2002 Nike Team USA Olympic Home Authentic
#30 Tom Barrasso with IIHF Patch
Manufacturer: Nike
Size: 52
Purchased From: eBay
Lettered by: House o' Hockey
The Story: Now here is a jersey that you're going to have a hard time finding anywhere. Former Penguins goaltender Tom Barrasso was selected to back up Mike Richter in the 2002 Winter Olympics. He had always been my favorite Pens goalie, because of both his play (he helped lead the Pens to their first two Stanley Cups) and his "say whatever's on my mind" attitude. Let's just say I can relate!
This is another one of those jerseys that became part of the collection after I was out online looking for a different one. In this case, I really liked the 2010 Team USA Olympic jerseys because of all their hidden detail. They had faint patterns from the Statue of Liberty on them and appearing on one sleeve, in very small letters, was the phrase "Land of the Free, Home of the Brave." I just thought that was a really cool jersey. Brooks Orpik played in those Olympics, so his was the jersey I wanted. However, good luck finding one. For that matter, good luck finding any authentic Team USA hockey jersey. I don't know if they were ever made available at retail, but if they were, it was in such low quantity that authentics really are collector's items. However, I did happen upon a blank authentic from the 2002 Winter Olympics. I liked these jerseys as well, and it was available at a reasonable price on eBay. It turned out, though I had no clue at the time, that the seller was actually a friend of my sister-in-law who worked for an NHL team. See what I mean? Not just anyone can get their hands on one of these.
Now it was time to do some research. What Penguins were on the 2002 US Olympic Team? When I found out Barrasso was a member of the team, I knew I'd be getting his name and number on it. That brought me to my next research point: since Mike Richter wore number 35, what number did Barrasso's jersey have? From there, I needed to check out whether there was any special patchwork done on these. It turned out that the game jerseys had special International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) patches on the lower rear hem, but these patches differed significantly from the ones used in the most recent Olympics, which were readily available. So I lucked into finding the jersey, I chose a player and verified his number, and I found the IIHF patch after a couple of weeks. There was just one more detail: who's going to letter it and can they get the lettering correct? I made a call to the House o' Hockey, who had done great jobs on some previous jerseys I bought from them. I sent them as many pictures of 2002 Olympic game action as I could, and I was thrilled when they said they could match that lettering.
The result of all this effort was a really fine Team USA jersey, true to the game jerseys from 2002. I've received a lot of compliments on this one and it remains one of the favorites of my collection.
Size: 52
Purchased From: eBay
Lettered by: House o' Hockey
The Story: Now here is a jersey that you're going to have a hard time finding anywhere. Former Penguins goaltender Tom Barrasso was selected to back up Mike Richter in the 2002 Winter Olympics. He had always been my favorite Pens goalie, because of both his play (he helped lead the Pens to their first two Stanley Cups) and his "say whatever's on my mind" attitude. Let's just say I can relate!
This is another one of those jerseys that became part of the collection after I was out online looking for a different one. In this case, I really liked the 2010 Team USA Olympic jerseys because of all their hidden detail. They had faint patterns from the Statue of Liberty on them and appearing on one sleeve, in very small letters, was the phrase "Land of the Free, Home of the Brave." I just thought that was a really cool jersey. Brooks Orpik played in those Olympics, so his was the jersey I wanted. However, good luck finding one. For that matter, good luck finding any authentic Team USA hockey jersey. I don't know if they were ever made available at retail, but if they were, it was in such low quantity that authentics really are collector's items. However, I did happen upon a blank authentic from the 2002 Winter Olympics. I liked these jerseys as well, and it was available at a reasonable price on eBay. It turned out, though I had no clue at the time, that the seller was actually a friend of my sister-in-law who worked for an NHL team. See what I mean? Not just anyone can get their hands on one of these.
Now it was time to do some research. What Penguins were on the 2002 US Olympic Team? When I found out Barrasso was a member of the team, I knew I'd be getting his name and number on it. That brought me to my next research point: since Mike Richter wore number 35, what number did Barrasso's jersey have? From there, I needed to check out whether there was any special patchwork done on these. It turned out that the game jerseys had special International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) patches on the lower rear hem, but these patches differed significantly from the ones used in the most recent Olympics, which were readily available. So I lucked into finding the jersey, I chose a player and verified his number, and I found the IIHF patch after a couple of weeks. There was just one more detail: who's going to letter it and can they get the lettering correct? I made a call to the House o' Hockey, who had done great jobs on some previous jerseys I bought from them. I sent them as many pictures of 2002 Olympic game action as I could, and I was thrilled when they said they could match that lettering.
The result of all this effort was a really fine Team USA jersey, true to the game jerseys from 2002. I've received a lot of compliments on this one and it remains one of the favorites of my collection.