Truth, Justice, All that Stuff

At the end of the summer, I went to Six Flags New England, finally using the free passes I'd won at the office Christmas party eight months earlier. Stupidly, I wore my T-shirt into the water park, then it cooled off and I was freezing. So I bought a Superman T-shirt at the gift shop to change into.

It's just the standard blue shirt with the "S" logo on the front. I've seen people wearing them all over the place, so it didn't strike me as particulary unusual or amusing. But apparently, the Superman shirt really strikes a chord with people in New York.

I wore it the other day and no less than four people on the street called out comments about it. An old man walked by and said "Hey, Superman! Can you fly, Superman?" Two little kids stopped playing when I walked by and looked to be in awe. "It's Superman!" they said, exchanging glances with each other. Even a homeless guy in a wheelchair called out from across the street, "Superman! Superman! Superman! Got any change for the bus, Superman?"

I'm at a loss to explain this reaction. I don't think any of these people were making fun of me for wearing a goofy shirt, they just genuinely seemed interested in my $15 purchase. I am a mild-mannered reporter who's somewhat awkward, and do have dark hair and glasses, but no one was calling out "Hey, Clark Kent!"

Suggested explanations welcome.