Happened to find myself watching the video for Will Smith's -- ahem, sorry -- the Fresh Prince's ... OK, DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince's "Summertime" today. Not only does that song take me back to 1991 (DAMN!), but it gives us a look into early-'90s jersey fashion, mainly in the form of Starter duds.
Go ahead, watch the video and see how many you can spot. Below it, I'll point out all those that I found.
Did that take you back? Of course, now you'll have the chorus in your head for the rest of the day. Here's my answer key. Let me know if I missed any. (Click on any of the images to see larger, though grainier, images in Picasa Web Albums.)
Philadelphia 76ers
DJ Jazzy Jeff -- aka Jeffrey Arnold Townes -- starts us off in a 76ers baseball jersey. As you'll see, all the jerseys are baseball jerseys, no matter the sport of the team they represent. That's appropriate for summertime -- and for this blog, I suppose.
Philadelphia Flyers
Jazz quickly shifts from the NBA to the NHL, donning a cap and jersey of the 76ers' roomates, the Broad Street Bullies.
Cartoon timeout
OK, not a jersey, but worth noting, I figured. The Fresh Smith goes retro with a Speed Racer T-shirt.
West Phila.
Will Smith represents the neighborhood with a West Phila. jersey. He's wearing it in the basketball scene, too, and you can see the No. 1 on the back.
San Francisco Giants
Must be a relative in from the West Coast. Actually, that would be kind of cool -- whether a relative or just an extra in the video, it would neat if they were instructed to wear gear of their favorite or hometown teams, rather than simply being handed something from Wardrobe. There aren't many logos from outside the Philly area, as we'll see.
New York Mets
Let's go Mets! Was surprised to see this one, to say the least. Though, that's from a 2010 perspective. In '91, the Phillies were 78-84 and the Mets 77-84, finishing 20 and 20 1/2 games behind the Pirates. The only rivalry was for third place, and the Phillies had to share it with the Cubs.
Also, if you watch this scene again, in front of the woman in the Mets hat is someone wearing a Simpsons T-shirt -- another early-'90s fashion statement. It wasn't a clear enough shot for me to bother redoing the screengrab.
The Eagle dance
I'm making an educated guess that this is an Eagles jersey, but I'm unable to confirm that hypothesis.
Georgetown Hoyas
The only confirmed college in the video, a Georgetown Hoyas baseball jersey. On the basketball court. Consistent with the theme. In the previous photo of the presumed Eagles jersey, the guy in the yellow shirt behind him might be wearing a Michigan hat, but I couldn't get a clear enough screenshot, so I'm not including it.
Bruins colors
It may be some team other than UCLA, but even though I can't confirm it, I'm including this one because it's a good enough shot of most of the jersey. Plus, when I see those shades of blue and gold, my first thought is UCLA. I'll also use this moment to express my surprise at learning the other day that UCLA just picked up its first win in the College World Series in school history. I know the Bruins don't have the hardball history of USC, but I'd heard enough of UCLA baseball over the years -- from Chase Utley and Troy Glaus, Erics Byrnes and Karros and Todd Zeile, all the way back to Jackie Robinson -- that I figured they had to have a CWS win or two in their history somewhere. But no.
Philadelphia Eagles
This guy's double-dipping with the jersey (baseball style, of course) and hat. Plus you've got the presumed UCLA jersey to the left of the woman and, on the left edge, a Chicago Bulls baseball jersey. I couldn't get a clearer shot of the Bulls shirt, but there are previous frames where he's in the background and the script "Bulls" is legible, plus one shot where you can catch the Bulls logo on the sleeve.
Chicago Bulls
One more Bulls shot on the hat on the right, making Jordan's club the only non-Philly team represented more than once. And we've got a good look at Jazzy Jeff's Flyers cap.
So that's what I came up with. After two viewings (one to watch it, when the idea came to me, then another to take the screengrabs), I was all set to write that every Philly team in the four major pro sports was represented, but I just realized that the Phillies are not, as best I could tell. I don't recall seeing any maroon caps or jerseys, which were the Phils' colors in the early '90s. The only reds I remember were the brighter hues of the Sixers and Bulls. I don't think I'm off base in saying that if this video were filmed today, it'd be littered with Phillie gear -- and perhaps absent of any Sixers threads. Plus, I feel like we'd see more out-of-town logos -- like at least one Yankee cap -- because I feel like '91 may have been just before the explosion of hats and jerseys as status symbols instead of just an indication of fan loyalties.
