The Jersey Blog Week 11
Back at it again. If you want in on the blog, be sure to DM pictures of your favourite jersey to one of the Bench Life Social accounts every Wednesday night.
Jersey of the Week Submissions
Fifth Place
University of Michigan Wolverines Basketball Jersey
Michigan fans are understandably down bad after that Elite Eight so I won’t pile on. I actually like Michigan’s jerseys across most sports. Many people are saying that the Juwan Howard-led basketball program has made Michigan a basketball school considering the staggering mediocrity of John Harbaugh and the football program.
Fourth Place
Vince Carter “Purple Dinosaur” Toronto Raptors
I wanted to rank this higher as a Raptors guy, but the jersey has gotten to be kind of mainstream. In 2017 there you couldn’t throw a rock at the Wayhome festival and not hit a Cameron Burgess-type wearing a Purple Vince Carter jersey.
That being said, it’s popular because it’s cool. Carter was one of the last great Slam Dunk Contest champions, back in a time when the winners actually had name value and weren’t just G-League alumnis. I’m personally not a big Vinsanity guy. The way he forced his way out of Toronto is almost completely forgotten. People forget that he was one of the biggest prima donna villains in Toronto sports history. But VC put in years of public relations work and after the 2019 championship, the Carter hate is largely forgotten. But I live by a motto: I may forgive but I’ll never forget.
The Podium
Bronze Medal Jersey
Alexei Yashin Ottawa Senators 2000’s Third Jersey
First Alexei Yashin jersey I’ve seen and quite frankly I respect the move. People typically remember Yashin for being the driving piece of one of the worst trades of the 2000’s. The Senators made off like bandits, flipping the disgruntled Russian to the Islanders for Zdeno Chara and a first round pick used to draft Jason Spezza. The Islanders would then hand him a 10 year $87.5 million contract in 2005 which they would buyout two years later.
But Yashin did have a stretch as an elite scorer with an eight year stretch where you could pencil him in for 30 goal, 70+ point production every year. Drafted second overall in 1992, Yashin was the first draft pick in franchise history for the expansion Ottawa Senators. This jersey, especially given that it’s a long defunct team alternate, is kind of a relic of the mid-2000’s NHL scene.
Silver Medal Jersey
John Stockton Late 90’s Alternate
While this jersey is kind of ugly compared to the other 90’s Jazz looks, the rarity that you see this particular design makes up for it. Before watching The Last Dance last year (it’s been a year?!) John Stockton has kind of been lost in the “best PG of all-time” shuffle. He was never better than Magic of Isaiah Thomas, and the modern point guards are more about scoring off the dribble than setting up their team’s offence making some of Stockton’s scoring numbers seem comparatively underwhelming.
But with Stockton, it’s all about the assists.* Nobody set the table for their teammates quite like the NBA’s all-time assist leader (although Nash, Kidd and CP3 were kind of the last of that floor general mindset with Hall of Fame calibre archetype). The Stockton-to-Malone pick and role was one of the most lethal plays in basketball history and those 90’s Jazz teams are probably in the conversation for best teams to never win it.
*People forget that Stockton is also the NBA’s all-time steals leader
Jersey of the Week
Baker Mayfield Oklahoma Sooners
It’s still up in the air as to how Baker’s NFL career will shake out. But nobody can deny that he was an absolute weapon at Oklahoma. He had the same kind of exciting under-sized, big arm, elite scrambling playing style that Johnny Manziel popularized. Hell he even had some of that Money Manziel swagger too.
Just like the Joe Burrow Week 1 Jersey of the Week win, I love to defer to a sweet college QB. And make no mistake, the 2017 Heisman was a SWEET college QB. The Rose Bowl patch on this jersey was a nice touch too.
Jersey of the Week Standings
Adam’s back on top of the podium. Shlok continues to throw haymakers out of the gate. And Miles continues to put together a strong resume (controversy aside). The fact that not a single person submitted a baseball jersey on MLB Opening Day was a missed opportunity for anyone in this Jersey of the Week game.
Jersey News Round-Up
I think these jerseys are sweet, but I like them as an alternate look considering the regular blue and orange absolutely pop.
Congrats to my boy Matty D. In my mind he should be in the pantheon of Toronto sports play-by-play greats.
King Felix in an Orioles uni is right up there with Boggs in a Devil Rays jersey or Sundin in a Canucks sweater.
Sure
Bench Life Sports 