When we were teenagers, some of us decided to follow the NFL, so we had to pick a favorite team. For whatever reasons, we decided not to follow the two local ones, the New York Giants and Jets, and, based on logic that seemed sound at the time but absurd now, settled on the Detroit Lions. Ugh.

The Lions were actually good for a while (well, not good enough to make the Super Bowl, but good enough to win some games and play some nice football), so we wanted to show off our fandom. Big problem. This was the 90s, we were living in New Jersey. There was absolutely no way to buy Lions gear.

Not so today, of course. All we have to do is go on the Intertubes, open NFL shop and buy any sort of Lions merchandise we want. It's run by Fanatics, who also does the MLB shop, the NBA shop, NHL, MLS, Olympics... So whether you're the fan of the Lions, the Calgary Flames, or Real Salt Lake, Fanatics got you!

They got you indeed. The quality of "authentic" merchandise that you are shelling hundreds of dollars for is incredibly shabby. This is what happens with monopolies, and Fanatics is definitely one. It's run by Michael Rubin, who bought the company in 2011 and turned it from a no-name to an ubiquitous presence in sport. Fanatics is even supposed to start making jerseys that NHL players will wear in game! Let's just say that fans are not exactly happy... But they don't exactly have a choice.

As for our Lions fandom? Let's not talk about it... but it could have been worse.

We could have picked the Jets.