New Era Deep Cuts - 2 of 365 - Minnesota Timberwolves

Today's New Era Deep Cut is quite unique. There's a bit of a story behind it, but I want to save the full version for another time. So here's the Cliffs Notes version: On April 12, 2007 my apartment was broken into and 32 of my caps were stolen. Yes, that was the primary purpose of the break in. One of the caps taken was my throwback Minnesota Timberwolves fitted. Once I was able to take stock of everything that was taken, I started to rebuild the portion of the collection that was lost. The T-Wolves cap I had was pretty basic, and NBA fitteds were pretty tough to come across, so I held out little hope that I'd be able to replace it. A few months later I did stumble across this one:

To this day, the only cap I own with pinstripes.

A genuine Hardwood Classic Minnesota Timberwolves New Era cap. With pinstripes. This is also one of only two caps in my entire collection to have a white undervisor. One other distinct difference between this one and the other ones I've had is the wordmark underneath the logo. Very unique.

It wasn't really my style, but thinking I'd be hard pressed to find one like the one I had, and desperate to fill a hole in my broken collection, I purchased this one. I can't for the life of me remember what website I got it from, but I was just happy to have a fitted New Era cap with the original Timberwolves logo. I've always preferred my caps more basic, so this one was rarely worn. Eventually I did find a basic throwback T-Wolves cap, which I do wear quite often, and this one was relegated to occupying a spot on my shelf.

As years have passed, I've worn this cap maybe three or four times (including as I write this) and it's really sad because it really is a nice piece. However, it is a reminder of a very traumatic event that struck at the core of something I care about very deeply. So when I look at it, I think about why I own it. At the same time I've learned to appreciate it.

I did manage to reacquire in some form 30 of the 32 caps stolen that night. And with that incident now nearly seven years behind me, I can honestly say I am glad that this cap is a part of my collection, even though I never would have purchased it otherwise.

It's like we collectors say: There's a story behind every cap. This one's just a little more on the tragic side.