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It's holiday season! And yes, that means friends, family, cold weather, Christmas music, good food and awkward conversations back home with people from high school, but it also means it's time to give gifts.
Lesson #1 of gift giving: Gift cards suck.
If you don't know what to get them to the point that you have to get them a gift card, you're dumb, you don't really like the person you're getting a gift for or you're not that close with them and probably don't really have to get them anything.
So with the gift card out, what should you get them? Something United States related, of course. Your friend or family member watched the World Cup so they're kinda into it, plus they like America, so lean upon that. Maybe they're even a really big fan, in which case this is a gimme.
Here's what to get your friends and family this holiday season:
This is the most obvious one of them all. If your recipient likes the U.S. at all, this will work. Best of all, they're all on sale now and you can get them for $39.99. It will cost you $25 more if you want to put a name and number on it, but that's not too bad either. You're still paying about half of what you normally would.
But whose name and number should you get on them? Assuming you don't know their favorite player, a Clint Dempsey one is the most obvious. He's the Americans' best field player and the captain. DeAndre Yedlin is a good option as the up-and-coming kid, while Rubio Rubin works for your friend who really wants to be a soccer hipster and first on the train. If you want a gimme to be good for years, Michael Bradley is the choice.
If your recipient would prefer a women's team jersey, Abby Wambach is timeless and that jersey will be gold even after she retires. Sydney Leroux is looking like the go-to forward (at least for now) so she works, but Lauren Holiday is probably the Americans' best player and will put on a show if she gets to play her natural position, so that may be your best bet.
Jerseys can be expensive, not everyone looks great in jerseys and they're not always eternal (do you want to be wearing a Jonathan Bornstein jersey right now?). But scarves are good forever. They're practical and useful, so you can wear them out in normal situations, and they're pretty unique to soccer. So get a scarf, let the person wear it or maybe even use it as wall decoration. However it's used, it will be used well.
There's some old person you need to get a gift for who still uses mouse pads and thinks they're cool.
U.S. Soccer shot glass ($5.99)
Do you need a gift for someone who likes to drink? This is your choice. It won't even matter if they like U.S. Soccer or not, they will use these and spread the gospel.
These are relatively cheap, unique and will creep people out. That's important.
U-S-A! U-S-A!