In just about any sport, a championship is the ultimate goal. When it does happen, celebration is always in order. One of the most storied ways of doing so is throwing a parade, which typically runs through the heart of the winning city. But before the parade is the post-game celebration, where the players put on NBA Finals or Super Bowl or World Series merch and spray each other with champagne — which tends to mean a champagne shower.
Sure, it’s gone big recently — the Golden State Warriors famously spent $180,000 on their post-game champagne supply in 2017 — but the bubbly tradition stretches way back. There are photos of Larry Bird pouring a bottle over a teammate’s head when he won his first ring in 1981, for example, and examples can be found dating back far earlier in motor racing and other sports.
Champagne, though — which is sometimes acidic, sometimes sweet and occasionally alcohol-forward — burns. That’s why you’ll see most winners, as far back as 2013, wearing ski goggles on the court and in the locker room when in the midst of their champagne supernovas. For the past few years, sponsors would custom-make the goggles so that each player’s pair coordinated with their shoe deal; Danny Green, who won a ring with the Los Angeles Lakers in 2020, for example, wore Puma goggles while most of his teammates wore Nike ones, because he’s paid to wear Puma sneakers.
This year, though, the NBA struck a deal with IMATTA, an Australian maker of private label and licensed eyewear. Under their retail brand, Matador Project, IMATTA created Victory Goggles for the post-game festivities: gold-colored ski goggles made in collaboration with the NBA and ESPN to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the NBA Finals. After beating the Boston Celtics in game six, players on the Golden State Warriors were notified pairs were on standby before entering the locker room to protect their eyes in case of friendly (champagne) fire or flying corks.
These unfortunately won’t be sold to the public, but there are team-specific and NBA-branded versions available online now. And, yes, they really can be used for snow and water sports. They boast a flexible TPU frame and magnetic polycarbonate lenses finished with an anti-fog coating.
