Based on this conversation between Will and Rider on Pod Meets World. Apparently, Michael Jacobs confirmed this theory at some point.

Will: The Jacket! The leather jacket!

Rider: It needs its own theme song. Can we get a theme for the jacket?

Will: I was like Eric wore it first and he's like no…That's the jacket. I've been saying it for years.

Rider: It's the famous leather jacket. And this is how it makes its first appearance. And it was Erics first. It fits you so much better. Like it actually fits you. It was big on me. Like I remember it feeling big on me all the way through seven seasons.

Will: Because it was mine. It fit my body better and your character better. Yeah. Absolutely beautiful jacket.

Danielle: The jacket that was then stolen out of Riders car.

Cory and Shawn were in the Matthews' living room prepping for a movie marathon. They'd planned to watch Leprechaun but got busted trying to sneak the movie in by switching VHS covers with Free Willy. Now they were stuck actually watching Free Willy. However, the popcorn, soda, and candy made it so that it didn't really matter what was on screen. They'd be in a sugar coma before the opening credits ended.

Just as the boys were about to push play, Eric and his best friend Jason charged into the living room excitedly talking over each other. They stopped right in front of the tv screen to continue their conversation.

"Could ya move?" Cory cried waving his hands to the side, trying to shoo his brother out of the way.

"Why are you here?" Eric demanded in annoyance.

"I live here," Cory shot back. "You're in our way."

"No, you're in our way and you're gonna have to leave."

Jason, who been staring out of the window by the front door, looked over his shoulder. "What's wrong now?"

"It's just Cory and his friends messing up our plans like usual."

"Friends?" Shawn whispered to Cory as he looked around. He didn't see anyone but himself in the room. He dropped his chin and said secretively. "You didn't invite Angus, did you?"

Angus "Gus" was a "friend" the boys made up in first grade who frequently caused a lot of trouble. Or at least took the blame for the trouble they were at the center of.

"No," Cory whispered back. "Did you?"

Shawn shook his head. "I haven't talked to him since your dad found out he wasn't real."

"Then who are the friends Eric is talkin' about?"

Shawn shrugged in confusion.

"Eric!" Jason cried excitedly. He jumped up and down waving his hand frantically for his friend to join. "She's here!"

"What!? She's early!" Eric jumped in front of his brother in a panic. "Stall her, Jas, while I exterminate the roaches."

"Roaches?!" the boys cried in unison as they jumped on the coffee table.

"Yeah," Eric said grabbing them by their shirt shoulders and pulling them to the floor. "You two bugs. Get out!"

"Where are we supposed to go?" Cory asked, trying to pull out of Eric's grip.

"I don't care. Go visit Feeny."

"We can't," Shawn reminded him. "We've been banned from gettin' within 6 feet of him outside of school."

Eric stopped abruptly looking frustrated. "Then go out the back. If Amanda sees you, I'll tell her we're letting the servants go home early."

"Amanda? A girl?" Shawn exchanged looks with Cory. "Oh, I'm stayin' right here!"

Jason grabbed Eric by the shirt collar as the doorbell rang. "Whatever you're gonna do, do! I'm answering the door."

"No!" Eric released Cory and Shawn to whirl on Jason. "We can't let her in with them still here."

"We can't let her stand out there in the heat!" Jason exclaimed.

"Fine!"

"Fine."

Cory watched the spectacle that was his brother attempting to impress a pretty girl way out of his league. He found it humorous watching Eric think he was playing it so cool and sophisticated with Amanda when he really just looked like a dumb high school sophomore who didn't know what he was doing.

Sometimes Eric was impressive with the way he wooed the girl of the hour.

Sometimes Shawn was far better at it.

Today was Shawn's day.

Eric's fatal flaw to his plan to gain the most popular girl in his class as his girlfriend turned out to be the leather jacket he was wearing.

Amanda did not initially see what he was wearing because Shawn was so quick to chat her up.

"Hey Hunter," Eric walked up to Shawn with a large fake smile plastered on his face. "I have something for you."

Shawn raised an eyebrow. "You do?"

"Yeah," he said. Looking Amanda directly in the eyes with that fake smile, he put an arm around Shawn and steered him toward the large French doors at the side of the living room. Before Shawn could say or do anything, Eric opened the door, shoved him out, and locked the doors.

Annoyed with his friend's treatment, Cory got up to let Shawn back in when Jason walked up behind the couch, put his hands on his shoulders, and pinned him down to his seat.

"Stay," Jason said, patting him on the head.

Cory, not appreciating being treated like a dog, glared at him.

Amanda made her way into the middle of the room clearly unimpressed with her surroundings. Upon seeing this Eric commented, "I apologize for the children hanging around. My parents like to take in unfortunate waifs every weekend and give them a home for a day or two."

His brother started to protest this lie when a hand went over his mouth. He seriously considered licking Jason's hand to make him let go, but his hand smelled like mustard and soap, so he decided not to.

Amanda smiled condescendingly at Cory then turned her attention to Eric. Her cool indifference faded into disgust.

"What are you wearing?"

Eric looked around to see what Jason was wearing because she couldn't be talking to him. He was dressed as trendy as a teenager could dress in an unbuttoned shirt over a polo shirt and light wash Levi's. Plus, he had a bonus of the leather jacket he had gotten last year. You couldn't get much cooler than a black leather jacket. Even in the middle of a Philadelphia summer.

"Are you wearing leather!?" Amanda tossed her hair over her shoulder as she crossed her arms over her waist.

Now he knew she was talking to him.

"Why, yes, I am," he replied proudly.

"Ew, gross!" she exclaimed, thoroughly put out. "How could you?"

Eric had never had such a response to his jacket before. Usually, it was quite the opposite. "Wait, what?"

"Leather? Do you know what a poor cow had to go through for you wear that?" Amanda stamped her foot in disapproval. "I will not date a guy who wears leather!"

"Leather, mine? No! Oh no!" Eric rushed to stop her from leaving. "I'm just…this is not mine!"

Amanda put her hands on her hips. "Whose is it then?"

Out of the corner of his eye he saw Shawn looking forlornly into the house.

"His!" Eric ran to the doors and opened one. "I was just warming it up for this poor unfortunate little guy. He's got a condition that makes him cold all the time. It's his jacket. I would never actually wear leather!"

With great flourish Eric took off the jacket, threw it onto Shawn, and slammed the door again.

Amanda didn't look entirely convinced but after an appropriate amount of teenage groveling, Eric was back in her good graces.

Cory, meanwhile, was still being restrained to the couch until the teens decided to leave to pick up Jason's date.

Eric came home much earlier than he expected. Dejectedly, he headed to the backyard to avoid everyone in his household. He didn't want to tell them that he, Eric Matthews, had been dumped by the most popular girl in school not just for a guy who didn't believe in leather but didn't believe in baths either.

It was a blow to his ego, and he was convinced he would never recover from the humiliation. His only consolation was that it was summer and Amanda would most likely be bumped from the top of the popularity hierarchy by the time school started.

Still the disgrace burned, especially since Jason was still at Chubbie's with the girls. As he let himself sink into his misery, a soccer ball went flying by his feet.

Eric frowned and looked around the treehouse tree to see Shawn in the backyard alone.

Cory was nowhere to be seen. Briefly he wondered if their mom finally realized their room hadn't been cleaned in three weeks. Cory's bed no longer sat firmly on all four legs because he had so much stuff crammed under it.

He saw Shawn run towards the ball he'd kicked, then stop as he caught a glimpse of himself in the window glass.

It was then that Eric noticed he was wearing the leather jacket.

Still in a rotten mood from being dumped, seeing Shawn in his jacket irritated him even more. Just as he was about to step out from behind the tree and demand his clothing back, he heard Shawn talking to himself.

"This is the jacket I always wanted." Shawn checked out his reflection in the windowpane. Eric's jacket was much too big on him but his mother always told him that she purposely bought his clothing large so he'd grow into them and wouldn't need clothes so often. He would have a lot of growing to do before this jacket would fit him. Years. Decades even.

The thought delighted him.

"This," he said running his hands down the leather of the sleeves in admiration, "is the jacket I asked Mom for. I mean, I wanted one with studs, but it looks so much better without them."

Shawn turned around and twisted his head so he could see the back.

"Man, this is so much better than that puke green thing she got me. It got so much worse after it got holes in the sleeves. I don't why she thought stickin' duct tape on it was a good idea!"

He was facing forward again still admiring his reflection.

Eric scratched his head. It was a nice jacket, sure. But it wasn't that great. It wasn't even new. He got it off some guy at the mall and the jacket had seen plenty of wear.

"That thing Mom got me was so big and ugly I couldn't wear it anywhere," Shawn went on. "But this, this I could wear everywhere. I'd never have to take it off."

Shawn turned to the side. He lifted his chin in the air and gave his hair a shake.

"Teachers even laughed at that tarp Mom made me wear to school. No one would laugh at me in this. I don't know another kid who has a leather jacket!"

Admittedly Eric didn't know much about his brother's best friend although Shawn was over often.

"Nothin' good ever happened in that jacket," Shawn went on with another shake of his head. His grin grew as he continued to stare at his reflection. "I bet everythin' good will happen with this one!"

Eric leaned against the tree, trying to remember everything he knew about Shawn. It wasn't much, but he did remember that his home life wasn't great.

He frowned. If he recalled correctly, Shawn never wore a coat during the last winter. either. He wondered if it was because he hated the green coat so much or if it was because it was full of holes.

Absently, Eric kicked the soccer ball back in the direction it came from. His kick was off center and sent the ball into the fence that divided the Matthews' yard from Mr. Feeny's. The noise it made startled Shawn and he jumped. When he saw Eric, a guilty look came over his face. And, to Eric, he looked upset. Maybe even a little embarrassed.

"I've never seen you wear a real jacket, just a bunch of shirts," the older teen remarked, retrieving the soccer ball and bouncing off his foot to his knee and back again.

"Yeah, well," Shawn was clearly fighting embarrassment now. "My coat really doesn't fit anymore."

Eric avoided looking at him as he knew from experience that eye contact made an awkward situation worse. "You outgrow it?"

"Yeah, thank God!" Shawn was visibly relieved. "It was awful and ugly. I was afraid I gonna have to wear it to high school. I got lucky and grew faster than Mom thought I would."

Eric bounced the ball from one knee to the other, trying to keep it off the ground.

"You getting a new one?" Out of the corner of his eye, Eric saw the look of deep humiliation flash over Shawn's face.

"Nah," he shrugged. "I don't really need one. I'm never cold." Becoming uncomfortable with his best friend's brother and the conversation, Shawn unzipped the leather jacket and started to take it off.

Eric continued to play with the soccer ball.

Standing awkwardly in the middle of the Matthews backyard, Shawn held Eric's jacket out to him. His head was tilted downwards to avoid making eye contact.

Eric glanced at him. The jacket was cool, and he really liked it. It was one of the first things he bought with his first paycheck.

And it got him a lot of attention.

In all honesty, that's why he wore it- for the attention. A heavy jacket like leather even when it was cold really wasn't his thing. He was more into the East Coast ski look in winter.

"What?" Eric asked as though he didn't understand why Shawn was holding the clothing out to him.

"I'm givin' your jacket back."

Eric gave the ball a hard bump with his knee then caught it with his hands as it fell back to earth.

"I don't want it."

"You don't?" Shawn's mouth fell open in disbelief.

"Nope."

"Why not?" the younger teen sound almost offended. "It's a great jacket."

Eric shrugged. "I only wear it because girls like it. But apparently leather is out, and denim is in. So I've got no use for it now."

Shawn clearly didn't believe him but slowly he retracted the jacket.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, man." Eric balanced the ball on his hip. "Besides, I never felt right wearing a jacket with the initials J.A. in it when I'm K.M."

Shawn's brow crumpled into confusion. "Huh? K.M.?"

"Yeah," Eric gave him a funny look. "Kyle Matthews."

Shawn's face wrinkled up in confusion. "Who's Kyle?"

Eric gave him a "duh" look. "Me, dummy. Kyle is what I call myself sometimes."

"Okay," Shawn said slowly as he hugged the jacket to his chest. "Thanks…Kyle."

"Hey," Eric poked a finger at him, pretending to be irritated. "It's Eric to you. I'm the only one who calls me Kyle got it?"

"Got it," Shawn agreed as he put the jacket on. "Thanks, Eric."

"Don't mention it." Eric shifted his attitude to disgusted older brother and threw the soccer ball over Shawn's head. He pointed a finger at his brother's friend. "Like seriously never speak of this again. I don't want people to think I acknowledge the existence of seventh grade nothings, okay."

"Okay," Shawn agreed with a small smile.

"Good," Eric sniffed at him. "Now where's Cory?"

While the initials J.A. don't make sense here, they are a part of the larger story arc in Autumn in Philadelphia: The Return where both the leather jackets of Shawn and Jon have great significance.

Thanks so much for reading. Comments are always welcomed.