FanPost

It's Ugly, It'll Never Fit, And It's All Mine

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via www.lainemammen.com

She told me not to buy it. She said it was ridiculous. She said "what the hell would you do with it?". And she was pretty much right. But oh well.

Prior to the Dome opening in 1980, I had the honor of attending games from time to time at Archbold Stadium as a kid. And like today, they offered give-aways now and then. I left the very last game at Archbold with various items. Railing, end zone grass, and chunks of concrete. I still have all those things, but there was one other thing I left with that day, that has been gone for a very long time. That days give-away.

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As you can see from this newspaper clipping,the first 4,000 kids got a free jacket. I was 8, and got one, and wore the hell out of it. It was thin vinyl, and cheap. Like any child's coat, it didn't last very long, and of course I grew to big to wear it eventually anyway. I've gone through the last 36 years since, not caring and not missing that jacket. That is until I saw it again.

Hopefully, most of you do not know of the website ETSY. I don't know a ton about it, but basically it is an avenue for people to sell things, and I believe most of it is homemade things. I started to look at it after my wife suggested I check it for SU colored or themed hair ties for our little girl. Seriously, try and find some on the hill or in the Dome. No dice. I search it once in a while still for my daughter, and I just use SYRACUSE for my search criteria. Well last week I did it again, and there it was. It was listed with a pretty vague description, and that it was picked up at an estate sale. I bought it immediately. I messaged the seller, and told her the story behind the coat. I'm not sure at what price I would have backed off, but there was no way I wasn't buying it for...

$10.99. This is not a typo. $10.99 for an addition to my Cuse collection, and a piece of my childhood. And for as cheaply made as this thing is, after 36 years I'm guessing there aren't very many left.

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Like I said, it's ugly. It's the wrong color blue. It smells. It even came in the original little clear vinyl bag. But for me, it's beautiful, and I'm happy I found it.