THROWBACK THURSDAY Joe Gorga high school basketball photo

In honor of Throwback Thursday let me present The Real Housewives of New Jersey‘s resident stud muffin Joe Gorga back when he was just as much stud but a little less muffin posing in his high school basketball uniform!

The Air Gorga shot was shared by Bravo along with the caption, “Who knew Joe Gorga was a basketball hotshot in high school?”

I want to caution everyone against taking a casual glance at this photo — there are soooo many amazing things about it that require a little effort. For instance, I don’t believe high school basketball players were allowed to wear necklaces or rings — even in New Jersey (unless perhaps they made an exception for Air Gorga). Plus, Joe is posing in front of the famous parquet floor of historic Boston Garden, home of the Boston Celtics during the time of Larry Bird, Robert Parish, and Kevin McHale. Also, notice that this is from back when shorts were actually short and that strangely enough, the distance from the bottom of a pair of basketball shorts to the top of a basketball player’s socks hasn’t changed that much over time.

As a special treat, I’ve created a Michael Jordan-inspired Joe Gorga Fleer basketball card! If I ever get his stats perhaps I’ll work up the back too 🙂

Now all we need is the matching Melissa Gorga high school cheerleading photo! (You know that has to exist!)