hemi culture
THE FAN
T
hink of the most iconic jer-
seys inAmerican sports: the
NewYorkYankees’pinstripes,
the Detroit Red Wings’
winged tire, the Los Angeles Lakers’
“forum blue and gold.”Now imagine
those uniforms plasteredoverwith the
logosofMcDonald’s,Ford,Target.
Such a visionmay seem sacrilegious
toAmerican sports fans, but venture
outside the U.S. and you’ll find that
advertising on pro sports uniforms is
commonplace.Manchester United,
in England’s top soccer league, has
aChevrolet logo on its kit.TheOrix
Buffaloes,ofJapan’stopbaseball league,
havefeaturedthe logoofSolarFrontier,
aTokyo-based energy company, just
above the team’sname.Andprohockey
players inEuropeoften look likeskating
billboards,withsponsorscrammedonto
everybit of spaceon theiruniforms.
Advertising in sports in the U.S.
is nearly ubiquitous, of course—ask
anyone who’s gone through the
gauntletofcommercials that is football
Sunday—but theNFL,NBA,NHL,
andMajor League Baseball have so
far resisted the urge to allow ads on
their teams’everydayuniforms,despite
54
ILLUSTRATIONBYDANIELDOWNEY
•
DECEMBER2015
•
HEMISPHERESMAGAZINE.COM
the fan
SellingtheShirtOffYourBack
How longwill itbeuntilAmerican sports teamsbeginputtingadson their jerseys?
BYJOEDELESSIO
