Sports are on pause and sports fans are staying home – no throwing on a jersey and meeting up with other fans – so those sports fans are taking sports online. Video games are suddenly every sports fan’s favorite hobby, but sports simulations like Madden and NBA 2K aren’t the only answers.
Over the weekend, Nintendo released “Animal Crossing: New Horizons” for the Nintendo Switch. It’s a cutesy life simulator set on a deserted island, and it features one tool that has proven very pertinent to sports fans’ interests: a clothing designer.
Players all over the country, including here in Philly, have left their Hawaiian shirts behind in favor of custom-made jerseys and uniforms.
Here’s a homemade Phillies hat and uniform:
Gotta do something with the time I suppose ? from r/phillies
Here are four different Sixers uniforms:
@sixers I was supposed to be working but I did a thing #AnimalCrossingNewHorizons @BenSimmons25 @JoelEmbiid @MatisseThybulle @SniperShake #animalcrossing pic.twitter.com/OGNM1yC8n0
— sixties spider steve (@Pajama_Shark) March 21, 2020
Here’s Ben Simmons:
What up @BenSimmons25 @sixers #animalcrossing pic.twitter.com/LdwDMB2U0S
— orlandgabe (@orlandgabe) March 22, 2020
Here’s a Flyers sweater, from Reddit user u/trashb4gs:
Made my character a Flyers sweatshirt in the new AC game and it took JUST A LITTLE of the sting out of playoffs being suspended from r/Flyers
And here’s a hilarious Sixers jersey, featuring Joel Embiid’s latest nickname, from Reddit user u/MolangNeoi:
I’m making jerseys for every team and I thought this would be fitting for JoJo from r/sixers
u/trashb4gs has only been a Flyers fan for a few years after growing up watching the Wilkes Barre-Scranton Penguins, but they spent the last two years watching every Flyers game, which makes the NHL’s season suspension feel particularly abrupt.
“In the week or so since (the season) has been postponed, I just kind of sadly glance at my Couturier jersey that’s hanging in my closet every so often,” u/trashb4gs said, “so I felt like this was a small way to make myself better.”
u/MolangNeoi, a Toronto native and Raptors fan, noticed Animal Crossing players uploading their own designs, and decided jerseys seemed simple enough to try one out… and then another, and another. The Embiid jersey was the second in an abmitious project to design all 30 NBA jerseys.
Their boyfriend, a Sixers fan, suggested using Embiid’s Do-A-180 nickname.
An English major, u/MolangNeoi said they’re not normally artistically inclined “at all”, but the game’s design tools made the project doable – as does the time in quarantine.
“I’m lucky to be quarantined at home with pay,” u/MolangNeoi said, “so it’s a great way to keep myself busy.
“It’s nice to have tranquility when the world is going into panic mode.”
The game itself, set on a deserted island, tasks players with creating a new community in real-time, and allows players to visit each other’s personal islands, almost like putting on a Sixers jersey and heading to your friend’s house.
“It kind of sucks you in and makes you feel like you’re living a carefree life outside hanging out with your neighbors,” u/trashb4gs said, “even though in actuality we are all on day 5 of sitting inside in our sweatpants.
“Also it’s a good way to communicate with your actual friends who have the game while still keeping socially distant, because you can also visit their little islands using the internet! It’s really helped in keeping me zen during this weird time in our lives.”
Unsurprisingly, the trend has caught on with fans from all over.
Here are some NHL sweaters:
Custom Paul Kariya jersey. #AnimalCrossing #ACNH #NintendoSwitch pic.twitter.com/fAoRkFML4c
— Roob Himself ◉_◉ wants to date Tifa Lockhart. (@catastrophiist) March 23, 2020
emo in animal crossing too pic.twitter.com/TwdDnW8KYm
— neat thins™ (@emogatsby) March 22, 2020
Made an #LAKings jersey in #AnimalCrossing !!
Gotta rep my boys everywhere pic.twitter.com/UGxKm2oq3h— jayco. (@iiHatejason) March 23, 2020
A few NFL uniforms:
P.S. if you look closely, you’ll notice I am wearing a @TomBrady jersey because Animal Crossing is a fantasy game in which #COVID19 doesn’t exist, and where TB12 never left New England and OMIGODWHYYYY?!?! #ACNHDesigns #AnimalCrossingNewHorizons pic.twitter.com/APD0Mm20Wj
— K.C. Wiley (@wileystylekyle) March 23, 2020
Made my own #TB12 jersey on #AnimalCrossing #Nintendo ..excited!! #GOAT pic.twitter.com/rojposH2P3
— Demetri (@Zorba3) March 23, 2020
Yooo I made a @49ers SBXXIX MVP @SteveYoungQB jersey! #49ers #AnimalCrossing #ACNH #NintendoSwitch pic.twitter.com/GQGdL7b5H3
— ?Matt ? (@thegreatmattsby) March 22, 2020
A couple soccer uniforms:
I made the @fcbarcelona Jersey of the best player in history with in #AnimalCrossing!
And yes, that’s a #Pokemon cap!#NintendoSwitch pic.twitter.com/W1gN3kFMd3— Miguel Santamaría (@migkun) March 23, 2020
So design my own Arsenal jersey in #animalcrossing #acnh #ACNHDesigns after did the jacket earlier. Yea with my name on it. The last thing I need now in the game is a football! #arsenal #gunners #gooners #COYG @Arsenal @adidasfootball pic.twitter.com/alnAHCnEmC
— Les Cannoniers (@thisisyiing) March 23, 2020
A nice Colorado Rockies uniform:
Made the @Rockies home white jersey in Animal Crossing! pic.twitter.com/liehZlLYxN
— legacy3233 (@legacy3233) March 23, 2020
And even eSports outfits:
made an eqo jersey in animal crossing ^_^ a little scuffed but i do have the qr code for it!! pic.twitter.com/VRxNvHKoR0
— ً (@8bitdva) March 23, 2020
@NYXL gotta rep my team with the new jersey <3 #AnimalCrossing #ACNH #NintendoSwitch pic.twitter.com/z0fhC0ewZF
— Mabry (@YiiTraLa) March 23, 2020
The game is largely based on gardening, scavenging, and crafting – not exactly an obvious entry point for sports fans. But they’ve managed to put their fandoms into their tiny islands while they wait for their favorite athletes and teams to return to the real world.
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