From "I Loathe Pinstripes" to "God hates us": Putting deep Sox lore on T-shirts
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It's a deep cut, even in a union town. Illustration: The Red Seat
By diehard fans, for diehard fans: That's the ethos behind a Cambridge couple's side project selling local sports merch to people who already care a little too much about the Sox.
Why it matters: The Red Seat, run by designers Emily Simons and Chris Schmitt, goes for the inside joke instead of the souvenir stand.
What they're saying: "It's not the stuff that you get in the merch store," Simons told Axios.
The lore runs deep at Red Seat.
- Simons said their classic best-seller — with the simple slogan "I Loathe Pinstripes®" — focuses on the wearer's feelings rather than maligning the Yankees themselves.
- "I enjoy Boston sports." is plain white Helvetica, period included. It got a handwritten sequel this season, with "don't" and "right now" added for when the team's in the basement.
Simons said the quirky concept wouldn't work in any other city.
- "There's something special and intense and weird and different about the Boston sports market."
- Sales do dip after losses, she said, but "it's like a religion to a lot of people."
The big picture: Of course, the brand is more about how hard it is to suffer alongside the Sox than celebrating them.
- It traces to the Red Sox's heartbreaking 2003 Game 7 loss.
- Simons said she found only generic navy shirts at a souvenir shop near Fenway, so the couple made about 10 iron-on shirts for friends.
- The first shirts paired the Red Sox "B" with the words "God hates us."
- A Fenway drawing under a black cloud followed, selling on eBay for more than $50. The website launched in spring 2004.
Zoom in: Prints riff on Warhol-style Citgo signs, Fenway's color palette and fan phrenology, all without violating any corporate licenses.
- The shop's name refers to the lone red bleacher seat at Fenway Park that marks Ted Williams' record-setting long-distance 1946 home run.
- An annual calendar, sold since about 2010, carries the full Red Sox schedule plus QR codes. One links to a highlight reel of Yankees errors.
The shop's "Artsy Fartsy" collection lists 20 products, including archival art prints, posters and photographs.
Zoom out: Patriots and Bruins designs are rarer, including a Warhol-inspired Tom Brady shirt and a 2011 Stanley Cup design.
- Simons said the couple aren't big hockey fans.
What's next: A shirt with a made-up "Monster Scoreboard Turners Union" logo could be for sale in early November.
- Country music and possibly punk spins on the shop's Fenway-themed heavy metal tour tee (think Metallica, but Fenway) are in the works.