Never did I imagine that one day they would become available for purchase by the general public!

There's been alot of junk produced to mark the team's 100 year anniversary, some of it downright embarrassing. Two 100 anniversary logos have donned everything short of caskets and condoms. But for me, there's been but one desired object since the day I first saw it.

Of course, prices for the various vintage sweaters are an insane $139 buckaroos plus tax, so this bargain hunter passed on this item, especially as coin is at a premium in the household, with two kids, a wife and a money sucking '97 Honda Accord that I refuse to part with until it hits 400,000 clicks (only 67,332 to go!).

Now when money is tough to come by, the best Christmas gift can be nothing else. This year, my parents figuring I could use it more than anything else at the moment, gave me a crisp hundred dollar bill with the intonation as always that I do something wise with it.

Ha!

So I wake up Saturday morning, slightly hungover and stuffed with way too much bird, and slide off into the freezing rain to clear the ice off the old Honda. That done, I get in and turn the key.

Once. Twice. Nothing.

After much trial, tribulation and troubleshooting, my expert verdict says fuel pump, gas line or filter on the fritz.

Great, but how do I get to La Capsule Sportive?

A few hours later, I'm in my bosses fan, heading up for a coffee with my wife before getting the groceries done. We're talking about the four wheel dud in the driveway that won't get fixed until Monday. Common sense blurts out that the hundred bucks really ought to go towards fixing the car, but I add my own asterisk, suggesting that if there is a killer sale on, I cannot possibly pass up the chance to get the sweater of my dreams at a discount price.

At this point, my pessimism still believes that these $150.00 beauts aren't likely to be marked down. I drop my lady off at Food Basics and off to Capsule Sportive I go.

From the top of the escaltor, I see a sign: "50% off all store items!"

From the front of the store, I don't see my sweater. At the rear of the store, there is but one left high up on a rack above my head. I hail the clerk, and grill him!

"Last one?"

"Yup."

"Sale lasts how long?"

"Today. 5:30."

"Layaway?"

"Nope!"

"More coming soon?"

"Not sure."

"How much with tax?"

"$79.10."

"Got a ladder?"

The best part? My wife understands. She knows that perhaps once a year I'll put all obligation and responsibility curbside and buy an item to simply please myself.

And if leaving the Honda sit dead in the driveway an extra day is all the suffering incurred, so be it.