If you’ve ever spent much time in Tennessee, then you know it beats to a different drum. Some people may know it for it’s hospitality, delicious food, and Bible belt status. While others may see it for it’s troubled racial past, it’s musical roots, and slower moving culture.

Tennessee is surrounded and bordered by 8 states, sharing the most borders of any state in the Country. From the muddy Mississippi River of Memphis in the southwest corner to the banjo strumming Country Music Capital of Nashville in the center to the Great Smokey Mountains near Knoxville in the northeastern part, it’s a state proud of it’s musical heritage, breathtaking vistas, and football.

That’s right, American football is taken very seriously. From the time the kids can run, they begin playing the national sport in their neighborhoods and schools. Balls are passed, bodies are tackled, and parents are cheering in the stands. Many families will be linked to football in someway and it’s not unusual for the fans to wear their favorite College or NFL American Football T-shirts or Jerseys on game day.

High school football is also extremely popular and competitive. It’s a time-honored tradition for students, parents and faculty to support their teams on Friday & Saturday nights. Rivalries between schools add even more fuel to the competitive fire. The stakes are high, as the teams compete each week, with the goal of having a winning season and making it to the State Championships.

For most players, their competitive football days will be over at the end of the season, their senior year. Of course, there will be a few athletes who will go on to play College Football and even fewer who will end up as professional athletes in the NFL.

This year the Academy Award winning documentary “Undefeated”, touches on this and shows us the incredible story and journey, about a Memphis inner-city high school football team and their dedicated coach, who tries to help the players be the best they can be on and off the field. If you’ve never been to Tennessee, it’s worth the visit for the food alone. But if you want to have an even deeper appreciation for the local culture, head to a high school football game and you won’t be disappointed.

Make sure you keep an eye out for the cheerleaders. They’re just as competitive and some even more so, than the football teams they support. In the south, cheerleading isn’t just about supporting the team, it’s far more than that. It’s a competitive sport!

Extreme sports of the 1970’s & 80’s are no longer viewed as, well, that extreme these days. Back then, snowboarding, skateboarding, BMX, and motocross, were relatively new on the scene, and not always welcomed with open arms. There was even a time when snowboarding was banned on most mountains.

If we flash forward to 2012, they’re actually considered quite the norm, especially in a day and age where just about everyone is looking to do something crazier and even more death defying than the next.

The X games have been going on since 1995 and have grown increasingly in popularity over the years. Each year there are two X Game tournaments held, one in the winter and another in summer. This is an event where the top athletes get together and compete in these action sports, each year pushing the extreme to a new level.

The Summer X Games include various events in BMX, Moto, Skateboarding, and Rally Car Racing. The Winter Games feature Snowboarding, Skiing, and Snowmobile. Each event includes various competitions from Skateboard Big Air to BMX Freestyle Street to Snowmobile Best Trick, to Snowboard Super Pipe and the list goes on.

Past events have included several forms of Inline Skating, Bungee Jumping, Sky surfing, Street Luge, Climbing and many other non-traditional sports.

Of course, not all extreme sports find their way into the X Games. Let’s take Roller Derby for instance. It’s Roller Skating to the extreme. This sport has been delighting audiences for years. It’s rough, it’s tough, and it’s fun, and growing increasingly in popularity by the minute. It’s not for everyone, and certainly not for the faint of heart, but it’s banked on tradition and here to stay.

Whether you’re more of an extremist or traditionalist when it comes to sports, doesn’t matter to us. Do what makes you happy and express yourself. If you want to celebrate what you love to do, we’ve got all types of sports T-shirts for you to choose from, including cool Roller Skating T-shirts. So come on. You know you want one.

Music transcends cultures and generations. It has the ability to move us and define us. We identify with music, old and new, and continue to respect the classical and classics while pushing the envelope and creating new styles and sounds for generations to come.

What we listen to can say a lot about who we are. While it separates us, it also brings us together. Live music is a wonderful way to connect with others. Of course, going to a show where you love the music, can be a life changing experience. You connect with the music and the people around you. But going to a live show where you’re not as familiar with the music or you’re not particularly fond of it, can be eye opening and unforgettable.

Ever been to a Music Museum? If you want to have some fun and learn even more about the history of music and the musicians behind it, there are many wonderful music museums all around the World. There are over 60 music and musical instrument museums just in the United States. In Tennessee, alone, Memphis has the Stax Museum, Graceland, Sun Studios and the Rock’n’Soul Museum on Beale Street. Nashville has the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum and is currently building the National Museum of African American Music, and Pigeon Forge near the Great Smokey Mountains, has the Southern Gospel Museum and Hall of Fame as well as the Rainbow Museum showcasing Dolly Parton.

Some of the other popular music museums across the country include the Grammy Museum in Los Angeles, California; the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio; the American Classical Hall of Fame and Museum in Cincinnati, Ohio; the EMP Museum in Seattle, Washington; the Delta Blues Museum in Clarksdale, Mississippi; and the National Music Museum in Vermillion, South Dakota. This list is in no way complete and barely touches upon all of the wonderful and unique music museums that transport us into a world of site and sound.

Music connects us to the world. If you keep your ears and mind open to all kinds of music, it might just surprise you! You never know. One day you could find yourself in Beauford, South Carolina and stumble your way into the Kazoo Museum. What a trip that would be!

The next time you want a T-shirt to match your musical taste, we have designs to suit just about every personality. If you love hip hop music, we have an “I Love Hip Hop” T-shirt in a variety of designs. Or maybe you love country or jazz or rock’n roll, whatever you like, we’ve either got it in stock or we can make it for you.

I absolutely love March. The fact that spring is coming is great, St. Patrick’s Day was fun, but what really gets me excited is college basketball. The Conferences across the country have all come to a close and teams fight it out for an automatic bid to the NCAA Division 1 Men’s & Women’s Basketball Tournament. The top teams during the season are more concerned with their placement in the tournament, than if they’ll get a spot. So for them their seeding is the most important thing on their minds. Which brings me to back to the Regional Conference Championships. If they win theirs, then it certainly won’t hurt their seeding in the big dance.

Once the seeding has been determined, thousands of people across the country fill out their brackets, to attempt to correctly select all of the matchups between teams. Some people study the 64+ teams and their percentages and try to make a logical pick between the two, while others just randomly guess at whom they think might emerge as the winner. Most of us do both. Rest assured there will be upsets, Cinderella’s will emerge, and dreams will be crushed for most players and fans.

Whether you gamble on your bracket with money or you just play to have fun and possible bragging rights, almost everyone who is into College Basketball is obsessed with their brackets. Which is, of course, what makes it so incredibly fun.

March Madness is now in full swing. 68 teams will have played and by the end of Sunday evening only 16 teams will emerge to play on. Most brackets will be busted and tossed, but for the lucky few out there who picked or guessed correctly, they are still in it to win it. For the rest of us, we’ll all get a second chance pick bracket and hope we do better this time. With only 16 teams left, we have better odds to pick the winners, right? With the Sweet 16, Elite 8, Final 4, and the Final match up between the remaining two teams, what could possibly go wrong?

You know at Idakoos.com we have a great selection of T-shirts. For those of us who are incredibly picky or know exactly what we want, we also make custom T-shirts. You give us the design and we’ll put it on your T-shirt of choice. Unlike your bracket, you don’t have to guess what you’ll end up with, you’ll know what you picked is exactly what you’ll get. You don’t have to gamble with us!

If you’ve ever been backpacking across Europe, South America, or anywhere for that matter, then you know how exciting a time that can be. Experiencing foreign cultures, using new languages, and eating different cuisine are only a part of what you most likely experienced.

Maybe the goal for your travels was to see as many countries as possible. You spent a week in one country, hopped on a train and woke up the next morning in another. You wanted to experience as many cultures, landscapes and cuisines as you could. Every time you turned around you were encountering something new. From the parades in the morning to the protests in the afternoon to the block parties in the evening, it was all about the experience

Perhaps you weren’t in a rush and you spent three months in one country. You delved into the culture and language, getting to know the people and their customs in a more intimate way. You took weekend trips to discover more of the country, but you were based in one city. After a while you felt like you knew the place, like you could stay forever.

One thing is probably true for both types of travelers, you most likely didn’t have enough room in your pack for everything you wanted to buy. Maybe it was that Flamenco guitar from Sevilla or the Moroccan rug from Fes or that Yalova T-shirt from Turkey. Whatever it was, you’ll always have the memories.

Of course it’s possible that one day, you may return to that place and purchase the passed over item…but it’s more likely, if you’re still thinking about it now, you can just as easily purchase it online.  At Idakoos.com we might not be able to help you with the guitar or rug, but we can definitely help you with the T-shirt.

From the seaside boardwalk, to the grass-covered playground, to the comforting environs of your own living room, games have entertained the young and the old for generations. Whether you’re 2 or 102, games are a great way to have some fun, with your friends or by yourself. They can keep us entertained for hours.

In Santa Cruz, California, you can play games of skill and chance, while walking down the boardwalk. The environment is festive and sweet smells of fried goodness permeate the air. So why not test your fate and compete with your friends for bragging rights. For a few dollars and the chance for a prize, you can throw a dart at a balloon or toss a ring onto a bottle top or have someone try to guess your age or weight. Whether you win or lose, it was still fun to play a game or two, and hey, maybe you’ll end up lucky and spend the rest of the day dragging around a pink teddy bear as big as you.

Do you remember when you used to play hide and seek or kickball on the playground during recess? Or maybe you’d play on the swings or chase each other across the field. It was a great way to get rid of that excess energy that was driving our teachers nuts, but it was also a great way for us to stay healthy and in shape.  I bet a lot of you still play these games…and if you don’t, well you should. Many cities have kickball and dodgeball leagues. They’re great ways to meet new people and play social games together.

Playing games at home is also a great way to have some fun, socially with others or alone. From board games to video games to solitaire, games at home can be played at anytime in any season. So the next time you’re bored and can’t think of anything to do, fear not. Give yourself over to a game and have some fun! If you do end up forming a competitive kickball team or trivia group and you need t-shirts to represent in. You know we’ve got your back. Show your love for the game and get your team, group and game t-shirts here.

Many people in the United States love to love things and we love to put that love on T-shirts and tote bags and mouse pads. We like to let other people know what it is that WE love. We like to express ourselves and we love having some fun with it.

For example, when you are in New York City, it’s impossible to not come across an “I Love NY” T-shirt in a store window or actually on someone. NYC has been showing itself some big apple love for many years.

If you’re in L.A. or more specifically Hollywood, you’ll find everything from the likes of  “I Love Actors, therefore I Love Myself”, “I Love L.A.” to “I Love the Stars”. It’s a sunny city filled with big dreams!

We also love to show our love for our Pets. In specialty Pet Stores you can find T-shirts that say things like “I love my Beagle”, and “I love my Pony”, or even “My cat Loves ME”.

If you love something and you want to share it with the universe, but you don’t want to leave your house to get it, then we can help you! We have a huge selection of T-shirts to choose from, but if you have something else in mind, we can make that happen too. You create the design or logo and we’ll put it on our high quality T-shirts. So what are you waiting for? Express your Love!

When I was a kid, I remember watching the old black & white Martial Arts movies. I remember being fascinated with everyone flying around the screen and thought it was so funny how the dubbed English voices sounded.

My brother and I used to run around the house practicing our Kung Fu and Karate moves on one another. We would jump from the couches screaming at the top of our lungs, while doing karate chops and leg kicks. We thought we were really cool.

My bro took it one step further and joined a Taekwondo class. This was serious business. Not only was he learning new moves to show off with, he was also learning a unique sense of discipline that only the Martial Arts can teach. His interest in his new found sport lasted a couple of years, before he moved on to something else.

Little did me know at the time, that we were actually mimicking different Martial Arts forms from the Chinese, Korean, and Japanese cultures.  To us, it was just another way we pretended to fight each other and drive our parents nuts.

If you want to pay homage to your favorite martial arts, why not display it proudly on a T-shirt, Sweatshirt or Hoodie. We can make you an Aikido T-shirt or Judo Hoodie or even a Wrestling Sweatshirt. Whatever Martial Art or Sport you’re into, we can represent on fabric.