Jersday Thursday brings UNC students together over jerseys

On a college campus, when everyone is pumped up and decked out in sports jerseys, it generally means one thing: It’s game day.

But for the past few weeks, this sight has a completely different reputation at UNC — it’s Jersday Thursday.

Jersday began as the brainchild of friends, sports enthusiasts and UNC juniors Chandler Goodson, Lj Mendoza and Nick Cebollero.

“Me and my buddies had a common love for jerseys, and we figured it’d be cool to wear them on the same day and just build a community of people who also love jerseys,” Goodson said.

Every Thursday at 10:50 a.m. on the steps of the Wilson Library, Goodson, Mendoza, Cebollero and Jon Alliss bring all the spare jerseys in their closets to pass out to students and encourage others to do the same. Everyone lines up on the steps, and Mendoza photographs the moment.

Afterwards, the entire group bursts into a rendition of “Happy Jersday to You,” in the tune of “Happy Birthday,” and then everyone returns to their Thursday routine.

Although it is intended to be something simple and lighthearted, Jersday has garnered a significant amount of negative attention.

“We could have responded with anger back at him, but we just decided to invite him,” he said.

Alliss said he is baffled by some of the anger.

“Obviously, you have the other side, where some people are like, ‘I think it’s ridiculous,’” he said.

There has also been speculation that the movement is a primarily religious or Greek-life activity, which Alliss, Goodson and Cebollero deny. All three are involved in Young Life, which isn’t affiliated with Jersday.

“A lot of people assume that there is some kind of deeper meaning behind it, but that’s not it at all,” he said.

They each assert that Jersday is simply something to look forward to during the week.

The original members look forward to seeing new jerseys each week and want to keep the movement positive.

Despite the criticism, Jersday is quickly growing into a campus phenomenon.

Now in its fifth week, Jersday had 97 participants on Thursday, a 54 percent increase from 63 participants last week.

Every Wednesday, Mendoza posts the photo from the previous week on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, using #Jersday to get people excited for the next Thursday. They also retweet anyone who uses the hashtag.

The founders have two goals. The first is to fill the steps of Wilson Library. The second is to get Chancellor Folt to come out and participate. For Goodson, he thinks it’s a way to make a connection.

“I think it’d be a cool way for her to reach out to the student body and connect with us in a way that at least she hasn’t with me before.”

arts@dailytarheel.com