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Wednesday Mourning Skate: Expanding Your Gameday Wardrobe Options

Trip Report: Buying a jersey from...The Czech Republic

By Cornelius Hardenbergh
František Panec, http://www.hokejcb.cz

So the only upside I've found from the lockout is that it offers the opportunity to get a little color into your gameday wardrobe. If there's one thing european leagues have, it's non-standard jerseys. This is great because it sets them apart from AHL and CHL teams, which mostly use NHL templates with different logos. As I am addicted to buying jerseys, I decided I would try to grab one or two (or more, depending) for some of my favorite Bruins.

One of my favorite Bruins (on a number of levels) is Andy Ference, who's playing for HC Mountfield this year. He played there in the last lockout, and if you've been paying attention, (I haven't, so you don't have to either) you'll know he helped them regain their place in the top Czech league. So when he announced on twitter that he was playing there again:

I decided I'd check out their online store. This is where having a browser that auto-translates, like Google Chrome, helps a lot. I found a jersey and put in "Ference" and "21" for customization. I filled out my shipping info and hit Potvrdit objednávku (helpfully auto-translated to "Confirm Order"). I got an email confirming the order had been placed.

But I hadn't paid yet. After trying to get someone to translate the czech on the receipt/invoice for a few days, I emailed the team (in English) and asked them what to do. They emailed me back that night and gave me a paypal address to send money to.

I sent money through paypal, in czech kronors, and they confirmed the order. The next day they emailed me to tell me that our buddy Andy is actually wearing 28, and would I mind if they switched the number. Of course I didn't, and it should be on it's way!

To answer the 2 most common questions:

  1. It cost about a hundred bucks.
  2. Yes, I will post pictures when it arrives.
If you're interested in this or other jerseys, @bruinshockeynow has put together a guide to European teams and jersey buying options. Bonus: this doesn't put more money in NHL owners' pockets.

We're all in this together.