The Roar
The Roar

Advertisement

Is the Ugly Sweater a piece of merchandising genius or a total fail?

The AFL Ugly Sweater. So bad it's good, or just plain terrible?
Roar Pro
18th September, 2015
1

As a mad NBA fan (Go Grizzlies!) for years I have been particularly jealous of their variety of merchandise. Of course it is available to me, but the shipping prices are astronomical, so I turn to eBay to purchase supporters gear for my favourite American sporting teams.

The NBA (and I’m sure other codes) thrive on merchandise, with all of your favourites available to purchase, such as jerseys, shirts and hats.

But in your wildest dreams could you ever imagine purchasing a picnic set, a ‘home sweet home’ sign, or a pair of stilettos emblazoned with your favourite team’s logo? Unusual, yes; impossible, no.

Merchandise entrepreneurs have taken their skill set to a whole new level, with the AFL introducing the ‘Ugly Sweater’.

The Ugly Sweater was introduced late last year across America’s major sporting codes, including the NBA, NHL and NFL.

What’s an Ugly Sweater you ask? Imagine a Christmas sweater: knitted, bright colours, something you would only wear on a dare. Total embarrassment.

Or is it?

In the United States last year 300,000 Ugly Sweaters were sold across a range of teams and codes, including college and professional franchises. Some franchises even have player specific sweaters.

Advertisement

Given this popularity, the AFL has released its own version of the Ugly Sweater, ranging in price from $80 to $90.

All teams have released a Ugly Sweater – at this stage they’re all on pre-sale – and while the players who drew short straws to model them look reasonably happy in their shots, I can’t help but wonder if this is something that will take off in Australian sporting codes.

I’m sure the AFL will be sweating (pun intended) on results of profit, popularity and all-round general buzz surrounding the sweater, and hoping that your typical football fan will hop on the bandwagon of colour happiness and ugliness to support their team.

I however, will stick to my flag, jersey and a little bit of face paint.

Who has the worst sweater in each code? My thoughts:

AFL: Hawthorn Hawks
NBA: New York Knicks
NFL: A tie between the Miami Dolphins and the Minnesota Vikings
NHL: Boston Bruins

close