The 2013 NBA finals wrapped up last Thursday, the Miami Heat winning their second title in two years. In honor of the Heat victory, a team whose fans are pretty devoted to promotional apparel (see: the sea of white tees at every home game), I thought it might be cool to take a look at some of the best promotional gear from the 2013 finals series.
1) The Heat’s Commemorative Game 7 Tee
Everyone who attended last Thursday’s game seven had a special tee placed in their seat.
(image source: The Miami Herald)
I think it’s a neat idea, and was a nice way to pump-up fans about the elimination game. I think we can agree though that the design itself is fairly unsettling. I’m not sure if it’s the 15 disembodied heads in a grid pattern or that each head is this weird mix of grimness and apathy, but I would never wear this shirt outside of of stadium-sports situation, and probably never beyond the day it was given. There’s something about it that’s just too unnerving, even for running on a treadmill or painting your house (the standard fate for all sub-par promotional apparel). It’s a little too similar to a lone child standing in the middle of your driveway at midnight, holding a single red balloon and singing “Ring Around the Rosey” over and over, you know?
Overall, I give this shirt 2.5 out of 5 indifferent Lebrons
2) SAFD’s Spurs Fundraising Tee
The San Antonio Fire Department recently starting selling these playoff-themed shirts as a limited-run fundraiser for their department.
(image source: MySanAntonio.com)
Proceeds go to firefighters and families killed or injured in a recent 5-alarm fire in Houston. I like the design, it’s simple and a good mix of fun and dignified, plus I can’t say anything bad about a fundraiser for such a good cause anyway. I give this shirt 5 out of 5 Triumphant Boshes.
3) The NBA’s Official Championship Apparel
All league winners anymore get hooked up with official commemorative apparel the minute they win anymore, but it’s a nice study in what’s popular all the same. Below is the video of the finals award ceremony. You can start to see the shirt designs around 20 seconds in, and the hat designs around 1:00. The hats are pretty elaborate—they’ve got embroidery on the front, back, and it looks like under-the-brim.
All championship stuff looks more or less the same to me (very “on brand” and etc.), but this year’s stuff is nice enough I guess. I give it 5 our of 5 bored Wades.
That’s it for this week guys! Thanks for reading, and see you all next week!
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Monday Mike Fact: I’m terrible at basketball.
