Reclaim Your Fandom

By PAT DOLENTE

Updated 6:06 AM EDT, Wed, Jul 22, 2009

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Since last year, a new trend emerged in the city. This trend was around for a very long time, over a hundred years in fact, but it fluctuated in popularity over the decades.

But in October 2008 the trend exploded. Seemingly everyone jumped on board.

I’m talking, of course, about being a Phillies fans.

Since we became W.F.C. it seemed like even the most casual baseball fan in the city now claimed allegiance to the Phightin Phils.

And there is nothing wrong with that. In fact, a popularity surge was expected -- they were the ones that broke Billy Penn's Curse.

But with the growing number of Phillies fans, also came the growing sales of Phillies merchandise. Everywhere you go now, you can find someone wearing Phillies gear.

But it didn’t used to be like that. Up until a couple years ago, there was no question that the town’s veins bled Eagles green. While Eagles merchandise was seen all over the city, wearing Phillies gear meant that you were a hardcore fan.

And now you can reclaim some of your hardcore Phillies fans status. Birdland Philadelphia and The Fightins.com teamed up to offer some of the best Phillies-inspired T-shirts that you can’t buy at a Modell’s.

Some of the highlights include a Matt Stairs T-shirt that reads “Use Stairs in case of Emergency” and includes a sketch of his face.

Even Rich Dubee got his own shirt. And it looks exactly like you think it would.

But a favorite T-shirt comes in the style of the “I (Heart) NY.” Only instead of a (Heart), a picture of Mr. Met sits with a surprise in the middle of his forehead.

But the site isn’t all Phillies gear. You can grab a classy Flyers T-shirt that plays with the nationalities of some of the Flyers players and well as a few SEPTA inspired shirts.

And because they don’t pay licensing fees to the teams (they don’t use the logos), the most expensive item costs just $22.

So grab a shirt (or four) and show off your hardcore fandom -- again.