How Old Is Too Old To Own An Aaron Hernandez Jersey?
The Patriots made big news late last week when they announced that, this coming weekend, you can bring your #81 Aaron Hernandez jersey into the Patriots Pro Shop at Gillette Stadium and exchange it for a Tim Tebow jersey any Patriots jersey you want but really, Tebow. I thought I’d heard analysis of the decision sliced and diced every way possible, but when I turned on Toucher & Rich on 98.5 The Sports Hub this morning, they brought up a pretty good point: the Pats are totally making fun of you if you’re above, say, bar-mitzvah age, and you have an Aaron Hernandez jersey.
From the team’s official release:
Parents encouraged to exchange #81 Hernandez jerseys purchased from the Patriots ProShop and PatriotsProShop.com for any other Patriots player’s jersey in store…“We know that children love wearing their Patriots jerseys, but may not understand why parents don’t want them wearing their Hernandez jerseys anymore,” said New England Patriots spokesperson Stacey James. “We hope this opportunity to exchange those jerseys at the Patriots ProShop for another player’s jersey will be well received by parents.”
Note the key words: children and parents. That’s right, 38-year-old Patriots fan who saw fit to spend $100 on a shirt with another man’s name on the back, you can bring your Aaron Hernandez jersey back to the Patriots Pro Shop, but know this: you will be judged.
I support what the Patriots are doing here. Adults who buy jerseys should know better. This morning, host Fred Toucher suggested that a good rule is that you can’t wear a player’s jersey if that player is younger than you. That’s an OK rule. I tend to go with this one: if you’re of an age where can imagine your friends making fun of you for wearing a jersey with a name on it, it’s probably best to just give into society and not do it. What adult could possibly want an Aaron Hernandez jersey so badly in the first place, anyway?
Wait, what’s that you say? Check this morning’s Boston Globe? Story by Billy Baker? Oh, no …
But online, a market for Hernandez memorabilia has emerged. One man on Craigslist is offering to buy “anything” related to Hernandez, who has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
On eBay, heavy bidding is often driving prices for items well above what the sellers paid for them. More than 1,700 people have viewed a Hernandez jersey listed by Ben Kent, a Pats fan from Virginia Beach. The bidding is up to $227. He paid $50 for it.
Come on, people. Seriously? Who are the losers buying these things?
Lamothe said the person who bought his jersey told him just two things: He had overpaid, and he did not want his wife to know what he had done.
Yup. Sigh.
