A few weeks after Christmas this year, I got a late present—the one I’d gotten myself.

Yep, I got myself a Snuggie.

And because I am, in fact, one of those obnoxious people who’s obsessed with her alma mater, it’s a BC Snuggie.

(Yes, my head is cut off deliberately. I have a bad feeling that putting a picture of myself in a Snuggie out on the Internet is going to come back to haunt me.)

It’s kind of funny—at first, it seemed like the Snuggie was going to go the way of the fanny pack and the scrunchie, things you can no longer wear even ironically. Those ridiculous commercials like the one below made it seemed destined for mocking by pseudo-celebrities when VH1 does I Love the 2010s.

But a funny thing happened—all of a sudden, a Snuggie became something desirable. People were excited about getting Snuggies for Christmas. Facebook statuses like “My roommate and I got each other Snuggies for Christmas!” and “Snowing out…drinking wine and watching a movie in my Snuggie” started popping up. The commercials even started making fun of themselves.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BeM4GMGWInY&hl=]
Here’s my theory: if the Snuggie were a band, it would be Journey—so uncool it kind of became cool. 80s power ballads are as easy a target as blankets with sleeves, and as recently as 2004, you had characters like Luke on Gilmore Girls declaring that Journey freaks him out. But eventually, the backlash developed backlash. Journey was Ryan’s favorite band on The O.C. Dave Eggers reminisces about singing along to “Any Way You Want It” in A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius. “Don’t Stop Believing” has shown up on the Glee pilot, the Sopranos finale, and every major sporting event in between. At this point, if someone dares to be snobby about Journey, you find yourself looking at him with pity. Really, don’t you feel bad for someone who’s never sung a Journey song at the top of his or her lungs?

Just like I now feel bad for anyone who hasn’t curled up on the couch to watch a movie with a cup of hot chocolate and a Snuggie. All hail blankets with sleeves! Don’t stop believing.