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Monday Morning Uni Watch

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Weird day in the NFL yesterday — almost nothing uni-notable to speak of except for Jermaine Gresham’s torn jersey, shown above. I realize that’s the kind of photo that prompts many of you to fish that container of Vaseline out of your desk drawer and head straight to the men’s room, so we’ll pause for a second to let you deal with your, uh, business.

Now then”¦

• Phil and Terry had plenty of NCAA coverage in yesterday’s post, but Terry has a few corrections to what he originally posted:

For the TCU/Colorado State game, I said the Rams were wearing gold at home. Not only was that a road game for the Rams, but I neglected to mention that it was a color-on-color game.

Also, I thought that Samford University’s logo was missing in the top graphic in this photo, and that Auburn was using one of their “UA” logos as a placeholder. Turns out that the blue-and-white blob next to the left-hand Auburn logo is the Samford logo. For some reason, I didn’t see it.

• An additional tidbit from Saturday: If there’s anyone on the planet who still doubts that Nike’s branding is way out of control, check out the end zone pylon from the Oregon/USC game.

• And an important item I neglected to mention regarding last Thursday’s Jets/Broncos game: For a few years now, when the Jets have worn their white jerseys and white pants, they’ve also worn white socks. Last Thursday, however, they went with green-topped socks. Much better.

(My thanks to James Samsel and Ryan Stone for their screen shots.)

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Blue Jay Way, continued: Phil provided a detailed breakdown of the Blue Jays’ new look on Saturday. I basically agree with every single word of his analysis, which is to say I think this is an excellent update, and a massive upgrade. Well done!

But not everyone is so enthusiastic. Some blogger came up with more than a dozen objections to the new logo. I agree with exactly two of his points (the ones regarding the maple leaf); the rest seem arbitrary at best, wrong-headed at worst. Why, for example, does the highlight on the eyeball have to be round?

As it turns out, the blogger in question later put his money where his mouth is by posting a revised logo. Good for him, but I definitely prefer the original version, not his version (and that includes the highlight on the eyeball). I do wish they’d connected the maple leaf stem to the outline of the baseball, though — that was something I always loved about the Jays’ original 1977 mark.

Meanwhile, here’s a pretty amusing survey of the Jays’ logo history. Enjoy.

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Notre Dame auction update: The auction for the Notre Dame promo box is continuing. For the fourth straight day, no bids were submitted yesterday, so the high bid is still $4301 and the minimum bid for today is now $4701. If nobody bids today, the minimum bid will increase to $4801 on Tuesday.

Please note that the auction will close tomorrow, Tuesday, at noon Eastern.

Full details on how to bid, and everything else regarding the auction, can be found here.

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Uni Watch News Ticker: Good article on Iowa football’s uni numbers (from Joe Kramer). … The USA’s latest soccer kit has leaked. … Kinda digging this unusual North Dakota jersey. … Here’s a really interesting piece about the typeface on the 9/11 Memorial logo. ”¦ Oregon fans who make that “O” sign with their hands are actually making the sign language symbol for “vagina.” ”¦ While looking for something else, Jeff Ash came across a great piece about Cuban ballparks. ”¦ Here’s a fun site devoted to rowing oar blade designs (big thanks to Kevin Mueller). ”¦ Brian Crago was watching some footage from the 1980 NLCS and spotted someone in the Astros dugout — probably a trainer — wearing a deliciously hideous rainbow polo shirt. ”¦ Very disappointing news out of Medford, Oregon, where the local airport is going to put giant corporate ads on its control tower. ”¦ Anyone know what’s up with the ribbon decal on the Avalanche’s helmets? ”¦ Check it out: Cardinals vs. Cardinals! That’s from the Minnesota High School Football tournament — the Annandale Cardinals versus the Fairmont Cardinals (good one from Craig Van Someren). ”¦ Third graf of this story indicates that the Astros’ new owner may be making changes to the team’s logos and uniforms (although not in time for 2012, obviously). ”¦ Stuart Neuberger notes that Travis Lewis of Oklahoma wears a six-point chinstrap. ”¦ Victoria’s Secret made the mistake of producing a Michigan State T-shirt with a quote from the Michigan fight song. Stick to push-up bras, gang. ”¦ The Charleston Civic Center is getting a new floor design with a coal propaganda sponsorship logo. ”¦ New retro-ish sweater design for Wisconsin hockey (from Jacob Olson). ”¦ New logos for the newly named/relocated Pensacola Blue Wahoos. “While the uniforms haven’t been unveiled yet, the alternate hat has been released,” says Ryan Bohannon. “Yes the alternate hat was the first thing to be shown off. I have season tickets for the team but I don’t care for the logo or name. Why is a hook involved? Doesn’t that show defeat?” ”¦ Iona hoops wore mismatched NOB fonts for Saturday’s game at Maryland. “ESPN’s Doug Gottlieb explained that it was an issue of economics,” says Matt Shevin. “He said, ‘When you’re a mid-major school, you’re going to play guaranteed road games, and have mismatching names. The older players have one font, the younger players another.'” ”¦ Most of you probably know that the WinniJets logo is based on the Canadian Air Force logo. What you might not know is that the Air Force spelled out a bunch of conditions regarding how the team can and can’t use the logo (from Jeff Flynn, Jr.). ”¦ The recycling bins at Kyle Field are topped with Aggie helmets (from Casey Shaeffer). ”¦ Earl Bennett of the Bears, who’s been wearing orange shoes lately, has been told to knock it off — or else. Phil had a good analysis of this in yesterday’s comments. ”¦ “Was over on NFL.com, and noticed a cartoon called ‘Rush Zone: Guardians of the Core,'” says Caleb Borchers. “No idea what it’s about (other than brand brainwashing six-year-olds), but apparently they have created a new little mascot for each of the league’s 32 teams. Haven’t found all the mascots in one place, but did find several images of the various characters, some better than others. They’ve also done cartoons of personalities like Jerry Jones and Sean Payton. Found a video clip of it and it’s pretty mind-numbingly stupid. Funny to me, though, that they painted Jerry Jones as a guy who could see gigantic robots threatening to ruin the Super Bowl and all he worries about is his big screen.” ”¦ Here are the Softbank Hawks — that’s Japanese baseball, kids — posing with their championship pennant (from Morris Levin). ”¦ Buried deep within this article about the EA Sports Maui Invitational college hoops tourney is the following passage: “The Vols are the visiting team for today’s game and are expected to wear their orange uniforms. UT’s look will be different, however, as they will be wearing light blue shoes as part of an Adidas promotion. Martin said it’s his understanding that all of the Adidas schools as the tournament, which includes Kansas, Michigan and Chaminade, will be wearing the promotional shoes.” That prompted the following analysis from Buddy Walker: “I hate that the Adidas teams are doing something as a group. There shouldn’t be unity based on apparel brand, only based on school. ‘Team Adidas’ can suck it.” Agreed. And the name of the tournament is an eyebrow-raiser, too.

 
  
 
Comments (184)

    While the Canadian military does have the right to say what the Jets can and cannot use their logo for since it’s based on their logo, I’m pretty sure the Jets aren’t going to smear the logo in any way since it, y’know, represents themselves.

    Admittedly, the article itself sheds a little light on the rules surrounding the roundel, but it seems fairly obvious that the Jets wouldn’t allow themselves or their sponsors to “do anything to make the Queen and the country look bad”.

    After all, the Jets themselves would have a lot of explaining to do to the NHL and its fans if they allowed a sponsor to use the roundel for, say, a “Girls Gone Wild” event. In short, that’s just bad for business for the Jets brand.

    Using the fish hook on the Blue Wahoos doesn’t show defeat. The line is clearly snapped showing that the fish was tough, was a fighter, and ultimately won. I think it is very clever.

    Yes, Plan B does a great job explaining this with their little link. That logo is actually pretty good, knowing the backstory/inspiration.

    The other two are link.

    Liking the Cardinals helmet with the white facemask. Just a child of the 80s when white facemasks with white helmets were NFL fashion.

    Refreshing when someone admits that what they saw as a kid determines their aesthetic preference now. I’d be happy as a pig in slop if the uni-verse froze in 1972.

    Well….but for the Bears wearing those odd, plain block numerals on the road….:)

    “I realize that’s the kind of photo that prompts many of you to fish that container of Vaseline out of your desk drawer and head straight to the men’s room, so we’ll pause for a second to let you deal with your, uh, business.”

    That just made my day.

    That US Soccer jersey is almost certainly a fake. The Badge is the pre-2006 version and the flag on the inside collar isn’t par for how Nike handles its national teams.

    If the USMNT jersey is real, I can’t decide whether it was inspired by “Where’s Waldo?,” the hamburglar or those old-timey men’s swim suits.

    The Avs ribbon decal is a tribute to Ruslan Salei, Wade Belak and Karlis Skrastins (former Avs players who lost their lives during the offseason.)

    I think Bennett should get to wear the orange shoes. The NFL uniform KGB have always bugged me. Another reason the Always Fun League should never have merged with the No Fun League in 1970. Paul, I remember when my dad was the Chiefs team doctor in the 70s how the league reacted to red shoes. The Chiefs had moved to Arrowhead. The team had red shoes to go with our modern new stadium with the rug playing surface. Players often taped over their shoes, like taping their ankles or wrists with white athletic tape. I remember reading the memo from the league that chastised the club for allowing it. They demanded that if the players do that, then the tape must be spray painted red in order to maintain uniformity (pardon the pun).

    New logos for the newly named/relocated Pensacola Blue Wahoos. “While the uniforms haven’t been unveiled yet, the alternate hat has been released,” says Ryan Bohannon. “Yes the alternate hat was the first thing to be shown off. I have season tickets for the team but I don’t care for the logo or name. Why is a hook involved? Doesn’t that show defeat?”

    I am guessing that is a tie-in to the Mudcats, fishes with fishes. Actually weren’t the Mudcats one of the first minor leagues to have their own marketing campaign, which started us on the crazy train of minor league merchandising?

    Why is a hook involved? Doesn’t that show defeat?

    Sort of…especially if you’ve just been pulled for a relief pitcher…

    Here are the Softbank Hawks – that’s Japanese baseball, kids – posing with their championship pennant (from Morris Levin).

    Always happens after the final game, but before the beer spraying back in the locker room.

    My guess is the design of the pennant, the absolutely gorgeous crest in particular.

    Can any NPB fan tell me if that’s used all the time, or a one off?

    i still don’t see a “Samford” logo on that screen shot (not sure *what* I see, but definitely not Samford). maybe it’s just my eyes (or that i’m a dumb guy).

    The bloggers main complaint on the Blue Jays logo seems to be that things are “too sharp”. What? They complain about the logo looking amateurish and their redesign looks much worse, IMO. Reading the comments on the redesign seems there are quite a few that agree.

    The new official bird looks much sleeker; sharper lines give the impression of flight.

    Dude nailed the maple leaf but his font is generic and his bird seems designed not to scare children.

    Exactly. Most of the elements complained about are actually examples of good design. Take the outer border – too thick? Make it thinner, and you can’t make effective use of the inline style from the Blue Jays lettering and the uni piping. Then you see the monstrously poor typesetting in the modified logo, and you understand just how informed the critique is.

    Funnily enough, the one thing I agree with is the eye highlight. Not that it must be round, but I think it would be more effective for that element to be a bit larger and more organic.

    “I realize that’s the kind of photo that prompts many of you to fish that container of Vaseline out of your desk drawer and head straight to the men’s room, so we’ll pause for a second to let you deal with your, uh, business.”

    That was just weird…and creepy.

    But I thought college football looked solid this weekend. Especially Michigan and Nebraska…ooh la la!

    The sign for Oregon is not EXACTLY like the sign for vagina but I can see the similarity.

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    Uni Watch News Ticker: Good article on Iowa football’s uni numbers (from Joe Kramer). … The USA’s latest soccer kit has leaked. … Kinda digging this unusual North Dakota jersey. … Here’s a really interesting piece about the typeface on the 9/11 Memorial logo. … Oregon fans who make that “O” sign with their hands are actually making the sign language symbol for “vagina.” … While looking for something else, Jeff Ash came across a great piece about Cuban ballparks. … Here’s a fun site devoted to rowing oar blade designs (big thanks to Kevin Mueller). …

    Monday Tickers are usually my favorite things around here, but today is too rich. I can’t get past the first five items.

    1. New USA soccer shirt is, I note, intended for use by kids, which brings up the interesting aesthetic question of whether Junior can wear something cool that would look wretched on Pop. I’d say yes. Another, completely different , questioned occasioned by the new shirt: Can a US national team — in any sport — look good when the design motif concentrates on relatively narrow red-and-white horizontal stripes, more or less based on the US flag as it flies? I’d say let’s see some more attempts. As a mossback, I generally want all US teams to dress as if it were still the 1936 Olympic Games, with a small shield on the chest of a solid white or blue top. But if we’re going to be splashy, let’s see some more stripe-y things.

    2. Nodak shirt (Paul’s “unusual North Dakota jersey’) is historically significant, would complement other items in Paul’s armoire, and is ugly.

    3. Love 9/11 typeface story.

    4. “…Oregon fans who make that ‘O’ sign with their hands are actually making the sign language symbol for ‘vagina’…” Kind of a nice welcoming gesture, actually.

    5. Watching a ballgame in Havana these days is a lot of fun. An ancillary pleasure is to grab a bench at the Parque Central and catch the daily open-air session at which about two dozen men argue volubly with each other as to what teams and what players are doing well and who’s in the tank. Loud discussions! Rantings!

    6. Crew is one of those sports with a rich rich design history. Very often it was the color chosen by a school’s oarsmen that became the school’s official color when it got around to playing football. The site Paul recommends — with its encyclopedic coverage of oar blade designs — is demented fun and an excellent opportunity to postpone your day job.

    Discovered a look that’s very high school: white helmet and jersey, navy pants and socks. The San Diego Chargers ‘dipped in a vat’ look.

    HELP!!! I have been tasked with designing a new uniform set for the high school football team that I help coach. What I’m wondering is how do all of the talented folks on this site create the uni design/tweak graphics that regularly appear here? What template do you use? How do you then modify that template? Is there a simple program that a non-professional graphic designer could use?

    I’m sure these questions have been answered by the group before, but I appreciate any insight you can provide. Thanks!

    Dear Double C —

    Why don’t you also tell us the name of your school, colors, nickname — plus any other info that might be pertinent — and then let the mighty talents of Uni-Watch contributors, especially those who have no lives to speak of, devise various alternatives for you?

    Could be fun.

    Thanks for the input! Our team name is the Rams. Our colors are forest green and white, although we are looking for an alternate/modern look to complement our existing unis. We need full home and away unis. There is also a regulation that does not allow any color (including numbers) above the armpit on away jerseys – white only.

    We have already decided on black matte helmets (and unfortunately, white face masks have already been ordered). Let me know if you have any ideas! Thanks,

    The Amateur Pacifist mock-ups are done in Photoshop (professional program), the 2D designs can be done with a little trial/error in MS Paint. A quick Google of “football uniform template” should get you started.

    I agree w Connie, I’m sure with a little input the UW community can whip up something to your liking.

    If you’re looking for a user friendly (and the best part, free) program you can download and use, try GIMP or even CorelDraw Graphics Suite (you can download it safely here:link).

    As for logos, be careful. Contrary to popular belief, you can’t just slightly alter a couple things on a registered logo and call it good. Your best bet is to go through a place like Rival Art (www.rivalart.com) and pay a small fee for a logo (unless you can come up with one of your own of course).

    There are plenty of people on here that can come up with suggestions too.

    Good luck.

    (BTW, I don’t personally represent any of the above companies (RivalArt, Corel, etc.), just trying to give some options).

    Well… GIMP is free and can do most of the things that Photoshop does… but it’s not the easiest program for a complete novice to jump into.

    As for templates, I personally use a modified version of this: link

    It may be easiest to just go to either here link (You’ll need an EA account)

    or here:
    link and just work within those limits, unless you’ve got a really advanced concept in mind.

    The ‘stros need to return to Orange and Blue. They have a completely unremarkable uniform history outside of the rainbows. Only change I’d make is CNOF on the road uni.

    When the Astros do inevitably return to the rainbows for good, I’ll bet a gram of gold that they won’t be trotting out the bland unis they’re using at present. (although, small caveat there… they did win the pennant in those)

    The Astros need to return to the orange hats with the blue star. I couldn’t say as far as the uniform goes, since their most distinctive past look is one they don’t want to return to, even though the fans want it.

    I agree that it is a pretty slick shirt. I wonder why teams these days don’t incorporate this look more for their in-dugout staff rather than just team logo polos? Anyways, thanks for the ticker mention!

    Why doesnt Oregon just get a Nike swoosh helmet decal?

    A big one for Team Nike. University of Nike – Eugene

    Hey guys, first time poster here, long time reader…
    Regarding the ribbon on the back of the Colorado Avalanche helmets: no close up picture, but during the opening game the announcers mentioned that the ribbon has the initials KS, RS, and WB, in memory of Karlis Skrastins and Ruslan Salei, two former Avs who were playing for Lokimotiv and died this off season, and for forme defenseman Wade Belak, who also passed this off season. Hope you guys find a close up!

    That Wisconsin hockey sweater is effing nice. And notice what’s different compared to most fauxbacks these days? Yep, no vintage white. Proving just how unnecessary VW really is.

    I disagree about the Jets looking better in their green socks. They should either add two white stripes to them or get rid of them altogether.

    The Flyers Winter Classic jerseys were officially released this morning.

    Here’s a couple photos I’ve found so far

    Front – link
    Back – link

    Definitely not stupid, and good enough since teams apparently HAVE to have a one-off for the Winter Classic. But you know what is stupid? Diaper tails. Come on, Reebok, you clearly CAN make regular straight-edge jerseys (aka REAL HOCKEY SWEATERS), why don’t you already?

    Maybe this was discussed years ago when the Reebok edge sweaters were launched and I missed it, but was there ever a reason given by Reebok as to WHY they changed the typical sweater cut to include the diaper tail? Or was this simply a way for Reebok to have an identifiable style of sweater on the ice? I guess what I’m getting at is that no other manufacturers have changed the hockey sweater template to add a diaper tail, so I’m concerned that maybe I’m missing out on some key performance feature that it supposedly adds? (sarcasm)

    I have no documentation, just a good memory that I don’t think will fail me now, so file this under hear-say if you must:
    The EDGE jerseys were originally designed to be tucked in. The diaper tail would have helped keep the jersey in the pants. However, feedback was almost unanimously negative on the tucking-in, as everybody rightly claimed that sweaters should never be tucked in. So Reebok modified the jerseys so they could be worn untucked, but accidentally-on-purpose forgot to fix the tails.

    What about the Nike swift? Not quite as pronounced, but they do have the rounded hems. Also designed for tucking in?

    There were a couple of CCM experiments with the diaper-tail before the lockout – both Vancouver’s sublimated orca 3rd and Nashville’s ugly third had them.

    Missed opportunity. As someone with very little interest in the NHL, they don’t look much different than what I imagine the regular sweater to look like.

    I seem to remember yellow laces coming up on here a long time ago. Wasn’t it something to do with the laces being waxed or something?

    Of course, probably the cool factor as well, because iirc guys like Ovi and Hejduk used to rock them.

    Count me as one who enjoys the Winter Classic jersey, even though it’s not really a winter classic jersey. My favorite part is the black numbers with white outlines. Awesome contrast.

    Except they’re not white. They’re “vintage white”.

    Putting the dreaded official NHL non-white aside… the outlined black numerals is one thing that’s good about this set. That it appears to be a classic cut jersey is another, although there’s an important caveat: these could just be X-theme replicas, and the actual on-ice jerseys could still be Edge cuts. We’ve seen X-theme classic-cut jerseys sold for previous Winter Classics (don’t recall seeing them the last two years, but definitely for 2008 and 2009).

    On the other hand, Calgary wore classic-cut versions of their original jersey in 2009-10 (although they did go on and turn it into an Edge cut last season). So who knows?

    I love the frumpy cartoon image of Sean Payton created by the NFL. Payton may be a very good football coach, but I always thought he looked like the kind of guy you would find behind the counter at a 7-11 at 4:00 in the morning.

    Definitely not stupid, and good enough since teams apparently HAVE to have a one-off for the Winter Classic. But you know what is stupid? Diaper tails. Come on, Reebok, you clearly CAN make regular straight-edge jerseys (aka REAL HOCKEY SWEATERS), why don’t you already?

    Sure looks like a straight hem to me:
    link

    I guess I didn’t make that clear. Kudos to Reebok for blessing the Flyers’ WC sweaters with a straight hem, but there are about 70 or 80 jerseys (that’s every team’s home, every team’s away, and every existing third) that need the same correction. In other words, this jersey is “special” because it lacks a diaper tail, but that shouldn’t be a reason for being special.

    The jersey itself looks to be an actual classic cut all around, though. The shoulder yoke encroaches significantly into the sleeve, something that doesn’t occur on an Edge jersey. The collar insert with the NHL shield is the only Edge element visible.

    So now that the Mets have dumped BFBS, and the Jays are once more blue, is any MLB team ugly enough to take the place of the Mets or Toronto as league-worst when comparing with new designs? Mets and Jays used to have the worst unis in the big leagues, and by a pretty big margin. I’m not sure if I’d call any of the now-current unis in MLB bad. There are some deeply flawed unis out there, there are some gentleman’s C-level not-great unis, and there are a number of teams that would have grade-A unis if not for their poorly conceived alts. But actual straight-up BAD unis? I can’t think of a one I’d consider a successor-in-suck to what Toronto and the Mets are leaving behind.

    If we’re gonna nitpick (which of course we are), I’d put D-Backs, Brewers and Padres at the bottom of my list. Astros and Marlins slightly above those.

    some singular unis like the Braves navy alt, Pirates black alt and Cubs road grays can hit the trash too.

    I agree with you so hard, Vilkie.

    Wouldn’t mind the Red Sox home alt as much if they wore the ’70s style red cap with it, as well.

    I may have worn a pillbox hat, but that’s a part of my life I’d rather not revisit. Some things are better left in the past and that includes the pillboxes.

    “I may have worn a pillbox hat, but that’s a part of my life I’d rather not revisit. Some things are better left in the past and that includes the pillboxes.”

    ~~~~

    DAMMIT ALL TO HELL WORK…

    this is what i don’t get to post until now when i don’t get to read the comments all damn day

    yeah, you’d wear that

    HOLY MOTHER OF SWEET BABY JESUS LOOK AT THOSE SHORTS!

    I am glad I just got time to read the comments as well because look at that bodacious 70s outfit with the nuthuggers and all.

    you still do wear the socks, and i wouldn’t be surprised if those pants don’t get worn *in private*

    The shorts are long gone.

    Had an even shorter pair that I used to wear to bed. They finally wore out a year or two ago, and when they were used to start a bonfire there was much rejoicing…but not by me.

    Cubs road grays can use a tweak, not a complete trashing. Just make all the letters and numbers on the jerseys to blue with red outlines and you’ve improved that uniform immeasurably.

    Throw in some blue piping (especially on the pants) and it’s an even bigger improvement.

    It’s their blue alt jersey that needs to be scrapped.

    Of course somebody is going to have the worst unis in baseball – Jesus, Buddha, and Rembrandt could all get together and design 30 perfect unis, and one of them would still be the worst of the lot – but is there any really BAD uni left? Are there any clear-cut Fs or even Ds left in the game, now that the Mets and Blue Jays have reformed their ways?

    There’s one major victory still to be won in the BFBS wars: The Reds need to ditch the black drop-shadowing and go with a solid-red cap.

    Yep. Those black-brimmed road caps are dreadful. And the all-red ones are close to greatness but the drop-shadows really detract from the overall look.

    Nope, I like ’em fine, black drop shadows or no. Of course, a pertinent question becomes: Do the die-hard fans have more say than a casual fan who has an interest in graphic design? The folks who crowed the loudest for the new Mets’ jerseys seem to be the ones who invested sweat and tears in the franchise, whereas I (who liked the black) came to the conclusion I didn’t have a horse in this race, and it was best left to the true believers. Thoughts? Should uniform design be left to interlopers?

    I’m nominating the Washington Nationals. Absolutely nothing about them screams “Nationals” instead of “Old Senators team for which Bud Selig has a hard-on.” Unless you count the formerly-beveled number font that now looks way too clunky. Plus, are they red or blue? Add the single-A-variety star-spangled tops, and I rest my case.
    Or the Texas Rangers for too much beveling, a similar lack of name, a similar red-vs-blue dilemma (with added black and an occasional purple illusion to make everything less easy to read), and a really bad name-and-number font.

    Mike E, you are usually so right, but maybe not here. That curly W of Washington is just too wonderful, both with blue and red. Sure, the star-spangled thing is junk.

    What do you mean by “a similar lack of name” for Texas? I’m with you on your anti-bevel and anti-font counts, What I don’t like (in addition to what you don’t like) is the overly dramatic flap in the Texas flag on the sleeve. Just flat, please.

    I’m not so fond of the Texas Texases. Come on, it’s not a city relocation, it’s not a new county, it’s not even a new ballpark. Plus, you have the flag, isn’t that enough? Go ahead and put “Rangers” on there. Texas Who? Exactly.
    Read my “reply” to Teemo about the Washington Senator-esque-W’s.

    OK, so which one is THE worst?

    I’ll vote for the D-Backs. The font is terrible, having”D-Backs” on the front is ridiculous, and the uniform sets themselves are instantly forgettable.

    It’s a shame because their 3 logos: A, D, and db are all very good imho.

    Agreed. D-Backs get my vote for worst (narrowly edging the Blah-stros). And I’m including all their logos as well. Blow it all up and start with a blank sheet. Honestly, a blank sheet would also be better than what they currently wear.

    I actually like a lot about the D-Backs unis, though not the overall uni set as a whole. I’d call the D-Backs a C-minus, and they might very well be my pick for worst unis right now. But if that’s the worst, then there isn’t actually a bad uni set in baseball.

    There are some tepid ones out there (Rays, Padres, Astros)…some too fussy ones (Reds, Rangers)…some that could use a tweak or two (Angels, Brewers)…one missed opportunity (Marlins)…one that could use a cleaning and facelift (Rockies)…and one that while not hideous, is pretty bad (Diamond Backs…that font!)

    But yeah, in general–discounting stupid softball tops– MLB is looking respectable these days.

    I don’t know what you do to scream “Nationals” without blazing stars and stripes all over the place (though I think we’re agreed that the star-spangled tops look ridiculous). Big mistake for the Nats not going with the new Nationals script across the chest on the home unis. I’m OK with the red alt but would be better with Nats across the front than the curly W. (Of course, dropping the curly W would free us from Charlie Slowes agonizing, “another curly W in the book!”)

    All you have to do is put “Nationals” on the front! The Nats aren’t the Tigers or the Yankees, and they do themselves no favors by looking like a generic Washington team with some blatant Senators elements.

    Since “Nationals” is a name with more than 150 years of history in Washington, all you really have to do to “scream ‘Nationals'” is refer to that century-plus of uniform history. And in that history, the dominant design is a relatively plain uniform with the letter W on the sleeve or chest.

    Oh, wait, that’s what the current Nats do wear. Kind of explodes the critique!

    Maybe I’m opening myself up for a chorus of “Shut your whore mouth”, but I’ve always hated the Cubs’ uniforms.

    I’m bored to bloody tears by the home pins. Redesigning the 1979 logo would be a darn good start. NNOB and lose the red number outline are my personal quests.

    Love the unique number font, the big C for the Chicago Athletic Club is iconic, nothing else is really untouchable in my eyes, though.

    I’m a Cubs fan and I think their unis are about the most overrated in all of sports.

    Mike’s right about the number font, though. It’s one of the best.

    “I’m nominating the Washington Nationals.”

    completely seconded

    nats are by far and away the worst unis in the game, especially if the continue to wear this…thing

    nats are by far and away the worst unis in the game, especially if they continue to but only when they wear this…thing

    FIXED

    The North Dakota jersey featured is not a Univ. of North Dakota jersey (UND)–it’s a North Dakota State Univ. (NDSU) jersey. UND’s colors are usually green and white or green and black, though the actual school colors are green and pink (colors of the state flower–the Prairie Rose). NDSU is green and gold.

    Dangit,
    I did not know the Broncos went blue on blue Thursday. Greatness. I guess if I had DirecTV and not TimeWarner Cable, I would have seen it for myself.

    I like it too, and it’ll become even better now that we won’t see at as often (with the Donkeys going orange at home).

    We are. Most folks don’t like color tops and bottoms. In Texas, most schoolboy football teams wear color on color.

    I hope the Ravens go black on black Thursday Night. Again, to bad I won’t see it, unless I go over someone house who has DirecTV

    They look best in purple over black. For whatever reason, it’s a low contrast look that still works. Maybe it’s because the royal purple isn’t as dark as other shades?

    Don’t know if it’s a big deal to people on this blog or not, but have you mentioned the Michigan State sexy-shirt flub that Victoria Secret made?

    It’s in today’s Ticker, so run the “Find” function on this page in your browser, find “Victoria’s Secret,” and you’ll get the story.

    I have to say that I’m one of the haters of this “New-tro” look. The designer took the good old days and mixed it with the logo from ’97 to ’02. The sharp angles look out of place in on the bottom right, only to accommodate the leaf. The inside of the beak get narrow to the front. Why? This logo dose not speak motion to me. It speaks lazy work. Also I’m not really sure where everyone is getting this sleek up-to date feel. LOL and the back of the head,looks like homer Simpsons dad’s head in blue. To me this was just Corporate telling the derringer how to make a winning logo and not seeing past there own artistic talents.

    I think i had a better idea for the jays last year right on this very site. Up to date and a old school feel.

    Remember this link

    There was a pretty good comment in response to that link that was linked in the ticker.

    I would imagine the NFL to be pro-orange shoes, seeing as their stance is worrying about player safety and with hunting season upon us Earl Bennett would not have to worry about being mistaken for a deer.

    NPR story on the diabetes community trying to agree on a pink-ribbon style symbol & color, apparently much inspired by the NFL’s embrace of pink:

    link

    Personally, I’ve never understood why nobody in the diabetes community seems to use dark red – you know, the color of blood – rather than the mishmash of bright red, gray & orand, and blue that different organizations currently use. Anyway, interesting story on branding and the intersection with sports. Uses the phrase “ribbon fatigue.”

    I’ve been ribbon-fatigued since Desert freaking Storm! Remember when yellow ribbons started cropping up back then?

    Yeah, but in Desert Storm we were like making up for Vietnam, when instead of ribbons America spit on servicemen.* The ribbon proliferation really starts with Hollywood AIDS ribbons at the Oscars and went into overdrive at about 3pm on 9/11/2011.

    *Note: Yellow ribbons were actually all over the place during Vietnam, and there are no documented instances of actual returning vets being spit on. But what matters here is not the truth, but the myths people were reacting against in 1990-1991.

    Anyone wanting to watch a cheesey, one-sided (I loved it!) YouTube of the Harvard-Yale game can see it at

    link

    I like the look of the unis on both sides, but that Harvard Away outfit look especially sweet.

    Paul, I have to ask you a question regarding your stance on corporate sponsorship.

    I haven’t been around since the inception of UW, but I’ve been around long enough to know your feelings on the issue. But something sticks out to me, and I thought I’d share:

    Isn’t a small airport going corporate to raise funds, or a high school selling off court space for a corporate logo (really, any corporate sponsorship) the same as you placing ads on your site, or promoting ESPN?

    I have no problem with corporate sponsorship, and in some cases it’s necessary to keep programs afloat. I also completely understand why there are ads placed on websites and why you promote ESPN. My question is why the seemly double-sided stance?

    This is in no way meant to be a negative comment, simply curiosity.

    I don’t “promote” ESPN — I work for them, and my work appears there, so I link to my work when it runs there.

    As for advertising: My issue is not that corporate advertising is always bad, but that there are some places where corporate advertising doesn’t belong, like in a high school gymnasium, or on a municipal airport’s control tower. Why? Because those are civic spaces (same as public parks, city hall, the statehouse dome, etc.), and civic spaces should never be for sale. Civic spaces can be funded through civic revenue: taxation, community fund-raising, etc.

    A publication, whether printed or on the web — especially one that allows you to read its content for free — is (a) not a civic space, and (b) unsustainable unless it generates some revenue via advertising. So yes, there are ads here on Uni Watch — just like there have been ads in a million other publications since the dawn of publishing. Have I ever suggested that magazines or web sites shouldn’t have advertising? Nope. If I had, then maybe you could point at me and say, “Hypocrite!!” But I haven’t. So you can’t.

    This isn’t to say I don’t have standards, mind you. You will never see ads in the middle of Uni Watch editorial content. You will never see pop-up ads on Uni Watch. You will never see video ads on Uni Watch. I get offers for all of these things (and more) literally every single day, but I turn them down. Does that make me a wonderful person? Nope. It’s just not what I want for my web site.

    But basic advertising in the sidebars and in between entries? Nothing wrong with that — on this site or on any other.

    Thanks for the response Paul. As I mentioned, I wasn’t intending to be negative or call you a hypocrite, I just wasn’t clear on your stance…and now I am.

    Not that it matter, but I agree with you that public places shouldn’t be for sale. I can, however, understand why schools need to raise funds, but that’s a topic for another time.

    Thanks for entertaining my cursorily Paul.

    One thing about the Patriots: They wear their socks right. Very few low whites or high whites — almost all of them have their white/color break at mid-shin, right where the rulebook says it’s supposed to be.

    I still say they’re holdover adidas socks from when adidas did the jerseys. no other element of the Pats look uses three stripes. usually the socks use a solid color or a design element from another part of the uni……….no?

    Yeah, a few players have low whites. But the vast majority of the players don’t. The Pats are much more consistent about this than most other teams are.

    obviously he wasn’t watching the game but just assuming they were wearing the blue pants, with which they wear solid white socks (no low or mid or high whites) which have, yes, three stripes

    and considering the fact that the pats have worn socks with 3 stripes on them since 1961, clearly that’s the adidas throwback

    sometimes 3 stripes are just 3 stripes

    saw a story on grantland, linking to an embedded youtube link

    The famous upset of Virginia by Chaminade was a color vs color game

    I’m thinking gold pants might look pretty good for the Chiefs. My only fear is that they might look like team McDonald’s.

    Never happen. They haven’t changed their uniform since they moved to KC. They’re like the Raiders or Browns; the uniforms are sacrosanct.

    It’s no different than the Browns messing around with orange pants circa 1980 or their brown pants of recent years in terms of relative departure from tradition. Its not Gold For Golds Sake, the color is one of their traditional colors- just like orange or brown for the Browns.

    I am wondering why my post about Mississippi State’s endzones and special “gold” uniform was deleted? not angry, just wondering if I broke any rules

    Trey, not sure what happened. I don’t recall having seen that post, and I certainly didn’t intentionally or knowingly delete it. Apologies for any glitches!

    Thats fine, here’s the two links i posted.

    1) State is going to have a special uniform for the Egg Bowl this year, AKA, the Battle for the Golden Egg link.
    2) they painted the south endzone with a twitterific twist to it: link (its a bit gimmicky, but i can’t imagine there’s a school with a staff that is more committed to using twitter to communicate with supporters, and fans who use twitter to communicate with coaches and the athletic department.)

    Is there some trick to viewing this site on a mobile device? All the comments showed up in chronological order on my phone….not easy to decipher the conversations that way.

    Interesting how college symbols translate in sign language. Texas’ “hook ’em Horns” sign is the sign language translation for Bulls#!+

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