-popular quarter zip.
And man, do we have options. You can get Royals gear at every price range, from Wal-Mart basics to the often eye-watering Rally House and official Royals merch store specialties. Now, some sports gear is ugly as sin. But some gear is really cool and tasteful, and it’s always a rush to find the perfect sports gear for you and your style.
Some of my favorite gear, though, is the stuff you get at a Royals game. Two shirts pop out to me as true gems, both for totally different reasons. The first is one that I never got but always wanted: the Zack Greinke Ace shirt from one of the first T-Shirt Tuesdays of 2009.
This shirt rocks. It just rocks. I have no other analysis. I have a hideous Zack Greinke Cy Young Winner shirt my parents bought me (sorry, mom) for Christmas. But that Greinke shirt is just fantastic, and the fact that there are less than 15,000 of the original set out there makes them that much more fun.
The other shirt is great for a totally different reason: because it makes me laugh. That, my friends, is the Frenchy Quarter shirt you got from sitting in the special Jeff Francoeur right field section.
The Royals ran the Frenchy Quarter promotion from 2012 to 2013, where you could get a ticket, a T-shirt, and some Mardi Gras beads for $21. Oh, inflation, how you sting me. Hilariously, Francouer was released in July 2013, mere months after I got my Frenchy Quarter shirt.
Where is my Frenchy Quarter shirt right now, you ask? It’s in my basement under one of my treadmill’s legs to help it be level. So, one could say it’s one of my prized possessions.
Those are a few of my favorite pieces of vintage Royals gear. What are yours? Do you have a favorite piece of Royals gear that isn’t vintage but you love regardless? Let me know in the comments!