Gary Payton jersey photomatch?

[shermdawurm]

Hey guys I just acquired this Gary Payton jersey a couple of days ago. I was initially was cautious with it because I noticed it was missing the 9/11 unity patch that all teams wore during the 2001-02 season and simply because its hard to tell which stars' jerseys are actually game worn or not. I saw that it did however have the writing on the tag that I've seen on other sonics reebok gamers (common players). Maybe it was worn the next season? Well after losing out on an item I really wanted from the past Leland's auction, I thought this jersey might be a decent consolation prize so I pulled the trigger.

You can see the outline of where the 9/11 unity patch originally was but it was removed for some reason (maybe reused for 2002-03 preseason?). I immediately jumped onto getty and think I found a successful photomatch! The photo is from the game 4 of the 1st round of the playoffs against the Spurs. I think I've also found other matches to regular season games but this pic was the best. Looks like most of the loose threads match as well as the sonics logo patch on the collar being a little off center. Sorry about the poor quality but it costs too much to get a better resolution version.

So what do you guys think? Would you say its a match? Also what do you guys think about restoring the missing 9/11 patch? I'm leaning towards restoring it. Thanks for your time.

-Sherman

[shermdawurm]

Coincidentally today is the 15th anniversary of going to my 1st Sonics game. Growing up in Seattle, I was a huge Sonics fan and GP was my idol. I was devastated when he got traded to the bucks. For my 11th birthday I asked my mom if we could go to watch a game at the key and she agreed. My birthday is March 15th and Michael Jordan and the wizards were actually going to be in town that day! I wanted to go see MJ play so badly but my mom said tix for that game were sold out so we settled for a week later against the Rockets. The Sonics ended up losing to the Wizards on my bday but dominated the Rockets and I remember everyone got free chalupas or something from taco bell lol. I've since always jokingly bugged my mom about not being able to see MJ play live but I just recently found out that he was injured and didn't play against the sonics that day. Looks like everything worked out for the best. I've wanted to pick up a GP jersey for a while now but they can be pretty expensive plus its difficult to tell if a basketball jersey is actually a gamer or team issued/pro cut. Its crazy to think that GP may have worn this jersey during my first game. I absolutely love this jersey for countless reason and it will be staying with me for a while.

[LarryWalkerFan]

Looks like a pretty strong match to me. Great job!

[sportscentury]

Sherman, if and when you decide to sell it, I'm interested. My email is gameusedequip2@hotmail.com. I pay strong prices and have Paypal ready to go. Thank you and congrats on a very nice piece.

[lengthwise1]

nice pickup!!!

[shermdawurm]

I appreciate the kind words, guys! Sportscentury, I'll keep you in mind if I ever decide to let this jersey go.