Jersey (clothing)#In sports
A jersey (French tricot to: tricoter dt " knit " ) and sports a dress is usually colored sports shirt. In team sports, it is often fitted with a back number and name of the athlete and decorated in the colors of the team or the club. Jerseys will be worn by athletes during competition; they have therefore the character of uniforms, especially in professional sports. It typically refers to a garment with sleeves.
In team sports usually carries the entire team uniform jerseys. Exceptions are, for example, the keeper of ball sports such as handball and football, wearing a special goalie jersey. Jerseys are popular in professional sports, moreover, often advertising ( jersey advertising). They are sold on the sport itself and also operating as a fan memorabilia for merchandising purposes. Thus the jersey over his pragmatic clothing function also in many respects is a carrier of characters.
In cycling jerseys will be used to the runner of the respective ratings highlight, for example, in the Tour de France yellow jersey for the overall leader, the green jersey for the leader in the points classification, the white jersey for the leader in the youth classification and the polka-dot jersey for the leader in the mountains classification.
History
The first sports jerseys originated at the beginning of the 19th century. With the gymnastics movement of sports Jahn sat from 1807 gymnastics as a popular sport in the population. The first sports clubs developed and thus the need to allow players of different teams distinguish visually from each other. For this, the shirts of the team members were dyed in the colors of the teams and provided with club logos. By sewn on player numbers, the individual players were better apart.
Another cause for development of specific sports outerwear gave the first modern Olympic Games, which were held in 1896.
Since the 1970s, the jersey was initially also used in football to promote the sponsors of the team. In the Bundesliga season 1973 /74 Eintracht Braunschweig wanted to absorb losses due to the lack of viewers. The advertising on the jerseys sat by as early as next Bundesliga season. Today the jerseys almost all professional athletes are provided with advertising logos.
By the early 1970s, a jersey consisted mostly of cotton, later often made of polyamide, nowadays high quality jerseys made of polyester in the form of microfibers are made .
Today jerseys also find their way into the fashion clothes. In particular trendy second-hand shops offer original goods to various sports. Moreover jerseys are produced from the outset as a fashion item, without their wearing is provided in sporting competitions. Lettering and shirt number then often just decoration or references to the brand.