Overwatch League collabs with Fanatics for confusing new apparel

Olivia Richman Published 23/05/2019

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.

Olivia Richman

About Olivia Richman

Olivia has worked in media ever since graduating from college, with her coverage ranging from traditional newspaper reporting to digital coverage of all things gaming, online betting, and nerd culture. She has traveled around the world pursuing that coverage, from the far coasts of the United States to the busy downtown core of Tokyo, Japan. Olivia’s favorite games include Overwatch and Super Smash Smash Bros, and she has been published at Esports Illustrated, Inven Global, EsportsInsider, Upcomer, and elsewhere.

View full profile

Read Also

Kick

Kick’s Eddie Craven Addresses Ongoing KPP Complaints and Viewbotting Khizar Mundia Several Kick streamers have taken to social media to publicly air their grievances about their KPP apparently being reduced. Kick director Ethan Wright recently responded to the complaints, and now Eddie Craven has also discussed the issue for creators. Stake-backed livestreaming platform Kick has made its place in the industry, in large part because of its higher revenue potential. While there have been one-off incidents where Kick has been criticized ...

Fortnite

Leaks Suggest That a Fortnite X One Piece Collaboration May Be Coming Hannan Mundia Fortnite has collaborated with all sorts of franchises over the years, but a potentially leaked collaboration with One Piece may be the largest yet. When it comes to games collaborating with known IPs, it’s borderline impossible to compete with Fortnite. The battle royale game has some insane collaborations under its belt, including one with Kingdom Hearts when the Square Enix IP’s popularity is at an all-time high. However, if recent ...

Kick

FaZe Banks Thinks N3on’s AI Clone Could Be Worth $100M — How AI Is Changing Streaming Khizar Mundia Rangesh “N3on” Mutama may have received widespread backlash following his decision to use an AI model for certain content, but FaZe boss Richard “Banks” Bengtson has compared the streamer to legendary TikToker Khaby Lame. N3on was recently in the limelight after viewers noticed that a GTA 6 streamer NPC resembles him. The Kick streamer wasted no time in recreating the GTA 6 Netflix Extended Look in an IRL livestream, and ...

Twitch

Twitch Is Testing An AI Stream Coach — Here’s How It Works Khizar Mundia Amazon-backed livestreaming platform Twitch is testing a new feature that will act as an AI coach for streamers, giving them personalized feedback to improve. Twitch has been playing around with several experimental features to improve things for its users. One of these includes auto clips, which was a feature that would automatically generate clips from the best moments of a stream. Another is AI-generated summaries of what happened in a ...

Twitch

Kai Cenat Talks Streamer University, Vivet, and Streaming Future Khizar Mundia Kai Cenat recently sat down with The New York Times for an interview. In a wide-ranging discussion, the Twitch streamer talked about what he looks for in Streamer University participants, and also delved into both his Vivet brand, as well as what the future holds. Kai Cenat may have gone on a break following his massively successful Mafiathon 3, but the creator returned with with a bang in Streamer University ...

League of Legends

Riot Games eyes Polymarket and Kalshi for esports sponsorships Michael Hassall Riot Games, the creator of League of Legends and VALORANT is reportedly exploring the protentional of sponsorship deals with prediction market operators including Polymarket and Kalshi, as per reports emerging late last night (Sep. 10). First reported by Cecilia D’Anastasio of Bloomberg, Riot has started conversations with the two top prediction market operators, Kalshi and Polymarket, with a view to one or both of them becoming sponsors within Riot Games’ ...

Slots

This Is How Gates of Olympus 2500 Builds On The Iconic Series Ian John Since the first Gates of Olympus slot hit casinos in 2021, the series has evolved into one of the most recognisable in the Pragmatic Play stable. The combination of scatter wins, tumbling symbols and dramatic multipliers has established a formula that has been followed in a number of sequels and spin-offs. The latest in that series is the Gates of Olympus 2500 slot, but this game takes a slightly more ...