Cavs giveaway today is ugly Christmas sweater T-shirts pic.twitter.com/RRRVfBJf0g
— Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) December 25, 2016
Ugly sweaters have become as inextricable from Christmas as eggnog or, to sports fans, basketball. The Cleveland Cavaliers, hosting the Golden State Warriors on Christmas day, decided to integrate the two traditions of hoops and ugly sweaters with the t-shirts they are giving away to every fan in attendance. On the sweater spectrum, they don’t count as very ugly — actually, they look pretty dang good — but the patterning and font are unmistakable.
Cavs-Warriors is far and away the best game on the yuletide slate, with a Finals rematch combined with the added intrigue of Kevin Durant vs. LeBron James. With J.R. Smith out with a broken thumb, Cleveland will be shorthanded against the most complete team in the league, but with their homecourt advantage, anything can happen. The Cavs are trouncing the East and seem destined for a collision course with the Warriors for a third straight season in the Finals, regardless of whatever happens on Christmas Day.
Who knows, maybe some magic will be in those burgundy shirts. If not, at least there’s a festive and memorable giveaway for fans to take with them along with the knowledge that the Cavs are still defending champs and didn’t blow a 3-1 lead in the NBA Finals with the first unanimous MVP in league history after winning a regular season record 73 games.