Nationals on the Shoulder of Giants

Facebook, you know my interests too well.

But I am not going to buy an unlicensed novelty Washington Nationals City Connect jersey with “Standing on the Shoulder of Giants”-era Oasis holding the World Series trophy on its back.

A Facebook ad for an unlicensed novelty Washington Nationals City Connect jersey with "Standing on the Shoulder of Giants"-era Oasis holding the World Series trophy on its back.

I’m just not.

Yes, I love the new Nationals City Connect jersey — the light blue, the L’Enfant plan street map, all that.

Yes, I love “Standing on the Shoulder of Giants”-era Oasis. “Fuckin’ in the Bushes”! “Where Did It All Go Wrong”! “Go Let It Out”! “Let’s All Make Believe”!

But the more I look at the jersey, the more irritated the image of Oasis on the back irritates me.

The heads of Oasis, pasted on the baseball player bodies… it just looks cheesy.

And here’s the photograph where the heads were taken from.

Promo image of Oasis, circa 2000. Left to right, Andy Bell (bass), Noel Gallagher (guitar, vocals), Liam Gallagher (guitar, vocals), Alan White (drums), Gem Archer (guitar)
Oasis, circa 2000 — (left to right) Andy Bell, Noel Gallagher, Liam Gallagher, Alan White, Gem Archer

I’m actually kinda shocked that I was able to run down the image of Oasis their heads were taken from in less than five minutes. “Is that ‘Be Here Now’ Oasis or ‘Standing on the Shoulder’ Oasis?”

Gotta be honest — I have never been able to identify anyone in Oasis beyond the two Gallagher brothers. The rest of the band might as well be anonymous to me. But I have the same problem with, for example, Coldplay; once I get past Chris Martin and Will Champion, there’s the other two… Buckland? Berryman? Don’t ask me which is which.

So, yes, Facebook. This intersects my interests in several really unique ways, but no. No. I will not be buying this.

Though I do need something to wear to the Oasis reunion concert in about six weeks…

No! Stop that! No.

No.

Published by Allyn Gibson

A writer, editor, journalist, sometimes coder, occasional historian, and all-around scholar, Allyn Gibson is the writer for Diamond Comic Distributors' monthly PREVIEWS catalog, used by comic book shops and throughout the comics industry, and the editor for its monthly order forms. In his over fifteen years in the industry, Allyn has interviewed comics creators and pop culture celebrities, covered conventions, analyzed industry revenue trends, and written copy for comics, toys, and other pop culture merchandise. Allyn is also known for his short fiction (including the Star Trek story "Make-Believe,"the Doctor Who short story "The Spindle of Necessity," and the ReDeus story "The Ginger Kid"). Allyn has been blogging regularly with WordPress since 2004.

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