Random D2 sighting

[laker]

When you go somewhere and see someone wearing D2 school apparel that is out of place- not at a game where they are playing or on their campus.

Yesterday I was at Pete's Grill in Hector MN. A young lady was wearing a Central Washington Wildcats sweatshirt. I asked her what the connection was. She said that she bought it for a dollar in a thrift store in Bozeman. She has just graduated from Ridgewater where I played football in junior college.

[SW_Mustang]

I've got a couple off the top of my head - when I lived in Marshall, there was a guy who had a NWMSU Bearcat decal on his truck. I also once met a Missouri Western grad in Minneapolis after he noticed my MSU hat, and I also met a CWU grad in South Dakota.

On my first trip to Omaha, I saw someone with a "proud MSU parent" sticker on their car at Runza.

I've also had a ton of interactions because I wore SMSU gear in Sioux Falls or Minneapolis - which isn't exactly that strange given proximity and alumni movement, but still.

[Finchwidget]

I went to school at the University of Michigan, which is a huge school that pulls kids from not just around the country, but from many different parts of the world as well. Because of this, it was pretty common for me to see apparel from many different colleges as I'd walk around campus and go about my day, presumably from peoples different hometowns or home states.

At one point I had a list kept on my phone of the top 10 most unexpected or "out there" colleges I'd seen: Augustana, Bloomsburg, Colorado Mines, and both Alaska schools were all on there before I stopped keeping up with maintaining it (for the record, number one on the list was D3 Sewanee).

[BisonBones]

I was leaving Omaha Beach in Normandy when someone saw my Harding shirt and said "Harding University in Searcy, AR? My sister went there!"

[OldBison]

Since 1978 I’ve climbed 44 14,000 ft mountains in Colorado and seen at least one Harding University shirt. Not that surprising when you think about it. Harding is affiliated with the Church of Christ and 500 - 1,000 CofC teens climb 14,000 ft mountains through a programs like Wilderness Trek Christian Camp and Team Ascend.

[laker]

I was at the Hutchinson MN Walmart when I saw a guy with a Morehead (Kentucky, not Moorhead MN) State Eagles shirt. I stopped him to ask the association. Again, he had never heard of the place, he bought it at a thrift store. At Happy Dan's gas station in Mankato the checkout gal was wearing a UVSC sweatshirt years ago. I asked her what it stood for- it was her roommates so she didn't know. I walked out- then walked back in again and said, "Utah Valley State College!" That was before they went DI and changed the name to Utah Valley U. enjoy seeing D2, D3 and NAIA apparel around the country.

[cwfenn]

Since 1978 I’ve climbed 44 14,000 ft mountains in Colorado and seen at least one Harding University shirt. Not that surprising when you think about it. Harding is affiliated with the Church of Christ and 500 - 1,000 CofC teens climb 14,000 ft mountains through a programs like Wilderness Trek Christian Camp and Team Ascend.

That is a lot of mountains! I went to high school with a guy who moved out to Colorado and went all-in on climbing and adventure sports, he even wrote a bunch of books about it.

https://www.jamesdziezynski.com/james-dziezynski-bio/

(link is not an endorsement, I don't climb and have no idea if his books are any good.)

[OldBison]

That is a lot of mountains! I went to high school with a guy who moved out to Colorado and went all-in on climbing and adventure sports, he even wrote a bunch of books about it.

https://www.jamesdziezynski.com/james-dziezynski-bio/

(link is not an endorsement, I don't climb and have no idea if his books are any good.)

I’ve used James’ books and articles for years. Good stuff. Side note: James studied at Marist a D1/FCS school in New York State. The Red Foxes are Pioneer League which makes them almost as good as some of the top 25 D2 schools in football.

[canadarican]

When my family and I went to Seattle and Alaska last summer, I ran into three different folks on the cruise ship with D2 swag on. Wayne State (NE), Black Hills, and then a guy who actually played at Pitt State. We also had a few folks recognize our C-N and Mars Hill swag.

[Tony Nicolette]

I travel a lot for work, so I actually see a pretty decent amount of D2 swag around various parts of the country. With that said, the only story that comes immediately to mind is a place I worked here in Metro Grand Rapids...new guy starts and in like his third week he wears a Kutztown polo into the office. He was floored that I not only knew what the logo represented, but that I pronounced "Kutztown" correctly. Had a pretty good laugh over that one. He didn't go there, but had lived there for a few years and picked up the local gear along the way.

We have had threads like this on the board over the years, and it's always a good/fun topic. Will have to keep my eyes open on my upcoming travels and make note of anyone else I chat up. Good on ya, Laker.

[laker]

I travel a lot for work, so I actually see a pretty decent amount of D2 swag around various parts of the country. With that said, the only story that comes immediately to mind is a place I worked here in Metro Grand Rapids...new guy starts and in like his third week he wears a Kutztown polo into the office. He was floored that I not only knew what the logo represented, but that I pronounced "Kutztown" correctly. Had a pretty good laugh over that one. He didn't go there, but had lived there for a few years and picked up the local gear along the way.

We have had threads like this on the board over the years, and it's always a good/fun topic. Will have to keep my eyes open on my upcoming travels and make note of anyone else I chat up. Good on ya, Laker.

Love to hear about it, Tony!

[gr8ness97]

Happened to me a couple of weeks ago in DC - Saw a guy with a Fort Hays shirt, immediately talked to him about how their QB play last season lol. He was definitely surprised anyone outside of the midwest knew about them.

[crixus]

I was in a supermarket in 29 Palms, California and saw a young woman wearing a Peru State College Bobcats shirt. It's a small NAIA school (not D2 but just as obscure) in Nebraska that not many know about. We talked briefly and she was very surprised that I knew of her college. And I was surprised to see her wearing that shirt way out here in southern California. Turns out she was visiting her Mom. *I have a Alderson-Broaddus Battlers shirt (former D2 team in West Virginia), but I don't wear it anymore since that University closed down. It's now a collector's item, to me anyway.

[Bballfan]

Random was an Ashland University shirt showing up on a British actor in the TV show Ted Lasso. Makes you wonder how the wardrobe department even had something in stock. Overseas no less.

But in my travels across the country, I did run into a guy in a Ferris State shirt in the far northwest back country of Glacier National Park in Montana. He was surprised I knew Ferris State. But then, they do have D1 hockey. So maybe doesn't count quite as much.

[Brandon]

i ran into a kid wearing a johnson c smith hoodie atMain event in kansas city north about a year agoand an adult wearing a morehouds t-shirt two summers ago at the youth baseball complex