With our first full weekend of NFL preseason action now in the books, a few quick observations are in order. To wit:
• Several dozen readers wrote in to express alarm over the sight of the Colts wearing solid-top socks on Thursday night — a serious downgrade from the striped socks they’ve been wearing for the past couple of seasons. Recent Uni Watch Profiles subject Witesock has the depressing explanation: “Pine Sports (the Colts’ sock supplier) told me earlier this summer that the Colts did not renew their striped sock order. The NFL is still moving backwards in terms of sock design.” Indeed.
• Many readers also pointed with dismay toward the Browns, who wore solid-topped hose, instead of striped, in their first preseason game. Here’s the deal on that: The Browns used to have two different kinds of striped socks — this design, which was meant to be worn with the dark jerseys (note how the sock stripes match the sleeve stripes), and this design, which went with the white jerseys (again, note the sleeve/calf parallelism). Their current uni set still includes that second sock design, but not the other one. The solid-top format is now their official dark-jersey sock. Too bad.
• Several teams have switched to black cleats, including the Cards, Browns, and Bills (the big surprise of the group). Kudos to all.
• I hadn’t realized the Saints would be wearing a Louisiana-shaped jersey patch this season (here’s a closer look). It’s similar to the patch they used to wear on their sleeves and hips (both of which are now emblazoned with the fleur de lis.
• Other teams with new jersey patches: the 49ers, Cards, and Browns (kinda big, no?).
• The Bengals still can’t get that white side panel to look consistent (well, unless “consistently awful” counts). On some players, it stops at the underarm; for others, it extends up toward the nameplate.
• The most subtle uni revision of the season: The Titans now have a belt-buckle sleeve, which means there are now three teams wearing this utterly useless accessory (the other two being, of course, the Jets and Broncos). The kicker is that the Titans actually have three different belt sleeves, depending on which pants they wear.
• A few visor-clad players appear to be wearing the Oakley “O” logo on their visor tabs. In the past, this logo has only appeared on the tabs of NCAA players, because Oakley hasn’t been an official NFL licensee (so NFL visor tabs have typically been clear, black, or team-branded). Not sure if the “O” — which I’ve only spotted on a few NFL visors so far this preseason, not all of them — reflects a new branding arrangement between the league and Oakley or just a typical case of preseason regulatory laxity. I’m looking into it.
• In another logo creep development, reader Brooks Reuter writes: “It appears that Adidas is up to the same tricks that have gotten them in trouble in tennis. These gloves are obviously Adidas gloves, with the three stripes all the way around the palm. But as I’m sure you know, only the Reebok logo is allowed to be visible on NFL gloves. This could get interesting, as I cannot see the NFL allowing this design to play during the regular season.”
• Still as gorgeous as ever (despite the sack); still as hideous as ever.
Of course, all of this is just a warmup for the real “treat”: tonight’s game in Minnesota, which will mark the on-field debut of those horrific new Vikings uniforms. Can’t wait.
Memphis Musings: As we all know by now, the St. Louis Cardinals require all players in their minor league system to wear their pants hiked up high. So imagine my surprise when I attended a Memphis Redbirds game on Friday night and saw the pitcher — and only the pitcher — sporting the pajama-pants look. The explanation: The pitcher was St. Looie starter Mark Mulder, who was making a triple-A rehab start and was apparently exempt from the pant protocol. Would’ve been a lot cooler if Mulder had just gone along with the program, instead of big-leaguing it like a prima donna.
In other Memphis news, the Redbirds batboys were wearing facemasks. But the real story was Uni Watch reader Luke Pellagra, who turned out to be a very interesting case study in uniformity. I saw Pellagra on three consecutive days during my stay in Memphis, and on all three occasions he was wearing the same basic attire: a Cardinals baseball cap, a Ralph Lauren Polo shirt (complete with logo creep), a long-sleeve T-shirt under that, and a white T-shirt under that. The Polo shirt was always either red (in which case the long-sleeve tee was navy) or navy (in which case the long-sleeve tee was red). The cap color always matched the color of the long-sleeve shirt.
And you all thought Witesock was weird. I think I speak for everyone here when I say that the thought of a Uni Watch reader accumulating a dresser drawer full of Ralph Lauren Polo shirts is waaaaaaaaay more disturbing than any hosiery fixation could ever be (although there’s no truth to the rumor that Pellagra is the guy featured in this article [with thanks to Paul Burclaff for the link]).
Incidentally, the temperature in Memphis was just shy of 100 degrees on two of these days, and the humidity was in the 90s on the third day. So the whole city was basically a sauna, and this dude’s wearing three shirts. “It’s just what I’ve gotten used to,” said Pellagra when I asked him about it. “If I don’t wear three shirts, I feel, uh…”
Naked?
“Yeah.”
Right. Sartorial quirks notwithstanding, Pellagra’s a super-nice guy, and it was great to meet him during my stay in Memphis. He’s about to begin his sophomore year at the University of Tennessee, where he’s studying sports administration, in hopes of becoming an agent, … la Drew Rosenhaus. We should all root for him to succeed, if only because his Polo-driven look would certainly be an improvement over Rosenhaus’s purple tie.
Uni Watch News Ticker: Plenty of throwback action over the weekend, as the Mets and Nationals donned Negro Leagues unis on Friday night (here’s another view) and the Pirates and Cards did likewise on Saturday night. … More super-cool Japanese high school stirrups courtesy of Jeremy Brahm here,
here, here, and here. … Anguished logo creep confession from University of Alabama media relations rep Jeff Dunnavant, who writes: “I’m ashamed to say I’m partly responsible this mock-up of our 2006 women’s soccer media guide cover. You’ll have no problem whatsoever determining which athletics company sponsors Alabama soccer, as the company’s logo appears an amazing 36 times in the photo. Please don’t excommunicate me!” Too late, Jeff — your reservation in uni purgatory is now confirmed. … Interesting note from Jeremy Ellermeier: “Every day durning fall camp, the Nebraska coaches give out a yellow jersey to the top performer on offense, defense, and special teams. Interestingly, when Clayton Seivers recived the yellow jersey, he apparently got some yellow socks to go with it.” … Eric Ritschdorff notes that “Robinson Cano had a problem keeping his shirt tucked in during his at-bat in the top of the 7th on August 10th against the White Sox. It looked as though the ump made a point to tell him to tuck it in. He did, but it was partly hanging out on his right hip side.” … Good tip from Michael Lindsay, who recently came across a cool exhibit at the Salt Lake City Library, called Diamonds in the Rough, described as “a popular interactive exhibit that reveals the colorful 100-year history of Japanese-American baseball through memorabilia, photos and artifacts. … The exhibit’s visit to Utah is sponsored by the motion picture The American Pastime, which tells the story of Japanese Americans herded into the Topaz internment camp during WWII, where they turned to baseball as a way to deal with their plight.” Lindsay took a few photos with his camera phone, which you can see here, here, and here. … Another pink link: The Portland Beavers held a “Strike Out Breast Cancer” promotion yesterday, featuring this jersey design (with thanks to Jeremy Brahm. … Remember last month when Bosox starter Kyle Snyder pitched an entire inning with his undershirt tag sticking out? On Friday it was Wilfredo Ledezma who had the tag showing, which generally made him look ridiculous during the entire 7th inning (good catch by Tom Kot). … How the hell did purple find its way back into the Devil Rays’ color scheme? … Buccaneers linebacker Derrick Brooks — one of only three current Tampa players to have worn the team’s old creamsicle unis back in the day — is campaigning for the team to revive the orange attire this season as a Thanksgiving Day throwback (with thanks to Mike Edgerley). … In a stunning development that may cause the Earth to wobble clear off its axis, Buck Showalter has worn a uniform jersey — instead of his usual windbreaker — for three consecutive games! Sorry, no photos (presumably because conventional cameras aren’t equipped to record paranormal phenomena), but the tip comes straight from a source in the Rangers’ dugout. … Logo Creep Alert: Check out Fidel Castro’s convalescence outfit. Some socialist he’s turning out to be!
Well adidas did recently merge with Reebok, which may explain the adidas stripes on the gloves
2 Interesting notes from Saturday’s Red Sox game.
a) Wily Mo Pena, who had a huge game, wears two completely different batting gloves.
b) Matt Vasgersian and Jerry Remy were talking about the young pitchers (Jonathan Papelbon, Craig Hansen, and Manny Delcarmen) in the Boston bullpen and how they were coping without injured Jason Varitek. The camera cut to a shot of the bullpen, and caught Papelbon, basically with his pants down. They were un buttoned and he was tucking in his jersey. Good old Fox stayed on the shot until Papelbon completed tucking in his jersey.
In other related Boston news. Looks like Javy Lopez is now wearing Alex Cora’s #23 (Cora relegated to 13). Wonder what he paid for it.
Greg Maddux sported some sweet stirrups in last night’s game. Does he always wear them?
Don’t forget to note how the pony on Luke’s polo shirt also matches the long sleeve shirt and hat. I’d be willing to wager his navy polo has a red pony. Nice touch.
But still, 3 shirts in August?? The dude must be crazy.
Watched a good amount of the Little League regional championships this weekend. A lot of examples of good and BAD uniforms. Lots of logo creep as well. One team, it appeared, all wore their pants high. Looking for pictures now.
Tonight is the night the Astros will wear caps to honor the latest Space Shuttle mission, STS-121.
link
Here’s a close up of the patch with an explanation of what it means.
link
I think Conan O’Brien’s patch description is a little better: “This is the most confusing logo… It looks like the Space Shuttle is having sex with a helicopter during the birth of Jesus.”
some interesting warm ups the usa national team wore in korea…
link
Todd, I couldn’t see your link. Should it be:
link
…with an x in “1024×768” and not a multiplication sign? That brings up some guys in fatigue-like warmups.
thanks mark…
todd posting a picture…
take 2
link
Given the spread of your readership and their amazing eye for detail, you’ve probably received a dozen or so mentions of this already.
However, when watching the debut of Twins rookie Matt Garza against Toronto on Friday night, I was amazed to see him towelling off in the dugout between innings with a Holiday Inn towel.
Before the start of (I believe) the third inning, the FSN North feed showed a brief taped item of Garza removing a towel from his arm and using it to towel off some of the flop-sweat from his head. As he unfurled it, the Holiday Inn logo appeared unmistakeably.
Don’t know if this is a Twins-specific or Garza-specific prediliction, but I watch a fair amount of Twins games and this is the first time I’ve seen an HI brand on anything at the ballpark.
Interesting.
RW
Who else saw John Kasay, the Panthers kicker with one black shoe and one white shoe on during saturday’s game… I know one’s a kicking shoe and one’s a regular cleat, but at least match them in color…
In the picture of the Titans belt covers it showed a powder blue pair of pants.
Correct me if I’m wrong but those would be a new edition.
I know they’ve had the powder blue top that they’ve worn with the navy pants, but I’ve yet to see those pants.
[quote comment=”5213″]Greg Maddux sported some sweet stirrups in last night’s game. Does he always wear them?[/quote]
link. He’s worn them for link he’s link. But check out the stirrups he’s wearing in the 1992 Fleer on link page. Why doesn’t he wear those more often?
Speaking of Thanksgiving, does anyone know if the Lions are going to use proper throwbacks or those fugly black monstrosities this year?
I found it kind of interesting that in those games with Negro League throwback uniforms, both the Nationals and Pirates were wearing Homestead Grays uniforms. Since the team was from Homestead, PA near Pittsburgh, but used Washington as their “home away from home” I suppose it makes sense.
Now if they could just schedule a Nationals/Pirates Negro League throwback where both teams wear Grays uniforms, that would be fun.
Speaking of stirrups… I just tore open a box of 1991 Upper Deck baseball cards and not a soul is wearing pajama pants. Everyone has stirrups. When did this attrocity take place taht stirrups could be replaced by high socks and then pajama pants?
“How the hell did purple find its way back into the Devil Rays’ color scheme?”
Don’t they have purple piping on their green jerseys?
[quote comment=”5226″][quote comment=”5213″]Greg Maddux sported some sweet stirrups in last night’s game. Does he always wear them?[/quote]
link. He’s worn them for link he’s link. But check out the stirrups he’s wearing in the 1992 Fleer on link page. Why doesn’t he wear those more often?[/quote]
Look closer, those are his infamous faux stirrups!
link
Had a moment this weekend that bugged the daylights out of me – Sunday afternoon, Mets-Nats – Nats wearing Red alternate unis with the “DC†logo on the left chest and on the hats as well – yet the batting helmets had the script “w†on them? Did anyone else notice this, and if so, did it bother then as much as it bothered me? I HATE it when the helmets and the caps are different – especially on throwbacks, but that I can understand – you don’t wear throwbacks that often, but the alternate uni is worn enough to have the helmet match the hat!
[quote comment=”5224″]Who else saw John Kasay, the Panthers kicker with one black shoe and one white shoe on during saturday’s game… I know one’s a kicking shoe and one’s a regular cleat, but at least match them in color…[/quote]
I think some kickers take a certain level of pride in having different-colored shoes. In one of the live-action openings for Madden a couple of years ago, they had a kicker who said something like “One white shoe, one black shoe. If it’s in the game, it’s in the game.”
The secondary color on the Devil Rays’ unis and jackets is actually royal blue, although it does look purple in that pic, bad lighting I guess. The blue also outlines the “TB” and the ray on their game hats.
Yeah some interesting uniforms at the regional tournaments in Little League. Bet you’ll never guess who had logos on the unis for the team from Beaverton, OR. (HQ of Satan…eh Nike.)
And finger of shame to the broadcasters for pointing it out and talking about it.
Paul,
Our Class A team, the Cedar Rapids Kernels, is also wearing the pink jersey Sept. 25. Will send you pix. However, they are PINK. Game they were originally going to wear ’em was postponed by rain. The preview is YEESH. I would’ve rather seen a jersey like Portland’s, but does anybody besides me notice the Pink Beavers?
I almost fell off the couch when I saw Showalter in the jersey last night! Haven’t heard what’s behind the switch. The pitching coach was still wearing the pullover, but Rudy Jaramillo, the batting coach, was wearing a jersey, which is his usual, I think.
Also, our local paper had this comment: “Fidel Castro should move to Florida. He’d fit right in with all the other 80-year-olds in track suits.”
I’m surprised no one has mentioned that the Bills wore the white pants in the first preseason game, instead of the all-blue look that they have gone with for most of the time since they got the new design. They make the jerseys look halfway decent.
Nice move by Buck to wear his uniform jersey, but I like it more that all of the members of the Red Sox coaching staff wear either the windbreakers or the Tito Top (the short-sleeve-cut Fleece pullover Francona always wears).
nobody has any word on the Titans pants (check post 13)
must not have been cold enough for Coach Belichick to wear his hoodie
link
and what’s with the two bands on Tom’s right arm?
link
[quote comment=”5225″]In the picture of the Titans belt covers it showed a powder blue pair of pants.
Correct me if I’m wrong but those would be a new edition.
I know they’ve had the powder blue top that they’ve worn with the navy pants, but I’ve yet to see those pants.[/quote]
yea, i was gonna say the same thing. those are new pants.
I think Belichek needs to dress like that for more games. He looks ridiculous with that hoodie that is about 2 sizes too big for him. It looks like he stole it from one of the O-Lineman.
[quote comment=”5244″]must not have been cold enough for Coach Belichick to wear his hoodie
link
and what’s with the two bands on Tom’s right arm?
link[/quote]
I can’t say for sure about tom’s arm or what the deal is with the bands, but I have an idea. if he was having the problems with the sore arm early this camp, this would be one way to help that. by putting those bands on, it tightens up yor muscles in the arm, like a bowler does with some of those huge arm contraptions. this would give him more strenth in the forarm so he could grip the ball better. just an idea. i know i have wore bands on my upper arms when i played ball (O-Line) to keep the arms flexed.
oh yeah, I can’t spell to save my life!
Paul, how about getin a spell check on here???
LOL
Those armbands of Tom Brady’s are for the reason that Buckeye Mike said in post #32. I read an article where that was a topic covered, either on ESPN.com or boston.com. Sorry, can’t remember which.
[quote comment=”5236″]I think some kickers take a certain level of pride in having different-colored shoes. In one of the live-action openings for Madden a couple of years ago, they had a kicker who said something like “One white shoe, one black shoe. If it’s in the game, it’s in the game.”[/quote]
I do believe it was link. He tends to wear one black and one white
In response to a old ESPN post about batting gloves, i talked to my friend who’s going to Southern Union to play college ball, and I told him about the no batting gloves thing. He told me it was a policy the coach had, and they also had to wear stirrups with high pants. He wasnt too excited about the stirrups rule, because he’s always worn his pants low. Just thought I’d share this, because i believe you were wondering why no one was wearing the batting gloves.
Speaking of The Ohio State University, the Men’s hockey team will be supporting 6 different unis this year.
1 – scarlet
1 – white
1 – grey
1 – throwback
1 – special one game used jersey that will be donated
1 – Nike form tight fitting (the ones the Olympic teams wore)
Also, they are going to red pants.
The hockey team is trying to get rid of black in their uniforms. Unlike the football team
The Bucs should bring back the old Orange unis, but supposedly the Glazer family hates them so much they will not allow them. The Glazers bought the team in ’95 and the new jerseys came out in ’97. This is also why throwback companies can only make orange jerseys of retired Bucs (Lee Roy Selmon, Doug Williams).
The only connection to Bucco Bruce (supposedly modeled after Tampa pirate Jose Gaspar) is the orange football and sword in the new logo. The few throwback items available in Tampa have become a Badge of Honor as the new bandwagon fans don’t wear them.
Two things, first,the Bills have the worst uniforms of any team at any level of football (even Oregon). Go back to the old Jack Kemp unis, white helmet, and standing Buffalo. Second, I am disappointed that with all of the attention to detail Cleveland used in their new/old unis that they still use the wide pants stripe. Nothing looked cooler than the old 80’s era thin orange/brown/orange stripe (that they also, of course, wore when Jim Brown played). Cleveland and Indy should both go to the thin stripes again.
A little disappointment here in a fairly new baseball product… take a look at link
Any reason why they couldn’t have the socks up?? THIS kind of crap is what gets into kids heads and will forever lead to pajama pants in the majors! And on another note, they were able to get the pinstripes on the Mets (big thank you to them for that) but couldn’t give them the proper hat for the picture? Everyone knows that with black sleeves goes one of the two black hats…
[quote comment=”5256″]A little disappointment here in a fairly new baseball product… take a look at link
Any reason why they couldn’t have the socks up?? THIS kind of crap is what gets into kids heads and will forever lead to pajama pants in the majors! And on another note, they were able to get the pinstripes on the Mets (big thank you to them for that) but couldn’t give them the proper hat for the picture? Everyone knows that with black sleeves goes one of the two black hats…[/quote]
At least the Mets one has the all blue hat on!
The Bills white helmets are terrible. They need to go to the Super Bowl era uni’s… I just don’t like the look of white football helmets for any team. I’d much rather see colored helmets that the plain white ones.
[quote comment=”5258″]The Bills white helmets are terrible. They need to go to the Super Bowl era uni’s… I just don’t like the look of white football helmets for any team. I’d much rather see colored helmets that the plain white ones.[/quote]
I don’t know – I think Penn State would look really funny with anything on their helmets – maybe it’s the traditionalist in me.
I was at the Cardinals game on Saturday and one of the players inagural season patches started coming off after he made a diving play. I think it was Dimonad Ferri after scoring his touchdown in the fourth quarter but I could be wrong. Anyway, the top half of it was flapping in the breeze while the rest was attached. I’ll try to find a pic.
[quote comment=”5257″][quote comment=”5256″]A little disappointment here in a fairly new baseball product… take a look at link
Any reason why they couldn’t have the socks up?? THIS kind of crap is what gets into kids heads and will forever lead to pajama pants in the majors! And on another note, they were able to get the pinstripes on the Mets (big thank you to them for that) but couldn’t give them the proper hat for the picture? Everyone knows that with black sleeves goes one of the two black hats…[/quote]
At least the Mets one has the all blue hat on![/quote]
Yeah, but he has a black undershirt on. They dont wear black undershirts with their blue hats.
hats separately people – so you can make sure they have the proper hat, or whichever hat you want them to have
[quote comment=”5258″]The Bills white helmets are terrible. They need to go to the Super Bowl era uni’s… I just don’t like the look of white football helmets for any team. I’d much rather see colored helmets that the plain white ones.[/quote]
How can you not love these link?
If you don’t like white NFL helmets, then you have to include the teams that are at least currently using them, which is Arizona (the only NFC team), Indianapolis, Miami, New York Jets, and Tennessee.
[quote]I don’t know – I think Penn State would look really funny with anything on their helmets – maybe it’s the traditionalist in me.[/quote]
The only thing that would ever go on a Penn State helmet would be to bring back Alabama-esque numbers they had, ending in the 1960s.
In response to post #11:
I heard a commercial for Holiday Inn on KFAN saying that HI is the official hotel of MLB. They might be supplying towels with their logo as part of the sponsorship,
[quote comment=”5266″]In response to post #11:
I heard a commercial for Holiday Inn on KFAN saying that HI is the official hotel of MLB. They might be supplying towels with their logo as part of the sponsorship,[/quote]
This would make sense considering those STUPID joe Buck commercials, what a horrible way to promote a terrible announcer.
[quote comment=”5226″][quote comment=”5213″]Greg Maddux sported some sweet stirrups in last night’s game. Does he always wear them?[/quote]
link. He’s worn them for link he’s link. But check out the stirrups he’s wearing in the 1992 Fleer on link page. Why doesn’t he wear those more often?[/quote]
Speaking of throwbacks, check out the ‘stache that Dirk Diggler, I mean Greg Maddux is sporting in the Cubs card picture.
There were some comments on the ref’s new unis during the Packer’s preseason game. I was in a loud area and couldn’t hear too well, but there was definitely a “Maybe I’m old school, but I prefer the old ones”
The White Sox should adopt socks similar to what the Grays wore in the throw-back game. I understand why they switched to black socks back in the day, but still…they should at least have some white on their socks. This has annoyed me since I was a kid.
In regards to the constant criticism of players’ undershirt tags sticking out: I wear one of the Nike undershirts being referred to in my softball league (don’t worry, Paul–dot matrix sleeves cut off, complete with blue stirrups and white sanitaries). While playing just yesterday, my shirt tag came out. Me being the uni watcher that I am, I almost immediately noticed it had come out. But, it was a chore getting it tucked back in. I can see how a normal player wouldn’t be able to tell that it was sticking out, especially when they are as hard to get to stay tucked in as they are. It’s a long tag to begin with and it’s also fairly thick. Go easy on ’em, Paul!
The reason for the new refs uniforms are the old jerseys anyone could copy because the NFL had no copyright on them (aka the Miller light commercials) The NFL had reebok come up with uniforms it could copyright so that Miller light and other companies couldn’t copy the uniform without paying the NFL.
Anyone know if the patriots road socks, the white with the 3 blue stripes are from the first year they changed their jerseys and was sponsered by adidias? You think the NFL would change the 3 stripe look (adidias trademark) but they still have those socks. Anyone know anything about this?
[quote comment=”5275″]Anyone know if the patriots road socks, the white with the 3 blue stripes are from the first year they changed their jerseys and was sponsered by adidias? You think the NFL would change the 3 stripe look (adidias trademark) but they still have those socks. Anyone know anything about this?[/quote]
Yes, they’ve had those same socks since. I’m honestly suprised they haven’t added or subracted one for that very reason.
Carl K., I had that same problem with my Nike Pro stuff. Even if the tag is tucked in it feels weird and sticky on the skin. I cut mine off.
Matt Leinart has worn one of those link before.
[quote comment=”5233″][quote comment=”5226″][quote comment=”5213″]Greg Maddux sported some sweet stirrups in last night’s game. Does he always wear them?[/quote]
link. He’s worn them for link he’s link. But check out the stirrups he’s wearing in the 1992 Fleer on link page. Why doesn’t he wear those more often?[/quote]
Look closer, those are his infamous faux stirrups!
link[/quote]
Well, yeah…
[quote comment=”5273″]In regards to the constant criticism of players’ undershirt tags sticking out: I wear one of the Nike undershirts being referred to in my softball league (don’t worry, Paul–dot matrix sleeves cut off, complete with blue stirrups and white sanitaries). While playing just yesterday, my shirt tag came out. Me being the uni watcher that I am, I almost immediately noticed it had come out. But, it was a chore getting it tucked back in. I can see how a normal player wouldn’t be able to tell that it was sticking out, especially when they are as hard to get to stay tucked in as they are. It’s a long tag to begin with and it’s also fairly thick. Go easy on ’em, Paul![/quote]
Maybe Nike will put a big swoosh on the tag for some ‘accidental’ logo creep.
how about this idea—–CUT THE TAG OFF!!
[quote comment=”5270″][quote comment=”5226″][quote comment=”5213″]Greg Maddux sported some sweet stirrups in last night’s game. Does he always wear them?[/quote]
link. He’s worn them for link he’s link. But check out the stirrups he’s wearing in the 1992 Fleer on link page. Why doesn’t he wear those more often?[/quote]
Speaking of throwbacks, check out the ‘stache that Dirk Diggler, I mean Greg Maddux is sporting in the Cubs card picture.[/quote]
Yes, but he was wearing real stirrups back then, not the fake ones like now – so it’s plus 2 for the real stirrups, minus one for the porn ‘stache.
And take away another for being known for the faux! He breaks even, I guess. ;)
Were those really real stirrups back in the original Cubs and early Braves days?… The Cubs one looks real, but all of the Braves cards (except for the obvious) look like he has the fake ones on.
By the way, is it just me or is it funny that they put a picture of Greg Maddux (or any pitcher, really) who is known for his pitching at the plate with the declaration that he’s going to the Hall? I would understand if it was someone like, say, Barry Bonds, because he’s certainly not going to the Hall (he better not) for his fielding.
[quote comment=”5277″][quote comment=”5273″]In regards to the constant criticism of players’ undershirt tags sticking out: I wear one of the Nike undershirts being referred to in my softball league (don’t worry, Paul–dot matrix sleeves cut off, complete with blue stirrups and white sanitaries). While playing just yesterday, my shirt tag came out. Me being the uni watcher that I am, I almost immediately noticed it had come out. But, it was a chore getting it tucked back in. I can see how a normal player wouldn’t be able to tell that it was sticking out, especially when they are as hard to get to stay tucked in as they are. It’s a long tag to begin with and it’s also fairly thick. Go easy on ’em, Paul![/quote]
Maybe Nike will put a big swoosh on the tag for some ‘accidental’ logo creep.
how about this idea—–CUT THE TAG OFF!![/quote]
Hey, taken care of. Chill…
I realized this weekend how bad the Titan’s uniforms are. Vince Young deserves better, having gone through college in one of the betters unis in the country. They should change to a uniform like Auburn’s but with titans colors. It could turn into one of the better unis in pro football.
[quote comment=”5281″]And take away another for being known for the faux! He breaks even, I guess. ;)
Were those really real stirrups back in the original Cubs and early Braves days?… The Cubs one looks real, but all of the Braves cards (except for the obvious) look like he has the fake ones on.
By the way, is it just me or is it funny that they put a picture of Greg Maddux (or any pitcher, really) who is known for his pitching at the plate with the declaration that he’s going to the Hall? I would understand if it was someone like, say, Barry Bonds, because he’s certainly not going to the Hall (he better not) for his fielding.[/quote]
I was just thinking the same thing. I mean did they really have to settle upon a picture of him at the plate? It’s not as though there’s a shortage of pictures of him actually pitching.
And I kind of like the ‘stache, it’s like the facial version of stirrups in that almost everyone did it back in the day, whether it be 20 years ago: link
or over 100 years ago: link
[quote]Still as gorgeous as ever (despite the sack)[/quote]
Gorgeous? I dunno. The Chargers’ home unis are decent, but I wouldn’t call them gorgeous. I prefer the throwbacks.
Oh, wait… you were talking about the Packers’ uni. I’ve got to disagree with you big-time on that one. Their home unis look nice because the green jerseys offset all that yellow. But the yellow-white-yellow on the road unis is just garish and really hard on the eyes.
[quote comment=”5284″]I was just thinking the same thing. I mean did they really have to settle upon a picture of him at the plate? It’s not as though there’s a shortage of pictures of him actually pitching.[/quote]
Look again. That particular card has a piece from a game-used bat embedded in it. A picture of him batting makes perfect sense.
[quote comment=”5286″][quote comment=”5284″]I was just thinking the same thing. I mean did they really have to settle upon a picture of him at the plate? It’s not as though there’s a shortage of pictures of him actually pitching.[/quote]
Look again. That particular card has a piece from a game-used bat embedded in it. A picture of him batting makes perfect sense.[/quote]
I missed that. Good catch.
HAHAHA! LMAO!
Matthew that’s great, comparing a faux ‘stach to the faux stirrups. Seriously a match made in heaven…
Didn’t see a mention of this in the weekend column, so I’ll put it here…
Saturday, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar threw out the first pitch at the Giants-Dodgers game. He was given a Dodgers jersey with a Brooklyn hat, but the jersey had his name on the back, which fits neither Brooklyn, nor the current Dodgers uni.
I love the idea of the Saints patch, especially because of its meaning, but is it me or does it just look out of place? It doesn’t really fit…it looks crowded. It’s nearly touching the right number and the collar.
ramblings… Browns patch is too big, Saints helmet logo is a bit too small, Titans have the WORST unis, geez, am I uni OCD or what?
[quote comment=”5285″][quote]Still as gorgeous as ever (despite the sack)[/quote]
It took me forever to get up the courage to click that link. After the Reggie Bush camel toe incident, I was worried the link was going to be to some soccer player’s shorts or something.
[quote comment=”5215″]Don’t forget to note how the pony on Luke’s polo shirt also matches the long sleeve shirt and hat. I’d be willing to wager his navy polo has a red pony. Nice touch.
But still, 3 shirts in August?? The dude must be crazy.[/quote]
Hahaha, what else can I say, but – I have a problem…And one of my polos was white with blue stripes, but no matter, I’m still crazy, lol…
Someone remind me. What’s so link about wearing such link athletic clothing? I don’t get it…
RE: Football Uniforms
Socks sans stripes, especially in dark colors, are an insult to the eye. They make the player look as if he had painted his bare legs.
Green bay’s uniforms are also fairly ugly, though certainly not as bad as Oregon’s or the obscenities sported by Rowan and Delaware Valley (the latter two are fairly good NCAA D3 outfits and thus ought to have better taste).
The Packers might do better to return to shiny, metallic gold helmets and pants — the current rancid-butter yellow is fairly putrid — and a lighter shade of green, even Kelly green, with perhaps a bit of blue added on.
(NOTE: My comments above are purely personal, biased, and are in no way to be taken as gospel truth. ;))
[quote comment=”5299″][quote comment=”5215″]Don’t forget to note how the pony on Luke’s polo shirt also matches the long sleeve shirt and hat. I’d be willing to wager his navy polo has a red pony. Nice touch.
But still, 3 shirts in August?? The dude must be crazy.[/quote]
Hahaha, what else can I say, but – I have a problem…And one of my polos was white with blue stripes, but no matter, I’m still crazy, lol…[/quote]
All I can say is that I’m jealous. If it was me wearing 3 shirts in that heat/humidity, I’d probably sweat through all the layers in a matter of minutes.
Hell, I took my kid to the zoo on Sunday and it was about 78 degrees, sunny and not all that humid. I was still sweating and all I was wearing was a t-shirt and shorts.
On the other hand, I can go walk the dog in a sweatshirt when it’s 20 degrees out without a problem.
A new sock convert in the making. The Brewers right fielder Corey Hart has not before been a sock kind of guy, but he’s sporting them tonight. I wonder if it’s an homage to starting pitcher Dave Bush, who’s a sock wearer.
Just got my first look at those Vikings uniforms when they cut to Michelle Tafoya during Monday Night Countdown. Oh God… my retinas! Those are *horrific*.
I actually like the Titans unis. They’re one of the few “modern” era unis that I like. (except for the navy pants with powder jersey)
In the Bengals-Redskins game, Washington wore their white jerseys with white pants. I know the Redskins wore their white and white combo last year (especially towards the end of the year because they went on a winning streak in them), but I was hoping they would bring back the burgundy pants this year for at least some of the time. The Skins are one of the teams that always wears white at home. Anyone know if they have scrapped the burgundy pants this year? I think those look great, with the white striped socks or the burgundy socks (even though Paul dislikes the leotard look of it).
[quote comment=”5284″][quote comment=”5281″]And take away another for being known for the faux! He breaks even, I guess. ;)
Were those really real stirrups back in the original Cubs and early Braves days?… The Cubs one looks real, but all of the Braves cards (except for the obvious) look like he has the fake ones on.
By the way, is it just me or is it funny that they put a picture of Greg Maddux (or any pitcher, really) who is known for his pitching at the plate with the declaration that he’s going to the Hall? I would understand if it was someone like, say, Barry Bonds, because he’s certainly not going to the Hall (he better not) for his fielding.[/quote]
I was just thinking the same thing. I mean did they really have to settle upon a picture of him at the plate? It’s not as though there’s a shortage of pictures of him actually pitching.
And I kind of like the ‘stache, it’s like the facial version of stirrups in that almost everyone did it back in the day, whether it be 20 years ago: link
or over 100 years ago: link
my goodness! you went steve balboni on us!
Here is my overall comment on the Vikings new uniforms: Soft.
I hate the slightly rounded edges of the numbers, hate the overuse of white through out the uni, hate the back of the jersey where the points meet, and hate the font for the players’ names. In general it feels like a design that relied way too much on focus groups. They’ll look better on a kid walking through the Mall of America than they will on a football player. Very undisciplined.
In contrast you have the Raiders’ uniforms which are very crisp, iconic, and enhance the physical appearance of the athlete.
watching the Pirate game – top of 6th, Solomon Torres had the tag out while pitching – sorry I couldn’t get a screen cap.
[quote comment=”5282″][quote comment=”5277″][quote comment=”5273″]In regards to the constant criticism of players’ undershirt tags sticking out: I wear one of the Nike undershirts being referred to in my softball league (don’t worry, Paul–dot matrix sleeves cut off, complete with blue stirrups and white sanitaries). While playing just yesterday, my shirt tag came out. Me being the uni watcher that I am, I almost immediately noticed it had come out. But, it was a chore getting it tucked back in. I can see how a normal player wouldn’t be able to tell that it was sticking out, especially when they are as hard to get to stay tucked in as they are. It’s a long tag to begin with and it’s also fairly thick. Go easy on ’em, Paul![/quote]
Maybe Nike will put a big swoosh on the tag for some ‘accidental’ logo creep.
how about this idea—–CUT THE TAG OFF!![/quote]
Hey, taken care of. Chill…[/quote]
Wasn’t directed at YOU more towardas the MLB guys who are on national TV.
i dont know if anyone has mentioned this yet, but the Staten Island team in the LLWS has vertically arched rear-name typography. thats pretty cool considering its a little league team.
That Buck Showalter tidbit is amazing. Maybe now we can find out what uniform number he’s supposed to be.
When did the Titans get powder blue PANTS? I know they wore powder blue jerseys onoccasion, but I’ve never seen them wear powder blue pants.
hate the new vikes uni’s. especially the stripe on the pants. they look almost royal blue to me!
Sorry Mark, understood.
To me, it isn’t that the Titans’ jersey’s look bad. I think they’re link, but when abused with the link it is among the worst in the league.
And I have to agree with Don about Minnesota’s new look. The horns on the sleeve aren’t a bad idea, but when crowded and overshadowed by all that piping and clutter, it just looks like they tried too hard to incorporate every possible “cool” design element.
I agree on the Vikes. The uni’s suck. Too much white, ugly font and way too busy. The only positive is that they finally solved the problem of not being able to match the purple hue of the jersey to the purple helmet. That issue plagued them for years. And bothered me to no end.
link
Regarding Fidel and his tracksuit: back in the Cold War days, once athletes started wearing branded apparel every communist bloc athlete was decked out in head-to-toe adidas. USSR, DDR, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Romania, Cuba, etc. I don’t know what the terms of that deal were, or how adidas negotiated it in the first place, but you simply never saw an athlete from behind the Iron Curtain in anything but three stripes. When I was in high school in the late ’80s my history teacher asked the class what came to mind when we thought of communism and I replied “adidas warmups.” The teacher gave me a quizzical look, but my friends who were sports fans got the reference. Cuba being one of the last socialist holdouts, their athletes still wear adidas stuff in all international competitions, including those hideous baseball unis with the red pants.
Someone explain to me why there is link between the jersey and the pants stripe on the Vikes’ home jersey. If you’re going to put a stupid stripe on your pants, at least make it a continuation of the side panel of the jersey. As for the rest of my opinion of the Vikes’ jerseys….well, paul would delete my comment if i said what i really felt. The classic silver and black on the Raiders makes the Vikings look like fools.
Side note: is there any way they could put the link at center field on the uni? I was a little turned off by it at first, but the more they showed it, the more i liked it.
Kyle, the Bengals have almost the same thing going on, only its white with the orange tiger stripes.
My God, what have the Vikes done? I know I’m in the minority, but I like the old uniforms in purple. These new monstrosities, however, really–they make me want to crawl in a hole somewhere and whimper. Bright yellow stripes, the faux horns on the legs which look like the beginning of the swoosh, the white underarm panels…when will the madness stop? The fact that I saw it all in crisp, clear HDTV made it that much worse. This is what I have to look at as I’m cheering for my home team? Thanks, Vikings. Thanks alot for nothing. My eye doctor bill will be in the mail at the end of the season.
P.S. Even though Luke likes to wear his whole wardrobe at once, he’s still a pretty damn good-looking guy!
P.S. It seems like all the announcers like the new ref uniforms–or else they’re just too wimpy to go off about it on the air. Hell, the crew tonight didn’t even diss the Vikes’ clown outfits. “Change is good”. Uh, not always, Joe.
[quote comment=”5315″]That Buck Showalter tidbit is amazing. Maybe now we can find out what uniform number he’s supposed to be.[/quote]
Another twist is that his Yankee replacement #6 Joe Torre, has been spotted not wearing a jersey at all. just the pullover ala John Gibbons
Again, in my mind the one redeeming quality of the Vikings jerseys is the attemt to simulate the horn link a-la the link of Super Bowl 34 and before (who also couldn’t match their jersey and helmet blues). But all that extra white link of the underarm takes away from the potential success of the horn. Don’t even get me started on those link!
Is the guy on the bottom link wearing white or purple?!
Oh, and it looks like the Dodgers were wearing their link tonight.
[quote comment=”5306″]In the Bengals-Redskins game, Washington wore their white jerseys with white pants. I know the Redskins wore their white and white combo last year (especially towards the end of the year because they went on a winning streak in them), but I was hoping they would bring back the burgundy pants this year for at least some of the time. The Skins are one of the teams that always wears white at home. Anyone know if they have scrapped the burgundy pants this year? I think those look great, with the white striped socks or the burgundy socks (even though Paul dislikes the leotard look of it).[/quote]
The white-on-white look has grown on me, to the point that the traditional white on burgundy actually looks stange.
I don’t want to get started on my Skins uni wish list, but I’ll give you the short version…
* Bring back the yellow ‘R’ helmet in some way. It was the best!
* I also would love to see gold pants incorporated into the current generation uni design (rather than the “throwbacks” Snyder had created to line his pockets)
I also remember reading a quote from Arrington two years ago that he had lobbied to have the team wear burgundy-on-burgundy. Thank goodness that didn’t happen.
I think the white-on-white is going to come to define Gibbs’ second tenure with the team. The same way he has ditched the burgundy “R” cap for the black one, I think he’s going to stick with white-on-white.
sorry about the socks not showing on the new baseball product, Bullpen Buddy. I’m the inventor and couldn’t figure out a way to have the pants just below the knees without his legs looking like giant tree stumps. Working with inflatables you have to improvise a little. The wrong hat with the pinstriped uni was pulled of MLB’s uniform site for the Mets home uniform. Won’t happen again! You have to admit that the patches on the sleeves are cool!
[quote comment=”5322″]Someone explain to me why there is link between the jersey and the pants stripe on the Vikes’ home jersey. If you’re going to put a stupid stripe on your pants, at least make it a continuation of the side panel of the jersey. As for the rest of my opinion of the Vikes’ jerseys….well, paul would delete my comment if i said what i really felt. The classic silver and black on the Raiders makes the Vikings look like fools.
Side note: is there any way they could put the link at center field on the uni? I was a little turned off by it at first, but the more they showed it, the more i liked it.[/quote]
First off, let me say that this is not a defense of the Vikings’ new uniforms, but rather an attempt at rationalizing the pants stripe. I think the pants stripe (or, more accurately, piping) is white at the top precisely so that it IS a continuation of the jersey piping. Since the jersey is purple, the piping on it is white, but the pants are white, so the piping is purple. They made the top of the pants piping white (keeping the yellow outline to emphasize this) so that it was a continuation of the white piping on the jersey. Again, I don’t like the uniforms at all, but at least this feature makes the white-to-purple piping transition look intentional, instead of accidental or lazy.
Shouldn’t the Beavers be helping wipe out ovarian cancer?
Sad that more and more NFL teams are turning to black shoes. They look horrendous, old ans slow. Just a fact: Since 1997 the year the Bucs join the Bears as the only teams with black shoes only Tampa Bay has won the Super Bowl. In the meantime: Denver, New England, Pittsburgh, St. Louis and Baltimore won the title and all wear white shoes. People just don’t understand.