The Jersey Blog Week 16
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
Arensal Mid-2000s kit
Another soccer football kit. Another blog where I just don’t know how to talk soccer football. Off the top of my head I’ll name all of the soccer football players that I can: Thierry Henry, Frank Lampard, Wayne Rooney, Ronaldo (Brazil), Ronaldinho, Christiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Alfonso Davies, Jermain Defoe (a bloody big deal), Luis Suarez, Paul Pogba, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Zinedine Zidane.
TBH I did better than I thought.
When my mom vacationed in England, she brought back the Arsenal jersey that Phil submitted this week, and the yellow one on the right for me.
Fourth Place
Rick Nash New York Rangers Third Jerseys
The Ranger have some of the best jerseys in hockey, and the old navy alternates are no exception. Rick Nash on the back is a nice touch too. He, Brad Richards and Marian Gaborik are guys that I always forget played extended time for the Rangers. When that Nash trade broke it kind of rocked the hockey world from what I remember.
After looking at his HockeyDB page, I don’t remember his 42 goal 2014-15 season for the Rangers. For the most part, the rest of his New York tenure was underwhelming. But make no mistake, Nash was one of the most prolific goal scorers in the NHL for at least a decade.
The Podium
Bronze Medal Jersey
Mark Messier New York Rangers.
The ’90 Stanley Cup in Edmonton proved that Messier could do it without Gretzky. But the ’96 Cup in New York proved that Messier was in the pantheon of hockey greats. Winning a Cup in the Mecca launched Mess into a whole new stratosphere of celebrity as one of the most recognize-able athletes of the 90s. This is a very cool jersey.
Silver Medal
Magic Johnson LA Lakers
While Steph may have a chance to catch him, Magic is the undisputed best point guard of all-time. He (and Bird) carried the NBA as the faces of the league in the 80’s until Jordan eventually dethroned them. Stylistically he was an innovator. Magic was Lebron in a time way before professional athletes had access to the same year-round elite training and nutrition that has turned every professional athlete into a gladiator in the year 2020. Magic was a 6’9″ point guard whose size, speed, out-of-this-world passing and hands around the basket made him one of the biggest match-up nightmares ever. The guy famously played all five positions, from point guard to center, in Game 6 of the 1980 NBA Finals.
I’d also argue that Magic was the first basketball player to parley his superstardom into major celebrity status. The guy was the face of the “Show Time” Lakers which was one of the most winning and iconic teams ever. In his prime, he was one of the first athletes to really lean into his celebrity with endorsements. And in retirement, through his different business opportunities and investments, his net worth is a cool $600 million. Magic was literally the blueprint for every star that came after him.
But yeah, this jersey is sick. The Lakers purple and gold always play, and there’s something about their simple, throwback look that is just clean.
Jersey of the Week
Jerome Iginla 2010 Team Canada Olympics
A gold medal placing for a gold-medal jersey. Every Canadian knows where they were for Crosby’s golden goal. Some people forget that Iginla was the one who picked up the assist. This jersey just gives me a reason to Youtube 2010 Olympic highlights which is well worth the time.
If I was to power rank players I’d want a jersey of I would go:
1. Crosby
2. Iginla
3. Toews
4. Luongo
5. Heatley
6. Niedermayer
7. Doughty
8. Brodeur
9. Thornton
10. Pronger
Jersey of the Week Standings
Cameron rockets up the board with the first win of his career and Shlok continues his steady ascent to the top.
Jersey News Round-Up
There weren’t too many tweets that I could dig into this week so I’m going to hit you guys with an imptromptu:
MLB Reliever Jersey Wishlist
A few months ago on our podcast (btw check it out), I talked about how at some point I might start buying the jerseys of MLB relievers. The wackier and more memorable the better. Well here’s five guys that I’d like to get a jersey of, in no particular order.
Tom Henke, Toronto BLue Jays
“The Terminator” was the best reliever in BLue Jays franchise history. The World Series rings and unmistakeable glasses put him near the top of my wihslist.
Mariano Rivera, New York Yankees
The best closer of all-time, the first unanimous first ballot hall of famer ever, and the last player allowed to wear the number 42 after it as retired league-wide in honour of Jackie Robinson. As much as I hate the Yankees you can’t go wrong.
Brian Wilson, San Fransisco Giants
A pure psycho. Fear the Beard.
Chad Bradford, Oakland A’s
The submarine pitcher from the book/movie “Moneyball”. Nobody has a wilder release point.
BJ Ryan, Toronto Blue Jays
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For the longest time whenever Ben would send me an etransfer, the security question was always, “how many career saves does BJ Ryan have?” (answer is 117)
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