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Uni Watch

Ready…Set…Geaux!

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2011-lsu-pro-combat-gloves-hed

By Phil Hecken

The next in line for the Nike Amateur Pacifist costume is LSU, who are playing SEC rival Auburn today, down in the Bayou. And they’ll be wearing this little getup. Not what we think when we picture an LSU/Auburn hookup, but as far as pro combat goes, it’s not too bad.

Using the “one-and-done” (or: to hell with tradition and school colors) yardstick, let’s rate this as a uni before we investigate further.

Helmet: White topper with block “LSU” and tiger logo on the sides. The helmet will have a purple facemask and a purple-gold-purple stripe down the middle, mimicing the UCLA (almost true UCLA stripes) of the jersey. Notice also, at least in the graphic mockup, the sublimated stripes. Nice job — a LOT better than the gold lid they sported in 2009.

Jersey: Purple “V” front collar with “Rulers Of The Fall” embroidered in the inside-back. It appears to have a smallish tiger-stripe pattern sewn in the purple portion. The numbers are purple, also with a distinct, but sublimated, tiger-stripe pattern, but completely unnecessary purple pit stains that stop midway down the side-panel. I’m intrigued by this look, in that for a jersey that appears to have solved Reedidas’ UCLA “officer stripes” problem, it seems they could merely continue the UCLA stripes where the current purple pit stains are. Hey Tim E. (or anyone else), can you mock that up for us? Other than that, this looks pretty sharp. About 1000% better than this look from 2009, with those awful pants.

Pants: Not much to say here. They’re solid white and, in what seems like a departure for Nike, devoid of a tramp stamp. Me likey.

Shoes: It seems to me Nike introduces these pro combats not only because they can but also because they hope to move the new footwear. Every single new combat uniform introduced over the past three seasons has been paired with a brand new set of shoes. Whether it’s the lows or the high-tops, they always try to move a new set of sneakers with the new uni. Well, hey, Nike IS first and foremost a sneaker maker, so they may as well try to push product.

OK. Time for the grade. Helmet: Nice white lid, a bit full with both the block LSU and tiger logo, PLUS the stripes, but not too bad. Jersey: Solid, with the exception of the pit stain purple blotch. Pants: Love ’em, although I wouldn’t have minded a repeating purple-gold-purple stripe to appease my OCD. Still, not complaining. Based on this solely as a uniform, it’s an A-/B+. Ditch those underarm sweat marks, and they move up into the stratosphere. It’s not only way better than the 2009 version, it completely blows away the 2007 special uni as well.

What’s that you say? I’m forgetting something? Oh, yeah…those um, eyes of the tiger things. Great. More stuff to flash (and possibly take 15 yards of penalties for) after a TD dance. I guess the kids like them. And they can certainly repurpose them for Hallowe’en (yes, those are the 2009 gray models, but you get the idea).

Now…if we’re talking school colors and tradition…

I don’t know much about LSU’s football history, but they’ve been playing football down in the Bayou since 1893, and their colors have pretty much always been purple and “gold,” and in 1896, coach A.W. Jeardeau’s LSU football team posted a perfect 6-0-0 record, and that year LSU first adopted its nickname, Tigers. Helmet Hut has a nice helmet history for the Tigers, and as you can see, their first helmet color more closely matches the 2009 gold, but the tiger logo on this year’s topper is supposed to be throwing back to the first tiger helmet logo. (Their current tiger logo looks like this.) As far as how this uniform stacks up historically, it seems to be another Nike mashup, rather than an historical throwback. Scholars agree on one thing though: since 1893, their colors have always been purple and gold. At least Nike didn’t screw with that.

But, hey, the important thing isn’t how we as uni watchers, or alums, or the general public, who are used to seeing LSU look like this think about the new unis, it’s all about the kids, right? Of course, but there are limits.

Coach Les Miles, not a fan of messing with tradition, had this to say: “I can tell you that our uniform will represent LSU and look very much like a uniform an LSU football team will wear. Some of the uniforms are a wonderfully artistic reflection that someone else had. I think our guys will enjoy the uniform, and that it is the right uniform for an LSU team to wear.”

The players, of course, are pumped for their shiny new duds. Dig:

“We look at it as an accomplishment,” junior wide receiver Russell Shepard said. “We worked our butt off to get notoriety from Nike, and the top teams wear these styles of uniforms. We’re going to have fun and look good and look all swagged out in them.”

Said sophomore linebacker Kevin Minter: “You know, I love the original jerseys, but those Pro Combats — we’ve been anticipating wearing them. We hardly ever change out of the original jerseys.”

Sigh.

The only question now is, will Kevin Plank and UnderArmour decide to pull some uni-shenanigans of their own, and have Auburn come out in something “different,” much like Michigan did last weekend is one-upping Michigan State? I doubt it, but nothing would surprise me.

Readers, what’s your take on the LSU amateur pacifist costumes? More corporate douchebaggery, or just a nice break from having to wear that classic LSU uniform all season long?

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50 years 200 pixel

50 Years Ago…This Weekend

Back again with Rick Pearson who is here to bring us his look at the featured ABC television college football matchup from 50 years ago. As always, Rick documented the game via his “kid cards”. Here’s Rick to tell us about it:

~~~

Wk 6 61


Oct. 21, 1961

Southern Cal at California: First off, I loved those Cal unis…Princeton-style striped sleeves and rounded Washington Huskie numerals. … Had seen photos, but this was seeing them MOVE. … QB was Craig Morton. … Back then, if a guy wasn’t mentioned in the preseason annuals you might not have heard of him. No on-screen graphics, either, so you got no help with his name. Hence, “Hal Bedsel” later crossed out in favor or “Hal Bedsole”. … Think the game isn’t faster today? It was a big deal that Bedsole was so fast he once got downfield covering a punt so quickly that he caught ON THE FLY! Wow, folks were amazed at that. …Though a dangerous deep threat for the Trojans, Bedsole was a flop as a TE with the Vikings and Rams.

~~~

Awesome, Rick. Back next weekend with the featured matchup from 50 Years Ago.

~~~~~~~~~

2010-playoffs-alex rocklein

Tracking The 2011 MLB Playoffs

Alex Rocklein is back…so let’s put ’em in the books!

We’re already two games deep into the World Series, which pits the Cardinals against the Texases. So, far the teams split the first two games in St. Looie. Predictably, perhaps, the uni gods were watching from on high.

In the opening game, the always impeccably dressed Cards, wearing the only home uniform in their locker, defeated the softball-topped Texases. Wearing a softball top is bad enough (almost as egregious as wearing two-in-ones), but to do it on OPENING NIGHT? Oh no you didn’t. The uni gods did not approve.

Fortunately for the rest of us, whenever the Texases lose, they will switchup their unis (at least that’s been the pattern thus far in the post season). So after dropping the opening game, they switched to gray tops and rallied for a nice come-from-behind win. The uni gods noticed.

No game last night, as the Series moved to Arlington, so today we have Alex’s updated 2011 MLB Playoff Tracker. Big game three today, with the winner gaining a nice edge moving into game four. We know what the Cards will be wearing. And since the Texases are thus far undefeated while wearing their red caps over white tops, I’d bet dollars to donuts that’s what they’ll be wearing tonight.

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uni tracking 2011

MLB Uni Tracking – 2011 Final Results

Now that the MLB regular season has ended (mercifully for some of us fans), all those who spent the season keeping track of your teams uniform machinations should now feel free to send in your final results.

Today we have Mike Vamosi, who is a Royals tracker:

Dear Phil,

Here are the final numbers for the Kansas City Royals UniWatch. Wearing softball tops the Royals were 21-23 (9-11 Powder, 12-12 Royal Blue) which isn’t bad at all. Combined at home they were 29-28 at night in white but 0-1 when wearing those uniforms which they did on opening day for a 3:05 local start. Other than the day record, KC was terrible on the road this season mainly in the gray uniforms largely at night but 0-1 during the day. Hopefully these numbers get better like many fans hope happens next year since the All-Star Game is coming to Kansas City and the young offense if there! Bring us pitching for in my opinion the top five uniforms in MLB!

Thanks again Uni Watch,

Mike

Thanks Mike. If there is still anyone out there who took the time and effort to track your team by uniform this season, send them in to me, and I’ll post ’em here over the weekends!

~~~~~~~~~~

all sport uni tweaks

Uni Tweaks

We have another new set of tweaks today.

If you have a tweak, change or concept for any sport, send them my way.

Remember, if possible, try to keep your descriptions to ~50 words (give or take) per tweak. You guys have been great at keeping to that, and it’s much appreciated!

And so, lets begin:

~~~

We start with Justin Kline, with kind of a Thanksgiving special:

Phil,

Got a couple of NFL uni tweaks for ya.

First, the Cowboys. I don’t know why their white unis do not match with their pants, which do not match with their helmets, etc., so I fixed that. Made some minor changes to those elusive blue unis that they never seem to wear, and also created a fauxback.

Also, I changed up the Lions’ unis and wordmark. The revamped lion logo is one of my favorites in the league, but the wordmark and number font are among my least favorites. So I made those a little more conservative, but still unique in the league, and put them on the old unis. Tried out BFBS just for the heck of it, and it turned out alright to me.

-Justin Kline

~~~

Next up is Mark Gilbert, who has a couple interesting NFL concepts:

Phil,

For the Eagles, I always liked the Kelly Green much more than the darker green and black combo. I decided to keep the current logo as a new helmet design. As for the uniforms, I went to a much simpler and cleaner look.

The Titans are a mess. I kept the same colors, but, as with the Eagles, simplified the look–adding a drop shadow, but making them much more austere–I think it works nicely!

–Marc Gilbert

~~~

And finally we have Adam Triesler, a man of few words:

These are all pretty much throwback variations. I really don’t prefer monochrome on any NFL team, but I would love the see Cleveland with mono-brown, for at least one game.

Steelers

Vikings

Browns

Redskins

~~~

That’s all for today. Back with more tomorrow.

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Benchies Header

Benchies

by Rick Pearson

~~~

So many hidden treasures on the Internet…

10-22-11 d-GBF ALT

And of course, the full-size.

~~~~~~~~~~

GSU helmet

Got Stickers?

What’s up with the helmet stickers?

Good question. For the answer, let’s go to reader Mike Jaworski, for the rundown:

Georgia Southern football will be wearing several helmet stickers in Saturday’s game. Five of them. The right two are only for this game, and the left 3 will be worn for the rest of the season.

Here is what the GSU Facebook post says:

“Georgia Southern’s helmets will sport five decals for Saturday’s game against Presbyterian. Three decals will be worn for the rest of the 2011 season: the American flag, “GB” for Dr. Gene Bishop and No. 4 for Derek Heyden. The Eagles will add a decal that represents the patch of the 3rd Infantry Division and a decal of the Scottish flag with the initials “TS” for Thomas Sharkey, the Eagle golfer who perished in a fire in July.”

Thanks,
Michael Jaworski

Thanks Mike!

~~~~~~~~~~

That’s it for today, boys and girls. Big non-combat college football news is that Notre Dame will be wearing a new really shiny helmet, much more shiny than their old one, and one designed to more closely mimic the famous golden dome on campus. Looks pretty nice, and I’m generally not a fan of shiny things. Word on the street is that the Irish will also be breaking out new unis…we’ll see, but if they do, there will be a full report on that tomorrow.

Game III of the World Series is tonight as well, and college football is kicking into some high gear. Everyone have a great Saturday.

~~~

“We have mosquitoes. We also have hurricanes, a serious obesity problem, and a mania for the Big Red and cough syrup cocktail called Drank. That doesn’t mean any of them should be chain-stitched on a baseball jersey.” — Cort McMurray

 
  
 
Comments (235)

    “Jersey: Purple “V” front collar with “Rulers Of The Fall” embroidered in the inside-back. It appears to have a smallish tiger-stripe pattern sewn in the purple portion.”

    Not true. That’s actually the Flywire technology in the collar, standard for all of the Nike Speed Machine and 2011 Nike Pro Combat uniforms.

    So tired of white helmets. Sure, it looks fine in a vacuum, but when every damn team is pulling out a white helmet, it’s just tiresome and lame.

    The pants need stripes too. Not really liking the pit stain either. Seriously either make it a full fledged side panel or just leave that section white. I do like the subtle tiger striping though.

    ____

    Also… Mark, we don’t take the wings off the Eagles helmets. That’s just not acceptable. I want you to go stare at an 80’s Randall Cunningham poster and think about what you’ve done.

    “Not really liking the pit stain either. Seriously either make it a full fledged side panel or just leave that section white.”

    (Fixed)

    Side panels don’t belong in any sport except basketball.

    Eh, I don’t have a problem with them if they match up with the pants… the Denver Broncos white uniforms, for example. But even if they don’t match up, a side panel is better than the pit stain.

    Regardless… given the choice of Adidas UCLA dashes or Nike UCLA stripes + pit stains, I’d take the pit stains, wouldn’t you?

    If LSU leaves their arms at their sides all game, the jersey is tolerable. Otherwise, they really stink. Given the criteria The Jeff used, I’m OK with the improved UCLA shoulder stripes. But those pit stains are just a complete joke. Some of this look smells of the shite my poor Norsemen trot out in every Sunday. Ricko’s right too. One of todays tweaks harkens back to better days for team Barney.

    I wish Nike had gone with stripeless old gold pants for LSU instead of white. There has to be lots of gold showing for it to be a real LSU uniform.

    Ricko, I really love your boyhood colors project. And yeah, that Craig Morton-era striped-sleeve Cal jersey was a thing of beauty.

    Something struck me as being a bit off, so I checked.
    Morton didn’t become the Cal QB until ’62.
    Also noticed something else. There are eight sleeve stripes on the ’61 version, and only six on those of the Morton years.

    Oh, and thanks, Connie.
    I’m glad those cards are still around. Sometimes I just shake my head, amazed that it’s been 50 years.
    The Kid Cards are in the same dark green metal “recipe box” they’ve always been in. I suppose that’s why they survived.

    Next week, a look at a prime example of how teams often would add more striping (or something) to give their road whites a little more color…as on the Giants’ current whites.

    If you discount the stars on the sleeves of the Cowboys’ dark uniforms (which they rarely wear), I believe the Giants are the only team that has a different design for their home and away uniforms, i.e., Northwestern stripes only on their road jerseys and different stripe patterns for their pants.

    I didn’t know Craig Morton wore a single digit number (#4) for Cal in 1961. (He later wore #14 in the NFL, of course.) Although you might occasionally see single digit quarterback numbers in college in the fifties and early sixties (Paul Hornung #5, for example) single digit numbers were not that widespread then.

    It probably wasn’t until the late sixties or early seventies that single digit quarterback numbers caught on in the SEC. (Pat Sullivan, #7, Auburn; John Reaves, #7, Florida).

    But today anybody can wear a single digit number. LSU has a defensive lineman, Ego Ferguson, who wears #9.

    Yup, single digits were pretty rare.
    In the pros, K Ben Agajanian wore 3, QB’s Bob Waterfield wore 7, Lamar McHan 8, Ralph Gulielmi 3, Billy Wade 9, Sonny Jurgenson 9. Cardinals had a couple WR’s, Bob Towns and Billy Gambrell, who wore 7 and 3, respectively, during different seasons. KR Noland Smith of the Chiefs wore 1…not too many more than that in the ’50s and early ’60s (I’m sure there are more, those are just off the top of my head). And, of course, most kickers played other positions so they wore typical position numbers.

    And–ombining a couple thought of today (Eagles helmet wings and single digit numbers)–this was maybe my first really favorite football card…
    link
    Loved that card. Still do.

    Ricko, LSU started issuing single digit numbers probably around 1970. (I could be off just a little.) Charlie McClendon joked that it was because some of his players were so small that only one number would fit on their jerseys. Had a little guy named Carl Otis Trmble…#3, I think.

    Craig Morton wore #7 when he was the QB for the Broncos in Super Bowl 12 against the Dallas Cowboys

    I like the changes that Justin is suggestion for the Dallas Cowboys. Especially the rarely worn blue uniforms, which I think are reminiscent of the uniform they wore in Danny White era, which was, in my opinion, their best looking blue uni.

    In addition, I find the Cowboys white uniform has gradually declined, mostly with the way their numbers look. The Roger Staubach era, the numbers looked neat and clean, now they always look a little sloppy.

    Separate note, but the CFL is going pink in a big way this weekend. I saw a little of the Edmonton/Toronto game last night, all the players look like they put pink tape on their shoes, which gave the appearance that they were all wearing pink booties. It actually look a little better than some of the messes I’ve seen with NFL games (the one that sticks out was Seattle at the Giants), it looks better because it looks a little more uniform and standardized – as opposed to every player doing something different.

    The tiger and font on LSU’s helmets looks exactly like the tiger and font on their helmets every other week to me.

    Rutgers looked like shit-on-ice last night, as the SCARLET Knights wore BFBS helmets and pants with white jerseys.

    I’m an RU alumnus, but I hope they lose every time they wear any of this fetid crap if that’s what it takes to get them back into proper SCARLET gear.

    Rutgers’s jerseys really looked mismatched when paired with the BFBS helmets and pants, yet I wonder if it were more by design so as to have more of a color contrast with Louisville’s red jerseys. Still a bad idea, though.

    They looked like the Ottawa Rough Riders.
    Which is a great thing…IF you’re the Ottawa Rough Riders.
    So, to fix:
    Rutgers looked like shit-on-ice extremely inappropriate last night, as the SCARLET Knights wore BFBS helmets and pants with white jerseys.

    Northwestern is going with white helmets with players numbers on them, today. Haven’t seen the uniforms, but I’m sure they will be something different.

    Maybe a throwback?
    link

    How “Penn State” of them.
    At the time, TCU and Northwestern were virtually identical.

    Looks like white stirrups with two wide red stripes fairly wide apart…and white crew socks with two narrow red stripes worn over them.

    Creating a widely differing stripeapalooza from player to player.

    Wisconsin’s socks, that is.
    Northwestern’ stirrups are purple with white Northwestern (surprise!) stripes.

    Too bad UCLA shoulder stripes have become a joke. I think they introduced the design in the 50’s. Same for Colts, the stripes have become an afterthought.

    And today’s LSU jerseys pretty much prove it CAN still be done…at least somewhat appropriately.

    And, yes, back in the day, they were referred to as “UCLA stripes” because the Bruins intro’d them in the mid-’50s under Red Sanders.

    Anyone else remember UCLA’s “serpentine” huddle? Now, THAT was cool.
    link

    What I remember best about UCLA as a kid were the script numbers…and the first time I saw a game in color it was UCLA. The light blue and gold blew me away.

    Yep, that’s how I remember them.

    Ricko, check out the photographer in the middle of the the frame shooting with probably a 2 1/4 Rolleiflex. What year is that photo from?

    UCLA used to get away with that against certain teams because the jerseys tracked so light gray on b&w TV.

    Always wore them vs. USC’s cardinal, and wore them in the Rose Bowl vs. Minnesota’s maroon in first game telecast nationally in color…
    link

    The logo being used on today’s LSU helmet is the same as their current helmet logo so it is not a throwback to anything. LSU has a bit of a identity crisis in that their helmet logo doesn’t match any of the school’s current branding.

    and people wonder why some of us disdain this *one and done* crapola (no matter how good the uni actually looks, like LSU today)…

    take a look at larry’s photos (and ricko’s)

    maybe cal isn’t so recognizable, but you know in an instant, even in black and white, that one of those two teams is USC…even 50 years later

    i realize the kids today are attracted to new shiny things, but when those kids are 65, they’re going to realize that there is more to be said for a classic uni in school colors than a one time *because we can* look

    of course, selling $200 polyester crap to kids with more buying power than most of us ever knew wasn’t really in the cards 50, 40, 30 … even 20 or 10 years ago

    A-/B+…

    So that’s basically the same grade you gave those Spartans unis last weekend. You sticking with that or do you want to re-grade them?

    When following a car with several bumperstickers, I end up looking at one.

    Same applies to helmet decals. Pick your cause du jour and go with one per game. Visual clutter honors no one.

    Love LOVE those numerals on the 1961 Cal unis! I think the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and the Washington Huskies had the same ones years ago.

    I like that Lions tweak, I agree that the current numerals look terrible and sometimes unreadable (is that a 1 or 7?). Glad you kept the current Lion logo, the old one just looked like a blob.

    Too nice to be indoors, out to do some yard work.

    I miss the Lions logo…

    link

    I never had a problem discerning it. I liked its implied quality. It was immediately recognizable as the Detroit Lions. It was art. I was endearing and established. This new interpretation feels like a pandering minor league baseball sellout.

    Heard on the local news this a.m. that the typical broadleaf tree has 50,000 to 80,000 leaves.

    Thought I’d mention that in case raking is part of your yardwork.

    Hoosiers wore all white in the ’50s and ’60s.
    Pretty sure that was before Star Wars.

    But, yeah, they haven’t worn white helmets in recent years, so I suppose that’s a gray area on the white thing.

    Indiana in all white, including helmets.
    North Carolina in navy pants (white jerseys).
    Illinois in orange pants (white jerseys).

    Hey, I’m getting K-State at Kansas on Fox Sports North.
    Always liked K-State’s purple take on the Cowboys’ unis.
    Likewise, Washington’s purple version of the 49ers.

    But then, I got no problem with any particular color…as long as it’s, y’know, an actual team color.

    K-State’s BIll Snyder mimicked Cowboys’ look just like Hayden Fry used Pittsburg’s look for Iowa. He wasn’t a purple fan, but man is it a good look – esp. the home unis.

    ole miss in red tops vs arkansas…guessing that (unfortunately) has a shot at the 5 & 1

    of course, movi won’t likely consider LSU/’burn

    well…yes and no — no because it’s not what i wanted to see…but yes because i guess i described something like that

    can you shorten that side panel to end where the loops meet?

    sorta like this?

    We may like how far the stripes extend, but that looks a helluva better than teeshirts they wear now.

    Somewhat mindful of these…
    link
    or these…
    link

    You guys forget that the “loops” rarely met under the armpits. That’s why I posted those Argos and Eagles jerseys, because they were exceptions for that style striping.

    i know most UCLA stripes weren’t true loops

    but i don’t like things that truncate for no apparent reason

    that’s why i like timmah’s loop design — why have a horseshoe (unless you’re the colts, and even then it’s upside down) as a uni element?

    stripes end at the ends of sleeves or pants, not in the middle for no apparent reason…

    Wasn’t for no reason. They truncated because they met the side gusset that allowed a person to move in them while wearing shoulder pads. Also because those knit inserts were heavier fabric and they’d bunch up like crazy if they were under the armpit

    With the fabrics available at the time it worked for softball jerseys, but not for football.

    well, you complain (as do i) aboot disappearing sleeves — which apparently impede the movement of 9/10ths of the players — so they removed them

    at what point does uniform design take a back seat to player comfort?

    because, except for baseball, this argument sounds like everyone needs to be waring skintight garments with no design elements at all

    did having that “heavy knit insert” REALLY affect play that much?

    because, then by that token, you should be defending nike/reedidas’ decisions to lighten the uniform by .1 oz with the new superhero costumes, right?

    or should everything just look like the giants/colts/jags super stretchies now?

    Was just explaining what was.

    And I guess that does make for a certain current parallel. Look at the way Adidas constructs the UCLA jersey. The shoulder panel and the body are separate. Tough to explain, better to look at a photo. Could they find a better way? I think they could…if someone at UCLA told them to. With the idea of preserving the striping style they introduced, that is (likewise for the Colts and Reebok, btw).

    As to what was: Pre-super stretchy fabrics, jerseys needed to be roomier to allow movement.

    I had one football jersey with the stiffer knit insert all the way under the armpit. When you stood with your arms at your sides, it felt you had a sock balled up and stuck under each arm.

    I’m assuming that, in garment construction terms, we know why “darts” are sometimes necessary?

    Ricko, you are exactly right…the shoulder stripe inserts were made of heavier knit material (maybe still are) which would bunch under the arms. And which is probably why eventually manufacturers began separating where the stripes connected under the arms by adding a gusset.

    As a kid we all wore those jerseys and when I was at LSU we wore those jerseys every single day at practice (LSU recycled its game jerseys as practice jerseys for many years. You would just grab a clean practice jersey from a hamper regardless of the number on it.) After a while you get to know the garment inside and out.

    I beg your pardon, Ricko, but the early UCLA stripes, at least well into the late sixties certainly did wrap around completely. Eventually, they didn’t connect under the arm pits…and then gradually just got shorter and shorter for some reason.

    I meant “UCLA” stripes generically…not necessarily what UCLA was wearing at the time. I can tell you without doubt that LSU’s “UCLA” shoulder stripes used to wrap completely around.

    But I’ll still say the stripes connecting wasn’t the most common configuration.

    Where’s Terry Proctor? May depend on who the supplier was and how they cut their particular pattern.

    Wanna start a good argument with an LSU fan? Point out they once had black numbers. The numbers WERE black during the Billy Cannon-Johnny Robinson era. In fact, I think they stayed black until (or even during) the time of Bert Jones.

    No, no…the numbers were purple in the Bert Jones era. However, the numbers on LSU’s helmets were always black…not purplish black, but black. I was there…

    You’re right. I checked on Bert after I typed that, to be sure.

    Not sure exactly WHEN they changed from black to purple, though. But in the Cannon years, they were black.

    Ricko, I think by 1959 when they moved the TV numbers from the shoulders to the sleeves (below the shoulder stripes), the jersey numerals were purple…a darker purple than the stripes perhaps, but purple. The helmet numbers were always black, though. (Helmet Hut’s purplish black version is incorrect.) They were just cheap stick on numbers like you would get from a hardware store.

    That would make sense, that the color change accompanied the moving of the TV numbers. Hadn’t thought about that being the case.

    Ricko, exactly…

    Let me point out something else I’ve been saying, too. Look at the Sport Magazine cover again and you can see that the white stripe on Cannon’s helmet is painted on…you can see the silver rivet. Many of LSU’s helmets came from the factory with a painted white stripe down the middle. The purple stripes were added with a roll of purple helmet tape…looked similar to colored electrical tape.

    And you’ll notice the purple helmet stripes are actually purple and not the ugly blackish purple LSU uses today…and which color doesn’t match the jersey stripes as they did in Cannon’s day.

    Ricko, is it a sign of mental illness to know such minutia about LSU uniforms?

    BTW, Ricko, I gave up my ticket to the Auburn game toady to stay home and get caught up on work…and here I am farting around on the internet. But my brother just texted me from Tiger Stadium and said the uniforms look awesome.

    Few notes

    1. Yale vs Penn on Versus right now look very good. Yale in the all white, Penn in their nice navy jersey, white numbers with red outlines

    2. Boise will be wearing grey jerseys to comply with the no blue on blue rule in the MWC

    3. I thought WVU Syracuse looked nice last night as well

    I blame Gunner Kiel. It’s just like the Hoosier football program to pleasantly surprise you until your hopes are well above what they should be, only to dash them spectacularly when your most engaged.

    SEE: IU @ NU 2009
    IU @ Mich 2009
    IU @ Iowa 2009
    IU vs. Mich 2010 (we had the ball for 48 minutes and LOST!)
    IU vs. Virginia – this season
    The first quarter of today’s game
    The Gunner Kiel “commitment”

    I hate this team. Go ‘Cats.

    Hey, wait’ll 3:30 EDT.
    Nebraska at Minnesota (or, as I like to think them, “The Bowery Boys Go To College”).

    Supposedly hottest ticket since The Bank opened.
    I’m guessing that’s from out-of-towners.

    Will be a bizarre spectacle. More red in stands than maroon or gold, I’d wager. Will look, feel and SOUND like a Nebraska home game. Straaaaannnnnnnge.

    And it’s Homecoming for Minnesota, too.

    Hey LarryB, Ricko, Pierre or any other ‘old-timers’ (I kid, i have no idea how old any of you actually are.)

    Do any of you have any pics of the Northwestern football team from the 1970-1973 seasons? That’s when my pops was an undergrad and I’d love to get him a Christmas gift of some cool photos like the one LarryB posted along with something like this link .

    ..or maybe just some good places to look, and I can do the gruntwork.

    Wish I did. That was the era with purple sleeve inserts on the road jerseys, right?

    I know there’s a site that has all the Northwestern football jerseys through the years. Big images, too.

    Yeah, I know about Hail to Purple (that’s where I got my info for my NU throwbacks link ) but, sadly, they don’t have any images from the era I’m looking for.

    Here are a couple of good shots of Mike Adamle, the most notable Wildcat of that time. Would look good colorized on a poster.

    link

    I have a lot of old pictures. Not sure how many in that period but I will look for some for you.

    Original Denver Gold…
    link
    Later they switched from old gold to cheddar (added white pants, too, but couldn’t find an image quickly)…
    link

    Boise wearing grey at home as per the NCAA ruling they can’t wear all blue on the smurf turf (ahem TM)… looks like crap

    Those seem to be new grey jerseys that are slightly different from last year’s Nike PC unis. Given how dark the grey is, they should’ve worn orange jerseys.

    I know there is the rule against them wearing the all blue on the blue turf but how have they been able to wear it at least twice this season?
    Against Nevada link
    Against Tulsa link

    Does this also mean that teams would not be allowed to wear all-green uniforms on green fields?

    By the way, Boise doesn’t know how to wear gray.
    link
    Too dark. They should have worn white and let Air Force use their grays.

    do you think miami has ‘the “u” ‘ on their back helmet bumpers to indicate that their association with the university isnt actually legit?

    The Colorado/Oregon game looks good

    (fixed)

    Thought this was going to be an easy week, but there are waaaay too many good matchups to even briefly consider this game.

    LSU’s purple pits look SO stupid.

    Also so stupid? Whatever long-running script keeps fucking up my Uni Watch experience.

    I was having the problem using IE.
    Phil suggested Firefox or Google Chrome. I downloaded GG awhile ago, so gave it a try. Works perfectly.

    Firefox > Every other browser.

    Why? It’s all they do. Google is distracted by searches (and all the other shit they do) and Microsoft is distracted by making OSs.

    So I’ve heard from the tech guys at work. I just had GG downloaded here so tried it.
    Need to switch to Firefox, but have to delete some things first. This laptop’s getting a little jammed up.

    Yeah, when I would be at school, it would lock up the technological marvels of the school computers for about two minutes. It’s hard to pretend to do work when your screen is frozen on Uni Watch’s comments.

    Today’s LSU unis look ok. I prefer them in the gold helmet from the other combat unis

    Which made me think of teams that say gold is a school color but they use yellow.

    WVU and Pitt had used yellow.

    Ya ya Phil, Ohio State is scarlet and gray and they use a silver helmet.

    Some uni related photos from the NFL Pep Rally in London today:

    link
    Six (maybe seven) different NFL teams represented, even two on one guy.

    link
    Poor choice of apparel by Tampa Bay practice squad member Chad Spann (he played at Northern Illinois).

    link
    He’s supposed to be Tony Romo but he’s in a white helmet, black pants and powder blue socks. Fuckin’ English.

    Did you mean the hoodie under the jersey or the White Sox cap? Also I noticed no “International Game” patch on his jersey. C’mon, if it was Super Bowl week, they’d have the Super Bowl patch on there for the mid-week leading up to the game stuff.

    Hey, the second half so far is 7-7.
    First half was a little different, yes.

    Then again, second half ain’t over yet, either.

    Mostly I meant the overall color combination of the two unis against the green, not so much the details.

    A good looking uni with dark pants in one-color and white?
    Please forward to all current uni suppliers’ design staffs.
    link

    5&1 #1 overall prediction:

    NU vs. PSU

    PSU always looks good and Northwestern, I am guessing here, is going to look FANtastic in their throwback/fauxback unis.

    Aside from both teams’ black socks, BYU-Idaho State was a good looking game this afternoon: link

    Also, am I the only one who sees the Volkwagen “VW” logo in the photo of the Eye of the Tigers gloves at the top of this post.

    “The jerseys look a bit like what TCU wears, and the numbers give the getup a different flavor as Northwestern’s usual home jerseys have white numbers.

    Northwestern also will shelve its normal helmets for gray ones with no “N” and the numbers on the sides.

    This is a one-time-only look.”

    Thatsa lotta purple

    “The jerseys look a bit like what TCU wears, and the numbers give the getup a different flavor as Northwestern’s usual home jerseys have white numbers.”

    Except that TCU actually looks good.

    How about those white Wildcat helmets????

    Oh well so much for that speculation.

    Gray helmets with numbers on sides?

    At least the unis are purple.

    Ya think white numbers would have looked better on the Wildcats? I do. I imagine fans at the game can not see those numbers well.

    The sad thing is that could’ve told you how it looked live because I have tickets to this game, but I couldn’t find anyone who could go with me.

    Not so much caring about fans seeing the numbers. I just think white numbers would have looked much better.

    but I couldn’t find anyone who could go with me.

    Ever hear of going by yourself? You had room to stretch out, but noooooooo…

    Oh, good. The Vikings already lead the NFL in DUIs.
    Tonight Chris Cook is in jail for domestic assault.

    (Hey, they just showed his townhouse. I used to date someone who lived in that complex).

    ”
    Following the national WHAT-are-they-wearing trend, the Wildcats will sport all-purple jerseys with black numbers, black Wildcat scratches near the shoulder and gray helmets featuring the players’ uniform number (a la Alabama).

    The problem: The jersey numbers are barely visible from the press box, making it a challenge for broadcasters, statisticians and the public-address announcer.

    Adidas produced the jerseys, and NU officials say they will be used one time only and won’t be available for public purchase.”

    Anybody have pics of the Houston game from today? They wore the throwbacks today, but I haven’t been able to find pictures. Please and thank you.

    Is Notre Dame wearing black tonight? I see the crowd is doing a “black out” cant tell on the jersey’s though.

    That uni looked extremely dark compared to the other navy blue clothes, and even on at least one player wearing a navy blue undershirt.

    I just got back from the LSU-Auburn game…the Pro Combat uniforms looked much better in person, on actual players, than the mock-ups they’ve shown. I saw one in the gift shop before the game on a mannequin and feared the worst. A very spiffy look for the Tigers, but I prefer 2009’s gold helmet over the white one. Couldn’t tell it was “tiger striped” from the stands.

    I love this site! I turned on the Notre Dame game and saw that their helmets were different than usual. I immediately came here to find out what was going on and found what I was seeking. You do great work!

    The helmet logo (block LSU and tiger) are the same as they are on the usual helmet, so I dont understand why you’re hating them, because you said they were different? Same thing man. Same thing.

    I saw the band uniforms up close and thought that the “LSU” diamond-shaped logo on their sleeves would be an interesting alternate helmet design.

    Normally, I stick up for Joe Buck…but not when he says, “There’s some weather on the way.”
    Unless you’re playing in a vacuum, there’s already weather. “There’s some rain on the way” would be better.

    Or “some bad weather”.

    Modifiers. They can be your friend, and they can be your enemy. Modifiers!

    After rebranding this past year and removing all black from the uni, Tampa Bay Lightning wore last year’s blue Bolts alternates with black helmets and breezers featuring the old logo. What’s the story here?

    It was actually announced sometime during the rebranding process last winter that they would, in fact, be keeping the “BOLTS” thirds. The general assumption at the time, though, was that they’d likely remove the old logo at the very least, but it looks like the only thing changed was the vector logo being replaced by the Reebok wordmark.

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