There's A Difference Between Fanatic & Fool... Sometimes

You know it's going to happen and there's nothing you can do about it. It most likely happened to you already. What is it? The point in a man's life when he should no longer wear jerseys out in public (outside of actually going to the game). Unless you're built like an actual football player or you're a hip-hop artist and need to keep up appearances, just don't do it man. We aren't in college anymore (if you are, then come back later). There's possibly one way you can get away with this that I'll explain further down. But whatever you do, don't even try to wear a basketball jersey. Throwback? More like throw away. But I've got some better ideas for the gear you retire too. 

First let's talk about how you can actually dress for sporting events like a fanatic rather than a fool. You can and should represent your team visually even if it's more on the subtle side. Don't be that guy that thinks it doesn't matter... because then you don't matter. At least represent your team colors. You've got those colors in other types of apparel (i.e. shirts, shoes, socks, hoodies), so that's where you start. The trick is to figure out the appropriate balance between said fanatic and fool. If you're a Georgia Bulldogs or Atlanta Falcons fan (like yours truly), then wearing a red shirt with red pants and red shoes may be more on the foolish side. Don't look like a crayon. Instead, stick with a red shirt and black pants along with black shoes. Or if you're a minimalist, go all black or even all gray (these options won't make you look like a crayon) and dab some red socks in there for good measure. Replace red or black with your team colors and follow suit. Use common sense to pick your base color (black, blue, gray, brown... outside of the Green Bay Packers, any of your teams should fit one of these in some way. If not, pick a new team). Leverage your base color for your pants or the majority of your outfit. This way, you don't look like a total idiot wearing orange pants at age 34. Actually, wearing orange pants is one of those things you should never ever do. It should be on your anti-bucket list, if that's a thing. If it's not a thing, then it should be. And wearing orange pants should top that list. Anyway, the non-base color (red, orange, green, yellow) should be less than 50% of your total outfit color. That's the guideline. There may be a cool way to break that guideline, like wearing all black while donning a red topcoat. That may be a pretty dope look if you're into that sorta thing.

That covers the basics. If you do have a jersey that you absolutely want to rock, then make sure everything else you put on is a base color. For example, a red jersey can be acceptable with black pants and black shoes. If it's chilly outside, I suggest layering a black bomber over said jersey. This way you'll balance out the loud pop of red with a minimalist black. And black is a good way to balance out any team color even if you are a Packers fan. Swapping out the black kicks with clean white kicks is also acceptable. 

Please keep in mind that whether it's a suit or a jersey, fit is still the key to looking stylish. Don't wear that XXL if you're 5'8". If you think you're a large, try a medium to see how it fits (and so on). Jerseys come in all shapes and sizes depending on the sport and the brand, so don't pigeon hole your size. So skip the DJ Khaled look and make sure you nail the fit and #winwinwinnomatterwhat. 

So what do you do with jerseys you won't wear anymore? There are 2 solid options. The first is, if you've got a man cave or don't mind dedicating some decor space to #sports, then put your jersey in a nice frame (with player name showing), and hang it up. This method is preferred if you have signed jerseys and/or if you have multiple jerseys to put up. However, don't hang up those cheap screen-printed jerseys. You can go the second route with those, which is putting them on eBay. As I have learned through life, one man's trash is another man's treasure. So if you think "who would buy this crap?", just know that there's someone out there that's thinking "who would want to get rid of this beauty?" 

How do you dress for #sports? #Riseup and dress like a fan without looking foolish. And go Falcons!

Who says you can't dress up for #sports to the office?