You'll soon be able to buy an 'I still call it Mariucci' T-shirt

University of Minnesota men's hockey fans who don't like the recent change-of-name for the school's hockey arena will soon have a way to express themselves.

September 19, 2017 at 7:05PM
(The Minnesota Star Tribune)
(The Minnesota Star Tribune)

Paul Lukas, who runs the Uni Watch site that monitors all things — and I mean all things — associated with sports laundry has branched out with another excellent idea: Selling T-shirts under the "Naming Wrongs" moniker and taking aim at sports arenas and stadiums that have been adorned with corporate names over the years.

There is the basic shirt decrying "Down with corporate stadium names" along with an anonymous hand holding a bag of cash.

You can find all manners of shirts along a similar theme: "I still call it (old stadium name before naming rights took over)."

One of them, for example, reads "I still call it Mile High" — for Broncos fans who refused to follow the bouncing ball of cash as Denver's stadium changed from Mile High to Invesco Field to Sports Authority Field (honestly, I wasn't even aware of the last change, which apparently happened in 2011).

You can find an "I miss the Metrodome" shirt, and for as nice as Target Field and U.S. Bank Stadium are, there is a certain nostalgia that might lead some Minnesotans to buy that one.

After checking out the site, I tweeted at Lukas to suggest that local fans might be more in the market for an "I still call it Mariucci" T-shirt given the announcement this summer that 3M had secured naming rights for the Gophers men's hockey arena.

Lukas replied almost immediately, "Already on our list. We will have it soon."

Something tells me those could be pretty popular this winter.

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about the writer

about the writer

Michael Rand

Columnist / Reporter

Michael Rand is the Minnesota Star Tribune's Digital Sports Senior Writer and host/creator of the Daily Delivery podcast. In 25 years covering Minnesota sports at the Minnesota Star Tribune, he has seen just about everything (except, of course, a Vikings Super Bowl).

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