Rebirth: Early 90’s Adjustable Snap-back Hats and Marvel Heroes (post 1 of 2)

        These hats would like to give an admonishment like that which LL Cool J gave haters in the early 90s: don’t call it a comeback, I’ve been here for YEARS. The early 90’s snap-back adjustable hats would also like to point out that back in their day,  the only person who dressed like Russell Westbrook was a lovable character on the show Family Matters. So with that word from the hats themselves, let’s look to the The Explosive Reemergence of NBA snap back hats… Is this due to heavy hipster influence (see Westbrook or Coach Van Ornery) or because the NBA, like me, 1) has an appreciation for cool hats and 2) is nostalgic for some 90s era NBA?

        

During the decade following the NBA’s Magic-Bird  glory days, the NBA was a place for dynamic duos (post coming soon dedicated to those duos) that were perfect for NBA Jam or NBA Hangtime, a place for Run TMC to light up the scoreboard with no regard for defense, a place for assembling the Dream Team , a place where centers were not automatically the 5th option on offense but instead ruled the court, but also a place where center Bryant Big Country Reeves  was still welcome to be a big teal starter in a foreign country.

 

       The NBA mainly intends for 90s snap-back hats to be reminiscent of the legacy of the one man, His Airness, who manufactured 6 titles and the greatest movie of that decade* and can be seen above with the awesome trophy that is the snap-back hat on his brow, and also some less impressive hardware he got for doing well in the NBA Finals . Below are some of the newer clearly 90s inspired Snap-back hats.

 

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       So something very cool, and I mean cool in the nerdiest sense of the word,  about the recent line of hats is that the NBA is totally down with rockin out with Marvel Comics Superheros. Check out a couple below Washington Wizards hat, and Orlando Magic Thor hat.

 

   This makes perfect sense to me since the era of the NBA snapback hat was also the point in my young life when I loved Marvel superheros and used to fill my Saturday mornings with Xmen and the Amazing Spider-man cartoons (both currently available on Netflix streaming). Although pretty much every superhero-incorporated NBA hat is great, some make more sense than others. For instance the team in our nation’s capital, the Wizards, and the team whose name is a reference to Ameirca’s independence, the 76ers, both have hats featuring Captain America.  Thor seems like a stretch for the Magic, but unfortunately the obvious choice for the Magic is a DC comic book hero, and we are not sure how long Dwight wants to be in Orlando anyway.

              Some of them are confusing pairings. The one that really needs a petition for change is the New Orleans Hornets, but not for lack of coolness. As if it is not enough that New Orleans gets to merchandise cool semi-retro Muggsy Bouges/LJ/Zo era Charlotte Hornets snap-back hats, they also are selling a hat that couples their logo with  one of Marvel’s most beloved superheros: Toby McGuire.

 Ok I understand that new Hornet Anthony Davis has super basketball skills and swatting reflexes that have been compared to Spider-Man’s super-human abilities. I don’t understand why they forced everyone’s favorite web-slinger into a Mardi Gras Purple, Teal, and Gold color scheme. Why? Why Spidey Why??? (Although now that I think about it, Venom would be an awesome superhero to pair with the Brooklin Nets’ new “anti-nba” image).  The main reason Spider-Man tagged to the Hornets does not work is because of the huge oversight of not choosing the Super Hero best suited for the franchise. The Hornets and the hat designers must know,  there exists a superhero who is absolutely perfect for representing New Orleans. He is one of the most awesome if not the most awesome and underrated Marvel Super Hero of the early 90’s , not to mention a good fighter choice in XMEN 2  and is the best (and only?) Cajun super hero of all-time:

Gambit is your man New Orleans! I know Spidey has a new serious dark movie coming up and everything, but screw that nerd Peter Parker. Hornets should be cashing in on their awesome connection to Gambit instead. And also, as it turns out, Gambit happens to be a BALLER. (check at 2:30 mark thru end of video)

Hope you enjoyed, Stay Tuned for Part 2 of this, the Griz/Wolverine edition.

*=I realize that Tom Hanks could single-handedly debunk my superlative claim for Space Jam, just using his own resume from that decade, but I feel fairly confident that if I had to choose between seeing a new movie that came out tomorrow featuring the combination of MJ, Muggsy Bouges, Seinfeld’s Newman,Yosemite Sam and Bill Murray that may or may not even be a sequel to Space Jam,  or a new movie with the rehashed combination of Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan, I’m picking the one with Bill Murray**

**= Also if it has Bill Murray, then we know it is directed and written by Wes Anderson meaning it will be a wonderful film with a great  eclectic soundtrack and a plot that includes a complicated relationship between a father and  a son in which the father will somehow redeem himself in the end with a great happy ending.