Trophies or T-Shirts?

The official basketball season is winding down. Colton's Junior Jazz ended last week, and with the final game came the TROPHY. Everyone in Junior Jazz gets an official trophy and the kids are usually pretty dang excited about them! Back when the kids were playing year round in Gene Fullmer, they would get trophies too ... while everyone would get one, they were different sizes and 1st place was bigger than the others.

Several years ago, when Callahan made the transition from recreational to competitive play, our team did end up in the finals. They weren't able to get the win however, so it was the other team who went home with the prize. It was t-shirts. I remember thinking "oh, just a t-shirt, not even a trophy" ... but I think I've changed my view on that!

The boys have received a number of T-shirts throughout the years. In the picture above, Keaton is wearing the T-shirt given after the Fall Superleague. They were actually 2nd place (but had the same number of wins as the first place team) ... both teams received T-shirts.  I thought they were pretty cool looking!

So while the trophies end up
sitting somewhere on a shelf gathering dust ...

The T-shirts do tend to be worn over and over again,
getting quite a bit of use. 

Even bright green shirts like the ones above.

(Spring Superleague 2012)

The kids have attended several clinics too, and often at the end of those, the kids are given a t-shirt. Again, I've noticed my kids do like them and end up wearing them a lot.  Many of the trophies ended up breaking and getting thrown away ... yet maybe my preference only holds for sports. I can't imagine not having a trophy for the pinewood derby! I don't think a t-shirt would quite have the same appeal there.  Also, if you look up in the picture of Keaton above, you'll see a medal hanging in the background (this was awarded to Callahan for his exemplary grades ... hmmmm, how do medals compare to trophies or T-shirts? WOULD a kid want to wear a T-shirt showing his academic prowess?)

What do YOU think?

Trophies or T-Shirts?