The Jersey Dilemma

I recently had someone call me a "bandwagon dipshit" and a "bad" fan due to the fact that my grandmother unknowingly purchased a "fake" Toews jersey for my graduation present back in June. Now, what about having a "fake" jersey makes me a bad fan? What about being poor makes me less of a fan than someone who can spend $150 or $400 on a "real" jersey? I mean, aren't all jerseys replicas? Some are better than others, sure, but unless they're game-worn jerseys, none of them are really... well, "real."

The above image is the "fake" jersey in question.

If I had $400 to spend on a jersey, that would be wonderful. But I don't. My family lives paycheck to paycheck, and I'm soon to be a college student, so where the fuck do people get off calling me a bad fan for not being able to afford "real" jerseys? If you can afford it, that's totally awesome. More power to you. But some of us aren't as lucky.

I, personally, love my Toews jersey. I couldn't care less if it's fake or real or an alien creation. My grandmother bought it for me for a graduation present, and that alone means a lot to me. Will I get a "real" jersey in the future? Probably. I'd love to get one of those $400 EDGE jerseys, but it will take quite some time for me to get. I buy shirseys, other merchandise, and the DVDs. I watch almost every single game I possibly can. I'm starting to be able to go to more games to support the NHL. I support my team in ways other than buying a "REAL" jersey.

So don't you EVER call me, or anyone else for that matter, a "bad fan" just because we can't afford to buy ourselves a "real" jersey.