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Bryce Harper Became Even Bigger Philly Legend With Wawa-Themed Cleats, Headband

A necessary aspect of succeeding as a pro athlete in Philly— support Wawa.

Josh Wilson

Bryce Harper's Wawa headband
Bryce Harper's Wawa headband /

To excel as a professional athlete in Philadelphia, there are a few key tenets that one might want to subscribe to. Don't take critiques personally. Never turn on the fans. Perform well. And maybe: Support Wawa?

Wawa, the convenience store chain scattered throughout the Philadelphia and South Jersey region, is as sacred as a place that specializes in quick hoagies and soft drinks can be. Bryce Harper, who doesn't necessarily need to do much to keep his favor with Philly sports fans, earned himself some surplus brownie points with some custom gear donned during Saturday's game against the Cleveland Guardians.

Harper was outfitted with a headband and cleats that were both Wawa-themed. The cleats, in particular, were great, with the slogan, "Gottahava Wawa" replaced with "Gottahavea Harper."

Here's a better look at the merch, which was made by Under Armour.

Embrace Philly, and it will embrace you back. While the Phils lost 8-0 on Saturday, his cleats alone probably kept his favor rolling with supporters.

Harper is well known to outfit his gear with fun details and personality pieces. Just days ago, the handle of his bat that featured the meme'd gorilla Harambe that was turned into a 1-of-1 trading card was unpacked by a fan. Surely, the Gattahavea Harper shoe patch would be an awesome collector's item as a trading card, too.

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Josh Wilson
JOSH WILSON

Josh Wilson is the news director of the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. Before joining SI in 2024, he worked for FanSided in a variety of roles, most recently as senior managing editor of the brand’s flagship site. He has also served as a general manager of Sportscasting, the sports arm of a start-up sports media company, where he oversaw the site’s editorial and business strategy. Wilson has a bachelor’s degree in mass communications from SUNY Cortland and a master’s in accountancy from the Gies College of Business at the University of Illinois. He loves a good nonfiction book and enjoys learning and practicing Polish. Wilson lives in Chicago but was raised in upstate New York. He spent most of his life in the Northeast and briefly lived in Poland, where he ate an unhealthy amount of pastries for six months.

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