Hip-hop sparking Expos resurgence (hats, jersey sales WAY up)

[Blue_Tires]

MONTREAL -- It was five years ago this month that the last pitch was thrown at Olympic Stadium, but walking the city's streets these days you might think the Montreal Expos were in the thick of a pennant race. Young men wear Expos caps, jerseys and hoodies, and stores sell earrings and belt buckles with the team's distinctive logo. Walls displaying dozens of different colours of Expos hats greet customers at some sports shops.

"It's mind boggling," said Mike Corcoran, the area sales representative for New Era Cap Co., which is licensed to sell Major League Baseball caps and plans to market at least eight new Expos caps in the coming year. Mr. Corcoran said he is selling more Expos caps now than he did when the team was on the field, estimating that sales have jumped by 20% in the past two years.

For the most part, though, the people spending up to $50 for the hats are not nostalgic baseball fans. The current Expos craze has been sparked by local hip-hop artists who have adopted the red-white-and-blue logo to proclaim their Montreal roots.

"I'm pretty sure most of the people you see wearing the baseball caps, ask them to name three players from the last Expos season and they won't be able to tell you. It really has nothing to do with the sport," said Darleph Cazeneuve, a journalist and radio host who goes by the name Goofy Welldone. He has been covering the city's hip-hop scene for 10 years.



Read more: http://www.nationalpost.com/story.html?id=2009588#ixzz0SnI7rdLG

[Tommy_Carcetti]

1. Unfortunately, hip-hop artists then forced to trade in their Expos caps for Nationals caps.

:P

[TZ]

4. Better that than an Orioles cap

How many did they just lose in a row 15?

[Tommy_Carcetti]

5. I'll have you know they just broke their 13 game losing streak yesterday, now.

If we can just sweep the Blue Jays, we will avoid the indignity of a 100 loss season. Woo-hoo! Go O's.

Hey, at least Maryland has the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs.

[Initech]

6. Oops - wrong reply button

[Swede]

10. That's spelled NATINALS.

and don't you forget it.

[Blue_Tires]

11. nats caps and jerseys are HUGE locally...

[Arugula Latte]

2. So there's no more team called Expos? ... I guess that shows how closely I follow sports.

I never heard that.

[TZ]

3. They have been the Washington Nationals since 2003 I think

[Tommy_Carcetti]

8. **AHEM** TZ, you may want to check this out.

http://www.heimermann.us/showthread.php?tid=70

It's quite enlightening.

[TZ]

9. .

:rofl:

[Initech]

7. They had an Everything Must Go sale after the 2003 season

The Angels picked up Guerrero and Colon in the process.