I read somewhere that (allegedly) the second best-selling hockey team sweater/t-shirt in Montreal were those of the defunct Quebec Nordiques. (obviously the Montreal Canadiens were number one). Montreal Expos caps still dominate sports store shelves, although the team hasn’t been around for 15 years…
Has anyone experienced this elsewhere? Are (e.g.) Brooklyn Dodgers and New York Giants uniforms/t-shirts/caps popular in NYC - enough to push aside those of other teams?
Brooklyn Dodgers gear was very popular, not sure if it still is as the generations that actually remember the Brooklyn Dodgers are now get pretty far along in years.
I can’t say I recall seeing NY Giants gear, not even a throwback Willie Mays Jersey, which is surprising. Mickey Mantle is still a very popular Yankee Jersey as an example from the same time.
Still got my Washington Senators cap!
I’m proud of my Seattle Dragons gear. Supposedly the XFL is coming back yet again but we’ll see. Until then I think my stuff is cool.
Personally I like having gear for a team that no longer exists anymore, it’s like being from an alternative dimension or living in a fictional universe with different sports teams.
Hartford Whalers gear is still popular in southern New England. It shows you’ve been cool for a while, not just some Johnny-come-lately sort of cool.
Quite popular in European football. Clubs that no longer exist but who had a long history maintain a place in nostalgia not just by their shirts but preserving their history and even things like setting up a new team in their spirit at an amateur level.
Even though Milwaukee has had the Brewers since 1970, you can still find people in Wisconsin who wear Milwaukee Braves caps (heck, I used to own one), though they’re definitely not anywhere close to outnumbering people who wear Brewers gear.
One of the all-time great logos, which also helps. 
Speaking of Milwaukee sports, lots of locals still flaunt their Marquette Warriors (emblem: Indian Chief) merchandise, despite the fact that the team was re-named the Golden Eagles back in 1994. I know, not a defunct team, but a defunct name.
My college switched from the team name “Indians” back in late 60’s but over the years some of the conservative alumni groups have sold retro Indian logo t-shirts and banners in an effort to keep the idea alive.
Well I think it’s a little different because for those from Quebec City or Montreal, those lost teams haven’t been replaced. In Atlanta I still see Thrashers gear from time to time.
And, in fact, when MLB awarded New York an expansion team (the Mets) a few years after the Dodgers and Giants decamped for California, the team made a conscious choice to appeal to fans of those departed teams with their colors (blue for the Dodgers, and orange for the Giants).
It’ll be interesting to see how much nostalgia there will be for the new post-Redskins “Washington Football Team” regalia once they have their new new post-“Washington Football Team” name.
My prediction: a lot. A whole hell of a lot. Which is unfortunate, but the team had that name since 1933, and has been in Washington since 1937, so that’s a lot of time to build nostalgia. Generations of it. Also fun fact I did not know, they were the first professional sports team that the federal government had to desegregate, threatening legal action for violating civil rights. So much great history in that franchise to look fondly back on!
Maybe my attempt at a clever formulation obscured what I was trying to ask.
I know Redskins memorabilia will have a long albeit carefully unofficial future.
Let’s assume for concrete example that their new name starting in 2022 will be the Washington Dysfunctionals. I’d also assume that Dysfunctionals logo merch will sell well and have a long life.
My question was whether the interim and decidedly generic “Washington Football Team” merch will have large sales and a devoted following? And if so, will it be serious or ironic? Will it become, like a MAGA hat, an implied attack on all things “PC” pronounced with a decided sneer? Or will it be popular as an odd quirk of history that coincided with a very strange year overall? Will it be seen as having limited edition cachet; you had just 1 year to buy it?
Or will it be quickly forgotten, like a torn disposable raincoat.
My guess is it will have a small but devoted base of ironic hipster fans, few of whom will actually be Washington or even football fans. The anti-PC crowd will grimly hold onto the Redskins merch. The market, even for a transient name, is too hyper-saturated for true collectors. If they had had a successful season this year with iconic players, actual fans might want mementos of it, but after a forgettable year, actual fans are either going to hang on to Redskins gear because that was the team name when they were actually winning Super Bowls and nationally relevant or they’ll just go with the whatever the new official name/logo is.
It’s also possible that I’m a dumbass who didn’t read your comment well enough; I’m leaning toward the latter.
They also used the NY on the cap in the same style that the Giants used. On a blue cap, of course.
The Mets had a promotional night some time in the 80s where they gave away Brooklyn Dodgers or NY Giants hats.
I chose Giants as I was born in Manhattan and it was one of my favorites for years.
My guess is for Washington Football Team, it’ll be mainly hipsters like those who wear T shirts from the 1970s even though they were born in 2000.
WFT will be forgotten just like the Tennessee Oilers.
I got a St. Louis Browns t-shirt the last time I was in Cooperstown. I also would love to get more gear for defunct teams, but I haven’t found any I wanted.