Overwatch League’s newest official merch has the gaming community going, “What does this even mean?”
The OWL has released a new line of official apparel through their continued partnership with Fanantics. The shirts start off normal enough with a team logo. But upon closer inspection, fans noticed that the accompanying text is a little confusing. The Washington Justice’s shirt reads, “Washington DC. [Hidden text] capital of the United States. Center of American [hidden text] along the Potomac River and declared [hidden text].”
The Los Angeles Valiant has a similar declaration of nothingness to go along with its logo. That one reads, “Los Angeles is the most [hidden text] city in California. [Hidden text] American film and [hidden text] industry. Known as the City of Angels. [Hidden text].”
Other countries were not safe from this strange treatment either.
Many fans compared the text to Mad Libs, questioning how and why certain words were missing. Others speculated that Fanatics was using some type of computer algorithm to compile these seemingly random words and phrases. While some people have excused the odd shirts because, you know, fashion, others have responded that it’s supposed to be esports merch representing the teams, not avant-garde fashion.
It also brings into question Fanatics’ understanding of esports and gaming culture.
Here’s the description that came along with the Boston Uprising’s new shirt, which is similar to all of the others as well: “It’s the perfect piece of gear for a real gamer like yourself.”
You know, all the real gamers who talk in mysterious phrases like, “The city played [obscured] role in the American [redacted].”
For $29.99 one of these weird tees could be yours, and they’re currently available for every Overwatch League team.
The strange merch has also caused many OWL fans to question if Fanatics is the right choice for a partnership, since this is far from the first time people questioned their apparel output. Earlier this year, Fanatics released Atlanta Reign merch with incorrect coloring that also made it hard to read. The home jerseys were removed from the store after continued complaints from fans.
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