Canadian Football Fan Who Only Wore Shorts For 18 Years Over A Bet Finally Wears Pants For The First Time

A diehard Canadian football fan who vowed to only wear shorts until his team won it all got to finally put on pants this weekend after 18 longs years.

Flashback to two weeks ago, and the story of Winnipeg Blue Bombers fan Chris Matthew went viral. His team was just two wins shy of winning the Grey Cup but he wasn’t getting his hopes up just yet. The man had been wearing shorts and only shorts throughout Canada’s absolutely frigid winters for 18 long years.

It began in November 2001 when he was so confident his beloved Winnipeg Blue Bombers would win the Grey Cup that he made a casual bet that he wouldn’t wear pants again until his team won the title. They didn’t. And they didn’t win it the next year, and so on and so forth.

His wife thought he was a total jackass but had come to grips with it:

Despite his team being one step closer to the cup, he said they’ve let him down too many times for him to get too excited just yet.
“If they play as well as they did yesterday, they could beat anybody,” he said.
“If they don’t win, I’m fine. I’ve lived with this now for almost 20 years, I can continue, it’s not that big a deal. For their sake and for the sake of every other Bomber fan, I’d like to see them win.”

His wife, Darla, says she’s past the point of caring.

“I don’t care. He likes it, and I know that win or lose, he likes the shorts. And he complains, but I think he loves the attention,” she said.
“We have been walking down the street when it’s cold out. and I have a fur coat, and he’s in shorts, and people stare. And I just assure them, yes, he’s an idiot.” (via)

Well, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers won it all, my dudes, and he can finally stop wearing shorts to funerals and in the middle of blizzards.

After 18 long years, he finally got to put on pants. The Winnipeg Blue Bombers beat the Hamilton Tiger Cats 12-33 in the Grey Cup Finals and lifelong fan Chris Matthew decided he’s put on these camouflage pants for his first pair in almost two full decades.

https://twitter.com/KellyGerMalone/status/1197241276405436416

His full story is pretty amazing, and a great example of how insane diehard sports fans can be when we’re allowed to let our true craziness show.

I have to imagine that wearing pants is going to feel a little bit weird for a while. Those shorts were his signature look for nearly two decades. He’s going to have to go out and buy a new wardrobe now. Think about how much the pants game has changed in the past 18 years with the rise of smart fabrics and high-performance gear. This is going to legitimately cost him some $$$$.