Author's note: This is meant to be both serious and light-hearted. 

Lids, a store chain that primarily sells hats, recently released its top-selling NFL jerseys and teams in each state based on sales data from its physical locations. In Wisconsin, the Green Bay Packers were the top-selling team, but surprisingly, Chicago Bears quarterback Justin Fields had the best-selling NFL jersey.

IYKYK...

We are ready to stir the pot today 👀 What surprises you? pic.twitter.com/6MfPnuFj10

— Lids (@lids) February 7, 2023

In February 2022, Lids also released its top-selling NBA jerseys by state, which included some surprising results. For instance, Mike Bibby, who retired in 2012, was the best-selling jersey in Alabama, despite not having any apparent connection to the state. (He played for six NBA teams -- the Vancouver Grizzles, Sacramento Kings, Atlanta Hawks, Washington Wizards, Miami Heat, and New York Knicks -- was born in New Jersey, attended high school and college in Arizona, and coached in Arizona and Texas after retirement.) Additionally, Yao Ming's jersey was the top seller in Montana, even though the state's only Lids store didn't sell jerseys, according to ABC13's Adam Winkler. 

Here’s the NBA’s top selling Player & Team jerseys by state at @Lids this season:

• @KingJames & @Lakers are #1 in 30 states
• @Bulls are best sellers in 8 states
• Retired players are top sellers in 14 states
• Mike Bibby has the best-selling player jersey in Alabama pic.twitter.com/gcsoh921RO

— Nick DePaula (@NickDePaula) February 17, 2022

There appear to be nine Lids stores in Wisconsin in eight cities (Appleton, Green Bay, Madison (two), Baraboo, Johnson Creek, Glendale, Wauwatosa, and Pleasant Prairie). I called each store and spoke to a sales associate/representative. Only four stores had Fields' No. 1 jersey on display (Glendale, Baraboo, Pleasant Prairie, and Green Bay). The Wauwatosa sales associate said they had jerseys on display during the football season, but he refused to give any specific information beyond that. Sketchy, to say the least. The sales associate in Appleton said that the store did not have any Packer jerseys on display and noted that the only presence of a Fields jersey was a return. Both Madison stores do not sell jerseys, and the only Bears jersey on display in the Johnson Creek store was Walter Payton's. 

I reached out to Lids via Twitter direct message to see exactly how many Justin Fields jerseys were sold during the relevant time period. It was a simple inquiry to ensure there was no funny business going on, but I felt like I was on the prairie because all I heard were crickets. I also tweeted at them and, again, received no response. 

It's surprising to see that Fields' jersey was the top-selling NFL jersey in Wisconsin, especially given that Packer fans tend to stay extremely loyal to the green and gold and, therefore, are highly unlikely to purchase a jersey of a rival team, regardless of the player's success (and Fields is not yet at that level). While the Pleasant Prairie location could sell more Fields' jerseys due to its proximity to Illinois, it seems unlikely that this alone would make his jersey the top seller in the state, don't you think?

Notwithstanding that, taking the Lids' data at face value, I believe the limited selection of Packer jerseys on display during the period in question played a role - with the aforementioned stores carrying jerseys for Aaron Rodgers, Aaron Jones, and/or old-time players, based on the information communicated to me - as none of those jerseys presumably dominated over the other, enough to vault one of them to the best seller in the state. If some of the other stars on current the team had their jerseys on display at Lids, such as the likes of Jaire Alexander, Rashan Gary, Christian Watson, or Kenny Clark, I am confident in concluding that Fields' jersey would not even sniff top-selling status. 

The Chicago media celebrating Fields' jersey being tops in Wisconsin failed to acknowledge that (a) the sales data only came from Lids' physical locations and, accordingly, shopping at brick-and-mortar stores is outdated beyond belief, and (b) Rodgers has owned the Bears for the last decade-plus. Above all, the top-selling jersey, for the state of Wisconsin at least, should have a giant asterisk next to it.