Blackhawks fans: it’s time to ditch the knockoff sweater

[Stryfex]

I don't wear Jerseys to gain cred with other fans for having something authentic, or to support a team financially (I do that in plenty of ways such as buying tickets to games and items at the arena)...I just buy a Jersey because I like wearing one out to wings/beer+hockey night or to a game or even to work on Jersey day. I like to shout out with my shirt to people at the venue saying "hey look at me, I like the Red Wings!!"

To me a Jersey is worth about $50 CDN maximum and I don't see any reason to pay more than that when I don't have to. The "fake" ones look great and I can get any name stitched onto it for next to nothing at the sewing shop locally

[Sharky94]

I totally understand the people here who say "support the team and buy the real jersey"

This is a TOTAL fallacy -- it simply is not true. When you buy a jersey, you are NOT supporting your team financially. You are only supporting the team's owner, the merchandiser, and indirectly, the players' salaries. Hockey Related Revenue (HRR) is determined league-wide, on average, to help determine the salary cap. The salary cap is the same for every team. You could buy a billion jerseys, and your team's salary cap will be the same as every other team, no matter what.

Sure, if you buy a billion jerseys, the cap will be higher. But it will still be the same for every team. Your team will not automatically be able to afford all of its young players because, as the salary cap goes up, so do their salary demands. Whether or not your team can afford its players is solely up to the GM and how he handles negotiations. If Hawks fans bought a billion jerseys, they still wouldn't have been able to afford Teravainen because Bowman would have ended up paying Toews/Kane $20 or $30 million each to get them to sign long-term. The money you spend on tickets, merchandise, etc, does not help your team manage its cap. All it does is help the owner pay for his private jet and all players (not just yours) pay for their sports cars.

Now, don't get me wrong. I am not arguing for people to not spend money on hockey. I am just as guilty as the next guy for spending too much (I have a lot of jerseys). But spending money on hockey does not help your team compete against other teams in the league. Do not ever believe that you are helping your team get closer to the Cup by buying that extra jersey you don't need.