The Official History of Green Shirt Thursdays

Ok, here goes. After the Alumni Race in 2001, Coach Hamel was selling the Prep North Cross Country shirts. Now for those who are not familiar with the St. Louis area or anything of the sort, Prep North is the high school that our coach went to and ran cross country for. It has since closed. Coach Linhares had his high school shirts remade and some of the runners bought them since it is the 'history' of the program since coach modeled his program after his high school coach's program. So Brennan Connor and I both wanted one and we were going to purchase one. We weren't sure whether to buy the green one with the yellow letters or the yellow one with the green letters. Now at the time I wanted the yellow one with the green letters one because Coach had that one. Green was actually a JV shirt at Prep North. But then Brennan told me that we should both buy green ones and then we'll wear them on Thursdays and they will be Green Shirt Thursdays. And so it began....It started off strong and some people were picking up on it. Green Shirt Thursdays soon became a symbol of the newly formed BAMFOs, a faction group within SLUH XC. But there was a bump in the program my senior year (2002) when I left my green shirt in either Kyle Gonnerman's car(minivan/gonnervan) or his house. So for a few months I was without a green shirt. This was the dark ages. However, a few lads, namely Matt Killiany and Dan Flanagan, managed to keep it alive during those months. Finally Kyle returned my shirt to me and we began to spread the word. Here at Truman, we purchased some stylish pea-soup-green shirts and had "Thursday" pressed on the back. They are also size small, so they are nice and tight and the ladies love them. They are all like, "why aren't you wearing your green shirt?" and I am all like "It's Tuesday." So that is pretty much the story. And if that doesn't inspire you to wear a green shirt, I don't know what will. To all the ladies out there, buy a green (preferably tight) shirt and write Thursday across it. Then you will be almost as cool as me. Then you can take a picture of yourself, well it'll be better if you have your roommate, or even Matt take a picture of you and then have the pictures developed and give it to Matt and then he will e-mail it to me and then I will see the support of the greatness of Green Shirt Thursdays. And as most of you know there is a tough date coming up for those of you that only own one green shirt. I luckily have three: my Thursday shirt, my Prep North shirt and my Minnesota shirt that I bought at three in the morning one night in Minnesota this past November. But St. Patrick's day falls on a Tuesday or Wed., so you should wear your Green Shirt on St. Pat's day and the following Thursday. You don't have to worry about washing it because having a green shirt on is more important than having a clean shirt on. And (for the ladies) you can always put on some perfume or something to cover up any unwanted scents. I prefer Curve for Women. And there you have, at long last, the history of Green Shirt Thursdays
By: Kevin Crean
Edited by: Matt Killiany

The collegiate years saw Green Shirt Thursdays grow from its humble beginnings on a cross country team to a widespread following. Many SLUH XC alums took their Green Shirts with them to college and spread the good news of Thursday. I took it as my personal responsibility to get as many people to wear Green Shirts on Thursdays as possible. I began by writing a reminder on everyone's marker board on my floor early every Thursday morning (I had chemistry lab at 7:30, so I was awake before everyone else). People continued to forget to wear their Green Shirts, so I began sending out messages over AIM to everyone on my buddy list to remind them to wear their Green Shirt on Thursday. These are the messages found in this archive. They progressed from short, simple ad slogans to longer, more complex songs over time. For some, even the AIM reminders were not enough. They claimed they had no Green Shirts. In response to this, I designed and had printed (thank you to the good people at the T-Shirt Place who charged me $1.50 less per shirt than they were supposed to) the Official Green Shirt Thursday Shirts. The picture is the design on the front of the shirts. These shirts were distributed to friends and family who in turn gave shirts to their friends and families. They also served as the jerseys for the GST intramural soccer teams at Dayton. Similar stories of success occurred at several other colleges and others are in progress. I even found a completely independent group of Green Shirt Thursday followers. In the post-collegiate years, the messages will continue being sent and posted and hopefully those who have been exposed to Green Shirt Thursdays will take the tradition with them.

Wednesday, November 26, 2008

Thursday Hero

Standing in the rain, with his head hung low
Couldn’t get a ticket, it was a sold out show
Heard the roar of the crowd, he could picture the scene
Put his head to the wall, then with a distant sheen

He saw one Green Shirt, just blew him away
He had stars in his eyes, and the very next day
Bought a beat up T-Shirt in a secondhand store
Didn’t know when to wear it, but he knew for sure

That one Green Shirt, felt good in his hands
Didn’t take long, to understand
Just one Green Shirt, slung way down low
Was a one way ticket, only one way to go

So he started wearin it
Aint never gonna stop
Gotta keep on wearin it
Someday he’s gonna make it to the top

And be a Thurs-day hero, got stars in his eyes
He’s a Thurs-day hero
He took one Green Shirt, Thurs-day hero, stars in his eyes
Thurs-day hero, he’ll come alive tonight

In a town without a name, in a heavy downpour
Thought he passed his own shadow, by the backstage door
Like a trip through the past, to that day in the rain
And that one Green Shirt made his whole life change

Now he needs to keep on wearin it
He just can’t stop
Gotta keep on wearin it
That boy has got to stay on top

And be a Thurs-day hero, got stars in his eyes
He’s a Thurs-day hero, got stars in his eyes
Yeah, Thurs-day hero, got stars in his eyes
With that one Green Shirt, he’ll come alive
Come alive tonight

Yeah, he’s gotta keep on wearin it
He just can’t stop
Gotta keep on wearin it
That boy has got to stay on top

And be a Thurs-day hero, got stars in his eyes
He’s a Thurs-day hero, got stars in his eyes
Just one Green Shirt, put stars in his eyes
He’s just a Thurs-day hero
Thurs-day hero, Thurs-day hero, he’s got stars in his eyes
Stars in his eyes
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Thursday, November 20, 2008

Get into a Green Shirt

Don’t you feel it growin, day by day?
People gettin ready for the news
Some are happy, some are sad
Oh, we got to wear Green Shirts today
What the people need
Is a way to make em smile
It aint so hard to do if you know how
Gotta get a message
Get it on through
Oh now mama, don’t you ask me why

Whoa, oh, get into a Green Shirt
Whoa, oh, get into a Green Shirt
Whoa, oh, get into a Green Shirt
For a time

Well I know, you know better
Everything I say
Meet me in the country on Thursday
We’ll be happy
And well dance
Oh, were gonna throw our blues away
And if I’m feelin good to you
And you’re feelin good to me
There aint nothin we can’t do or say
Feelin good, feelin fine
Oh, baby, wear Green Shirts today

Whoa, oh, get into a Green Shirt
Whoa, oh, get into a Green Shirt
Whoa, oh, get into a Green Shirt
For a time

Like a lazy flowing river
Surrounding castles in the sky
And the crowd is growing bigger
Lookin for the happy Shirts
And I got to let them fly

Whoa, oh, get into a Green Shirt
Whoa, oh, get into a Green Shirt
Whoa, oh, get into a Green Shirt
For a time
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My Green Green Shirt

Cool my brains and soothe my head
Stimulate me, my Green Green Shirt
Sneak into my empty bed
And educate me, my Green Green Shirt...

In the summer in the spring
In public places, my Green Green Shirt
On an island far away
Lemonade with my Green Green Shirt

And when I was down and failing life
You can save me, my Green Green Shirt
And when they said I’m telling lies
You believed me, my Green Green Shirt

And through the noise I heard a song
You were singing, my Green Green Shirt
And when you said that nothing’s wrong
I believed you, my Green Green Shirt

But you were on when I came through
And I remember you
Then someday I will wear you
When it’s Thursday, my Green Green Shirt...
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Wednesday, November 5, 2008

Start Wearing Green Shirts

Start wearing Green Shirts wearing Green Shirts
Start wearing Green Shirts for me now
All your calamities and fits they will all vanish
I promise
It's just a matter of time...

So yeah, Ha!

Start wearing Green Shirts wearing Green Shirts (da da da da da)
Start wearing Green Shirts for me now
All your calamities and fits they will all vanish
I promise
It's just a matter of time...
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