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Real, or fake?

That is the question most often put to sports fans.

Real, of course, is the best. Who wouldn’t want it? But … fake is cheaper. More easily accessible. It comes right to your house! You don’t even have to leave the couch.

And, on game day, no one really cares.

This is why there is such a proliferation of fake "authentic" sports jerseys. It’s why you can find them "off a truck" or online or outside any stadium for a third of the cost of the real thing in the official team shop.

Sports fans love supporting their team. They love wearing the jerseys, and they want it to be "authentic" – just like the pro’s wear. Yet – no one really wants to spend around $200 for that Robin Yount throwback, or that Ryan Braun road jersey.

Get it for $35 from God knows where online? Done.

I own a fake jersey and I own a real one. One was a gift, bought online for $40. One was retail – but on clearance – for $85. I could immediately tell the difference. The sizing was wrong on the fake one, the stitching began popping out almost immediately and the NFL logo wasn’t right.

But you know what – I didn’t care. Not one bit. And if I wore it out, no one else would, either.

It’s an odd part of fashion, even sports fashion. Usually, you want "name brand." You want to pay as much as you can and show off that you did. You want to "wear what the pro’s wear." But not in this case. Not with jerseys.

Honestly, $200 or more is just too much. It’s too much at $100. Then, if your guy changes teams, you may never want to wear it out again. Yet, we want everything stitched on. We want the special patches. Si…

There’s mini-media storm brewing in Chicago, but you may have heard about because it started with a viral video and ended with, well … somewhat viral videos.

Susannah Collins is now the former "sideline" (side ice?) Chicago Blackhawks reporter for Comcast SportsNet Chicago and she was removed from her position due to the discovery of some of her past work by the brass of the Blackhawks.

How did this come to light?

It started with an innocent faux paus on her part during a recent telecast, which of course became fodder for the blogosphere and entertainment websites.

That led to massive web searches for her name (and presumably that full clip) which unearthed some webisodes from a show she co-hosted called Sports Nutz three years ago.

Those shows didn’t quite jibe with the image the Blackhawks want to maintain on the network they co-own with Comcast and the Chicago Bulls, White Sox and Cubs and they removed her.

This once again brings to light an issue I talk to college students all the time about: Whatever you put on the internet, stays on the internet, and someone will find it.

I think grade school and high school aged kids realize this, as their entire lives are being documented online in pregnancy blogs, birthing blogs, parenting blogs, Facebook updates and Tumblr accounts. Some 10-year-old out there has their entire life already documented online by their excited parents.

But for those in their 30s, and even college-aged kids, The Google is not your friend when it comes to "growing up." Our parents documented our lives with film and tape and CDs. We’re learning how to manage all this stuff, and quickly, but it’s something we’ve had to adjust to on the fly.

Most of us know to not put your high school kegger photos online, tweet the bong hit you took in your dorm, or Tumblr the half-naked selfies you took after your workout.

But Collins’ plight shows that you have to be smart in your work decisions, too.

Whether you want a career in media o…

How many of you have ever taken a stroll down the Riverwalk at night, past the Bronz Fonz?

There’s a creepy restaurant there, long closed, that still plays music at night. So, you’re walking past the Fonz, thumbs up, smiling wide, and this weird music sort of floats about him. In any other setting it would be soothing, but not so much when the only light comes from dim streetlights.

Not too long ago, I made this walk in the rain. I always walk with my head on a swivel, but as I came down the steps past the Fonz, I noticed a large pool of water collecting at the base of the stairs. So, I looked down, and stepped around it.

As I did that, something caught my eye through the rain and the dim lighting – a smiley face.

It stopped me in my tracks, rain and all.

Now, normally, sidewalk/building graffiti doesn’t catch my eye (unless it’s well done). It’s literally just part of the landscape.

But this – this was creepy.

My colleague Eugene Kane wrote about the "Killer no one wants to talk about" earlier this month when another young man was pulled from a river, and I’ll be honest – it was something I had thought about. Since I moved to Wisconsin, let alone Milwaukee, multiple young men have been found in this state’s rivers.

I had wondered if they were connected. How could you not?

No doubt this smiley face is just a prank, poking fun at the idea.

That doesn’t mean it isn’t creepy, and that it wouldn’t send a chill down your back if you saw it. It did for me.

 

The Chicago Cubs make their first trip to Milwaukee this weekend, a little over a week after the Brewers’ first visit to the "Friendly Confines" of Wrigley Field. Over the years, such games have become must-see for fans on both sides of the border.

Invariably, discussion about the two franchises turns toward the differences between the two venues.

In Milwaukee, you’ve got baseball every day it’s scheduled, climate controlled or open to the sun and warmth of mid-summer. You’ve got multiple levels, bathrooms, lots of concession options, and plenty of affordable parking.

In Chicago, well, you have history.

Is it a fair trade? Would Milwaukeeans rather have one of the country’s two iconic ballparks, warts, cracks, smells and all? Or do you like having a modern venue without any historical significance?

I visited Wrigley Field last weekend as a spectator for the first time in over a decade for a friend’s bachelor party, and I forgot just how bad that ballpark really is for fans. I don’t mind the small seats and little leg room, though it’s inconvenient, but looking up consistently at the netting protecting my head from dislodged concrete was somewhat disconcerting.

There are more electronic information boards and televisions available, but depending on where you sit, you can’t see many of them very well, if at all. Then, of course, you’ve got bathroom and concessions issues.

While I sympathize with the Ricketts family as they fight with the city of Chicago over renovations, the "improvements" within the ballpark look forced and frankly, tacky. Right now, it looks historic and … cheap.

Before joining OnMilwaukee.com I visited Miller Park as a spectator several times, and enjoyed the experience immensely.

Where Wrigley gained an "advantage" in my eyes is that as a working professional, I had the privilege of sitting in the dugout. Doing so at Wrigley Field for the first time literally gave me goosebumps as I looked out at the ivy and scoreboa…