Super Bowl XLVIII is this weekend , and both squad have already take theirdesignated uniformsfor the affair . But have you ever wondered why we call these athletic garment “ jerseys ” in the first place ?
Sorry , New Jerseyites : the moniker is n’t an homage to the Garden State , at least not instantly . The actual island of Jersey is a“crown dependency”of the UK whose natives have been knitting hardy wool sweaters for centuries . remark for their taut weave , these warm articles of clothing were initially used as an inner stratum by rural seafarer before gradually evolve into a type ofcommon outerwear . Jersey sweatersspread to the UK and northern Europeas the country ’s trading industry rose in prominence during the late 17th and early eighteenth centuries . Their popularity skyrocketed abroad — so much so , in fact , that the name “ jersey ” became synonymous with “ sweater ” in countries as far off as the United States by the 1850s .
And speak of the Yanks , as American football develop , it was clear that player of the rocky - and - tumble secret plan ( which often claim multiple lives every class prior toTheodore Roosevelt ’s interventionin 1905 ) needed strong , insular uniform . deep woolen “ jerseys ” outfit the billperfectly . rockers , golfers , and other athletesbegan donningthe perspirer as well .
Yet , as the Gilded Age bear on , athletic “ Jersey ” bore increasingly picayune resemblance to their bulky transmissible spinning top . Just as the name had previously become synonymized with “ jumper , ” it was now indistinguishable from the term “ gymnastic uniform . ” For example , lightweight baseball shirts were often call “ NJ ” by the press during this period despite being generallymade of flanneland incorporating short sleeves , buttons , and collars . However , regardless of these development , the name stuck .
This trend also spread north of the borderline , to the chagrin of Canadian hockey fans , as longtime NHL reviewer Don Cherry recalls in his bookDon Cherry ’s Hockey Stories , Part 2 :
For those interested , the jerseys we ’ll see this Sunday as the Denver Broncos take on the Seattle Seahawks consist largely ofnylon and spandex .
