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I'm wearing a Yankees shirt.

The Yankees are OK, to me. I enjoyed going to Yankee stadium when I was in college. For eight bucks you could sit in the outfield, with all that green grass, in the sun. When you're poor and living in Manhattan, eight dollars (plus two subway tokens) is a bargain for all that fresh air, sunlight, and open space. 

So I tend to root for the Yankees, to the extent I root for any baseball team.

In 1997 I lived in Wisconsin, and a friend from New York rode his motorcycle across the country. He stayed the night in our apartment, and left while we were at work. As a thank you for putting him up, he left a present: His used, off-brand Yankees shirt.

If just happened to be super comfortable, though, and it has a certain meaning, I guess, so I have never thrown it away, and it's the one I'm wearing right now.

Every now and again, though, some Mets or Phillies fan (where I live in New Jersey, fans of those three teams are all mixed together) will take offense to this shirt. Or a Yankee fan cashier or waiter or friend of a friend will read into my shirt that we are somehow bonded.

It never seems right, though, to say: "Oh, it's just a comfortable shirt. I'm not even all that into the Yankees."

It's a crime against sports, isn't it? Wearing a sports logo without caring about that logo?

On the flip side, I am a HUGE Blazers fan, of course. And clearly I'm not afraid to admit that in public. But how often do I wear anything with a Portland logo on it? Just about never. I have a couple of hats. This winter I started jogging in a Blazers ski cap I got for Christmas -- but nobody ever sees that -- jogging here, this time of year, is not a social event.

I have had various shirts, socks, pins, stickers, and the like. (I even have, as my secret weapon of fandom, a vintage Blazer letterman jacket -- like the one with the leather sleeves and all. I inherited it from the guy who bought it new, when I was a little kid. I plan to bust out, along with a bottle of champagne, in the stands the next time Portland wins a title.)

But I almost never wear that stuff. As much as I love the Blazers, those clothes have never felt  like an honest expression of what the team means to me. I can imagine there might be a better thing out there. Something that I'd proudly wear around town, telling the world which team I love, but I can't say I have ever seen it.

So, I'm curious: You have team stuff that you love? You wear logos? Is there anything with a team logo on it that means the world to you?