Did I just see a Ukranian football player wearing a sports bra?

[FranTastic444]

I was full of beer, so maybe that explained things. I'd started off around noon with a colleague drinking beers in a sports bar around the corner from the TD Garden as we watched England beat Germany in the European Championship. After England won the game there was a fairly large contingent of Brits who wanted to party and the drink was still flowing freely as the next game came on the screen. We had an interest in this as whoever won out of Ukraine and Sweden will be playing England on Saturday.

Deep into extra time, Artem Dovbyk scores the winning goal and whips off his top as part of his celebrations Did my eyes deceive me, or was that man wearing a sports bra?????







And an explainer here.

As an aside, ,Carl - we ended up in JJ Foleys as we staggered our way back to South Station

[crfriend]

I was full of beer, so maybe that explained things.

I figured there was something to "a Ukranian football player wearing a sports bar", but wasn't entirely sure of what it was until I saw the imagery.

It would appear that somebody's channeling Brandy Chastain in that image.

As an aside, ,Carl - we ended up in JJ Foleys as we staggered our way back to South Station

How is the old place? I've not been there in positively years. I should "chuck a sickie" and head into Beantown for a day.

[Kirbstone]

I'll make a suggestion here: That we reshuffle those letters and stick with the description, 'Sports Bra'

Btw. For my money, I'm so besotted with the game that if they cancelled/banned all football World-wide tomorrow, I wouldn't even notice.

Tom

[r.m.anderson]

Maybe it is a short form of a crop top - "T" shirt -
He is hiding some contra band substance - game enhancement elixir -
Out in the sun and needed to cover the tan lines -
Covering up a disfigured skin injury not presentable for public viewing -
Uniform violation protest of sorts -

Simply he is making a STATEMENT - what it is I don't know !

[FranTastic444]

Ooops - title corrected!

There was a fair crowd in there. Not up to pre COVID levels of patronage, but I’m just glad that the place has managed to stay in business. Let me know if you have plans to visit - would be great to catch up again.

[Freedomforall]

That is a tracker to keep up with vital statistics.

https://sports.stackexchange.com/questi ... ayers-wear

[rode_kater]

This came up first a couple of years ago when they wanted heart monitors and such. The first versions gave complaints about comfort, so apparently they approached bra manufacturers to make more comfortable versions. Obviously they have a lot of experience

[Bart_Allen55]

Many professional athletes, regardless of gender, wear what's known as a GPS tracking vest, which often gets mistaken for a sports bra. These vests hold a GPS device that tracks their performance, movement, and physical stats during the game.

When I first noticed players wearing these, I thought they were sports bras, too, and it seemed odd. I wasn't a fan, thinking they'd be uncomfortable and not worth the hassle. However, that was before I tried a well-made one. The comfort level changed my mind entirely, and you can even get a custom sports bra that lets you choose everything from the fit to the fabric.

[Stu]

Just to add that he doesn't need a sports bra as he doesn't have the breast tissue. I do recall on a local news programme once there was a woman guest being interviewed because she had a comic novel published and it had made a best-seller list even though she was not a professional writer. She said she used to work for a UK department store and was trained to fit women's bras. She mentioned that, in her training, she had been told that she should expect the occasional male customer who needed a bra for himself for one reason or another and she should treat him discreetly and help him just as she would a female customer. The interviewer asked if that had ever happened and she said there was just one occasion in which a mother had brought her teenage son in. He had some kind of imbalance or condition which was causing breast development and was under treatment. He had been advised to wear a "compression vest" (or something like that) and had found it constricting and hard to breathe, so it was suggested to her that he go to be fitted with a sports bra and he could wear that until his body corrected whatever was causing the issue. The poor lad was excruciatingly embarrassed at first, but happily left the store wearing one under his sweater and with a couple more in a shopping bag. I guess this is extremely rare.

[shadowfax]

Just to add that he doesn't need a sports bra as he doesn't have the breast tissue. I do recall on a local news programme once there was a woman guest being interviewed because she had a comic novel published and it had made a best-seller list even though she was not a professional writer. She said she used to work for a UK department store and was trained to fit women's bras. She mentioned that, in her training, she had been told that she should expect the occasional male customer who needed a bra for himself for one reason or another and she should treat him discreetly and help him just as she would a female customer. The interviewer asked if that had ever happened and she said there was just one occasion in which a mother had brought her teenage son in. He had some kind of imbalance or condition which was causing breast development and was under treatment. He had been advised to wear a "compression vest" (or something like that) and had found it constricting and hard to breathe, so it was suggested to her that he go to be fitted with a sports bra and he could wear that until his body corrected whatever was causing the issue. The poor lad was excruciatingly embarrassed at first, but happily left the store wearing one under his sweater and with a couple more in a shopping bag. I guess this is extremely rare.

The lad was probably suffering with gynaecomastia.
This NHS article explains all about gynaecomastia.

Here's the section on puberty in the linked article.
"During puberty, boys' hormone levels vary. If the level of testosterone drops, oestrogen can cause breast tissue to grow. Many teenage boys have some degree of breast enlargement. Gynaecomastia at puberty usually clears up as boys get older and their hormone levels become more stable."

[Stu]

The lad was probably suffering with gynaecomastia.
This NHS article explains all about gynaecomastia.

Here's the section on puberty in the linked article.
"During puberty, boys' hormone levels vary. If the level of testosterone drops, oestrogen can cause breast tissue to grow. Many teenage boys have some degree of breast enlargement. Gynaecomastia at puberty usually clears up as boys get older and their hormone levels become more stable."

Aha! That fits. Thanks for the link.

Stu

[shadowfax]

Aha! That fits. Thanks for the link.

Stu

You are welcome Stu.

Apparently in US English, gynaecomastia is spelt, gynecomastia

[SkirtsDad]

I think it's very interesting the way that the sports world has very different clothing rules, particularly for men, allowing them a type of freedom not necessarily permitted in everyday life. Runners wear leggings/tights, for instance. Cyclists and swimmers shave their legs (and more). And now a sports tracker that is in essence and design, identical to some sports bras, which, incidentally are an external garment, as opposed to a traditional bra.

Whilst on the subject of sports bras, I must say that I am a fan of them. Many can be worn by someone with a flat chest and fashionwise it gives me a cropped top that doesn't float around, which is great for indoor climbing in the warm weather, for instance. I have never really liked to go bare chested, and, although some men do whilst climbing, I really don't think it looks good. The othe place I wear either a sports bra or tight fitting crop top is for pole dancing. Some moves require your waist to be in contact with the pole, so a long top is not really an option, and being upside down requires a top to stay in place.

Anyone else have a practical use for them?

[rode_kater]

I remember this showing up over a decade ago or so with a rugby player, don't quite rememeber. The most interesting bit I remembered was that they were heart trackers that needed to be held in place and after the players complained about how uncomfortable they were to wear, they approached a bra-making business to help them make them more comfortable. They have a lot of experience making them comfortable and so it's not surprising they lot a lot like bras.

[shadowfax]

I remember this showing up over a decade ago or so with a rugby player, don't quite rememeber. The most interesting bit I remembered was that they were heart trackers that needed to be held in place and after the players complained about how uncomfortable they were to wear, they approached a bra-making business to help them make them more comfortable. They have a lot of experience making them comfortable and so it's not surprising they lot a lot like bras.

I think that they have some additional functions nowadays, besides heartrate tracking.
I seem to recall that they broadcast each player's position on the pitch to a receiver on the touchline. After the match, the coaches can assess the data gathered from every one of their players.