Why the football shirts??

[SammieG]

I know that this will probably wind some of you up.. its really not designed to.. but I am always completely amazed by the amount of Brits wandering around in England Football shirts, and sometimes in complete football kit! Many of them look like they have never played football in thier lives!!

What is it with the football shirts? They dont look very cool to wear - they look hot and sweaty to wear (althought I admit they may not be.. who knows!?) -

So many of my US friends who live in Orlando think its hilarious - they are always saying... lets guess what nationality this family are!! (entire family wearing england football shirts... son also wearing, england shorts, socks, football boots etc)

I have this terrible urge to shout... "is there a football match nearby?"

Sorry, but I thought one of you clever people could shed some light on the subject, so next time I dont feel embarrassed to be british!

(wearing flame retardant suit!)

 

[Queenie]

Well I know my housemate's official England shirt is made of some special fabric that is designed to keep the wearer cool and reduce sweating. It's the current design shirt that the team wore last summer. That's why he wore it. I wore my England t-shirt because it's one of my favourites and I was feeling patriotic with Euro 2004 having just been around.

Of course there's patriotic and there's crazy... like the people we saw in Ponderosa one morning who had paid $6 for an imported copy of The Sun that morning to read the football scores!!!

 

[Night-train]

Is there a better way to advertise the fact that you're a tourist?? All the safety advice I've ever read regarding visiting Florida said "Don't draw attention to yourself", and what do these numpties go and do? Yep, dress like they're heading to Old Trafford! I know who I'd be watching out for if I was one of the local hoods!

 

[kevin harrison]

I agree with you Sammie G. I am a football fan but am always amazed at the amount of Brits wearing football shirts abroad, be it their national team's kit or their local teams colours.

The thing is other countries are equally mad on footbal and equally patriotic, but don't walk around in their kits, it just seems to be a British thing and I've never understood it.

Like Night Train said, if you are walking around at night in your kit, people are going to know you are a tourist. It took a long time for the local car hire firms to alter hire car number plates so tourists were unrecognisable so what do these people do - wear shirts identifying where they are from!!!

 

[JohnnySharp2]

I am a Liverpool supporter, season ticket holder.

I must admit most of the time I visit a theme park I do wear a shirt, not the whole kit though, thats normally just the young kids, like my son who do that. Only tend to wear them at Disney/Universal etc

Just to clarify your query Sammie, nobody wear's football boots unless they are playing football, I can only assume you are getting mixed up with training shoes, Nike's etc?
As regards the safety aspect, I do not expect to get mugged whilst riding 'Splash Mountain'. Although I did get a slap from 'Shrek' once at Universal , does that count?
I do not tend to wear my footie shirt at night-time as I am normally more smartly dressed.

As for the reason, don't know really, loyalty, patriotism, it's quite popular amongst many brits, the fact that the shirt dries quickly when wet?, to relate to fellow supporters wearing the same shirt? I have actually met several new friends on our many visits to Florida just becuase I was wearing a Football shirt, people that otherwise I would never have spoken to, I guess it just gives us something to relate to..to be perfectly honest I see stranger and more worrying dress-sense whilst on holiday in Orlando.
Some of the photos of myself from 10 years ago for example are quite frightening.

At the end of the day what we all wear is a personal choice and I am certainly not going to change and it would be quite boring if we all wore the same thing.
Why do lots of the Americans have flags on the top of their cars? I have also seen 100's of 'stars and stripes' T-shirts, shorts, socks, hats , bags etc
so many of the brits including ourselves find this "hilarious" too Sammie.

This could be an interesting debate

 

[natalielongstaff]

ive got to agree with johnny, i saw lots of americans wearing nyc fire dept tee- shirts last year....... now some of those guys were def not fireman so i can only assume they were wearing them to support them and show some patriotism.
we saw a family with a boy wearing a chelsea shirt last year and went to speak to them knowing they were english and others did the same to us we met some lovely people that way.
ps check out my photo below, my kids and myself are born and bred leicester people and proud of it ( so obviously we are not just glory hunters either )

johhny.....well done to liverpoool last week that was some game !!

 

[JohnnySharp2]

Thanks Natalie, hope to see the Leicester boys back in the prem soon!!

Yeah halfway through my reply to Sammie suddenly realised all the people that I have met and spoken to because they could see my Liverpool shirt, not all english too.
I have watched Live sport on TV several times in pubs/bars and the locals have always shown great interest in 'soccer'.

I would never go out at night with a shirt on though as I try and dress a little smarter, but certainly it does help in meeting new people around the parks.
A few years ago after 9/11 there were some t-shirts you could buy supporting the USA and NY City, we bought some and wore them with pride to show our support even though we were British, a bit different from football shirts I know.
I guess ultimately I wear my shirt to get noticed and to show some pride too, as your Leicester boys do!!

Up the reds and the foxes!!!!

 

[daveyoghurt]

I like to wear my football shirt, especially to the theme parks - I like to think I look a little better than the people putting on ponchos and yes, bin bags to keep themselves dry on the log flume rides! One, it dries almost immediately, and two, yes it shows my allegience - what's the problem? As above, it's a conversation starter with other people, "so you're a Leeds fan, eh? HA HA HA HA HA - I remember when you were good!"

I don't really see what the issue is, when I was in Orlando last time I saw loads of American NFL shirts, the Bucs, Raiders, Giants, even the Seahawks - and if I counted the number of t-shirts with the American flag on...

If we're being fashion police, there's certainly a lot more easier targets than the people wearing football shirts...

 

[Ware Bears]

None of my family are into football so we do not possess any football shirts BUT I do not have a problem with people wearing them. Live and let live and all that.....

However my DD's and I live and die in our Disney Tshirts.......are we also being made fun of?

 

[JohnnySharp2]

I should certainly hope not, you buy the clothes so you wear what you choose.
It would be boring if we all wore white t-shirts and white shorts.

 

[Ware Bears]

It would be boring if we all wore white t-shirts and white shirts.

I couldn't agree with you more!

I always want to laugh when I see the make over programmes like Trinny and Susannah, I think the poor victims usually look better in the "before" scenes than the "after" ones!

 

[London Calling]

I know that this will probably wind some of you up.. its really not designed to.. but I am always completely amazed by the amount of Brits wandering around in England Football shirts, and sometimes in complete football kit! Many of them look like they have never played football in thier lives!!

What is it with the football shirts? They dont look very cool to wear - they look hot and sweaty to wear (althought I admit they may not be.. who knows!?) -

So many of my US friends who live in Orlando think its hilarious - they are always saying... lets guess what nationality this family are!! (entire family wearing england football shirts... son also wearing, england shorts, socks, football boots etc)

I have this terrible urge to shout... "is there a football match nearby?"

Sorry, but I thought one of you clever people could shed some light on the subject, so next time I dont feel embarrassed to be british!

(wearing flame retardant suit!)

Just got back from Orlando, and was amazed at number of people wearing shirts and England toips or tshirts with the flag on it. Even had some americans asking me about it, abd I have to admit I was embarrassed about it, as I had only come across this on a trip to Falaraki many years ago.

Came across people of all nationalities on holiday with only brits raising the flag. I have to admit I am dubious about it all, and even slightly embarassed, but each to their own.

 

[JohnnySharp2]

I couldn't agree with you more!

I always want to laugh when I see the make over programmes like Trinny and Susannah, I think the poor victims usually look better in the "before" scenes than the "after" ones!

Sorry meant to say "white t-shirts and shorts", not shirts - have edited and changed my original post.

 

[JohnnySharp2]

Came across people of all nationalities on holiday with only brits raising the flag. I have to admit I am dubious about it all, and even slightly embarassed, but each to their own.

hmm not so sure we should be embarassed about it, someone with a union jack vest and shorts maybe but Football shirts? oh well as you say each to their own.
I have seen hundreds of stars/stripes shirts/shorts on my travels in the past -sorry just do not see what all the fuss is about with this one?
As I have said the number of people I have met and talked to, had a laugh with or shared a drink/story with is a lot over the years.

We all wear what we choose to, end of story.

 

[London Calling]

I think the flag logo is a bit naff to be honest, I mean why feel the need to advertise where ur from...just smacks of joingoism, and a better than anyone else attitude....who knows

 

[daveyoghurt]

I'm sorry, I just don't understand why anyone would feel 'embarrassed' about seeing their own nations flag on a t-shirt? And what is there to be 'dubious' about?

As for seeing other nationalities, maybe its ignorance of other countries football strips, as I saw plenty of German and Dutch shirts when I was on holiday - this isn't something that is confined to the British, people of all nationalities wear their football strips. I also own a Juventus and Barcelona shirt that I wear on holiday.

Football is our national game and its profile has never been higher, hence the number of replica shirts.

 

[jjpenguin]

I don't think the OP was meaning to criticize, they were just wondering what the reason was behind it. Is it practical, chauvinism, the only thing in the wardrobe

I had a bit of the 'other way around' in DL california, we were surprised at how few people were wearing Disney t-shirts etc.

It's just one of life's little mysteries!

 

[Goofyish]

I don't wear football shirts for two reasons - one they are extortionately over priced, and two - they used to give me very painful joggers nipple!

Give me a good quality cotton rugby shirt any day - at least you get a good quality, hard wearing shirt for you money (usually for a lot less than a flimsy nylon football shirt). Trouble is they are a bit warm to wear in Florida for most of the year!

 

[carolfoy]

I don't think its just football shirts that are funny, every nation seems to have people that dress entirely in sports related gear when they look like they've never done any sport in their lives! I think huge beer bellies look just as funny in a baseball/hockey shirt as they do in a football shirt, also why is it only ladies that shouldn't wear leggings that do?

 

[JohnnySharp2]

I'm sorry, I just don't understand why anyone would feel 'embarrassed' about seeing their own nations flag on a t-shirt? And what is there to be 'dubious' about?

As for seeing other nationalities, maybe its ignorance of other countries football strips, as I saw plenty of German and Dutch shirts when I was on holiday - this isn't something that is confined to the British, people of all nationalities wear their football strips. I also own a Juventus and Barcelona shirt that I wear on holiday.

Football is our national game and its profile has never been higher, hence the number of replica shirts.

Fully agree