This time of year Wembley is a very busy stadium. The FA Cup final was just played there over the weekend. Battles are being played out among teams trying to fight for promotion. And in less than two weeks, the Champions League Final will be played there. It’s often been called the home of football and has been one of the most popular stadiums over the years. The new version of Wembley was finished in 2007 built on the same grounds as the original Wembley.

I can’t think of too many stadiums in the game that are better known that Wembley. Every fan of the sport has at least watched a game from Wembley on TV, and every kid that grows up wanting to be a pro has dreamed of playing in a Cup Final at Wembley. It’s one of those places that inspires an entire sport. It’s hosted every imaginable game from World Cup and Olympic Finals to Champions League and European Cup finals. It is at the very top of the list of pinnacle stadiums in the world.

To do our best to pay tribute to this hallowed ground, we got together with City Prints to produce this shirt. City Prints make some amazing architecturally inspired artwork and this extends to football stadiums. This is just the beginning of a long term project we are working on with City Prints so stay tuned for more…

The Wembley the-shirt is available in the Bumpy Pitch online store.

On March 22, 2013 we were treated to one of the most memorable World Cup Qualifiers of all time. With the US team in desperate need of a result in only their second match of the Hex, they were facing a very good team at Dick’s Park in Colorado. What looked to be a difficult game anyway, became increasingly difficult as the weather conditions ahead of the game  continued to worsen. The groundstaff at Dick’s were doing their best to keep the pitch clear enough of snow to allow the game to kick off.

As the game got underway conditions continued to deteriorate. What started off as a nervous occasion was going to become even more nerve wracking as playing in these conditions was clearly not easy to do. A goal by Clint Dempsey in the 16th minute gave the US team a little breathing room, but it was a nervous affair for the rest of the game.

This is going to be one of those games that I will forever remember. I will remember where I watched the game. I will remember the conditions that the team battled in. I will remember how badly the US team needed a result that night. And I will remember some of the most iconic images that I have ever seen in a soccer game. With such a memorable game, we had to do something to commemorate the game by. So we came up with a graphic inspired by a certain hairstyle that was created as a result of the inclement weather and the massive amount of snow that fell that night.

3.22.13 will be a date that should resonate with all #USMNT fans for a very long time. Not only did our Hexagonal campaign get on the right track with a very important win, but the weather ensured a night that no US soccer fan will ever be able to forget. This new Bumpy Pitch shirt commemorating that night is now available in the Bumpy Pitch online store.

Our boy Waldo Rules put a little something together to welcome back spring time and the warm months ahead. Waldo holds down some LA hotspots as well as spinning for brands and parties around the country and internationally. If you find yourself in Los Angeles, find where Waldo is spinning that weekend and get out to check him out.

Tracklist

Biz Markie- Spring Again
Pickster-Da Wop
Nick Thayer & Dj yoda-Da Wheel Klamp
Classixx-Holding On (jerome LoL remix)
Anime Edge-Gimme Tha Fonky Ass
Alfa Paare-G’d Up
Chris Malinchak-Get Back
Dan Hartman-Relight My Fire (Funkhameleon Remix)
Jodeci-Freak’N'you (mk dub)
Gabriel Wizard-Just Begun
Branchez-Shake
Salva-Drop That B
Inoj-Love You Down (eSenTRIK Remix)
Valentino Gold-Twerk 4 Gold
Madrid-Ima Work
Huglife-Bvck Bounce
Birdy Nam Nam-Defiant Order (UZ Remix)
Gold Top-Get Your Freak On
Bird Peterson-Big Clappy Motherf*#$er
Beatnuts-Do you believe

We’ve been getting a lot of emails recently about Bumpy Pitch product. Folks have been asking when certain items will be back in stock and when we will be dropping some new items. Fact of the matter is it has taken us to loooong to get product back on the market. We apologize for that. Truth of the matter is we are a small company and unfortunately we had some glitches with production. But we’re back. We have some favorites returning and some amazing new products in the pipeline.

First up, are a couple sweatshirts perfect for the cool spring days we are rolling into. We have a lighter weight vintage red hoodie with a small BPFC Laurel Crest on the chest (which dunny is admiring above) as well as our classic crew sweatshirt. Athletic grey with a tonal BPFC Crest.

These are just the first new releases we will see in a year full of some really amazing product in the pipeline. Both the hoodie and the crew are now available in the Bumpy Pitch online store, and both are being offered in limited quantities. We get emails everyday asking about quantities, and these will both be around for a limited amount of time. If you’re up for either, don’t sleep. Get on it now!

Grab them both in the Bumpy Pitch online store.

If you haven’t checked out the flash sale site Huckberry, you really need to step things up. These folks are curating some of the best product in the men’s lifestyle field and always have something you want to get your hands on. We’re proud to have worked with them a couple of times in the past, and now we are doing another flash sale with them. They have a handful of Bumpy Pitch styles (I think around that are all discounted to $21.99 per shirt. The sale is limited in nature and ends in less than a week. So head to Huckberry and check out not only the Bumpy Pitch shirts that are being offered, but some other incredible brands as well.

Huckberry

We’re officially deep in the holiday season and things have been hectic around here, as I’m sure they have been for you. I heard one of my favorite Xmas songs they other night which officially put me in the holiday mood. And with so little time left before the big day, and the window for shipping getting tight, we wanted to offer one last opportunity for you to get Bumpy Pitch gear at ridiculously low prices. So for today, Tuesday December 18th, everything in the Bumpy Pitch online store will be available at 50% off regular prices. Inventory is getting pretty low in a lot of styles, so if there is something you have been eyeing. Something you think would make a good gift for the soccer lover in your life. Something you want to get for yourself. Now would be the perfect time to go ahead and get it. Don’t sleep on this one. 50% off means 100% awesome for you!

Use coupon code take50 when you check out to get the deal.

Happy holidays from your friends at Bumpy Pitch and The Original Winger.

It’s that time of year for sales and bargains. The Friday after Thanksgiving almost seems to be it’s own holiday at this point. I’m pretty sure I hear more ads based around Black Friday than I do Thanksgiving. I guess that’s the time that we live in.

We obviously wanted to offer something special as well, but we wanted to do it for the whole weekend. So here is what is going on. On Friday November 23rd, everything in the Bumpy Pitch online store will be 40% off. On Saturday, that discount reduces to 30% and Sunday down to 20%. So if there are some items you have been had your eye on, Friday would be a pretty good day to pick them up.

To make sure you get the discount, enter discount code gobblegobble when you check out.

And from the Bumpy Pitch family to you and yours, have a very happy Thanksgiving!!

As many of you know, October is Breast Cancer Awareness month. Shades of pink surround us in an effort to raise awareness about something that affects way too many people. We’ve seen the movement and are fully behind the awareness campaign and wanted to do something to get involved. So we came up with this hyped limited BPFC Crest t-shirt that is available only during the month of October, and only until it is sold out. To further support the campaign, we are donating a portion of sales to charity in the hopes that our own community will support this cause that is much larger than any of us.

In addition, if you buy this limited edition colorway AND add any other shirts to your order, we will donate a portion of sales from each and every shirt that is included in the order.

We may not be the biggest company on the block, but we do want to help out however we can, and we hope the community at large will help us in this endeavor. This is important to us and we hope that we can have a positive impact on something that has affected so many. This shirt is available exclusively at Bumpy Pitch.

This is a very important time for the Chicago Fire. The club is celebrating their 15th anniversary, and we wanted to help them do that in style. To celebrate this monumental occasion, we worked with the good folks at the Fire on a limited edition t-shirt to commemorate their 15 years of existence which you can see Chris Rolfe wearing above. I would tell you all about the graphic and the inspiration behind it, but instead I will leave it to the folks from the Fire to explain it much more eloquently than I ever could.

“With the 15th Anniversary of the Chicago Fire coming up on Wednesday (the match) and Monday (the date proper) the Fire has collaborated with Bumpy Pitch to create a Chicago Fire themed shirt that represents the history of soccer and Chicago in a unique way. The Municipal Device shirt will retail for $30 in the Chicago Fire Fan shop and online at www.bumpypitch.com with $5 benefitting the Chicago Fire Foundation.

While the 1871 at the bottom of the shirt is an obvious nod to the Great Chicago Fire (and, well, the club’s name) not as much is known about the Y-shaped municipal device, an often overlooked and mostly forgotten piece of Chicago Civic Pride. Below I wax poetic about the municipal device and what this t-shirt means to me.

The Chicago River weaves along the wings of the urban landscape, dodging the looming steel towers and keeping composure as it splits to hug both sides of Goose Island. The deft waters feint past defending bridges, quickening pace when the terrain declines. The North Branch does not hesitate as it approaches the Loop, diving headfirst into the westward Main Stem of the river, deflecting south, flowing as one.

In commemoration of the iconic river intersection, Chicago created the municipal device – a Y-shaped symbol representing the three branches converging at Wolf Point. The mark, embedded throughout the architecture of Chicago, is subtly engrained throughout the city – on the cornerstones of civic buildings, the undersides of bridges and etched into the consciousness along Navy Pier. Although it began as a simple show of two waterways uniting, its meaning has transformed in today’s Chicago.

Over the last 200 years, waves of immigrants have splashed upon the shores inhabiting Chicago’s many neighborhoods. On summer evenings, communities spread cultural pride as street festivals fill the lakefront air. Just as two branches of the river come from wide expanses to join together, the citizens of this city, representing four stars and one badge, become one under the Chicago name.”

Congratulations to everyone at the Fire – past, present and future. Here’s to another amazing 15 years!

More looks after the jump.

Read the rest of this post »

Imagine a gift bag that few people in the world are going to get. This “bag” is a leather weekender style bag filled with an EA Sports branded iPad, some ill headphones, a scarf, some Bumpy Pitch t-shirts and copies of FIFA 13. Now realize that these bags are limited to folks that you pretty much only see on TV, in movies or hear on the radio. That would be a bag that everyone of us wants, but is typically limited to the lucky few in the world. And that’s typically how it goes.

Now imagine if I told you that we got together with the good folks at EA Sports in an effort to offer one of these bags up to one of you. A bag so limited that the winner can count themselves amongst a handful of influential people worldwide that can claim ownership of this bag. Well that is exactly what is happening. EA Sports and Bumpy Pitch are making one of these bags available to a loyal reader that will undoubtedly be the envy of just about everyone that you can imagine. Want to get in on the running…?

Here’s the thing. This bag needs to go to a true fan of FIFA. It has to. The proud owner of this amazing bag needs to rep FIFA on the reg and be a die hard fan. So here is the deal..

You need to take a picture of yourself (or have someone take it) of you playing FIFA. Doesn’t have to be FIFA13, but the photo does need to include you and the game being played. Post that picture on Facebook. Tag BumpyPitch and TheOriginalWinger in the Facebook post. Get your friends to like the post, because whoever gets the most likes on their photo is going to win this bag. And make sure you like the Bumpy Pitch and The Original Winger Facebook pages to make sure you are entered for this bag.

I’m going to go ahead and restate this fact. You want this bag. I want this bag. I can’t have it. But you can. But you need to get involved. Get creative with the photo. Have fun with it. And get your friends to like your photo. Because if you win this, you will be in very fine company in claiming that you are in the circle of a very small group of people worldwide that have one of these.

I hope YOU win this. I really do. And to whomever gets this bag, I envy you. Now go get it!

This contest will close on Monday October 8th.