T-shirt #363 - WMU - BLACK LONG SLEEVE

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TODAY'S COUNT: 02 blog posts remaining in the T-shirt year!!
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T-shirt #363 - WMU - BLACK LONG SLEEVE

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Today's entry almost became dedicated to the shirt that was lost as I could not find this shirt for the first hour or so I tried looking.

But I did find it.

Here's some neat synergy. One of the three WMU shirts that I own that I shared in T-SHIRT #324 was given to me by AJ Avery, current forward on the WMU basketball team playing in the NCAA tournament. How's that for fun?

However, this shirt is my oldest WMU shirt, and a very nice shirt that I cannot believe was misplaced so long. WMU goes to the NCAA tournament for just the fourth time in school history. The men's basketball team also qualified for March Madness in 2004, 1998, and 1976. I taught students who played on both the 2004 and 1998 teams.

This is a big deal for WMU. Read about it here at MLIVE.

GO BRONCOS!

Though the Broncos draw a very tough match up in Syracuse. I don't expect them to prevail and advance. I will be rooting instead for my other favorite teams, including Kentucky, Kansas, and of course THE University of Michigan.

This blog began during March Madness last year, and I posted several Michigan shirts. These returned in explaining T-SHIRT #324. I think the content from #324 deserves to be rerun today even though it was only posted 38 days ago.


MARCH MADNESS UPDATE 1403.20 - 10:22 - I just completed my brackets for the NCAA tournament. Despite what I wrote last night, I decided that WMU can upset Syracuse and even win out in round 3 versus Dayton (who I pick to upset OSU).

I was somewhat inspired by President Obama's faith in the Spartans to pick them all the way through to the finals. Last year, I dumped Michigan too early, having Florida beat them in one bracket and Kansas in the other. I had no faith in my all-time favorite college team. This year I just did one bracket and picked University of Michigan to win it all. What the heck. I doubt I can win Warren Buffet's perfect bracket billion anyway. But I did not pick LOUSIVILLE, last year's winner, to get by Kentucky this year. Sorry Pitino.

First round upsets? Dayton and WMU as I already indicated. I have Harvard over Cincinnati, I have Providence taking North Carolina, and I have NC State downing Saint Louis. In tighter, games I have Pitt over Colorado and OK State over Gonzaga.

My Final Four are Florida, MSU, UofM, and Arizona.

Let the Madness begin!!

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T-shirt #324 - WMU - Big White Basketball shirt

T-shirt #324 - WMU - Big White Basketball shirt

I am not wearing this shirt.

It's a XXL. It's a little big for me.

An XL is big on me, but just big enough. That's how I like it.

I went to Western Michigan University for several undergraduate courses, even before, technically, I graduated from Kalamazoo College.

For awhile, I considered studying to be a secondary education teacher in the public school system.

I changed my mind.

I decided instead to earn degrees in literature and creative writing: fiction, and so I did graduate studies at WMU earning a Masters and a Masters of Fine Arts, the latter of which was, supposedly, a terminal degree.

This is a "short" entry because I am supposedly on "hiatus," at least that's what the boilerplate I keep pasting in here says.

READER: How's that "hiatus" working out for you, T-shirt Blogger Man?

T-SHIRT BLOGGER MAN: Not great.

READER: How come?

T-SHIRT BLOGGER MAN: I am not getting ahead as I planned. If anything, I am falling farther behind.

READER: I have noticed. I visit your blog every day and the unfinished entries are... unsettling.

T-SHIRT BLOGGER MAN: For you and me, both.

READER: Are you ever going to finish that Abbott's entry? And what do you have to say about Robin? And aren't some of your drafts in the drafts section MONTHS old, and if you promise to kick it, I promise to hold the football and not snatch it away at the last second.

T-SHIRT BLOGGER MAN: ARRRRRGGGG!!!!!!

BLOGGERY REPORT:  Thursday's Curious George entry, which I finished last night as of this writing, which was Saturday, even though this entry was published on Saturday, and now it's Sunday as I type....AND I updated it on Sunday, which is today, though in terms of when this entry was published it's tomorrow AND two days ago.

Is your mind blown yet?

ANYWAY, the Curious George post, T-shirt #322, has sky-rocketed the page views of the blog for today and the WEEK. In just a few hours, T-shirt #322, has vaulted into the top five posts most viewed this week AND climbing... It just gained one more page view since I started typing these comments. It's about to overtake the top post just since this morning.

This is the power of Sunday. Maybe I should wait and announce all my posts on Sundays.

Oh, right, short.

I am sure I can come up with more to say about WMU, but I have at least one other WMU shirt, so I will wait.

I will restrict myself here to how I came by this shirt.

For the last few years, I have been teaching a reading class at WMU. The day before WMU had its big basketball game with the University of Michigan, I wore this shirt, seen above right, to class (It's Michigan in Chinese) without thinking about my student, one A.J. Avery who was on the WMU Varsity Basketball team.

Talk about rubbing it in his face. Geez.

WMU lost, of course. But the next class period, A.J. brought me this nice, white WMU Basketball shirt as a gift.

Now, who was feeling ashamed of himself?

Not so much that I did not wear the shirt to the left later that semester.


Even more embarrassing is the way that the Michigan basketball team was thumped by Iowa yesterday as of this writing (which is the "today" of this entry's original publication). UGH.

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TODAY'S ITEM - WHY T-SHIRTS #9: FANDOM - GO TEAM!

REPRESENT!! Wearing a T-shirt that features a sporting team shows how I represent for my team. This is like wearing GREEN on St. Patrick's Day (which I don't do). I show allegiance.

Also, wearing the team logos, team colors, team art on my body, I keep it close to the heart, where it belongs.

AND ANOTHER also, by wearing the shirt of the team I want to win, I focus positive energy on that team, on that game, on that event, and try to affect the outcome.

Or I am just a goofy fan.

WHY T-SHIRTS EXPLANATORY BLURB: I am doing a series of snippets that will add up to a larger whole answering the "Why T-shirts?" or "What's with all the T-shirts?" question. I have also decided to include the previous items in an ever growing list, hence the "previous items" section next.

PREVIOUS ITEMS
#1: T-SHIRTS ARE COOL
#2: I BE BRANDED - CHOOSING TO ADVERTISE
#3: It's my tattoo
#4 PRIDE AND STATUS - "It's my thing."
#5 -  "LET ME GEEK FLAG FLY!!"
#6 - UNIFORM SHIRTS ARE COOL
#7. PROOF THAT I DID IT - SHIRTS FOR EVENTS
#8. THE FICTIONAL REALITY - THIS T-SHIRT WOULD EXIST
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OFFICIAL BOILERPLATE TEXT OF THE LAST TWENTY POSTS COUNTDOWN: Hi. Thanks for reading. I am posting this "boilerplate" text everyday for the last TWENTY posts in the T-SHIRT blog year, which started on March 22, 2013. I will close out daily transmission on March 21st, day 365 of my T-shirt blog-tastic extravaganza spectacular. I will give myself a short hiatus of total non-transmission or  publication for an as yet undetermined period of time, though I am estimating about two weeks. After my blog vacation hiatus, I will resume T-shirt posts on a regular basis, also as yet to be determined (weekly? Twice monthly?) to finish blogging about all the T-shirts that were not featured in the blog year. At some point, once I feel I am rolling along nicely, I will begin regular posting through my main blog: SENSE OF DOUBT. T-shirt posts will direct to the T-shirt blog from SENSE OF DOUBT. I will continue to post THE WEEKLY COMIC LIST, the features of occasional T-SHIRTS I AM WEARING THIS WEEK, book reviews, comic book reviews, and other popular culture nonsense as I have been for a year now but all will go up at SENSE OF DOUBT and some will direct back here to 365 T-SHIRTS. Ultimately, I will begin Internet publication of my fiction, primarily the comic book satire episodic story called POP! among other projects. So, in summary, 365 T-SHIRTS will continue though intermittently. SENSE OF DOUBT will host my main blog presence and fiction writing as well as links to any T-shirt posts shared here. I hope you will continue to follow me in my journey as a writer and a content provider. Thank you for your kind attention and time you have spent with me on this and/or any other day this year. I am humbled and blessed by your readership. - chris tower, blogger, originated 1403.02
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COUNTDOWN TO END OF THE BLOG YEAR - 02 shirts remaining

- chris tower - 1403.19 - 20:01
UPDATED - 1403.20 - 10:22