I'm a bit of a packrat. There are other terms that one could use, and you should feel free to do so. My wife does. Something I’ve done in response is narrow my aggregation of items into distinct areas, to make myself (and my wife, begrudgingly) feel better. One of them is t-shirts, specifically t-shirts of Philadelphia area sports teams. I prefer bootleg shirts—ones bought outside the stadium, or in a gas station parking lot—but I’m also not all that picky.
I'll be sharing some of his favorite Phillies shirts throughout the playoffs until they’re bounced. Or maybe Defector will make me keep doing it until the end of the World Series, or until the end of time, to extend my misery. This one doubles as a World Series prediction. Enjoy!
The 2009 World Series was all going the Phillies' way. Cliff Lee helped the Phillies rout the Yankees in Game 1, and it looked like Philadelphia might actually get consecutive World Series wins. Could you imagine? It would’ve been incredible. A full year of trash talking, and then the Phillies win it again. Man, everyone else would’ve found it so unbearable.
Well, it didn’t work out, and the Phillies lost in 6 games.
I do not think I purchased this “Phuck New York” t-shirt at the time of the playoffs; I believe I got it out of a $10 bin at a vintage flea market. For one, there are holes in it. I take better care of my shirts. But what a fine shirt it is. A giant hand, wearing a 2008 World Series ring, telling the Yankees and their fans to phuck themselves. Man. If they’d won that series you’d still see people with this shirt on today.
I appreciate the use of “phuck” while still flipping the bird larger than anything else on the shirt. It rules. They really went all out for it. You can tell “phuck” was only for the playfulness. The F was just understood there.
This is my World Series prediction: The Phillies will beat the Padres again in the NLCS, while the Yankees will beat up on the Astros. That means, 15 years later, this shirt will become relevant again. Maybe we’ll even see it out there at a game. I know I have Stewie pissing on the Yankees logo somewhere, too. If this World Series prediction holds up, I’ll make sure to find that t-shirt.
World Series prediction: Phillies 4, Yankees 2
-Dan McQuade
