Boston Strong, Chicago Stronger. That is the message that Chicago area based Cubby Tees wanted to convey when they attempted to see a new shirt.
The new shirt the company planned to sell read, “Chicago Stronger”
Fans in Boston rallied behind the idea of “Boston Strong” following the events of the 2013 Boston bombings.
The shirt has since been pulled due to heavy backlash on social media sights. Many people took to Facebook and Twitter to condemn the company for being crude in the wake of the Boston Marathon.
This was posted on the Cubby Tees website: (Any typos, and there are many, are from the Cubby Tees site)
We wish that more had read the description for the “Chicago Stronger” shirt (or that we had more fully expessed it), but that might have let facts/intent get in the way of a good new-fashoned Twitter-lynching and the intertube’s click-generating outrage machine that brought you here. [Congratulations, you just provided $.10 in revenue for someone else profiting from the anger that their headlline instilled in you.] Alas, you’ll find no hate here.Had our initial message pierced the knee-jerk reaction and gotten through to more online folk, they might have recognized the design’s satirical nature that targeted the tasteless exploiters in Boston’s midst rather than any innocent victims. Though we: (a) are loathe to take any action that appears to bow to bullying, and; (b) had hoped that residents of the “Cradle Of Liberty” held a greater appreciation for the freedom of expression (we support you venting your opinions, not so much your threats and insistence on censorship)…we’ve nevertheless pulled the shirt in the interest of harmony between two great cities.
If you have written us because you think that it’s wrong to hijack human misery to promote athletic glory, THEN WE ARE IN AGREEMENT – THAT IS WHAT WE WERE MOCKING WITH THIS SHIRT! Every time we saw a Boston fan say “BOSTON STRONG, F#*K THE YANKEES,“ or “BOSTON STRONG, BRUIN STRONG!” we scratched our heads (and wondered if cheering for our teams made us evil people). We’ve been similarly confused by your emails that first tell us we’re classless, then tell us how disturbingly horrifc the bombing injuries were, then tell us to f*#k ourselves and that you hope Chicago is bombed and that our legs are blown off. For making a tee shirt.
The Blackhawks defeated the Bruins in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Finals in the third overtime.
