Electronic Entertainment Expo

This was a souvenir gift from my mom years and years ago, either back in college or high school.
The Electronic Entertainment Expo has a strict over 18 only rule that was a major dream crusher for me for several years. I really wanted to go to that and the equivalent of the now Tokyo Games Show which was called Shoshankai at the time. My mom somehow got a press pass to E3 and I asked her to go and get as many pictures, swag and information as she could in the short time she was there. She actually bought this shirt for me and I was so happy.
It's your standard trade show/souvenir shirt. The same average fabric and a three color print job. Recently I have been showing off my breast pocket logo shirts and this is another in that category. After talking about them for awhile I realized that they really aren't that great. They are a bit classy and can blend in with more professional shirts but the simple truth is that they have smaller logos. I think I would like this better if it has the same logo but bigger and dead center. The ink is wearing but that just adds cred.
The structure of this is really basic but the event may take a bit of explaining. The breast pocket image is the event logo. "E3" in a three dimensional perspective and the words "Electronic Entertainment Expo" circling around them. Below that is the website "www.e3expo.com" and the location "Los Angeles - California". The back is why you buy the shirt; it says "I play games". That's it, that's the whole shirt. Yes it is obvious. but that is all it needs. There are a few pieces that you have to put together to make a deeper connection here. The E3 conference is an invite or industry only event which takes place every year. It is probably the biggest one of its kind in the world and I would say that it is a privilege to attend.
If you "play games" and have this shirt it means some serious stuff. What I want you to understand about this shirt is that I am serious about the gaming lifestyle. Around industry professionals this shirt is kind of passé because everyone can just go, it's free and it is taken for granted. For those on the outside, E3 can be a holy ground for all things awesome and win. I'd like to think I still hold E3 in that regard of the gaming promised land. I pick this shirt out after beating a game on "INFERNO" or staying up for 2 days straight camping a spawn. It makes me feel like this is what I am here for today, I play games, that is who I am.

When I first got this shirt, before I was even of age to walk in the door, I felt like I had to live up to it's message. Little did I know that it was a sign of things to come. It helped me follow my dreams. Even when I was playing my first Nintendo Entertainment System games I knew I wanted to be a part of this. I thought the job of "game tester" was just about the coolest thing in the world you could do -though I now know some people who would rather work at Ikea than testing-. This shirt helped keep my passion for gaming alive. And more recently, my dream of actually attending E3 was finally realized. It was everything I had ever hoped for and more. This was a milestone on what is bound to be a long career, if not a lifetime of gaming. Thanks.