Tie Time

I've never liked wearing neckties. As an adolescent, the only redeeming thing about having to wear them was that I could get away with all sorts of crazy novelty ties, like Looney Tunes characters playing baseball. Another personal favorite from this era was the fish tie worn by my junior high band teacher. And I don't just mean the tie had fish on it. The tie was literally a fish body and the knot was the caudal fin.

However, there comes a point in the maturation process when a boy must put away his novelty ties and become a man. For me, this transition came on my mission. When you have to wear a tie every day, you form certain stylistic preferences. Novelty ties weren't permitted anyway, but all of a sudden they just seemed kind of tacky. I didn't want to be that middle-aged dad you see at church wearing a tie with flaming Tabasco Sauce bottles.

All of my old novelty ties eventually made their way to the D.I., but for Christmas 2004 I received a New York Yankees tie as a gift. I wasn't sure if I would ever actually wear it, but kept it on my tie rack anyway. I eventually decided that it would be my championship tie. The next time the Yankees won the World Series I would wear it to church the following Sunday.

My championship tie has remained in the closet, virtually untouched since then, but 2009 turned out to be its year of destiny. As I put it on this morning for the first (and hopefully not last) time, I thanked my lucky stars I'm not a Cubs fan. Or an Indians fan. Or... well, you get the idea.

(MAJOR Nerd Alert)