It's almost surreal to imagine grown men shooting, hitting, and fighting in a pink jersey, but in Anchorage this February 14th that will be the case.
Minor league sports is a cutthroat business. In order to maintain a small, loyal fanbase and attract new customers, teams have gone to every extreme to draw fans to the arena, diamond or stadium. Minor league hockey is no exception and promotional jerseys have become the norm, with Valentine's Day jerseys being worn by hulking, behemoths every year.
These promotional jersey's have become a public relations staple for minor league hockey teams and obviously have been proven to be a successful tactic, as teams constantly trot them out, year after year. Valentine's Day jerseys are just the tip of the iceberg though. Teams have commemorated New Year's Eve, Christmas, beach night, and Milwaukee legend/Mr. Belvedere star Bob Ueker, among many others.
The Alaska Aces, of the ECHL, join a long line of team's that have tried to draw in couples celebrating Valentine's Day. Here are some of the best of the worst.
Bakersfield Condors
Las Vegas Thunder
Grand Rapids Griffens
Neil,
ReplyDeleteThanks for the write up. A slight clarification, the jerseys will be worn tomorrow night, Feb. 12th, and auctioned after the game.
Junkyard Athletic designs many different items, from jerseys to logos to banners and beyond. When it comes to "themed" jerseys, especially projects like this, we embrace what it is all about. It's about the team buying a jersey they plan to use for one night and one night only, to celebrate a holiday and/or special event. In most cases, the team auctions off the jersey in order to benefit local charities in their city.
With this project, a decision was made to embrace the campy concept of a Valentine's Day jersey. If a team chooses to do a special jersey on that day, embrace it, own it, and go all the way with the idea. It would be impossible to make a Valentine's Day jersey that isn't pink or red, therefore, the direction we chose was to make the jersey look like a classic Valentine's Day card and use the hearts design on the numbers as well, just to do something radically different.
We choose to have fun and be unique with all of our designs, in this case, presenting the Alaska Aces with a design that, for better or for worse, embraces the celebration of Valentine's Day.
Thanks again for the write up!