Here’s a new twist on a classic, courtesy of reader Henry. That’s what you get for willingly going to the NBA team with the dullest uniform, Kyrie!
You don’t see many people burning their jerseys anymore when an athlete leaves for another club. Maybe they don’t want to be seen as wasteful, or maybe it can be attributed to a shift in fans’ perception. The athlete’s gained more support than the owner in recent years. Usually, when a hometown player leaves for a new team, the brunt of the ire is directed toward management for not doing what was needed to retain them. (Steelers fans are the exception to this, but they’re beyond saving.) It’s an encouraging change in thinking, and has the added bonus of saving a lot of $80 replicas. You never know when that player might return, anyway.
Though the practice isn’t as popular, the section of angry lunks who torch their apparel will always exist. These days they do it for much dumber, Kaepernick-related, vaguely political reasons. Although Irving’s departure was messy and weird, especially after he said last October that he planned to re-sign with the Celtics, the deep thinker can go in peace and only be razzed for his flat-earth foolishness. To be fair, it’s a lot easier for C’s fans to move on when his absence is filled with another team’s beloved point guard.