Custom face masks are the next must-have for teams and fans

Custom face masks are already showing up on team benches as sports start to return. If your substitute players, staff and fans have to wear face masks, don’t miss the chance to have them match your team’s uniforms.

Sports uniforms were once simple affairs. Single-color wool and cotton garments may not have been the most comfortable apparel for physical activity in the heat, but they provided a basic team identity and, in those early days of team sports, the team’s nicknames, from Chelsea FC’s “Blues” to the Boston Red Sox (St. Louis’ hockey team takes their name from a different kind of blues).

Now sports uniforms are performance-enhancing fashion statements for the players and fans alike. Teams bounce between vintage throwback kits and trend-setting designs.

Both the colors and the cut of the uniforms reflect the moment. In the 1970s, soccer and basketball shorts looked more like cross-country shorts than the basketball shorts we wear today. Soccer jerseys have gone back and forth between form fitting and baggy, with some rather questionable sartorial decisions along the way.

But for all the changes in fabric, pattern and aesthetic, the elements of the uniform remain constant. Baseball players still wear a cap, button-down jersey, pants and socks, as they did in the days of Honus Wagner. Basketball players wear a sleeveless jersey and shorts. Hockey players have a jersey, hockey shorts over hockey pants over hockey socks, plus the skates and gloves.

Sports have added protective gear, but little in the way of uniform items.

That may be changing. While players are not going to start wearing face masks during play, substitutes and coaches on the bench already are.

Over the last few months, “team face masks” have gone from being three words you never thought you’d see next to each other to being part of the bench uniform, right there with the warmup pants and jacket. While the athletic trainers and team doctors wear plain medical-style masks, the players and rest of the staff don masks in the team colors and team logo. It’s only a matter of time before teams start adding a “face mask sponsor” to go with their shirt and sleeve-patch sponsors.

And if players are wearing them, fans will want them soon, too. Sports jerseys have been part of every fan’s budget and closet since the mid-1970s, and licensed apparel has proliferated over the past decade. Whatever it is people want to wear, they want to support their team while doing it. From jerseys to neckties, you can find just about anything to show your allegiance.

Face masks are shaping up to be the next ubiquitous garment on team benches and in the stands. As players and fans make their way back to sporting events, they are not going to want to wear a boring out-of-the-box mask when the rest of their outfit is in their team colors.

Face masks can be customized to match the rest of your team’s apparel. We offer both “behind the ear” masks and gaiter-style masks, all of which follow the CDC guidelines for facial covering and all of which are fully customizable with dye sublimation. This process allows you to design the mask with your team’s colors, name and logo while preserving the comfort and integrity of the material.

Sports are coming back, and they’re bringing all the players, coaches, staff and fans with them. They’re also bringing face masks.

Get in touch with us today so your team can look the part with the first new sports uniform item in years: custom face masks.