The Richmond Spiders, known in the world of college basketball as the first-ever 15-seed to win an NCAA tournament game (in 1990, over 2-seeded Syracuse), will take to European courts this summer in uniforms featuring the French word for spiders, “Araignées.”
Very cool: Richmond Spiders playing in France this summer, unis will have "Araignées" (that's "Spiders" in French). pic.twitter.com/XRA5h5hqqp
— Paul Lukas (@UniWatch) May 31, 2016
The uniforms were first seen in this tweet from Uniwatch’s Paul Lukas.
It’s not the first time the Spiders have translated their name on their uniforms. In previous European trips, they’ve worn the Italian “Ragni” (2012) and the Spanish “Las Arañas” (2008). The NCAA allows college teams to take international trips every four years, and the 2016 uniforms will carry on this multi-lingual tradition.
I have to admit that I have a personal interest in this story, not only as an alumnus of the University of Richmond, and not only as a four-year member of the pep band who attended every single basketball game during my tenure at the school, but as a person who graduated from Richmond with a major in French. In the words of George Costanza, worlds are colliding.