The Celtics are undefeated in the GE era


When it came to throwing ads on NBA jerseys I was right up there with the biggest of skeptics. All I could imagine were those European football(soccer) jerseys with the massive logos on them. Most soccer fans I know don't seem to mind them, partly because they've just been ingrained on them for so long nobody knows any different. Fun Fact: Jersey sponsorship originated in 1973 in the German Bundesliga (Germany's premier football league) on a club called Eintracht Braunschweig, and their sponsor was...Jagermeister. I would have no problem repping that logo on my chest. I use it often sometimes, so might as well make some money off it.

As time went on and clubs and franchises in all different sports around the world began to see another avenue for generating revenue it became common practice. Now some 44 years later, advertising on jerseys has reached the NBA. The Celtics announced on January 25th that they've partnered with General Electric, and starting next season they'll be sporting the GE logo on their jerseys for the foreseeable future:


Now do I love the logo on the jerseys? Nope, but it could most definitely look a lot worse. I was determined to find a silver lining in this new partnership with GE, and the tainting of my favorite jersey in the universe. Thanks to my man Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe, I've found it:


Now I understand we don't actually have the logos on the jerseys yet, also it's a small sample-size I know, but I'm a superstitious guy and willing to ride this out. General Electric's slogan used to be "We bring good things to life", and the Celtics were a good team before this partnership. Since then we've ripped off 5-straight wins and overtaken Toronto for the 2nd seed, Brooklyn continues to circle the toilet bowl, and if we beat the Lakers tonight we'll take back the most wins in NBA history. Things are looking up!

Now I have a GE fridge that keeps my beers cold for the game so this is a sponsor I can appreciate, but let's dial it back even further. How did Celtics fans watch Bill Russell, Bob Cousy, the the rest of the boys win those 11 NBA Titles back in the 50's and 60's? On a General Electric television of course:



Ads on jerseys were inevitable, I'm actually surprised we've been able to avoid them this long. At the very least we are getting rid of those disgusting sleeved jerseys. Everytime I see those grey-sleeved Celtics jersey I want to vomit.


Photo Credit - Steve Babineau/ USA TODAY Sports

Follow Mark on Twitter: @MarkAL401




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