It's March 17th, and that means that all over the world people are wearing green and absolutely butchering the word 'sláinte' as they toast to this little island.
You'll see some absolutely ridiculous stuff too. Whether it's the unforgivable mistake of calling it 'St.Patty's Day' like a mind-blowing amount of people on Twitter and Facebook have already done, or a giant leprechaun hat you'll see all over Temple Bar, as nice as it is to see green everywhere as people celebrate Irish heritage, sometimes it can go badly wrong.
Over in the States, the big leagues, or major leagues to use their actual name in some cases, usually adopt a green theme for a bit of fun and to milk more cash out of the fans, so we've had a look around to see what is acceptable, and what kind of isn't.
Thankfully this year there was nothing too outrageous, here's what we've found:
NHL:
The NHL are going pretty ridiculous with it. First up, the Toronto Maple Leafs are going old school with their 'St.Pats' throwback jersey, which would have been a big hit with St.Patrick's Athletic fans in the League of Ireland if it wasn't in Shamrock Rovers colours.
Also on display is this tartan number which just screams 'I've got a tattoo in Gaelic but have no idea what it means'.
This celtic job was displayed by the Ottowa Senators last night if you want to see how it looks on ice.
That's assist #50 on the season for the captain. ? pic.twitter.com/UtuDSmJIuR
— Ottawa Senators (@Senators) March 17, 2017
Verdict: Pretty ridiculous, but not overboard.
MLB:
Major League Baseball may be in pre-season currently, but that hasn't stopped a number of teams from putting out lines of Irish-themed gear.
For the most part, it looks great. The highlights are undoubtedly this beautiful Boston Red Sox jersey:
Or, if you like a different type of Sox, the white of Chicago is also pretty nice with the green pinstripes.
And last but not least, this Washington Nationals jersey is also rather tidy:
Verdict: Not ridiculous, just nice.
NBA:
In previous years we've seen large-scale roll-outs of green jerseys, and green sleeved jerseys, but this year the NBA have taken an entirely different approach by having the Bulls and the Celtics wear green socks.
Celebrate St. Patrick's Day with the @stancehoops limited edition on-court socks!
Available now: https://t.co/WIQFpM5Mh4 pic.twitter.com/ckxsbAwTuJ— NBA (@NBA) March 14, 2017
That's it, a pair of green socks. Not every team will be wearing them either, so a very low-key look from the NBA.
Verdict: Strange, but at least their not forcing it too much.
NFL:
March is NFL off-season, so while everybody is losing their minds with mock drafts there is no time for green gear.
But this tweet from the Minnesota Vikings was pretty amusing:
No green for us.
Not today, not tomorrow, not ever.#Skol— Minnesota Vikings (@Vikings) March 17, 2017
Verdict: N/A, the perfect sport if you can't stand Paddy's Day.
Overall winner:
MLB.
It has to be. Only certain teams, and it seems only to be teams from particulalry "Irish" areas, are getting involved and when they are, they're doing it right.
