When I get bored -- which is frequently -- I browse eBay for Orlando Magic goodies. Today, something truly unique caught my eye: this authentic Dwight Howard jersey. Notice anything unusual?
Oh, it looks legitimate, and it may be. The dazzle fabric used on those jerseys must be hard to fake. But here's what gets me: the Magic ditched that design two years before they drafted Howard in 2004. And when the Magic choose to wear throwback uniforms, they go with ones from the pinstriped era. All these facts lead me to wonder just where the heck the seller got this jersey.
There's also this Howard throwback jersey, which looks suspect because the number font doesn't match up with the actual on-court model. Ordinarily, such incongruity wouldn't worry me. However, since the seller bills these jerseys as authentic, I am a bit alarmed.
The weirdness isn't limited to the Magic, though. The seller also offers this Allen Iverson jersey and this Carmelo Anthony jersey, also with a design that predates those players' respective arrivals in Denver.
I'm not calling the seller a fraud -- after all, s/he does have 98% positive feedback -- but these jerseys do indeed raise a few questions. What do you guys think? Are they real or fake?