The Stories We Wear—Jersey Day

With the Bruce-Mahoney football game coming up on Friday, September 25, it’s Spirit Week! Students and teachers are subject to free to dress all week, provided we wear school colors or follow the theme of the day.

I looked over the list, taking inventory of what might work from my wardrobe. And then I saw it: Jersey Day.

I had a decision to make. Shamrock Series or Niner Faithful? 

I went with ND 2026 Shamrock Series as I'm hoping there will be a chance
early in 2027 when the whole school wears Niners gear ;-) 

Once I made that decision, I made another one: this might be my favorite day of the school year.

I love Jersey Day.

Walking through the hallways, my eyes feasted on a glorious assortment of colors and numbers, teams and sports, all represented by one deceptively simple article of clothing. Some jerseys were brand new. Many had clearly been around the block. There were a few archaic gems, a handful of head-scratchers, and more than a few that made me stop and think: Really?

But that’s what I love about jerseys. They tell stories.

A jersey can tell you who someone cheers for, where they’re from, what they remember, who they admire, or what they once dreamed of becoming. It can connect us to a team, a player, a city, a school, a family, or a particular moment in time. And on Jersey Day, you get to wear that story.

When one of my students walked in wearing a Philadelphia Eagles jersey—I was not surprised. He is his father's son; Connor wouldn't wear anything but the Birds. The jerseys of other students however prompted inquiry. Why the Baltimore Ravens (Ray Lewis)? What's the connection to the Cincinnati Bengals (Joe Burrow)? Their answers didn't vary. They too are bound to the teams of their parent(s)' and their family roots. Sure there were a few tall tales, but by and large I heard some great stories.

In class, we shared the story of the Bruce Mahoney rivalry. I asked my students "Why does it matter? Does it?" And "Why is it an important tradition?" I try to tell them they have inherited something super special in such a renown, historic athletic contest. 

We began with prayer in remembering the lives of Bill Bruce and Jerry Mahoney. We addressed how the tradition had changed in 2021 by including girls sports—with volleyball and basketball making it into a contest of three wins out of five to keep that regal trophy. And we concluded class time with an on campus scavenger hunt—requiring students to search for signs and symbols of the Bruce Mahoney past and present.

The joy of this day found a full circle moment as I mentioned the now forgone tradition of football players giving their jersey to a teacher or counselor at the all school pep rally. I have written about this gesture—what it meant to me and my colleagues many times. In the same way that you can't put a price on a tradition like the Bruce, you can't underestimate what receiving a jersey meant to the person who received it. I felt bound to that young man in a way that is timeless. 

No athlete wears his or her jersey forever. Some jerseys hang from rafters; a select few are retired. But jerseys do something else: they capture a person in a particular place at a particular moment in time—sometimes a season, an era, or, if we're lucky, a lifetime. Stories have unfolded from them. Others are still waiting to be told, so listen up and lean in. Enjoy.