The "Wear It Wednesday" theme was sports.

We like to think that we foster a healthy appreciation of sports in our house, nothing fanatical. We have favorite teams and favorite sports, namely Buffalo teams, hockey, football, baseball, the Orangemen, and, of course, the New York Yankees. That's the extent of our devotion.

My expectation is that the boys receive a wide exposure to sports in PE at school. And again at camp. But, apart from these and weekly swim lessons at the Y, they don't participate in sports. Certainly not on organized teams. They are just too young for that to be beneficial to their development.

We have very little sporting equipment at home. Jeff just bought a glove and ball last week, our first. No bats. A neighbor gave us some used roller skates. They each have bikes. Kick balls. Frisbees. I think that someone gave us a basketball but we haven't a net. They enjoy throwing tennis balls around when they come across stray ones at the local park. But they don't have rackets. I would happily take them ice skating or downhill skiing anytime they want. And, in fact, I will take the younger one to putt-putt golf next week for his birthday.

So, what to wear for "Wear It Wednesday"?

I browsed Kids' Foot Locker when I was at the Mall Monday getting my iPod fixed. I thought a team jersey would be alright. I recoiled at the $50 pricetag. No wonder I have never bought one of these things. I asked the clerk, "Is this jersey really $50?" She checked the price in the cash register and replied, "Nope, it's 55 dollars."

So, to the Nike Store Outlet in nearby Jackson.

There was an SU jersey for $12 but it was a men's medium. Too big.

In the kids' section, only Knicks merchandise. The choice was between Sprewell and Frazier. I asked a male sales clerk, "Which one is cooler now?"

He said, "Sprewell is past his prime. Frazier is a classic." Since I noted that he played in the 70's, I figured he no longer has the opportunity to embarrass himself or my kid who's wearing his jersey. And I figured that the kids at camp wouldn't have a clue about him. My other concern is whether Sprewell is still a Knick. And I see that he isn't.

Then, I had an old Yankees hat that a friend/fan had given me a long, long time ago.

So, Kenny went to camp wearing the cap. He would not wear the jersey because it was too big. I told him that athletic jerseys run big. He stashed the jersey in his camp bag just in case. But we really had quite an argument about it because he told me that the "teams" were supposed to be only Mets or Yankees. Or at least baseball teams. Not basketball. What was I to do?

At the end of the day, he told me that it was a contest to see who could wear the most sports-affiliated stuff. The kid who won had jersey, hat, sweat bands on head and wrists, socks, and I don't know what else. The kid won four tickets to a Mets game, seated "five feet from the grass," as my six-year-old tells it. I'm like, "Yeah, but they gotta go to Shea!" My husband was like, "And what was first prize?!"

Still, it sounded like a decent prize.