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I own a Bo Jackson Angels jersey. It's the coolest. And it typically leads to a couple of responses of "Hey, Reggie Jackson didn't wear No. 22" or, "I forgot Jackson ended his career with the Angels."
And it happens a lot in sports, when a star player is forced to finish out his career with a strange team. Sometimes it's good (Marcus Allen and Joe Montana in Kansas City). Sometimes it's bad (Emmitt Smith in Arizona). And sometimes it's downright ugly (Johnny Unitas in San Diego).
Who knows, maybe a decade from now, a couple of football fans will be kicking it at a bar and some guy will roll by in a Peyton ManningDolphins jersey to prompt one of them to say, "Oh man, I totally forgot Manning played that one half season with the Fins."
That would rocket Manning to the top of the ironic jersey list. And with that in mind, here are my six coolest ironic jerseys to own. I did extensive research on this. I took to Twitter, conversed with co-workers, and so on. And as somebody whose still rocks the David Boston Chargers jersey, this is near and dear to my heart.
But first, here are some great user suggestions from other sports:
Mike Piazza's Marlins jersey (thank you Andrew Berg).
Kobe Bryant's Hornets jersey (thank you Ford Kendrick).
Wayne Gretzky's Blues jersey (thank you, Merm).
Michael Jordan's Wizards jersey (thank you, Carmen).
Some cool jerseys you could never wear:
Eli Manning's Chargers jersey . (Though, would it be the Manning No. 10 or the No. 1 he begrudgingly held up at the draft as above.)
John Elway's Colts jersey. (Jason LaCanfora said people will get beat up in Baltimore for rocking it.)
Bo Jackson's Buccaneers jersey.
And without further ado ...
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Jerry Rice's Broncos jersey
The cool thing about this, Rice had Steve Largent pull the No. 80 out of the rafters to give to him in Seattle. Rod Smith wouldn't budge on his No. 80 in Denver, so Rice had to go with No. 19 in training camp. I wonder if they even made this.
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Earl Campbell's Saints jersey
Most people don't remember Campbell's tenure with the Saints, but it was marked by the bruising back wearing the unfamiliar No. 35.
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Bernie Kosar's Cowboys jersey
Kosar finished his career with the Dolphins, but he made a brief stop with the Cowboys after being released by the Browns and he made some key plays in the 1993 NFC Championship Game to help the Cowboys advance to Super Bowl XXVII.
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Brett Favre's Falcons jersey
A lot of readers suggested Favre's Jets jersey. But that leads us to think of Jenn Sterger which leads us to, ah never mind. But Favre's tenure in Atlanta should be celebrated by any Favre fan.
You can't go wrong with any USFL jersey, really. Anthony Carter's Michigan Panthers jersey. Reggie White's Memphis Showboat's jersey. But Young's would be the crown jewel here. I'd also accept Young's Buccaneers jersey, too.
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Joe Namath's L.A. Rams jersey
This would be tough for any L.A. Rams fan, because really, it signifies the struggles the team had trying to find a quarterback to compete with the Vikings and Cowboys in the 1970s. But come on, it's Broadway Joe in a Rams jersey. That's cool.
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Agree or disagree, contact Rank via Twitter or via Facebook. Also be sure to catch the latest on the Dave Dameshek Football Program.
