Legendary Eastbay Is Closing Down, And A Part Of Our Childhood Just Died With It

Holy hell, do I have some incredibly sad news to report to you here at the Daily Caller.

Sportswear giant Eastbay is closing its doors in 2023. (I know, the sadness is unreal here.)

The company was founded in Wausau, Wisconsin, in 1980 and was a major part of fashion and sneaker culture for years. They’re mainly known for their nostalgic catalogs that featured the most incredible sports merchandise, including the freshest Jordan and Nike sneakers, the latest jerseys from leagues like the NFL and NBA and custom made jerseys you could get with literally any team you wanted. Eastbay has been absolutely incredible for the past 42 years.

Eastbay parent company Foot Locker issued a statement to explain the closure, saying it was “a result of efforts to optimize distribution processes in order to serve” their customers across the country “more efficiently and effectively.”

In other words, the catalogs that made them famous got more and more irrelevant over time as we kept creeping further into the digital age. As a result, revenue has run dry, and they’re now being forced to go out of business — just devastating news.

And even sadder: 200 Eastbay employees will be laid off as a result of the company closing. Awful stuff all around.

Eastbay closing matters for many of us from a different era who ordered the free catalogs because we didn’t have a lot growing up.

I used to take the catalog to school and fantasize about buying the kicks that were pictured. I used to pin up cutouts from the catalog in my room. pic.twitter.com/QtXhu6i3qn

— Michael M. Butler (@mikeviimusic) December 27, 2022

This is some sad shit, dude.

I was more fortunate growing up than @mikeviimusic, and my father — God bless him for it — spoiled me with stuff out of the Eastbay catalog. Every month, I was always excited to get the catalog in the mail and look through the different attire. As long as I got good grades, my dad consistently gifted me with cool ass rewards, and a lot of them came out of the Eastbay catalog. (RELATED: CTE Vs. Playoffs: The Miami Dolphins Find Themselves In An Tough Situation After Rollercoaster Season)

One of the biggest memories that sticks out to me was a customized Duke basketball jersey I got with my last name, “Powell,” printed on the back of it (this was back when I was a huge Blue Devils fan as a kid). Football and basketball jerseys, Nike sneakers, I remember all the flash and dash I got from those catalogs.

This is such a sad day for me.

Rest in peace, Eastbay. You will truly be missed.