The Answers: How Old is Too Old to Wear a Jersey to a Game?

Its Saturday night at Fenway Park, one night after the Red Sox and Rays both cleared their benches in the ninth inning when Franklin Morales beaned Luke Scott.  The gates are open and the fans are piling in, creating a sea of red, grey and blue player t-shirts and jerseys.

Working at the EMC level entrance of Fenway Park, there are a lot of characters who come by with all sorts of questions about my job, the park, their seats and when Wally will be swinging by.  Last night, Gordon Edes, Red Sox reporter for ESPNBoston.com, came up to me and asked a different question:

"Do you think there should be a statute of limitation for how old you can be to wear a current player's jersey to a game?"

Now, a lot of factors are poured into this question: age, gender, which player and even ethnic background.  I did some research, asked around and the results ranged clear across the board.  With this in mind, we'll see if a decision can even be reached.

For a college kid or someone just out of school, wearing a player t-shirt generally comes as naturally as breathing.  But then the example of Bruins forward Tyler Seguin came up.  For anyone under the age of twenty-five, I will outright say: No jerseys of players who are younger than you.

For the dads and the older crowd wearing player t-shirts, this is where it gets the most tricky.  I personally think that if you're a fan of the team and a fan of the player, then why not rock their name across your back?  Nothing wrong with showing a little love for the hometown boys, right?  But for the monkey wrench in the argument, a colleague of mine, Josh, said that his jersey wearing days are over, because he has passed the torch onto his kids.

Should this be the norm?  Should there come a day when the jerseys go back into the closet until they become hand-me-downs for the next generation of fans?  When you think about, that just sounds downright sad (says the twenty-two year old.)  Who knows, maybe being able to pass the torch onto your children, passing down those jerseys is even more rewarding than showing the support on your own back.

These arguments have been centered around men wearing jerseys, but just as many women show their support with jerseys as well.  Is there a limit for women?  I would say there is no limit, but to the pink hat fans who just wear a Jacoby Ellsbury jersey because he's attractive: that's a no-go.

The player makes a huge difference in all of this, as well.  I mentioned ethnic background earlier for this reason.  Let's say a Japanese family is attending a game, and they are all wearing Daisuke Matsuzaka jerseys.  There are only 16 Japanese players in the entire MLB, and I'm all for someone taking pride in a player from their home country, pile it on.

You have to think about people's motives behind why they are wearing the shirt.  Are they wearing it in pure support, to show they are a fan?  Or are they wearing it, trying to relive their glory days and still wishing they had the glove of Dustin Pedroia or the bat of David Ortiz?  Does it come naturally, or do they feel like they have something to prove?

It comes down to this.  If you're a fan of the team, you want to show your support any way you can.  Truth be told, the cheapest way to sport the shirt of your hometown team is to buy a player tee.  But should there be a theoretical limit as to how old you can be to wear a jersey of someone born in the late 1980s?

Answer: Yes, but with several exceptions.