New Feature: Friday Finds

Although Macklemore's "Thrift Shop" brought the idea of second-hand finds to the mainstream, thrifting has been a hobby of mine for quite some time now. While I tend to avoid the brick-and-mortar Goodwill shops, I regularly search eBay for a good bargain.

eBaying (yes, I used eBay as a verb) has resulted in finding a ton of wares that I would never be able to find in a regular store. That's the beauty of eBay. No matter how old, or rare something might be, if you're patient enough it will always turn up on eBay. It's a bonus when you can get it at a great price.

Every Friday, I will post a Carolina item that turned up on eBay. They won't necessarily be a great price, but instead might just highlight the extraordinary things you can find on eBay.

Kicking off this feature will be the Jordan Brand UNC "Take Flight" shirt that was a giveaway to 3,000 fans at the January 10th game against Louisville.

2014-2015 marked the second consecutive season Jordan Brand hosted this type of event against a team from Kentucky. During the 2013-2014 season, the game against the University of Kentucky featured a "White Out" event where every fan received this Jordan shirt:

This game saw Carolina beat the highly touted Wildcats, and subsequently, prices for this t-shirt on eBay were sky high. I was fortunate enough to find one seller who seemed to grossly undervalue what he had. His listing was for 2 UNC shirts. The main auction image was of a nondescript Carolina shirt, and neither his title nor his description mentioned Jordan Brand or Nike. It was only upon clicking the auction link that one could see that his second pictured t-shirt was this one. I was able to buy a shirt that went for over $70 for less than $10.

On January 10th, Carolina played one of its most thrilling games of the season as Marcus Paige's lay-up capped Carolina's rally from a 13 point second half deficit to beat Louisville, the other powerhouse from the Bluegrass state. They did so in front of 3,000 fans who received this shirt upon clearing the turnstiles at the Smith Center:

3,000 was a much smaller quantity than the previous "Take Flight" shirt, which was given to all 21,750 fans at the game. The combination of the euphoria of such an exciting win, and the limited quantities of this shirt pushed eBay prices over $100 in some instances. These weren't just asking prices set by opportunistic sellers, people were actually paying this for the shirt.

I had a self-imposed limit that I was willing to pay for a shirt, and unfortunately, the price never fell below my threshold. One of my eBay tricks is to set up a saved search, where eBay will automatically search for items matching my key words. After a couple months had elapsed since the Louisville game, I saw three of these t-shirts become available. The seller clearly was unaware of the scarcity and the value of what he had. When I clicked the item I saw a price of $19.99 and was stunned to see the price was a Buy It Now price, and shipping was free. 

While I've yet to receive the shirt, it appears the quality of this giveaway shirt far exceeds that of last year's. This shirt is made of Nike's drifit material as opposed to a standard 100% cotton t-shirt. The design also features elephant print which is most famous for appearing on the Jordan Retro III and also appeared on the "Ultimate Gift of Flight" Jordan XX9 seen in the above picture.

eBay has helped me obtain some items that I've really wanted. It's a bit of a rush when an item that you've been searching a long time for turns up. What have been some of your eBay finds?

Point the Passer Giveaway Contest

Being from Canada, Twitter has been a fantastic tool that allows me to feel like a part of the Carolina community. This past February, after Coach Smith passed away, I wanted a newspaper commemorating his life. Naturally, I took to Twitter to seek somebody local to North Carolina to help me out. One of my Twitter followers, @Raising_Heel, graciously offered to send me a copy of the Winston-Salem Journal. He outdid himself two weeks later when he sent me a program from Coach Smith's public memorial service.

Coach Smith is renowned for his generosity. Just today, news broke that Coach Smith left $200 to each of his former players in his will, so that they could enjoy a dinner out.

I want to pay this generosity forward. One of my hobbies is buying UNC Basketball jerseys and finding deals for them on eBay. Sometimes a jersey that may not fit me exactly right comes along, but it's such a good price that I can't pass it up. In this instance, it was an XL Authentic Ty Lawson jersey. A couple years later, I was able to find the same jersey in my proper size Large. Instead of sitting here with two of the same jersey, one of which is too big for me, I'd like to give this to a Carolina fan who will enjoy it.

All you need to do is tweet me @mfortuna45 telling me who you think UNC's leading scorer will be in tonight's game against Wisconsin, and with how many points. The one who guesses the correct player and is closest to the exact total will win the jersey.

Good luck, and go Heels!

The Shoes That Broke The Internet

Last November, Kim Kardashian had a photoshoot with Paper Magazine that famously "broke the internet." While it's safe to say that yesterday's public reveal of UNC's custom Jordan 29 failed to garner the same attention as Kim K's nude photoshoot, Carolina twitter and sneaker blogs were certainly abuzz with the news of the new kicks.

Another view of Carolina’s new shoes. @Jumpman23 #UNCBBall pic.twitter.com/8NwqjUQLzX
— Carolina Basketball (@UNC_Basketball) March 25, 2015

The shoes that UNC will be wearing tonight against Wisconsin, as mentioned previously in the post, are Jordan XX9. These are the latest performance basketball shoe from Jordan Brand. North Carolina is no stranger to playing in the XX9. Against Louisville on January 10th, many players on the team wore the Jordan XX9 that was included in this Christmas' "Ultimate Gift of Flight Pack." (The XX9 is seen on the right, next to the "Pantone" Jordan Retro XI.)

Here's JP Tokoto wearing them on January 10th:

While the "Ultimate Gift of Flight" XX9 made it to retail as part of a $500 pack, don't count on seeing the Rameses XX9 on Foot Locker shelves. This is almost certainly a UNC Player Exclusive (much like the Jordan IV that the 2012-2013 squad received), and unless the Ram's Club decides to conduct a fundraiser much like they did with the chrome football helmets, the common Carolina fan has almost no chance of ever owning these shoes.

If you like the Jordan XX9 and want them in Carolina Blue, you are in a bit of luck. While I don't believe any Tar Heels have worn this particular model, this "Legend Blue" version released in December and is still available on sites like Eastbay:

Whether you're a basketball player, or just a Carolina fan, I highly recommend the Jordan XX9. I own both the Ultimate Gift of Flight XX9 and the Legend Blue XX9 and they are the best shoe I've ever worn for basketball. 

What are your thoughts on the new UNC Jordans? With the popularity of the Jordan Brand among today's youth, I'd hope that Carolina's affiliation with Jordan could be used as a recruiting tool.

Why Argyle?

This past weekend saw the Tar Heels wear the argyle-less throwback jerseys from the Jordan era, and the reception from fans on the Inside Carolina forums was very positive. Some posters and folks on Twitter even stated that these uniforms should be worn permanently.

Not to be uniform guy, but UNC should just keep the throwbacks it wore on Saturday (in white and blue) permanently.
— Sherrell McMillan (@rellevent21) February 23, 2015

My first memories of watching Carolina basketball were of Eric Montross, George Lynch, Donald Williams, and the 1993 NCAA Championship team. Being from Canada, and having no familial attachment to UNC, three things initially drew 6 year old me to the Tar Heels:

1) They were good.

Hey, this will probably provide more fodder to the State fans who claim UNC fans are "bandwagon" fans and "Wal-Mart" fans, but if you're a kid whose family has no attachment to any NCAA school, why else are you going to choose a team to cheer for? In fairness to me, it's now 22 years later and I have never wavered with my loyalty to the Tar Heels.

2) I was a bad little brother.

You see, my brother, who is 8 years my elder, was a big time fan of Chris Webber and the Fab Five. I'm sure there was a small part of me who wanted to go against the grain and see my big brother's team lose.

3) (and probably most important) The uniforms

Carolina's uniforms were absolutely gorgeous. I loved the combination of Carolina Blue and White with argyle trim. They were so unique and vibrant. I was instantly drawn to them. A year or two later, I can still remember begging my mother to buy me a Jerry Stackhouse jersey (err.. sorry NCAA, that's generic #42 jersey) that we had found at a Nike Outlet store in a Men's Small. It looked like a dress on me, but I was so proud to have a Carolina jersey for myself, and it was definitely my favourite article of clothing.

As I became more interested in the Tar Heels, I was able to learn about and appreciate Carolina's rich basketball history. Of course I was already familiar with Michael Jordan the Chicago Bull (sidenote: when I was born way back in 1986, my brother unsuccessfully lobbied my parents for my middle name to be Jordan, which would have made me Michael Jordan), but I learned about MJ the Tar Heel, I learned about Coach Smith, and I learned about the rivalry with Duke.

While I can understand the long time fans and their attachment to what they grew up with, Alexander Julian's argyle has been a symbol of Carolina to an entire generation. Three National Championships have been won in argyle. I love the throwbacks and what they represent to the older generations, but I hope argyle remains a part of the Carolina fabric with the throwbacks being incorporated as a regular alternate uniform. After all, it was Coach Smith and MJ who gave Alexander Julian the green light for the argyle trim. 

There has been some discussion as to whether the upcoming redesigned football uniforms should incorporate argyle. My answer is an easy yes. One of the complaints about the current football uniform set is that they are too generic, black isn't a Carolina colour, and that at times you can't even tell that it's Carolina that is playing football. I love this mock-up that was posted by NavyBlueSwag on Inside Carolina:

I love the block number font without the 3D drop shadow that was used in the Peppers era. I love the argyle trim down the pants. The only thing that I might change would be the argyle on the sleeve. I'd prefer to change the collar and ribbing around the sleeves to argyle. One thing is certain: there would be no mistaking this team as the Tar Heels.

Nike Hyper Elite Disruption Uniforms 2015

Beginning in the 2012 season, Nike has released a special edition uniform for a handful of their schools. In 2012, Carolina wore the Platinum Elite jerseys seen here in their game against Maryland on February 29. In 2013, Carolina wore the Hyper Elite jerseys with the interlocking "NC" seen here in their game at Miami on February 9th. And in 2014, Carolina wore these Hyper Elite Dominance throwback jerseys in their game against Wake Forest on February 22nd. They also wore them in their game at the United Center in Chicago against Ohio State on December 20th.

This year, it appears that Carolina will not be one of the schools wearing Nike's Hyper Elite "Disruption" Uniforms. 

Arizona, Duke, Florida, Kentucky, Oregon, Syracuse, and Baylor and UConn women will be the schools wearing the uniforms. It's a bit of a surprise to see Carolina left out of the group considering they had been a part of it since its inception, but perhaps given how Coach Williams feels about special uniforms, Carolina may have decided to opt out.

Nike has still produced some Carolina apparel as part of the "Disruption" line. This zip-up hoodie and shooting shirt can be found on Eastbay.

Personally, as long as the design is fairly tasteful and uses school colors, I enjoy when Carolina is a part of a special uniform program like this. It's a bit disappointing that they won't be a part of it this year, but at least it'll save me a few dollars. What are your thoughts?