Championship Jerseys are for Champions Only!
 

From the time I began racing (1974) one of the rules of etiquette that was instilled in me by coaches and the more experienced riders was that you never, ever wear any type of championship jersey unless you have earned it.

This includes the yellow and pink jerseys of the Tour and Giro, national championship jerseys of any country, but most of all the World Championship Jersey. The penalty for this type of infraction was to be ostracized. I had seen it happen.

I feel everyone should show these jerseys the respect they deserve. They are the symbols of champions, people who have put in the time, effort and sacrifices necessary to compete and win at the top level of competition.

Joey Bag-Of-Donuts should not be wearing these jerseys. These people should be treated with utter disdain. If you did not earn it do not wear it. After all, what would you think of someone walking around wearing a Super bowl ring or a war medal that did not earn it?

You mean like this guy?

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...imir_Putin.jpg

Careful critcizing him. You might end up with a nice cup of Polonium tea.

Tr0LL.

Last I checked, it was still a free country chief.

Bye bye!

This man has NOT earned the uniform.
http://films.cwru.edu/sfmarathon28/d...003486_240.jpg

Also, don't compare a Super Bowl ring to a silly war medal.

?? If thats the case, why do the companies sell them to the average Joe?

Hey, I think he means me.....:D

Joeyhttp://www.primesourceentertainment....agofdonuts.jpg!!!

For profit. Just because one person or entity is going to be unethical it does not become carte blanche for everyone to become unethical. Buy the jersey if you like and keep it at home, but do not wear it. Wearing it only makes you look like a chucklehead (yeah, a fat dude with knees pointing east and west won the Worlds. Must have, he's wearing the jersey).

I hear he wears a really big ring too. Go ride your bike.

Did someone say donuts?

http://www.mommieswithstyle.com/uplo..._sm-758542.jpg

I heard DM4 dropped that baby once.

lalalalalalalala

I am so picking up a championship jersey of some sort.
One wonders where you draw the line with such a mindset? Can I wear a CSC team jersey or a collegiate jersey if I am not a member? Do I even care what anyone else thinks? I want pie or a donut.

So cry about it.
http://www.automotivetech.org/at/pho...0/IM001306.JPG

I have to agree with the OP on this one. The folks who have won championships are professionals who's life's work is cycling. They have earned that jersey. It is earned as an award, and as such there is great pride in wearing one. You wouldn't go around wearing a NFL, NHL, or World Series ring, would you?

I look at it this way. It's a free country. If someone wants to wear a championship jersey who am I to stop them? I also think they also shouldn't be *****ing when I blow past them and make a sarcastic remark about their jersey and bike. Afterall it is a free country. :D

Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, and if you worry about things like this you need better things to worry about.

Oh , I see. I still feel you can wear anything you want. As most have said , its a free country. I know most of you dont like wrestling, but I grew up idolizing Ric Flair and dreamed of owning his World Title belt some day. I found out I can buy a real replica (real leather, plates and 24K gold) from the guys who make the title belts not only for wrestling but boxing, UFC, and most every other org. that uses belts. I dont feel that by wearing it, it shows disrespect, if anything it gloryfies what it represents, IMO. Same with biking or anything else.

Will someone please tell these poor girls to remove their pro jerseys.

+1 to Flair1111

The rider/driver/football player/wrestler/whatefer the f**k else earned the title, not the exclusive rights to a design.

There is a difference between someone who claims to have won the title and someone who emulates the title winner. The latter is fully acceptable.

Was the brain dead coach that spewed the drivel to the OP a champion or entitled to a special jersey? My guess is NO or he would understand that the real honor is not the laundry, but the title and recognition of his accomplishments.

I do agree that wearing a championship or other special jersey in an event, even if allowed, would be in poor taste. I would also buy that a professional racer (or word class amateur) should avoid wearing them, but for the rest of us, there is no fear that some fan is going to misunderstand the jersey.

You might think from my position that I would wear a championship jersey, but I wouldn't... But, only because I don't want to pay extra to wear excessive advertising for the event's sponsor, unless I really like the sponsor.

I envy you.

I wish that the rest of my life was so perfectly in control that the most serious thing that I had to fuss about was the color of some other bike riders shirt.

First of all troll, the championship jerseys are not exact copies the winners & champions wear. They are similar copies with differances, so technically they are not wearing the same thing.

I suppose you feel the same way about cyclists who wear a Discovery Team full kit but are not part of the team & as you put it are nothing more then Joey Bag-Of-Donuts too right?

How about cyclists who wear a jersey with colleges & university names & logo's on them but have never attended that school? Don't forget about cyclists that wear jersey's from a bike ride sush as RAGBRAI but did not do the ride that particular year or ever at all. You feel the same way about them? With your thinking none of the above "earned" the right to wear the jersey's I mentioned, did they?

I guess in your perfect little world unless you won the race, are the world champion, attended the school, are a member of the team, participated in the bike ride you did not "earn" the right to wear the jersey nor should you be wearing it.

Tell us how do you feel about other sports apparel? Like the championship clothing from the college bowl games or the NCAA Final Four or the Super Bowl? Do you think unless a fan is a part of the team or attended the school they do not have the right to wear the article of clothing, typically a shirt of some sort?

If Joey Bag of Donuts wants to wear the Rainbow Jersey as he gets dropped by Suzy Training Wheels & Streamers, WTF should I care? If not for these fine folks, we'd have to use the OP for our comic relief (oops, too late). ;)