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This is the most egregious mistake one can make and it happens way too often. Just because someone roots for the Chicago Bears does not mean they also root for the Chicago White Sox. In fact, there aren’t too many worse things you can give a Cubs fan than White Sox gear. A Cubs supporter would probably rather open a gift of smelly used socks than get a new White Sox jacket.
Players constantly switch teams in professional sports. It can be difficult to keep track of if you aren’t a hardcore fan, but if you plan on buying someone a jersey as a gift, the least you can do is make sure that the player is still with the team. Otherwise you can feel free to watch in horror as your Lakers fan friend decides to burn that discounted Dwight Howard jersey you just got for $20 right in front of your face.
There are so many college teams that share mascots that it can be a little disorienting. Especially since their logos are sometimes relatively similar. Regardless, that’s no excuse for giving someone swag from the wrong school. We dare you to give an Auburn Tigers fan a LSU Tigers hoodie and see what happens. Actually, we already know what will happen, it’ll immediately get tossed in the trash can.
Sure, we get it. There are lots of Smiths, Johnsons and Browns in the good ole USA. Likewise, there are lots of star athletes with identical last names. It’s easy to get confused. Well, boo-hoo. There’s this little tool you might have heard of called Google that makes it mighty easy to avoid this mistake. Don’t be THAT GUY (or girl) who ruins your nephew’s Dallas Cowboys-themed birthday by buying him a t-shirt with the No. 24, a Lakers logo and the name Bryant, instead of a t-shirt with the No. 88, a Cowboys logo and the name Bryant.
You know your brother-in-law loves a baseball team with an Orange-and-Black color scheme, but you can’t remember which one. There appears to be only two options, so you figure you might as well just take a guess. It’s fashion after all. The only thing that really matters is matching the colors, right? WRONG! The last thing a Giants fan wants to rock after yet another championship is an Orioles cap.
This faux pas is particularly cringe-worthy. There are few things that inspire more passion than cheering on one’s school. There are also few things that inspire more bitterness than confusing schools based on their initials when giving a gift. There’s no faster way to convince someone to use a brand new pair of shorts as a cleaning rag than to give them University of Southern California Trojans shorts when they are actually a University of South Carolina Gamecocks fan.
That’s it! You’ve finally thought of the perfect gift to get your cranky Uncle. You know he’s really into the World Cup and he’d love a Team USA jersey. Should be a quick and easy trip to the local Sports Authority and all will be set. You hand him your present and await that big grin to stretch across his normally stoic face only to be disappointed when he mutters under his breath and rolls his eyes. That’s when you realize your mistake … you got him a Team USA hockey jersey instead of a soccer jersey. Oops!
While not as popular as it once was, retro sports gear remains hot. Fans enjoy showing their appreciation for the legends of the game by sporting their old-school jerseys and gear. Where people get in trouble when buying throwbacks is that they don’t pick the right team. For example, people want a Michael Jordan Bulls jersey, but aren’t generally interested in a Michael Jordan Wizards jersey. Likewise, not too many people would be thrilled to receive a Joe Namath Rams jersey.
Of all the mistakes on this list, this might be the one most likely to get you punched in the face. Sure, to the non-sports-fan, Michigan and Michigan State might seem like the same thing. To fans of those schools, however, they couldn’t be more different. In-state college rivalries are probably the most fierce in all of sports and buying someone gear of the wrong state school is a quick way to get yourself a one-way ticket to their doghouse.
Sometimes you can have everything right, but still be wrong on a technicality. Fashion brands over the years have tried to capitalize on the popularity of sports paraphernalia and often do an impressive job of mimicking official gear. So impressive a job that it’s easy to get suckered into thinking that you are buying your buddy a Boston Bruins jersey only to find out that it’s actually South Pole urban wear.
