Before You Decide On Purchasing A Player's Jersey, Read This

Let me start by telling you a little story. It should come as no surprise that when I was deciding where to move, I had to have a city with every major sports team. I had narrowed my two choices down to Chicago or Dallas, and decided I'd go to whichever city I found a job first. I got incredibly lucky when my current company paid to fly me in for an interview, then hired me on the spot. It was amazing, and a few weeks later I was Dallas bound. 

I was already a huge Cowboys fan, but it took all of 2 seconds for me to jump right on the Mavs, Rangers and Stars super mega fan bus. Some life-long fans might judge me for that, but I personally see nothing wrong with it. I was a Dallas resident and that's what you do, you root root root for the home team. 

Just like any fan does, I began to develop a favorite player on each team. My choice for favorite player on the Mavs was a little different from most: Jae Crowder. Jae wasn't even a starter for the Mavs, but his attitude won me over immediately. When Jae was on the court, everyone played with more hustle and passion. His role was to amp everyone up, including the fans. 

So Jae has instantly recognizable dreads...

image via 

Well, last season, the Mavs released a new Jae Crowder shirt that had his dreads ON the back of the shirt. I thought it was SO cool and I had to have it. Plus, I was pretty sure that I would be the ONLY person to own that shirt. The problem? Well it was nearly $50 for a t-shirt (*Macklemore Voice). I thought about buying that shirt for weeks. I went to several Mavs and Stars games during that time (they share the same arena), and would go check on the shirt to make sure it was still there. 

On my birthday, after deliberating on it for literally weeks, I broke down and treated myself to the shirt. It was my birthday after all, I deserved it. The sheer amount of glee on my face at the register was priceless, I was so excited it was finally mine. 

I brightened this picture of me and Helene way up in hopes that you can see how cool this shirt is with his dreads printed on the back. 

The next day... and I do mean THE VERY NEXT DAY AFTER WEEKS OF DELIBERATING ABOUT BUYING THAT SHIRT ... Jae Crowder was traded to the Boston Celtics.

THE NEXT DAY, people. WTF. 

That story is still one of CB's favorites to tell, and while I now do find it comical, I was PISSED. Needless to say, I'm now very gun-shy on buying a jersey with a player's name on it. Today (so you don't get burned like I did) I thought I'd share some tips that you should read before committing to a specific player's jersey. 

1. Buy the superstar's jersey that everyone else has.

I realize this is not nearly as fun when that person, is not in fact, your favorite player, but at least you aren't potentially throwing $$$ in the trash.

Current Dallas Safe Superstar Picks: Tony Romo, Dirk Nowitzki

2. Buy a legend's jersey.

Pick the jersey of your favorite retired hall-of-famer. Clearly they aren't getting traded and you're making a solid investment that will never be out of style. Everyone loves a legend. 

Current Dallas Safe Legend Picks: Emitt Smith, Nolan Ryan

3. Leave it blank.

This is probably what I will do for my next jersey purchase. 

*Disclaimer: I DO NOT LIKE THE PERSONALIZED JERSEYS WITH YOUR NAME ON IT. You do not play for the team, no one knows who "Webb 22" is. 

4. Check contracts.

If your heart is set on a specific player's jersey, check his contract first. This won't keep you safe from a freak trade incident, but at least you'll know if his contract is up next season. If you check and your boy will be a free agent next season, I wouldn't take the risk. 

5. Tape it up.

Hey, screw it. If all else fails and your favorite player gets traded to the Celtics for a 48th round draft pick and a tub of vanilla ice cream... just find a creative way to tape over his name. You'll get some good laughs and probably a lot of people stopping you to take your picture. Be sure to get them to tag your brilliance on instagram.