Ralph Waldo Emerson: MLB Logo Designer?

Wow, am I first?

Let’s ruminate: What color should a football helmet not be? I just think that, beyond a certain darkness, secondary colors (or black) cannot work aesthetically. There is something off when the helmet is too close in brightness (luminescence) to the jersey but a different shade.

NFL examples which make me just wanna reach for my crayon box: Red over blue (Buffalo Bills), dark
forest over black (Eagles alternate), or black over darker colors like teal (Jacksonville), red (Atlanta), and purple (Baltimore).

And orange? Well, that’s…different. Lighter orange over darker jerseys like brown (Cleveland), black (Cincinnati) and navy (Syracuse) looks better than orange over royal blue (Florida Gators).

On the NFL level, silver, white, yellow and orange account for half of the league’s helmets. There must be a uni-centric reason, right?

I remember that when Parcells took over the Jets he was a proponent of swtiching back to the white helmet because it made it easier for the QB to see receivers downfield.

Screwed up the link – anyway, it’s from this site: link

I’m looking forward to 2 more years of Moyer and his ’70-rooted, transitional stirrups:pants ratio. The man’s old school in a way that rings true to my generation, maaaaaaannnn.

Same Anthony as guessed the Warhol usage above (and also the same Anthony that e-mailed you about a future idea for a column…the one who claims to be your doppleganger.)

I’ll venture an Emerson guess: Emerson was known for Nondualistic tones in his work. Nondualism being the ability to remain distinct without being seperate. But in this case, it’s reversed? The Logos are slightly different, but are still distinctive to the teams they represent?

There is a Nationals-esque “W” on the cover of one of his journals. Link link.

From the link:

Rogers also responded to a question about his cap. ESPN.com reported that he had worn a batting practice cap — one with a darker region under the bill — rather than the standard Tigers cap.

“My head hurts with the other one,” he said. “It shrinks, and, man, I get headaches. I don’t think it’s a big deal. I’m comfortable in that hat.”

—

Also, on a technical note, for those who have had trouble with tags not closing in comments, if you highlight the text you’re using and then click the button you want, it will add both the opening and closing tags around that text, and then there is no second click required to close the tag.

While I can’t explain why it’s circling the internet, you put the Warhol-ized Emerson photos at the top of the page because the relevance to the topic is stunning especially in relation to the Tigers’ “D” logo.

Individually, any sports fan would look at those “D”‘s and know that it was the Tigers’ logo, but when placed next to each other it is easy to pick out their differences. The same can be said for each of the four Emersons in the Warhol-ized photo. Anyone who knows what Emerson looked like could look at one of the four pictures individually and identify him, however each of the four photos has an obvious difference from the others.

[quote comment=”16091″]Today’s Boston Globe: “An Internet blog,Uni Watch, in a submission posted on the ESPN.com website, noted that Rogers wears a batting practice cap, which has a dark underbill, rather than the standard cap worn by teammates, which has a light gray underbill. The cap, of course, has been a favorite hiding place of pitchers using illegal substances on the ball.”[/quote]

Saw that in the paper this morning, but I guess you beat me to it. Kudos to the Globe for mentioning the Uni Watch.

[quote comment=”16081″]Steve Grogan’s windbreaker aside, those Patriots uniforms certainly look good in that photo. I will never get used to the current atrocities, no matter how many Super Bowls the team wins.[/quote]

Amen. I understand why the Pats changed their logo in the 1990’s. It was a way to revitalize a tarnished brand. That said, after 3 super bowl wins I think that the Pats could stop dressing like an expansion team.

Quick Question for anyone willing to answer, unrelated to all of this:

For all the hatred the color Purple gets in sportswear, is Orange really any better?

#21: I don’t believe so, but there was a rumor going around that that’s why Vinny T threw so many interceptions when he was with the Bucs- he’s color blind and can’t distinguish between orange and green. He was long gone by the time they switched to pewter, though.

#19: I wonder if he had anything to do with Oregon’s diamond plating…

The varying ages of New Era’s hat machines finally helps me understand why I can’t order 5950s over the Internet. I know I’m a 7 1/4, but every time I ordered a hat from the web, it was too tight. I have to go to the store in person, try on several 7 1/4s, and only then will I find one that fits right.

Damn, that always bothered me. I just figured it was moisture during shipping that caused the wool to shrink up in some of the hats.

Does anyone know whether American Needle makes their hats in the U.S. or overseas? Their 7 1/4 actually runs a little bigger than New Era. Also New Era’s caps for the WBC ran much bigger than the MLB 5950s. I tried on a 7 1/4 USA hat, and it fell over my ears.

[quote comment=”16103″][quote comment=”16081″]Steve Grogan’s windbreaker aside, those Patriots uniforms certainly look good in that photo. I will never get used to the current atrocities, no matter how many Super Bowls the team wins.[/quote]

Amen. I understand why the Pats changed their logo in the 1990’s. It was a way to revitalize a tarnished brand. That said, after 3 super bowl wins I think that the Pats could stop dressing like an expansion team.[/quote]

No, no, NO! I think the Patriots look FANTASTIC, especially when you compares them to some of the other rebrands over the past few years. (Minnesota and Atlanta come to mind.) I liked their bright blue uniforms at first but by the time they got to Super Bowl XXXI they had those big logos on the shoulders and ugly number font AND ugly vertical stirping in the body of the jerseys…yuck! Maybe I just like the current unis that much better just by comparison.

(Of course it could be because of my enormous man-crush on Tom Brady.)

It’s all in how you use it. THe Browns using Orange for the helmets and stripes, fine. I couldn’t imagine them any other way. THe Browns orange alt unis- a disaster. Same with the Bears.

So you’re saying Clemson can’t wear their orange unis?

[quote comment=”16118″]Anyone notice Terry Glenn had a buckeye leaf sticker on his helmet last night?[/quote]

Yeah, Paul wrote it in the blog.

[quote comment=”16105″]Quick Question for anyone willing to answer, unrelated to all of this:

For all the hatred the color Purple gets in sportswear, is Orange really any better?[/quote]

yes. yes it is.

(not my favorite color or anything…)

I probably should have made my Purple question a bit more specific: The main point of the question was not just to belittle Orange entirely, but just to state that for all the flack that Purple gets around here, it is not the only color that can be seen as being a major offender of sports aesthetics. But the main gripe is that it seems that around here (“seems” being the key word) as if Purple apparently can have no justifiable inclusion with a sports team no matter how small or large the quantity, while other colors can be just as gaudy given the right circumstances.

So it just seems as if Purple gets a bad rap for more than just aesthetics. If it’s a dislike based on how often teams try to incorporate Purple compared to other colors that likely have a better track record (like, say, Current Denver Nugget/Throwback San Diego Charger Light Blue), then I understand.

[quote comment=”16128″]That’s really interesting about the New Era hats. I have always wondered why a 7 3/8 doesn’t always fit like a 7 3/8 (although, down in the US they always fit perfectly, and up here in Canada I always have to try on a few so I still think they’re sending the crap ones up here). The stitching part is interesting to because I noticed this summer when I bought a new Angels cap that the stitching wasn’t nearly as raised (and in my opinion doesn’t look as good) as my old one.[quote comment=”16096″]From the link:

Rogers also responded to a question about his cap. ESPN.com reported that he had worn a batting practice cap — one with a darker region under the bill — rather than the standard Tigers cap.

“My head hurts with the other one,” he said. “It shrinks, and, man, I get headaches. I don’t think it’s a big deal. I’m comfortable in that hat.”
[/quote]

I don’t know Kenny. I seem to have the opposite problem, so that story seems weird to me.[/quote]

it makes perfect sense… wool does have a tendancy to shrink (go throw you wool sweater in the wash and dryer and see what happens)… polyester is less likely to shrink…

this one:

link

I remember an article from an the SI NFL roundup mag from 1995 when Carolina and Jax got teams. It was all about how teal and black were the “in” colors for new sports teams.

With the exception of the Dolphins, all the teams I can think of that use teal as a color are products of the 90’s.

My list:
SJ Sharks, Mighty Ducks (original unis), Hornets, Carolina Panthers, Jags, Marlins. Several teams also expanded/changed their jersey selection to include Teal: Pistons and Islanders come to mind.

As a Dol-phan (yes, it’s tough) I think I have a bias toward the Teal/Aqua that they wear. But it bothers me that all of these newer teams have taken on the color out of fashion.

[quote comment=”16127″]
So it just seems as if Purple gets a bad rap for more than just aesthetics. [/quote]

ive often wondered this same thing here. its no secret that the author of this blog is not a fan of purple. its been readily noted even before the blog came along. but, is it just me or does it seem like every responder here hates purple as well? is this the truth or has the opionion of one influenced that of the others. im indifferent to the color i guess because seeing the vikes or the rockies really doesnt bother me at all, but i do understand how we (myself included) are easily influenced by what we see, read or hear. just curious i guess…

on the issue of fitted hats, new era, american needle, sports specialties, twins enterprises or top of the world, i never have been able to pick up the right size on the first shot and have it fit right. since i only get the franchise hat now, i have to pick up about 10 larges before i get one that fits right. online ordering can get tossed out the window for me, unless i order a box of larges, keep one and return the rest.

as far as the hat shrinking, of course they do. they all do. but you are in the mlb kenny, they are free, pick out 5 hats that fit prior to the game and when you “feel them” shrink after a bit of use, put another one on. iwouldnt want an mlb’er to get a headache.

[quote comment=”16135″]if they went back to the classic look (as in the Grogan picture), I don’t think anyone would honestly miss what they wear now.

Prefer the old Pats look (because of the logo), but I think the jerseys should be blue and not red. The minutemen/Pats fought the “red”coats, right?[/quote]

When the pats came into being, most people in Boston followed the Giants. So the last thing Billy Sullivan (the orig owner) wanted was a team that reminded everyone of the Giants.

I link, link, link the Bears’ orange jersey.

When you have a classic look like the Bears do, why mess with it?

[quote comment=”16139″][quote comment=”16135″]if they went back to the classic look (as in the Grogan picture), I don’t think anyone would honestly miss what they wear now.

Prefer the old Pats look (because of the logo), but I think the jerseys should be blue and not red. The minutemen/Pats fought the “red”coats, right?[/quote]

When the pats came into being, most people in Boston followed the Giants. So the last thing Billy Sullivan (the orig owner) wanted was a team that reminded everyone of the Giants.[/quote]

How come we’re not KILLING Grogan for wearing sleeves that don’t match the color of his uniform. If we are all true to what we preach around here shouldn’t Grogan have “Ditched the Blue” windbreaker in favor of something red?
It kinda looks like he was wearing his Members Only jacket to the stadium that day, realized how cold it was and decided to leave it on under his game jersey

[quote comment=”16141″]I link, link, link the Bears’ orange jersey.

When you have a classic look like the Bears do, why mess with it?[/quote]

Did you intend for those to reduce in size as they went along? It would have been cooler to flip it. Rawr! Orange is coming at you!

Purple isn’t evil.
It spawned one of the great nick-names in sports: the 1970s Vikes “Purple People Eaters”.
Also it makes sense in the Rockies color sceme: “From purple mountains majesty beyond the fruited plains.”
And The Philadelphia Phantoms are named for the purple-clad comic book hero. So obviously they wear purple.
And purple has a long and storied history, from Wilt and West to Shaq and Kobe, as the color of the Lakers. How could anyone argue that the team from LA-LA Land shouldn’t wear purple.
So why all the hatin’ on purple?

[quote comment=”16146″]The purple link was a somewhat darker shade, which made it look somewhat OK, just too much purple going on there, the jersey they wore would have looked good with white pants

link

link might be too much as well

link
link

I think what it comes down to with me is the use or misuse of purple and as a matter of fact any color…some colors just go better with some of the designs that are out there[/quote]
I link agree with you link.

link is how purple is suppossed to look.

[quote comment=”16153″][quote comment=”16141″]I link, link, link the Bears’ orange jersey.

When you have a classic look like the Bears do, why mess with it?[/quote]

anyone notice that there are 2 different bears’ orange alts? look at the stripes on the urlacher jersey, and then compare it to the other two photos.[/quote]
Or, for an easier comparison….check out the color of the numbers on the 2 unis.

[quote comment=”16153″][quote comment=”16141″]I link, link, link the Bears’ orange jersey.

When you have a classic look like the Bears do, why mess with it?[/quote]

anyone notice that there are 2 different bears’ orange alts? look at the stripes on the urlacher jersey, and then compare it to the other two photos.[/quote]

Also notice that the Urlacher jersey has navy numbers with white outline whereas the others are reversed.

[quote comment=”16158″]it reminds me of the old Broncos’ unis, you know, from the pre-winning-the-Super-Bowl days when they looked damn sharp[/quote]

you know, link.

Another Dol-phan here (waiting for next year already). Someone correct me if I’m wrong, but I always thought of aquamarine (Dolphins) and teal (Marlins; Jaguars) as being two different colors. Isn’t aquamarine a perfect balance between green & blue, whereas teal falls slightly more toward the blue end of the scale? Throughout the 70s and 80s I never heard the word teal applied to the Dolphins, in fact I seldom heard the word at all.

I’m sure some of you know TDF podium jersey’s zip in the back…gut its a little ironic that they already had one premade for lance before it even started.

link

[quote comment=”16162″]Another Dol-phan here (waiting for next year already). Someone correct me if I’m wrong, but I always thought of aquamarine (Dolphins) and teal (Marlins; Jaguars) as being two different colors. Isn’t aquamarine a perfect balance between green & blue, whereas teal falls slightly more toward the blue end of the scale? Throughout the 70s and 80s I never heard the word teal applied to the Dolphins, in fact I seldom heard the word at all.[/quote]

As a Jag fan, I definitely agree they are 2 different colors. Here’s a good gallery for comparison:
link

[quote comment=”16160″]Does anyone else think that maybe Todd Jones’ sleeves are the same length, but that he just pulls one up to give his pitching arm more range of motion? Look at any of the pictures of him with the “shorter” sleeve, the shoulder area is always really bunched up. Evidence that they are the same length here: link[/quote]

I happen to agree with you. In every picture posted on this blog or the ESPN column as evidence of a shortened sleeve, there is bunching on his right arm/shoulder area.

[quote comment=”16168″][quote comment=”16160″]Does anyone else think that maybe Todd Jones’ sleeves are the same length, but that he just pulls one up to give his pitching arm more range of motion? Look at any of the pictures of him with the “shorter” sleeve, the shoulder area is always really bunched up. Evidence that they are the same length here: link[/quote]

I happen to agree with you. In every picture posted on this blog or the ESPN column as evidence of a shortened sleeve, there is bunching on his right arm/shoulder area.[/quote]

link are the link Paul referenced in the ESPN.com column yesterday. There is a ton of bunching on the right sleeve in both of them, plenty to allow the sleeve to fall back down the arm to a level equal to the left arm.

[quote comment=”16103″][quote comment=”16081″]Steve Grogan’s windbreaker aside, those Patriots uniforms certainly look good in that photo. I will never get used to the current atrocities, no matter how many Super Bowls the team wins.[/quote]

Amen. I understand why the Pats changed their logo in the 1990’s. It was a way to revitalize a tarnished brand. That said, after 3 super bowl wins I think that the Pats could stop dressing like an expansion team.[/quote]

I may be in the dark here but what is wrong with the Patriots unis these days besides a repetitive logo? There way, way better than the 1993 disasters.

[quote comment=”16116″][quote comment=”16104″]didn’t an NFL team change helmet color sometime in the modern era owing to a quarterback’s colorblindness?[/quote]

Sort of: the Bills. They theorized that Joe Ferguson was throwing so many INTs because of all the other white-helmeted teams in the AFC East (Jets, Colts, Pats, Dolphins). That’s how the Bills ended up with red helmets. But it wasn’t because they thought Ferguson was colorblind — they just thought he was having a hard time picking out his own receivers amidst all the white helmets he was seeing.
Footnote: Ferguson’s INT total actually went up the following season.
[/quote]

What about weather reasons? It snows more in Buffalo than some other AFC East cities. A red helmet would contrast a grass field OR a snowy field.

[quote comment=”16141″]I link, link, link the Bears’ orange jersey.

When you have a classic look like the Bears do, why mess with it?[/quote]

Hey man, nobody is messing with it!

It’s a THIRD jersey. Geez. Get over it.

[quote comment=”16162″]Another Dol-phan here (waiting for next year already). Someone correct me if I’m wrong, but I always thought of aquamarine (Dolphins) and teal (Marlins; Jaguars) as being two different colors. Isn’t aquamarine a perfect balance between green & blue, whereas teal falls slightly more toward the blue end of the scale? Throughout the 70s and 80s I never heard the word teal applied to the Dolphins, in fact I seldom heard the word at all.[/quote]

You’re right it’s aqua. The Jaguars are teal. The Panthers shouldn’t even be in these discussions. They’re blue. I’m so tired of all this griping about colors – not by you but others who whine about new colors being introduced as though every team should be red white and blue.

Justifying Purple:

I know there aren’t many purple fans around here, but since we are on a literary kick today, I thought I’d bring up how the University of Washington students picked purple and gold as their colors. From gohuskies.com:

Washington’s school colors, Purple and Gold, were adopted in 1892 by a vote of a student assembly on the original downtown Seattle campus. One patriotic group favored Red, White and Blue as the University’s colors, reasoning that “since the school was named after the father of our country, our national colors should be the school’s colors.” The opposing faction argued that national colors should not be degraded for such everyday use. The debate was ended when a young English instructor, Miss Frazier, stood and read the following excerpt from Lord Byron’s “Destruction of Sennacherib.”

“The Assyrian came down like the wolf on the fold,
And his cohorts were gleaming in purple and gold;
And the sheen of their spears was like stars on the sea,
And the blue wave rolls nightly on deep Galilee.”

Emerson and now Lord Byron. How high minded of us.

I’ve always thought that Univ of Washington’s purple and gold was a great look. I admit, I’m a little bias being a UW grad and all. But regardless, I’ve thought that the two colors paired together can be very classy (the key being the use of gold, not yellow).

according to previous photo evidence, this is the bears orange alternate game jersey
link

however on the nflshop.com site, the blue numbered and white numbered orange jerseys are listed as replica alternate jerseys

[quote comment=”16151″]It seems that New Era is making a link while I am on their site.[/quote]

Question for you all regards to that link. On the bottom pic w/ the 6 caps… the Braves never wore a white front paneled cap with that uppercase A, did they? Where is that from? A never-used design?

I wish New Era would actually reproduce some of those old baseball hats instead of all these stupid fashion-multipattern designs. Also wondering if New Era is going to keep making the retro caps with the wool (tho I’m assuming not)

Also, thanks to Steve about the MLB info , and thanks Paul, for shedding the light on the embroidery of the Cardinals uniforms from yesterday’s entry, something I noticed over the years but couldn’t quite put my finger on. Wish more teams did that with their jerseys.

A little off topic for today, but following up on the variation of link logos, it seems that there are specific uses for each one. To the untrained eye, it seems that MLB’s on-field logo isn’t all that different from the one the Yankees use at link. But when you get to see their link jerseys, link jerseys, or link (or dugout) jackets you really start to see how differntiated the logos are.

In fact, the only place where I personally see their on-field logo is, surprise, on the field at home games. Could this just be a merchandising effort to further differentiate their authentic jerseys from pretty much everything else?

I really started to see the differences amongst all the logos when I came across a few blank authentic pinstriped jerseys, and thought I’d “create” some of my own. As a stickler for detail, I went through no less than 3 variations of patches before I came across the real deals (don’t even get me started on the different link available) and proceeded to teach myself how to sew. After a lot of trial-and-error, I finished with a few hand-sewn, customized jerseys with close to perfect patch placement. I was ecstatic!

But in the end, I really hope that MLB, and really, every professional league, stays away from automated processes and retains the uniqueness and beauty of hand-created unis. There are some things that just cannot be duplicated.

[quote comment=”16141″]I link, link, link the Bears’ orange jersey.

When you have a classic look like the Bears do, why mess with it?[/quote]

Easy answer to sell Bears fans another jersey. I am a Chicagoan and do hate the orange jersey but do see them pretty regularly around the area.

[quote comment=”16190″][quote comment=”16151″]It seems that New Era is making a link while I am on their site.[/quote]

Question for you all regards to that link. On the bottom pic w/ the 6 caps… the Braves never wore a white front paneled cap with that uppercase A, did they? Where is that from? A never-used design?

I wish New Era would actually reproduce some of those old baseball hats instead of all these stupid fashion-multipattern designs. Also wondering if New Era is going to keep making the retro caps with the wool (tho I’m assuming not)

Also, thanks to Steve about the MLB info , and thanks Paul, for shedding the light on the embroidery of the Cardinals uniforms from yesterday’s entry, something I noticed over the years but couldn’t quite put my finger on. Wish more teams did that with their jerseys.[/quote]

The New Era museum is supposed to open in a year or so, in downtown Buffalo.

Interesting logo creep/sponsorship thing I noticed with the Toronto Raptors. Check out the following photo:

link

So the “Raptors wear Reebok”, huh? (Check the banner.) I see some nike shoes and some “blatanly-Adidas” workout unis, but nary a stitch of Reebok-branded clothing on an actual Raptor. Wondering how stuff like that happens.

oh ya, you can add the Cubs to the list of teams who embroider their home uniform logo (tho it is a patch sewn on).

[quote comment=”16196″][quote comment=”16141″]I link, link, link the Bears’ orange jersey.

When you have a classic look like the Bears do, why mess with it?[/quote]

Easy answer to sell Bears fans another jersey. I am a Chicagoan and do hate the orange jersey but do see them pretty regularly around the area.[/quote]

Yeah same with jerseys that people buy at Wal-mart because they are not real fans and do not want to spend the money on a good replica jersey…i’ve seen jerseys with link on the sleeve only

[quote comment=”16190″][quote comment=”16151″]It seems that New Era is making a link while I am on their site.[/quote]

I wish New Era would actually reproduce some of those old baseball hats instead of all these stupid fashion-multipattern designs. Also wondering if New Era is going to keep making the retro caps with the wool (tho I’m assuming not)

[/quote]

They do make older hats, they are part of the cooperstown collection. Here’s two I’ve bought this year: link and link
Note how they are “as worn on the field”, so no MLB logo to fuss up the back of the cap.

this is starting to fall to far into the “chick” zone for me!

No, that would be a pink jersey.

Uh oh. Where’s Minna?

(Although I think I suffered severe eye damage when someone mentioned the Pistons’ teal jerseys. And there wasn’t even a picture. Shudder.)

I think you guys are being too hard on link.

They look great when they wear link–link–link.

[quote comment=”16205″][quote comment=”16162″]Another Dol-phan here (waiting for next year already). Someone correct me if I’m wrong, but I always thought of aquamarine (Dolphins) and teal (Marlins; Jaguars) as being two different colors. Isn’t aquamarine a perfect balance between green & blue, whereas teal falls slightly more toward the blue end of the scale? Throughout the 70s and 80s I never heard the word teal applied to the Dolphins, in fact I seldom heard the word at all.[/quote]
Not sure…..but this is starting to fall to far into the “chick” zone for me![/quote]

listening to this topic, I was just thinking of which one of you will have a Milwaukee’s Best can fall on your head.

[quote comment=”16215″][quote comment=”16188″]according to previous photo evidence, this is the bears orange alternate game jersey
link

however on the nflshop.com site, the blue numbered and white numbered orange jerseys are listed as replica alternate jerseys[/quote]

now there’s another one – white numbers, but 3 blue stripes. the original post had 1) white numbers with blue/white/blue stripes & 2) blue numbers with blue/blue/blue stripes

the link above is a 3rd version?[/quote]

Actually the post earlier had one with blue numbers and Blue/white/blue stripes, and the same one you just pictured(white numbers, 3 blue stripes)

[quote comment=”16210″]this is starting to fall to far into the “chick” zone for me!

No, that would be a pink jersey.

Uh oh. Where’s Minna?

(Although I think I suffered severe eye damage when someone mentioned the Pistons’ teal jerseys. And there wasn’t even a picture. Shudder.)[/quote]
I just meant all the discussion about the different hues of blue.

[quote comment=”16215″][quote comment=”16188″]according to previous photo evidence, this is the bears orange alternate game jersey
link

however on the nflshop.com site, the blue numbered and white numbered orange jerseys are listed as replica alternate jerseys[/quote]

now there’s another one – white numbers, but 3 blue stripes. the original post had 1) white numbers with blue/white/blue stripes & 2) blue numbers with blue/blue/blue stripes

the link above is a 3rd version?[/quote]

i think the orange jersey with the blue numbers is simply one of the reebok generated noveltly color jerseys. an alternate color for a jersey, but not THE alternate colored jersey.
similar to this 49ers one…
link
this tampa one
link
or this favre one
link

[quote comment=”16206″][quote comment=”16196″][quote comment=”16141″]I link, link, link the Bears’ orange jersey.

When you have a classic look like the Bears do, why mess with it?[/quote]

Easy answer to sell Bears fans another jersey. I am a Chicagoan and do hate the orange jersey but do see them pretty regularly around the area.[/quote]

Yeah same with jerseys that people buy at Wal-mart because they are not real fans and do not want to spend the money on a good replica jersey…i’ve seen jerseys with link on the sleeve only[/quote]

Kenny, i’m sure you know this comment was wrong and uncalled for. i hope you are not telling me i have to spend money to be a “real” fan.

Strange, the link for the link doesn’t work. Let’s try it again.

[quote comment=”16133″]I know the Emerson think was answered already but when I was looking for

it, I came across this

Occasionally, there was a dig at what some perceived as Emerson’s “Yankee shrewdness”

overpowering his thirst for spiritual awareness.

Not exactly sure what it is supposed to mean, but when i saw “Yankee shrewdness”, I thought of the 5

Yankee logos[/quote]

Yankee shrewdess? I know it’s not like the LA Lakers or Utah Jazz, but Yankees homo

sapiens are from New England. Yankees pinstripes are from New York! Red Sox Nation (I’m

not a member) is full of Yankees homo sapiens.

I don’t want to start a border war (“That’s not the real West!” “You’re not from the

South!”). However, being from Connecticut, some folks don’t even consider me a Yankee. To wit,

the idea being “You’re not a Vermonter, your great-great-great grandparents aren’t from here.”

Uniwatch just got a mention on the Dan Patrick Show on ESPN Radio — someone wrote in with a question concerning the latest article with The Gambler’s alternative cap.

DP didn’t dwell on it too long; however.

Uniwatch’s mention of the BP cap with its black underbrim in the Dirtgate stroy gets a brief mention on the Dan Patrick show.

[quote comment=”16210″]this is starting to fall to far into the “chick” zone for me!

No, that would be a pink jersey.

Uh oh. Where’s Minna?

(Although I think I suffered severe eye damage when someone mentioned the Pistons’ teal jerseys. And there wasn’t even a picture. Shudder.)[/quote]

Right here, damn it, Burrill. There’s no call for that, none at all! Sheesh. Pink my a**!

As for teal vs. aquamarine vs. whatever—don’t know and don’t care. Guess that means I’m not a chick.

Purple: I don’t think everyone on this site is anti-purple. Paul is, but that’s well-known and we humor him because it’s his awesome site. Like others have said, it’s how the purple is used. Old Vikings unis = good. New Vikes unis = bad. LSU unis = good. Clemson unis = bad. Like that.

Black: I will proudly stand up for this color—except when FSU used it in their ‘tribute’ unis.

That’s as color-obsessed as it gets for this female. I’ll let you boys get back to your discussion on teal vs. aquamarine.

[quote comment=”16247″]I always wondered about the old Lions jerseys…

When did link change to link (or vice versa)?[/quote]

This is disconcerting. Their official color is Honolulu blue. Which one is it?

does anybody know why the chicago c isnt symetrical(spelling?). link It looks to me like the top end of the c is smaller than the bottom end. and the top of the c looks wider than the bottom. is this some sort of optical illusion. also the Reds link looks kind of opposite of the bears C only at the ends, i realize the part where the top and bottom part meet are different. and on a side note on the helmets i see when chicago plays the top of the C seems to angle downward. here. is this because of the curve of the helmet or someting? i cant get the link to work so here is the website.
link

[quote comment=”16254″][quote comment=”16247″]I always wondered about the old Lions jerseys…

When did link change to link (or vice versa)?[/quote]

I think it went darker just a few years ago, but it might be that the addition of the atrocious black accents is deceiving my eyes: link

Either way, says here it’s Matt Millen’s fault.[/quote]

No.. it wasn’t when they went to the black. I remember in the early-mid 90’s having the lighter color Barry Sanders jersey, and my friend had a darker blue color which I liked better, but had no idea there was two different ones.

Could it just be the company who made the jerseys?

[quote comment=”16130″][quote comment=”16128″]That’s really interesting about the New Era hats. I have always wondered why a 7 3/8 doesn’t always fit like a 7 3/8 (although, down in the US they always fit perfectly, and up here in Canada I always have to try on a few so I still think they’re sending the crap ones up here). The stitching part is interesting to because I noticed this summer when I bought a new Angels cap that the stitching wasn’t nearly as raised (and in my opinion doesn’t look as good) as my old one.[quote comment=”16096″]From the link:

Rogers also responded to a question about his cap. ESPN.com reported that he had worn a batting practice cap — one with a darker region under the bill — rather than the standard Tigers cap.

“My head hurts with the other one,” he said. “It shrinks, and, man, I get headaches. I don’t think it’s a big deal. I’m comfortable in that hat.”
[/quote]

I don’t know Kenny. I seem to have the opposite problem, so that story seems weird to me.[/quote]

it makes perfect sense… wool does have a tendancy to shrink (go throw you wool sweater in the wash and dryer and see what happens)… polyester is less likely to shrink…[/quote]

Batting practice hats (New Era Model 3930) aren’t actually fitted. Instead, they have a stretch band that provides a more flexible fit.

Furthermore, BP hats come in three different sizes to accomodate varying ranges of fits: Small/Medium (Fits 6 5/8 – 7), Medium/Large (7 1/8 – 7 5/8), and Large/X-Large (7 3/4 – 8).

[quote comment=”16263″][quote comment=”16195″]If Todd Jones has not had his sleeve shortened and is simply bunching it up which some of you have mentioned then there must be something holding the jersey up (perhaps something pinned to his undershirt). Some of the snapshots are directly after a pitch and I can’t imagine the sleeve staying up that well all on its own. I also don’t see Jones tugging at the sleeve to keep it up constantly during his outings. something fishy here[/quote]

You can definitely tell from this photo I posted yesterday that the right sleeve isn’t shorter.

link

There are a few more on Yahoo sports as well.[/quote]

It still looks shorter than the other.

there was speculation (even by the idiotic twin cities media) that the vikings ditched the purple pants in order to win more games, or something equally assinine, but that is not the case at all. this past summer, when the uni’s were revealed at the mall of america, it was shown there that the vikings would have three uni combos, the purple on white, the white on purple, and the 3rd alternate, white on white. in link, you can see all three combinations available to the team.

in essence, this combination was expected and planned, not some exciting mid-season change.

[quote comment=”16268″]there was speculation (even by the idiotic twin cities media) that the vikings ditched the purple pants in order to win more games, or something equally assinine, but that is not the case at all. this past summer, when the uni’s were revealed at the mall of america, it was shown there that the vikings would have three uni combos, the purple on white, the white on purple, and the 3rd alternate, white on white. in link, you can see all three combinations available to the team.

in essence, this combination was expected and planned, not some exciting mid-season change.[/quote]

Thank you for bringing sanity to this discussion. I had lost all respect for a new head coach who is so superstitious he will ditch an entire pants due to one road loss. Ridiculous.

[quote comment=”16137″][quote comment=”16127″]
So it just seems as if Purple gets a bad rap for more than just aesthetics. [/quote]

ive often wondered this same thing here. its no secret that the author of this blog is not a fan of purple. its been readily noted even before the blog came along. but, is it just me or does it seem like every responder here hates purple as well? is this the truth or has the opionion of one influenced that of the others. im indifferent to the color i guess because seeing the vikes or the rockies really doesnt bother me at all, but i do understand how we (myself included) are easily influenced by what we see, read or hear. just curious i guess…

on the issue of fitted hats, new era, american needle, sports specialties, twins enterprises or top of the world, i never have been able to pick up the right size on the first shot and have it fit right. since i only get the franchise hat now, i have to pick up about 10 larges before i get one that fits right. online ordering can get tossed out the window for me, unless i order a box of larges, keep one and return the rest.

as far as the hat shrinking, of course they do. they all do. but you are in the mlb kenny, they are free, pick out 5 hats that fit prior to the game and when you “feel them” shrink after a bit of use, put another one on. iwouldnt want an mlb’er to get a headache.[/quote]

I personally don’t hate purple, but I hate how it’s used in almost every uniform in sports (Rockies, current Vikings, TCU, Northwestern). I think the only purple uniform that I genuinely liked was the previous Vikings uniforms. Much like the Bills uniforms of the 90s, they were classic and simple, but both organizations saw fit to change–and in the process, destroy–their uniforms. ‘If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’ may be a cliché, but it’s truth is laid out on the fields of Minnesota and Buffalo for all to see.

I meant ‘hats’ not ‘hates’. I sometimes think faster than I type…

[quote comment=”16164″]I’m sure some of you know TDF podium jersey’s zip in the back…gut its a little ironic that they already had one premade for lance before it even started.

[/quote]

The race jerseys — with the front zip — are indeed pre-made. Most teams have a handful of them in a variety of sizes. Obviously, Discovery (nee Postal) would have a few more on hand.

I’d be amazed if no one has pointed this out already, but I just stumbled across these through the ESPN online shop. I don’t know what to think (other than at least the scale levels are correct). That is unless I was really jonesing to look like the front page the Wednesday edition of the Daily Bugle. You can get the matching link if you really wanted the complete the look. I’d also suggest you start hanging around link more often.

Bo knows Greyscale.

It seems as though the latest craze is to go “vintage”. You see it in regular clothes now. Vintage T-Shirts, man the kids now are dressing exactly how I dressed in junior high school back then. When jerseys in the 90’s were coming out in new colors, the vibe I was getting was old school was drab, Patriots, Jets, etc. looked too old and worn out. Now after another 15-20 years of more modern look, we all start the bandwagon for “vintage”, “old school”, “retro”….

It’s all in how the fashion industry and clothing line apparel makers that set trends. It’s what is happening now. Teams that trot out Bold looks tend to get hammered pretty hard by us folks. It’s cool to see the Chargers in their baby-blues, and Bills with the old standing Buffalo and 70’s look. It’s a way to reminisce in day’s of our youth. Everyone has their preference in style, that’s the fun of it.

Don’t know if anyone suggested this yet, but Emerson once wrote “To be great is to be misunderstood.” Being that this is a great misunderstanding, maybe they wanted to be misunderstood…?

[quote comment=”16285″][quote comment=”16278″][quote comment=”16137″][quote comment=”16127″]
So it just seems as if Purple gets a bad rap for more than just aesthetics. [/quote]

ive often wondered this same thing here. its no secret that the author of this blog is not a fan of purple. its been readily noted even before the blog came along. but, is it just me or does it seem like every responder here hates purple as well? is this the truth or has the opionion of one influenced that of the others. im indifferent to the color i guess because seeing the vikes or the rockies really doesnt bother me at all, but i do understand how we (myself included) are easily influenced by what we see, read or hear. just curious i guess…

on the issue of fitted hats, new era, american needle, sports specialties, twins enterprises or top of the world, i never have been able to pick up the right size on the first shot and have it fit right. since i only get the franchise hat now, i have to pick up about 10 larges before i get one that fits right. online ordering can get tossed out the window for me, unless i order a box of larges, keep one and return the rest.

as far as the hat shrinking, of course they do. they all do. but you are in the mlb kenny, they are free, pick out 5 hats that fit prior to the game and when you “feel them” shrink after a bit of use, put another one on. iwouldnt want an mlb’er to get a headache.[/quote]

I personally don’t hate purple, but I hate how it’s used in almost every uniform in sports (Rockies, current Vikings, TCU, Northwestern). I think the only purple uniform that I genuinely liked was the previous Vikings uniforms. Much like the Bills uniforms of the 90s, they were classic and simple, but both organizations saw fit to change–and in the process, destroy–their uniforms. ‘If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’ may be a cliché, but it’s truth is laid out on the fields of Minnesota and Buffalo for all to see.[/quote]

“Destroy”? Settle down man. Your cliches don’t cut it. How were the Bills uniforms of the 90s classic? Does making it to four Super Bowls mean you have classic unis? Not really. They were simple and boring – leave it at that. The Vikings had fine uniforms but when there’s a change in ownership chances are there will be new uniforms. Get used to it.[/quote]

I’ll grant that the Bills’ were not the most exciting uniforms, but they looked good and they followed the KISS rule (Keep It Simple Stupid) and were infinitely better than the abominations they wear now. Same goes for the Vikings.

It’s one thing to update a team’s uniforms; both the Dolphins and 49ers modernized the look with accents (like black trim and slightly different letter and number fonts) without changing the overall aesthetic and by staying true to their past uniforms.

The Bills and Vikings had great uniforms and their lack of Super Bowls not only doesn’t take away from that, but is in fact completely unrelated. Both of these teams’ uniforms were butchered and I don’t think it ‘cliched’ to express this opinion.

[quote comment=”16228″]

Kenny, i’m sure you know this comment was wrong and uncalled for. i hope you are not telling me i have to spend money to be a “real” fan.[/quote]

Gov’Nah, that is absolutely not what I am trying to say and sorry if you took it that way…it just chaps me when I see people at a bar I frequent during the games that I don’t normally see there during the Bears game (i.e. the Monday night game against Arizona)…all of a sudden they are acting like the biggest fan ever, wearing some cheap knock-off! Sorry for the rant but that’s where and what my point was getting at

*Now for a positive comment*

I liked what FOX did showing the other guys known for wearing glasses while playing…cracked me up

GO CARDS!!!

[quote comment=”16309″]Sabres goalie Marty Biron finally got his white mask painted.

link

Hey isn’t the buffalo with the crossed sabres on the side of the mask from John Slabyk’s website with his own designs? Here’s the link. Maybe Biron doesn’t like the new logo either.

Also, the wordmark near the bottom looks like the one from John Slabyk’s website as well.

Joel Zumaya (who just managed to throw a stupid error, by the way), seems to have a dark underbill, and something written on his right side, in some silver pen, or something. He just got pulled, but there might be some pictures of him.

[quote comment=”16276″]Back to New Era MLB hats:

Someone mentioned earlier that they bought an Angels hat and noticed the logo stitching wasnt 3D or “popping out”. The Angels hat is one of the few in MLB in which the majority of the logo doesnt “pop-out”. Only the halo sticks out. I think it has to do with the different shades of red and different colors in the logo. It seems it is true since the other teams w/ flat logos also have lots of colors or shades: the Orioles, and Blue Jays. Any others anyone?[/quote]

That was me. My new one is as you just described however my old one (I wish I still had it so I could take a picture) purchased circa 2003 had the whole logo raised at the same level that the halo is now. It looked way better than the new ones.

Although I’ll admit purple looks link occasionally…it’s only when it’s paired with it’s opposite color link…

If you look at teams like the Mets in all of their link glory..you’ll notice that link link link link use the opposite colors because they’re the most aesthetically pleasing..

Okay..so maybe the last one had a little more to do with the subject and not the colors..haha..

And on another note..I love the link , link, and link orange alternate jerseys..

But that could just be because my old link wears link and link.

Oh and I’m watching Game 3 and while he was blowing the big one..I noticed Detroit’s Joel Zumaya was wearing a BP cap with a black underbill and ZUMAYA written on it with a silver sharpie..(Sorry..No screen shot)..

From the looks of his performance..I doubt he was using it to hide any substance to help his pitching..haha..

someone mentioned after game 1 that many tigers had black underbills.zumaya may have been wearing a new model 5950 for next year and not the bp cap

Isn’t anyone else dissapointed the ‘professionals’ opinion of the top 10 NFL logos? 8 of them I one star’ed.

Must be a union thing, to create more logo creating opps….

Alando Tucker of the Wisconsin Badgers played the Red and White scrimmage tonight with double Adidas socks, and Marcus Landry had on goggles in a departure from his previous m.o. Pictures link

Man, I was looking around, and I saw something that looked like I have seen before. I think link looks a whole lot like link but I think I liked the first one better.

as for the dark billed reg hats, Paul, didn’t you tell us that MLB was going to this in the next year? I think it was brought up one of the many times underbill writing was spoken of?

[quote comment=”16313″]06-07 NHL All-Star Game Jerseys reveiled. Someone kill me now, please.
link

Ugly. 03-04’s still the best All-Star jersey I’ve seen ever.
link

I will say this: they follow Reebok’s slim-fit template to a tee. In the case of your choice of “best I’ve ever seen”, they’re nice, but they’re nothing like the old Campbell Conference jerseys. I want an Yzerman one! And not those BS “CCM Vintage” pieces of drivel either.

link

Using the NHL logo colors? That’s uni-centric.

Re: Chicago Bears orange jersey.

Remember when they wore them against the Niners? Yeah, I do…

And so does link, who ran back a missed field goal for an NFL record 108-yard TD runback.

Not like anyone really needs superstition to beat the Niners, but I guess it wouldn’t hurt. Don’t mess with a winning formula.

Orange Bears Jerseys + Playing the 49ers = Victory

[quote comment=”16339″] anyone notice that the old Giants Uni’s didn’t match the same blue of the helmets??[/quote]

The mismatch for the Giants, Rams, Vikings and a lot of other teams came from the use of “impregnated” helmet shells – instead of painting the helmets as had been done from the introduction of plastic shells in the 1950s up until 1970 or so, they now made the helmets out of colored plastic shells. From the early 1970s through the mid-1990s really the only painted shells were the metallic colors – silver, gold, “Cowboys’ Silver Blue”, etc. There were some exceptions – I think the Bears took the molded navy shell and repainted it their shade of navy during the early Ditka years (including the Super Bowl year).

Painted helmets made a big return in the 1990s with newer “dazzle” colors. I think Denver was an early adopter, where they take a colored shell and paint the dazzle finish over it. Then came the “chrome” finishes like the current Giants and Vikings (and many universities). A lot of it is teams willingness to have the shells repainted during the season (as Notre Dame has done for years).

[quote comment=”16316″][quote comment=”16309″]Sabres goalie Marty Biron finally got his white mask painted.

link

Hey isn’t the buffalo with the crossed sabres on the side of the mask from John Slabyk’s website with his own designs? Here’s the link. Maybe Biron doesn’t like the new logo either.[/quote]
I don’t know if he doesn’t like it or not but the new logo is on his mask. :)

And as for the all-star jersey, those Prince of Wales/Campbell jersey were the best. :D

[quote comment=”16354″]Re: Chicago Bears orange jersey.

Remember when they wore them against the Niners? Yeah, I do…

And so does link, who ran back a missed field goal for an NFL record 108-yard TD runback.

Not like anyone really needs superstition to beat the Niners, but I guess it wouldn’t hurt. Don’t mess with a winning formula.

Orange Bears Jerseys + Playing the 49ers = Victory[/quote]

I’ll be at that game wearing Red & Gold and praying for extreme weather conditions to level the playing field.

What is he deal with the logo YOU have on your website (www.uniwatchblog.com)? As a man who considers his taste robust and refined, I am shock that you would allow such blatant disrespect of color, line, form and function. I believe there should be immediate action taken; possibly with a contest to allow your witty, creative, and fashion forward devotees evolve your current display into something remarkable instead of allowing the shameful symbol of your work resound through the nether regions of cyber gluttony.

OK, that is all for now. Now go forward – recreate, redesign and reinvent your faded glory.