And that made him wonder if he should put on something else.

“I was a little leery about wearing it,” said Brewer, 24, from Auburn Hills. “I didn’t know how people would react.”

That is the question a lot of fans are pondering as Ben Wallace, the formerly beloved Pistons All-Star center, makes his first appearance as a Chicago Bull at The Palace on Sunday.

It has been eight months since Wallace signed a four-year, $60 million contract with Chicago. Based on the reactions of several Pistons fans at Wednesday night’s game, time has done little to soothe the sting of his departure. Some of that has to do with his popularity, some of it with where he went.

But most of it has to do with the money.

“We’ll see if he plays as good as they’re paying him,” said Johnny Cook, 21, of Port Huron, who wore his throwback white Wallace jersey to Wednesday’s game. “He couldn’t stay here for $3 million less?”

The Pistons reportedly offered Wallace $12 million a year to stay with the Pistons, but did not attempt to match Chicago’s offer. Adult fans, to varying degrees, accept that Wallace cashed in for a bigger payday after six years of faithful service with the Pistons.

But Wallace held a superhero aura for younger Pistons fans. They are less ambivalent about his exodus – and less forgiving.

Brewer and his friend, Chris Cannizzaro, 26, of Clarkston, said Wallace made a strictly financial decision, which places them among the most objective Pistons fans. To them, the fact Wallace represented Detroit well while he was here – and never turned on it when he left – is deserving of applause.

“He didn’t leave on bad terms. He wasn’t like Dmitri Young, talking (garbage),” said Cannizzaro, referring to the former Detroit Tigers slugger who recently blasted the Tigers for his release last season. “(Wallace) didn’t do anything wrong. There’s no disrespect there.”

“I hope they ring that bell,” he said, referring to the “Big Ben” gongs that echoed over the PA system following Wallace’s highlight-reel plays.

“I don’t see why people should give him any disrespect,” Brewer said. “He did a lot of good things for this team.”

Brewer remembers when Wallace came to Detroit in the 2000 Grant Hill sign-and-trade deal. At the time, he called Hill a traitor for signing his own big free-agent deal with the Orlando Magic. (Coincidentally, Hill started for the Magic on Wednesday night). He does not view Wallace the same way.

“I didn’t look at the bigger picture (then),” said Brewer. “Now I understand.”

Brewer still could empathize with 12-year-old Carlo Hesano from Farmington Hills. Hesano expects to hear plenty of boos Sunday and he won’t pity the former Pistons star.

“He deserves everything,” Hesano said. “He went for the money, and they made him cut his Fro” – actually, they didn’t make Big Ben cut his hair, but did refuse to let him wear his headband. “He should have stayed here with us. I thought he was a traitor.”

Lynlee Waggoner and Michelle Visser both wore their Wallace jerseys with pride to Wednesday’s game, and they wouldn’t use the “T” word. Still, the two 18-year-olds from Kalamazoo won’t let him completely off the hook.

“He needs to get a little bit of punishment (from the crowd),” Waggoner said, “but just a little.”

The girls said they understand the money was too good to pass up – but the fact he was going to Chicago, the Pistons’ divisional adversary, crossed the line.

“I was really mad because it’s the Bulls, too,” said Waggoner, an infant at the height of the Pistons-Bulls rivalry heyday that spilled into the early ’90s.

“He could have picked a better team,” Visser added. “Coming to a home game here, he’s not going to get support like he used to get.”

That goes without saying. In a city tough on its sports figures, Wallace went from unknown to icon in only six years. Fans proud of their blue-collar reputation embraced his gritty defensive style, and it helped endear him to fans across all demographics. His jersey was one of the league’s top sellers and his “Fear the Fro” mantra during the 2004 NBA title run was approved for T-shirts and merchandise after league officials saw how many fans of all ages and backgrounds came to The Palace wearing wigs and holding “Fear the Fro” signs.

All of which makes the inevitable jeering Wallace will get from some of the same fans Sunday afternoon that much tougher to take – if not for Ben, then his fans.

“It’s going to be hard to boo him,” said longtime Pistons Crew Member, Matt Stebbins, 43, of Linden. ” He was the face of the franchise.”

Stebbin hopes the fans cheer him before the game, but treat him like any other opponent once the ball tips off.

Tre Jones, 32, of Southfield, said the fans will boo Wallace, and they are right to do so. But if he could attend Sunday’s reunion, the mixed emotions would leave him speechless.

In an arena that cheered Wallace’s every step for so long, that alone would speak volumes.

“I wouldn’t say anything. I like Ben Wallace,” Jones said, “but I’m still mad at him.”