Let’s see, if I call in sick Friday and Saturday…

I’m trying to figure out if I can get up to Fresno for the Grizzlies game Friday evening. It’s Best of the Worst Night, so people get in free if they’re wearing paraphernalia related to the New York Mets (because of their 1962 season), the Ottawa Senators (1992-93), the Philadelphia 76ers (1972-73), or the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1976). I happen to have not just a Buccaneers T-shirt, but an authentic orange and white Buccaneers T-shirt, i.e., the colors they were wearing in 1976. (Authentic, unlike this jersey, which has several things wrong with it, most notably the large red stripes on the sleeves.)

Granted, that’s a long way to go solely for a free ticket to a minor-league baseball game, but where else am I going to get to show off my old Bucs shirt? (I wore it to a friend’s house to watch Super Bowl XXXV, but that get-together was filled with non-football fans who didn’t fully appreciate the significance.) Maybe if I combined it with my Devil Rays cap, the Grizzlies would actually give me money at the gate.

Original comments…

Steve: Since you are on the West Coast, would any Seattle Pilots memorabilia count? They only won 64 games and they only lasted one year. That’s pretty bad. By the way, with someone approaching their 30th birthday (me) nothing says “You’re 30” like a bright orange historically inaccurate long sleeve Doug Williams jersey in size L

Jason: Since it’s about a 3 1/2 hour drive, you’d need to leave by 3 p.m. to make it.

I’m wondering if I should figure out a way to go along. I’d be willing to wear my Northwestern Wildcats hat (whose football team lost 34 straight games in the early ’80s), but it appears they’re only concerned with professional futility.