I bought an England shirt from @Art_of_Football & now my mother thinks I live a double life

Well, it's happened. I've sold out and agreed to write for Goonersphere again. My price? A t-shirt. Now in my defence it is a very nice t-shirt and I'll get to that in a bit but first I have a bit of a bone to pick. Self-professed funny man and leftist glasses-wearing superfan @thedanielcowan thought it would be funny to address my t-shirt to "Simmy Javile". Haha very funny it's not that big of a deal, except for the fact the person in my house who collects the post is none other than my dear mother.

Now, mummy dearest is of the Indian persuasion and after receiving the package from a chortling mailman she preceded to question me for about 10 minutes on whether I was living out some sort of double life as this "Simmy Javile" and that I was probably bringing shame upon my house.

In honesty, I didn't know what to say and I couldn't remember her being this disappointed in me since that time I told her I wasn't planning on studying medicine or becoming an accountant. It looked hopeless for me, until I had a brainwave.

I asked her to open the package.

She was greeted with a delightfully packed t-shirt. Now I realise I should probably focus on the actual t-shirt, but I have to say, if I was a t-shirt I'd want to be packed by the Art of Football — their willingness to address it to "Simmy Javile" aside (which shows how in touch they are with the modern football fan and our love for a bit of banter) the packaging was almost as good as the content it held. Safe in a trendy minimalistic cardboard box and wrapped in ye olde newspaper with selections of memorable footballing headlines and articles from the past. The beauty of it all had at least helped to calm my dear mother and she was then met with the pièce de résistance. A beautifully clean medium sized t-shirt with a wonderfully crisp print of members of the current Euro 2016 squad.

It was at this moment that she truly grasped the meaning of this T-shirt. She recognised it immediately as part of the Art of Football's "50 years of hurt" collection and knew that piece in particular was made to transcend the pain. Unlike other t-shirts in the range, which served as bittersweet reminders of what-ifs and lost opportunities, this t-shirt, more than anything represented hope.

Hope manifest in the form of 5 players who are sure to be vital to England's hopes. We all know that England are not the favourites this year by any stretch of the imagination. The fact is, we're underdogs compared to the likes of Germany and France who host an array of world class talent. In fact, there are many who have already written us off but what England have instead, is youthful exuberance and the true heart of an underdog. It is apt then that this piece is centred around a certain Jamie Vardy, the king of the underdogs.

If there is anyone that gives us reason to think that the odds can be overcome and that it surely isn't pointless to hope, it's him. This is the essence that is captured by this artistic piece.

Taken aback by the t-shirt I noticed a small tear trickle down the side of my mother's face and I knew that this piece had resonated with her, as I'm sure it will resonate with many others. She wiped away the tear and looked back at me from the t-shirt and said the words I least expected my mother to ever say, "who the blimmin' hell is Simmy Javile?".

http://twitter.com/simplyenigmatic 

You can get your hands on one of the '50 years of hurt' range at Art of Football to support England in your own unique way, pick up a thoughtful Father's Day present or just improve your sartorial standing with one of their stylish Arsenal shirts.

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