Saturday morning.
10am.
You’ve already picked through 4 vintage shops, 2 flea markets and an Age UK.
You’ve come to the final rail…of the final shop. It’s down to the wire… 4th and Goal…no time left on the clock.
You take a deep breath, and grab the first jersey.
Browns – Brady Quinn…no.
Peeling 49ers Jeff Garcia…no.
A Bengals jersey with no name or numbers…eww no.
And then…
Hello…
Powder blue…#21…San Diego Chargers Ladanian Tomlinson throwback…
GREAT condition….
Boom. Touchdown.
You walk out of the shop triumphant. The early wake-up, the long train ride, the hours spent walking from shop to shop – all worth it for this one sweet jersey.
Welcome to the life of an NFL Vintage reseller.
I’m HC and I love the NFL…
(That is me and my girlfriend at Wembley…I bought her a throwback Joey Galloway Bucs jersey for her birthday – her smile is fake…)
I love the NFL of yesteryear. Players like – Warren Moon, Marcus Allen, Bo Jackson, Lee Roy Selmon, John Randle, Jerry Rice, Rich Gannon, Steve Young, Joe Montana, Terry Bradshaw – you name it.
I also love the busts, scrubs and the madmen – Brian Bosworth, Jamarcus Russell, Ryan Leaf, Albert Haynesworth and Johnny Manziel…terrible players with GREAT stories! (I’m a Buccaneers fan…so I like to focus on other teams’ misery rather than my own.)
I am the founder and owner of NFL VINTAGE UK: the only shop to specialise in NFL Vintage & Throwback gear in the UK. Since starting about 2 months ago – we have rapidly gained a large following online, bolstered buy the support of the #NFLUK community.
As fans of the NFL in the UK, our jersey buying options are limited. I…like all UK based fans started off buying my jerseys from NFLShop Europe, or when money was tight…ordering in from China. NFLShop charge three figure sums for players who may very well be cut, be arrested or just flat out suck in the coming years. It’s a crap shoot…and the buy-in is extortionate.
How many of us are lumbered with an unwearable Mike Vick, Ray Rice, Josh Freeman or Greg Hardy jersey? They’re not even funny-bad, they’re just bad-bad.
The quality can also be disappointing for the amount you pay. I’ve had jerseys begin to peel, shrink or flat out come apart after one wash! Really frustrating given the price-tag.
And then there’s eBay…
Jesus wept.
The amount of fake jerseys and people reselling Chinese knockoffs is incredible. When you know what you’re looking for – you can spot a fakey. When you don’t – it’s easy to be suckered in.
A brand new Brett Favre jersey?! With tags!? Only £20!!
But hold on…his name is spelt FARVE,
It honestly makes me really angry that people profit from awful, cheap, knock-off jerseys – screwing the NFL community once again.
With our fanbase growing and growing…I felt like we deserved a better place to find awesome, genuine NFL gear at affordable prices. So somewhere between NFLShop and their ridiculous pricing – and eBay’s it’s sea of fake jerseys…
…that’s where I got the idea.
Why not start a shop: based in the UK – run by an NFL fan – for NFL fans..?
Combine my knowledge of the NFL with my love of retro gear. I would search around EVERYWHERE I knew – online and off – for decent, good quality jerseys, jackets, sweaters and accessories that people would want. What a dream to start a shop like that!
NFL VINTAGE UK was born.
We have stocked and sold everything you could think of: jerseys, shirts, snapbacks, sweaters, knitwear, jackets and more! Including all the big names in 1970s – 2000s NFL clothing.
Chalk Line, Logo 7, Starter, Champion, Reebok, Nike, Puma, Adidas, Pro Player, NFL Gear…the list goes on.
The support for our little shop so far has been incredible, with the likes of Neil Reynolds, Nat Coombs and Vernon Kay all getting involved. We have been welcomed into the NFLUK community by all the major team twitter accounts and more fan podcasts than we care to mention!
It’s been a dream so far – sourcing and serving amazing, one of a kind pieces from the 70s to 00s to genuine NFL fans. And long may the 8am weekend wake-ups continue.
So why don’t you hop off the bench, get into the game – and come and see what we’re all about..?
Insta – @nfl_vintage_uk
Twitter – @nflvintageuk
Website – https://bit.ly/2JVFPPs
You might just catch a game-winner.
