The Greatest Comeback Since Lazarus a.k.a. Jersey Thursday

Forgive the cliche title, but I'm just a tad excited. Yes, I'm back. Believe it, people. Let's get to business.

Every Thursday, I want to post a new team's strip that is more interesting than it may first appear. Today, it's AFC Wimbledon's kit (yes, that Wimbledon) commemorating their promotion to League 2, the lowest tier of fully professional soccer in England.

While it may not be much to look at (although it is pretty classy), there's a lot going on here.

For those of you that don't know, Wimbledon FC was a club that existed until 2002 and boasted a little bit of a scrappy reputation in its day (even boasting Vinnie Jones of Eurotrip and Gone in 60 Seconds fame on its roster in the late '80s...He straight rocked folks. Google it.). WFC (like most English clubs) had a devout following and even tasted major glory in '88 winning the FA Cup.

And then, something terrible happened. They were bought up and moved away from southwest London to Milton Keynes, a decent distance north. In fact, it was the furthest distance by some margin that any British club was ever relocated.

While American sports fans can think of about ten different examples of relocation (the Seattle Supersonics of the NBA and the NHL's Atlanta Thrashers (RIP) come to mind), this just does not happen in England. WFC was rebranded as MK Dons (or whatever). Their identity was stripped. Fans started calling them "Franchise FC" (NOT a compliment).

Fans were upset. Really, they were sad. So what did they do with their outrage? Did they riot? No. They decided to be more constructive. They started their own club. Talk about old school kickin' it new school in 2002.

And now that club, after starting out semi-pro (VERY semi-pro) has made several promotions back into the world of fully-professional football (if you can call League 2 that).

Keep your eye on AFC Wimbledon this year. Who knows, one day, they might face their franchised brethren in league play. The lower leagues are treacherous waters, but the potential clash (which ALMOST happened in last year's FA Cup) would certainly be an...uh...awkward one.