Today is the day for soccer/futbol/football or whatever you like to call it. Yes, today is the day the United States Men's National Team takes on Germany for a chance to advance to the knockout round in the World Cup, and the whole country is all a buzz!

I can't even think about renovation and home DIY today, or last night for that matter. This game is too big!

If you're note following along or don't know what I'm talking about, this post will likely be lost on you, but let me at least try. The United States was given little chance of advancing out of their group into the knockout round, but after surprising play (to some), and poor play by others, the US has a chance to silence the naysayers with a win or draw today. However, the Germans are an international powerhouse team not to be messed with. And it all comes to a head at high noon (ET), how fitting?

But who am I to let a moment for a DIY pass me by? Really, any excuse for a little custom work will do, so I'm channeling my love for customization and desire to be "historically accurate" into altering my US Soccer Jersey to be a bit more accurate.

A while ago I picked up a Clint Dempsey jersey so that I could sit on the couch and cheer on the US men as they continued their drive for Basil 2014.

I chose the "uglier" red white and blue of the two jerseys (rather than the white with collar) to show my national pride. No, to those of you who might be asking the question everyone seems to be asking, this is not a French jersey, though it does look remarkably like their flag.

In this case I went against my norm, and rather than purchasing an authentic cut jersey, I opted for the replica style. Why? Because the authentic cut for the bodies of ripped twenty something soccer stars, whereas I possess the body of a thin thirty something computer programmer.

Personally, my core strength leaves something to be desired which is in direct correlation to my lacking six pack abdominal definition. But it's okay, what my body lacks in rock hard abs, I make up for with some soft squishy love handles. Which brings me back to my earlier point about wearing said team's jersey while cheering them on from our couch. Hey, I'm working on it with my Restoration Hardware Home Gym solution!

I'd likely end up looking a bit more like Will Ferrell than that of Clint Dempsey.

However, when the World Cup started a few weeks ago I noticed the newly added patches to either sleeve of the team's jerseys. Whether it was during the opening introductions, or while Jones was celebrating his spectacular winning goal with enthusiastic fist pumping, the patches, they taunted me.

Photo Credit: Julio Cortez/AP Photo

So I did what any self respecting uniform junkie would do. I took to eBay and ordered a set of patches for my own jersey.

Now, call me a skeptic, but any time I want to purchase something from eBay that ships from China, and I need it in a short period of time, I'm usually rather certain it won't actually arrive by the time I need it. But in this case, I placed the order last Thursday, got the ship notification the next day (an "e-packet" from China), and received my patches in a little envelope on Tuesday. Color me happy.

Last night, in anticipation of today's game, I decided to apply the iron on patches to my jersey in the hope that my look would bring the #USMNT the luck they need against the Germans. Hey, it could happen!

If you have a jersey, and you really want to make it as authentic as you can, this little "how to" is for you.

Grab your iron and warm it up to about medium heat. For our iron that was the cotton blends setting, or 5.

While it warms, grab your jersey and convince the sleeve to lay flat on the end of the ironing board. It's important that it is flat but not stretched when you apply the patches.

I started with the right sleeve, where the Basil 2014 patch would be applied. On my red, white, and blue not French jersey it was easy to get a good placement since the patch sits over the transition from blue to white, centered on both the sleeve color change and the mid point from the shoulder.

Once the patch was right where I wanted it, I gently laid a thin cotton t-shirt over the patch and applied even pressure with the iron for 15-20 seconds.

BOOM, FIFA World Cup Brasil 2014 patch applied!

Okay, on to the left sleeve and the "Football For Hope" patch. You know the drill, same process as before.

BOOM, other patch done! I now no longer feel like I'm not part of the team. I will now proudly resume my enthusiastic cheering while proudly displaying my patriotism.

In the unlikely event you're looking for a set of patches to finish out your jersey, I bought mine from the eBay seller "soccerpatch4u".

So, back to what I said earlier. Today is the day! What are your plans for the game?

Comments 12

Comments

Kay
6/26/2014 at 12:05 PM

My plans for the game?
Couch - Beer
wearing this
http://instagram.com/p/pTwcb1BuJh/

Alex
6/26/2014

Fair enough. Alt smile It's looking really wet, and really... 0-0 so far. I'm okay with 0-0. You?

Kay
6/26/2014 at 1:20 PM

me too
but...
well still 28 min to go

Kay
6/26/2014 at 1:55 PM

We won but still both team are of to the knockout round.

Well done I'd say

Alex
6/26/2014

I'm happy with this result, but it does give me some concern for when Germany meets USA in the final. Alt wink

Now I can go back to loving Germany.

Kay
6/26/2014 at 2:39 PM

That would be a great final

Laura C
6/27/2014 at 9:09 AM

I love the World Cup. What a fantastic excuse to do very little work.

threadbndr
6/30/2014 at 2:07 PM

My boss is the coolest guy ever. His son plays college soccer - on scholarship no less. So we watched the game - at WORK! He even brought in pizza. About half the office watched, including me. I'm a professional soccer novice. But with TWO of the local club on the national team (GO Sporting KC!!) I had to watch. SO disappointed in that last rally; for a second there, we had a chance at a tie. But advancing is good.

Robbyj91
6/30/2014 at 7:14 PM

I noticed your patches are felt. Have you attempted to wash your jersey with the patches on yet? If so do the patches remain nice looking afterward?

Alex
7/1/2014

I haven't washed it since I put the patches on, but it does make me a little nervous. I half expect them to either be faded or some of the fuzz gone after washing, or that they'll just fall off while in the wash. It's too bad, but the only patches I've been able to find anywhere are felt. I searched for embroidered, but they seem to not exist. I have also paid very close attention to match photos and it looks like the real jerseys are also felt. I guess it doesn't matter for them since they get several new jerseys per match and then give the jersey away after the match.

Here's the best example of a hi-res that I could find. And it include's Suarez's theatrics to boot. Suarez Jersey Patch

7/9/2014 at 12:49 AM

I just had to come here and comment on the Brazil game today. WOW... Makes you wonder. I think the US would have done really well against Brazil.

Charles
8/4/2014 at 7:30 PM

Hi Alex, I found your article online while currently going through the process of adding some World Cup patches to my own jersey (for Germany as it were). I wanted to follow up with you on your post and ask if the patches still remained on and in good shape since it's been awhile since you wrote.

I did a bunch of research (I'm a perfectionist and wanted to make absolutely sure I had the correct/legit patches), and I found the company that makes these badges–they're called Sporting ID. The authentic badges do indeed have felt graphics as you were wondering.

Anyway, I emailed them to ask about ironing and they said they do not recommend it, and that I need to have it heat pressed because ironing might not adhere them as well and they could potentially fall off. I'd really rather do it myself, so I just wanted to see how your patches are holding up?

Cheers, form one jersey geek to another.

Since you've not signed in yet, you will need to fill in your name and email below. If you have a Facebook account, save yourself a step and use Connect to login.

Denotes a required field.

Please enter full URL, including http://

You can use Markdown syntax in your comment. And you can also use lots of Emoji!
  • Search

  • Login
  • Follow
  • Advertising

If you're looking for information on advertising and sponsorships, head on over to our sponsorships page. You can purchase site sponsorships in a few easy clicks. 

Toolbox Tuesday
Open Housing
  • We're Featured!

Old Town Home has been featured in the following places and publications:

The Washington Post
 
Washingtonian Magazine
 
Domino
 
Old House Journal
 
 
Apartment Therapy House Tour
 
Washington Post Express Feature
 
Home & Garden Blogs
 
© 2024 OldTownHome.com. - Privacy Policy
Login Below
or
Sign in with Facebook
Connect

Unexpected Error

Your submission caused an unexpected error. You can try your request again, but if you continue to experience problems, please contact the administrator.

Working...

Working...