T-Shirts June 3 - June 8

June 3: Sidney Crosby
Year Acquired: 2009
Location: Pittsburgh

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An excellent Christmas gift from Tim and family. It may be sacrilegious to say, but aesthetically I prefer the blue alternate uniforms of the Penguins. Thanks to a recent trivia question (hi Penny) I know Pittsburgh is the only city to have all their major sports teams use the same color scheme so I can understand the reliance black & gold. But I'd rather see the blue unis.

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Unfortunately, wearing this didn't bring them any luck.

June 6: Anthrax Judge Dredd
Year Acquired: 2011
Location: Pittsburgh

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Concerts used to be a major source of t-shirts, but I'm old and hardly ever go to shows. I couldn't pass up the thrash triple-bill of Death Angel, Testament and Anthrax. Anthrax is a band that I've loved for years, but for some reason it took until 2011 for me to see them live. The comic book/metal crossover with Judge Dredd and a favorite band made this a "must buy." A great shirt, but not nearly as cool as old one of Tim's that he destroyed during a rod hockey game.

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In addition to Judge Dredd, there were a bunch of other comics I started reading due to being mentioned in the liner notes of Among the Living. I started reading the John Byrne run of Fantastic Four, Boris the Bear, and some others thanks to Anthrax.

June 7: James Neal
Year Acquired: 2011
Location: Pittsburgh

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Because I'm a superstitious hockey fan I wore this under my dress shirt at work and while watching the Penguins lose their final game of the season. I was also wearing it during their last win of the season. I think I'll be taking a break from the Penguins gear for a bit.

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June 8: mnftiu
Year Acquired: 2002 or 2003
Location: Pittsburgh or Syracuse

I have a very similar shirt that will also appear. I'm a fan of David Rees's and his comic like "My New Filing Technique is Unstoppable" and "Get Your War On." Since the shirts are so similar I can't remember which shirt was a gift from which friend. The shirts often result in comments from strangers so if you're looking for a conversation starter you can borrow one of these shirts.

June 8: Wet Leather Congress
Year Acquired: 1996
Location: CMU
Two shirts in one day since this one was used for grass cutting.

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Much like the 2012-13 Penguins, Wet Leather Congress was a team built to win the CMU intramural floor hockey championship but that was not to be. I only wore the shirt once or twice in a game-action thanks to a torn ACL when playing for a team made up a most of WLC as well. Now the shirt shows up to yardwork and home improvement projects.

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I can't remember yesterday, I just remember doing what they told me

Queensÿrche - I Remember Now

Year Acquired: 1988 or '89
Location: Northway Mall t-shirt kiosk, source of many metal t-shirts.

 

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Sometime last year I realized I have a load of t-shirts. For more than half my life I've collected comic books, hockey cards, records/tapes/cds but I've never consciously thought of myself as a t-shirt collector. They just accumulated since I never part with things. Last year, once I had all my summer clothes unpacked, I decided to see how long I could go before repeating a t-shirt. I need more arbitrary rules for my life. Obviously, I washed and re-wore undershirts and gym shorts, but for my real t-shirts, I think it took me until October to repeat. I've decided that Memorial Day will mark when I pull out all my t-shirts and try my best not to re-wear anything until I wear all my shirts at least once. And thanks to recommendations from Penny and Jesse, the world is stuck with this blog where I will document the process.

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To start this process (i.e. ordeal for friends and family) I had to begin with a memorable shirt. Without exhaustive research I think this is the oldest shirt that I still wear. I do have a few relics tucked away in the attic that aren't in rotation, but this is the oldest that is regularly worn and definitely a favorite. I have many of the "black concert t-shirt" variety but this was my first. At the time of it's purchase in the late '80s, Queensÿrche was my favorite band. "Operation:Mindcrime" was just released and it was in constant rotation. My second or third favorite band was Metallica so when I saw that Queensÿrche was opening for Metallica on the "..And Justice for All" tour at the Civic Arena I asked my parents if I could go to my first concert. Not surprisingly, as a naive 8th grader I was denied. Oddly enough, less than a year later my parents allowed me to go to my first concert at the legendary Pittsburgh punk & metal dive The Electric Banana. Which I guess since it was smaller seemed safer than the Civic Arena?!?

Back to the shirt. As a consolation prize I couldn't go see Queensÿrche but I was allowed to get a shirt from the mall shortly after the concert. I didn't see the show, but I at least have the t-shirt...and still wear it 20 plus years later.