Lots of Newtown memorial gestures around the NFL yesterday, although some were more visible than others. The Giants wore Sandy Hook Elementary School’s initials at the base of their helmet stripe (each set of initials was individually handwritten), and the Patriots added a memorial decal. Texans defensive end J.J. Watt wrote, “Newtown, CT” on his gloves, and Giants wideout Victor Cruz saluted Jack Pinto — a six-year-old Giants fan who was one of the victims — on his cleats. And the Rams/Vikings game was preceded by a ceremony featuring Rams running back Daryl Richardson and Vikings cornerback Antoine Winfield, who were selected because they both wear No. 26 — the number of victims at Friday’s shooting.
There will be at least one more uni-borne Newtown gesture tonight, when the Jets wear this helmet decal for their game against the Titans. Rex Ryan will be wearing that decal on his headset, too.
In non-Newtown developments from yesterday:
• Coupla things about the Bills/Seahawks game: First, Seattle wore solid gray. Also, this game was played in Toronto, but the Bills didn’t wear their usual “North of the Border” patch. Just as well, since they already had enough patches to go around.
• The Cowboys added a “53” memorial decal for Jerry Brown Jr.
• Speaking of the Cowboys, moon over Dallas! That’s DeMarco Murray.
• And if you think that was disturbing, check out Pats defensive lineman Kyle Love.
• The Bears wore their Monsters of the Midway throwbacks.
• Odd glitch regarding the Buccaneers’ maker’s marks: some were black and some were orange. The NFL style guide lists them as black.
• The “Dolphins” script on Miami’s white jerseys is usually aqua. Buy Ryan Tannehill’s script yesterday was white.
• In the Colts/Texans game, the side judge was wearing the officials’ old number font. The proper font is being worn by the referee.
• The Cardinals apparently still think it’s G.I. Joe month.
• Speaking of end zones, anyone know what was up with the generic wordmark in St. Looey?
(My thanks to all contributors, including Dan Ferraro, Cork Gaines, Raymie Humbert, Omar Jalife, Chris Perrenot, Ben Traxel, and Jamal Wilburg.)
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Cookie Monster: One of the nicest December traditions here at Uni Watch HQ is the annual arrival of a package of baseball-themed holiday cookies from reader Elena Elms (you can see some of her cookies from previous years here). Her theme this year, as you can see above, is “New York, Past and Present.” Beautiful and delicious in equal measure. Thanks so much, Elena — you’re the best.
Raffle reminder: My annual reader-appreciation raffle is currently underway. Details here.
Uni Watch News Ticker: Uni-borne responses to the Newtown shootings have extended well beyond the NFL. Kevin Durant wore “Newtown CT” on his sneakers on Friday night. On Saturday, two EPL matches featured players wearing black armbands: Queens Park Rangers vs. Fulham and Aston Villa vs. Liverpool. And all players and caddies in the Father-Son Challenge golf tourney wore black ribbons. ”¦ The Pirates have added a 1971 throwback uniform, which they’ll wear for Sunday home games. In a surprising move, the ensemble includes sansabelt pants. ”¦ Absolutely compelling article about the bat from Roberto Clemente’s 3000th hit. Highly, highly recommended reading. ”¦ New caps for Ohio University baseball (from Mike Dillon). … Several Tennessee players have been Instagramming photos of this helmet design. No idea how legit it is (from William Parsons). … Well, that didn’t take long. … The Long Island Lizards (MLL) have rebranded as the New York Lizards (from Rob Stukenborg). ”¦ A minor league baseball team and a summer collegiate team are both using the same piece of clip art for their logos (from Alan Poff). ”¦ Here’s a unique uni memorial: Buford High School in Georgia saluted assistant coach Ryan Daniel, who recently passed away, by changing the color of the last two letters of their jersey wordmark. Pretty clever (from Mike Raymer). ”¦ Also from Mike: It’s a little hard to see, but both teams in this shot are wearing the Packers/UGA stylized “G” helmet logo. That’s Gainesville High vs. the Ware County Gators, both from Georgia. ”¦ The Penn State wrestling team went G.I. Joe on Saturday night (from Gerry Dincher). ”¦ San Diego State hoops wore new gray uniforms for Saturday night’s city championship game against the University of San Diego (from Ernest Penaflor). ”¦ The Peoria Rivermen (AHL) recently invited fans to design a new jersey for them. Here’s the winning design, which was worn on the ice on Saturday (from Patrick Walsh). ”¦ Blake Pass took his daughter to Jr. Vols Day at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville and got some photos of the locker room. … It’s official: People now have zero clue how to use an apostrophe. For the latest evidence, check out the run of years listed on the Kent State hockey page. And this is supposedly an institution of higher learning. Sigh (from Tom Pachuta). … This watch commercial shows Eli Manning wearing a sort-of-but-not-quite Giants uni (thanks, Phil). ”¦ Whoa, look at this amazing set of Lions Club basketball uniforms (big thanks to my pal Robin Edgerton). ”¦ Saturday Night Live’s Xmas special included one cast member telling the story of Hanukkah while wearing a Yankees yarmulke (from Chris Zagorski). ”¦ Uni Watch’s newest hero is Manchester City honcho Roberto Mancini, who has banned his players from wearing purple. You tell ’em, Roberto! (From Cort McMurray.)
Does DeMarco Murray not wear his pants tight enough, or fasten his belt right or not wear the same underwear/jockstrap or something? A few weeks ago when Dallas played at Philadelphia there was also a full-moon sighting. It might have not been him, I don’t remember, but I think it was.
Maybe he’s just an exhibitionist?
The other Dallas mooner was a guy named Frampton:
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Odd glitch regarding the Buccaneers’ maker’s marks: some were black and some were orange. The NFL style guide lists them as black.
I think the one on the right “might” be black, too. It’s just an optical illusion of the fabric/thread in the sunlight making it look a little lighter, possibly? If you really stare at it it starts to look more blackish, kinda.
Maybe the logo got hit with some bleach, that’s the color black tends to go to when it gets bleached.
I definitely see what you are talking about.
I have an old pair of black sweatpants that has taken on that tan/copper colour in places, so that was my first thought too.
Upon seeing them in action, I believe the Seahawks need to darken the gray. I love the idea, but it’s too light just doesn’t look different enough from the solid white (which they shouldn’t be freakin wearing anyway).
I also hope that Tennessee helmet is real, the checkerboard stripe is great.
Thirdly, how great do those extra white stripes on Manning’s not-Giants helmet look? They should have never dropped those.
Finally – I’m getting really tired of NFL games where one team wears a throwback and the other doesn’t. It looks so freaking stupid. Either get both teams to play along, or don’t fracking do it.
“I also hope that Tennessee helmet is real, the checkerboard stripe is great.”
Se. Con. Ded.
I like the grey alts. They don’t have to be dark grey like everyone else’s dark grey. The numbers and pant design look great contrasted against that color.
I still don’t like the number font of the Seahawks workmark on the shoulder stripe, but otherwise the new set has really grown on me.
*or* the wordmark
My 4 y/o son just looked over my shoulder, saw the cookies and said “snow man yummies”
I miss the ‘skins burgundy pants with the white jerseys less each week it seems…
I love the white jersey / yellow pants combo, especially with the killer striped socks.
Paul: Will you publish your Irish Cream recipe this week? It was a huge hit last year at a holiday party. But I cannot find the recipe. Thanks in advance.
It ran two weeks ago:
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I played Summer Baseball with Coach Ryan Daniel from Buford High School. I also got to coach against him in the High School ranks. He was a true class act. It’s nice to see the tribute.
According to a Rams beat writer:
“As part of Fan Appreciation Day, “St. Louis” has been painted in each end zone at the Edward Jones Dome instead of usual Rams logo.”
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Think many fans saw “St. Louis” in the end zone and felt appreciated?
…this was probably cheaper than buying stickers and handing them out to the first 10,000 fans.
I will never feel fully appreciated until my name is painted in the endzone!
;^)
Maybe they should just have a secondary logo that emphasizes the “St. Louis” part of the name?
There are always so many fans from the visiting team in attendance, I thought it was to remind everyone where the game was taking place.
In order to pay for his requested improvements to the Edward Jones Dome, Stan Kroenke should solicit donations from every other team in the league to enhance the game-day experience of their fans.
Regarding the duplicate baseball logo’s, I’d like to point out that the words “minor league” are (ahem) property of Major League Baseball. The proper term here would be “independent league.”
/sarcasm
That article on Clemente’s bat… amazing.
Good to see the Pirates using the 1970-1975 uniform set for Sundays, it’s a vast improvement from the ugly sleeveless black pinstripes of a couple years ago. The 1976 uniform was different with the addition of the mustard pillbox hat.
The mustard set was extremely successful for the 5.5 seasons it was used. Debuted midway in 1970 with the opening of Three Rivers Stadium. Five NL East titles, and a World Title. The only down year was 1973, when the Pirates would have been heavy favorites for the division title prior to Roberto Clemente’s death.
The Pittsburgh Pirates are such an habitually well-dressed team, it almost makes up for their lousy play.
Agree–great stuff. Regarding the throwbacks–let’s hope that they provide the period socks/stirrups for any players that go high-cuffed. Such a great look.
Like this? link
I REALLY hope they do the batting helmet, too. If they go as far into detail with the proper sleeve trim & sansabelt, the helmets should be too.
Thanks for the link. What a great story. I have a vague recollection of hearing about Clemente’s death, but I really never knew that much about him. This story is a whole lot more than just the fascinating tale of 3 bats.
Looks like Eli was rocking the late-70s helmet stripes in that commercial.
“And if you think that was disturbing, check out Pats defensive lineman Kyle Love.”
Thank you for that Paul…gave me a good laugh.
Biceps, triceps and pie-ceps.
Purple fan here, but still admire the poll question at the end of the Manchester City article: Is Mancini barking or brilliant?
Anyone else getting spawning webpages from the link to the Pirates ’71 throwback article?
I got ’em.
Fitting the Seahawks wore solid gray on the road in a baseball stadium, no?
Hi Paul,
Just a heads up on a typo. It’s J.J. Watt, not Watts.
Thanks. Now fixed.
There is yet another league logo that is derivative of the MLB red-white-blue concept.
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“…The Bears wore their Monsters of the Midway throwbacks…”
Those old unis are really the best. Wonderful. Is there a better color combination than that extremely-dark-blue with orange? Who needs the white outlines?
But — to quote the great seer Joe Walsh — I can’t complain, but sometimes I still do. Could we maybe turn down the dial on the bright-bright pants? I’ll leave it to another time to voice my ridiculously minority position that doesn’t like any stripes on any football pants. Period. But I’m not saying that now.
“…… Whoa, look at this amazing set of Lions Club basketball uniforms (big thanks to my pal Robin Edgerton)…”
Amazingly, superlatively beautiful. Anyone spare $1,295?
I would have liked to see the Bears unis on the same field as the Steeler throwbacks. Maybe next year, although I’d be shocked.
The NFC North does play the AFC North next year, though I don’t think they would have a hard time convincing the NFL that the color contrast enough.
Are they going to be wearing those throwbacks again next year?
They’re considering it. (Sorry I’m so late.)
The Buford High memorial is quite honestly one of the best I’ve every seen. It’s subtle, doesn’t call a ton of attention to it and is classy. It’s nice to see teams not go overboard.
Not only did the Trinidad Triggers and Seacoast Mavericks use the same bit of clip art, they used a bad example of clip art. The thing in the image is batting crosshanded …
I saw it as the finish of a swing and not cross-handed batting.
So our options then are a cross-handed batting stance or a horrendous, potentially concussion-causing swing followthrough. Either way, I’m always amused when sports-related art is created by someone who clearly isn’t very familiar with the sport.
And if it’s a finished swing, he ought to be running, inless it’s a Steeee-Riiiike!!
“The thing….”
Well put.
About the Kent thing, just reinforces the running joke from around here (NE Ohio), Kent Read, Kent Write, Kent State!!
Beat me to it. Kent State shouldn’t be confused with an institution of higher learning.
Eli also doesn’t have a chinstrap in that video. Looks pretty weird.
Anyone knows why the Ravens weren’t wearing the HoF patch?
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WOw, I totally whiffed on that — and I watched a bit of that game!
“Anyone knows why the Ravens weren’t wearing the HoF patch?”
~~~
patches? we don’t need no stinkin’ patches
I think if you don’t notice all the sponsorship, these videos about the history of each team’s colors are actually good.
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So for the Sandy Hook tribute the Rams mascot is out on the field with youngsters and his jersey says “Rampage 1.” For this night he should have gone NNOB.
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Re: Eli’s pseudo-Giants uni in Citizen Watch ad….
This, of course, is not uncommon when the admaker can’t get the rights to NFL trademarks.
But it reminds me of one of my “white whales.” I seem to recall a local TV commercial from 1988-89 or so, featuring David Cone wearing a Mets home jersey whose script wordmark said “Cone” instead of “Mets.” Can’t find pic of it though.
[My other “white whale” is Cowboys lineman Tom Rafferty wearing the pre-1982 serif numerals and sans-serif NOB on his white jersey in the mid-’80s, after the change, i.e., while the rest of the team had the thicker, sans-serif numerals and serif NOB the Cowboys continue to wear to this day. That seems to be the case in this pic, dated 1985; note Danny White’s facemask, a style that didn’t come into use until the mid ’80s, and note also the thickness of the numerals on White’s jersey. I can’t find a pic, though, where you can see the NOB or any numerals besides “1” on another player’s jersey.]
Re: Eli’s pseudo-Giants uni in Citizen Watch ad….
This, of course, is not uncommon when the admaker can’t get the rights to NFL trademarks.
But it reminds me of one of my “white whales.” I seem to recall a local TV commercial from 1988-89 or so, featuring David Cone wearing a Mets home jersey whose script wordmark said “Cone” instead of “Mets.” Can’t find pic of it though.
[correcting HTML tags]
[My other “white whale” is Cowboys lineman Tom Rafferty wearing the pre-1982 serif numerals and sans-serif NOB on his white jersey in the mid-’80s, after the change, i.e., while the rest of the team had the thicker, sans-serif numerals and serif NOB the Cowboys continue to wear to this day. That seems to be the case in link, dated 1985; note Danny White’s facemask, a style that didn’t come into use until the mid ’80s, and note also the thickness of the numerals on White’s jersey. I can’t find a pic, though, where you can see the NOB or any numerals besides “1” on another player’s jersey.]
If you look at the link, starting from about 16:13, you can clearly see that Rafferty (at center, #64) still has the serifed “6” on the front and back of his jersey, and you can almost tell that his NOB is sans-serif. Freeze-frame at 16:21. There’s another shot where you can see it for a split-second in the lower right corner of the screen, at 20:55.
Then I found this link where you can clearly tell that Rafferty is the only Cowboys player wearing the old-style numerals and NOB. (It’s hard to see his NOB but there are pretty clear shots of it at 1:07:12, 1:09:21, and 1:37:09.)
Mystery solved, at least in that we know it happened, but the question remains why Rafferty, and Rafferty alone, kept wearing the old style after 1982.
Interesting that they used a Colts Manning jersey in that Tennessee locker room display.
One of the Patriots’ defensive players had a peeling Flying Elvis last night. I thought it was #93 but after checking their roster they don’t have a #93. I made a mental note and seems it was around the 10:38 mark of the fourth quarter when they flashed that guy on the screen twice and the logo on his right was starting to peel away. If anyone has that game DVR’d they should check that out.
There ya go, sir:
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The US Women’s national soccer team wore white wristbands (I think they’re just tape, but I’m not completely sure) with “SHES” during their friendly on Saturday night. Sorry for the Tumblr images, they’re the only close-ups I could find.
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Also, during halftime of that game, they unveiled the unimaginative logo of the new women’s professional soccer league. I find it a little odd that it’s red, white, and blue when the Canadian and Mexican soccer associations are also involved.
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The first eight teams will all be in the US (Seattle, Portland, Chicago, Boston, Kansas City, Washington, New Jersey, Western NY). The Canadian and Mexican involvement at first will be limited to subsidizing the pay of their players in the league.
A more “North American” logo could be done down the road, though. Assuming the league survives.
All the teams are in the US and future expansion will probably stay within the US as well.
Plus all of Canada’s colors are represented and 2/3s of Mexico’s are too.
A little disappointed that Atlanta doesn’t have a club, but I guess this frees up KSU Soccer Stadium to officially become KSU Football Stadium (where Kennesaw State will play football starting in 2014).
The Patriots and niners HOF patches turned bright blue in the rain. Or at least it sure looked like it to me.
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New padded caps for pitchers on the way:
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Not sure why this bugs me so much but, CBS (link) apparently can get every logo on their team page correct except for the Nationals. Then again, it’s only 2 years old! Slackers.
The logo they’re using for the Royals was last used by the team in 2001.
link A very funny review of some Atari sports games.
It appears that the person who did the article about the pelicans logo just wanted to mock the use of a top hat. That seems like a lot of wasted energy to me.
UConn hoops adding an “SH” patch for Sandy Hook Elementary School tonight. Coaches will wear green/white ribbons (Sandy Hook colors):
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from the article on the Cal logo…
“Opponents had complained loudly that the graphic —a large U containing a fading C at the bottom – was demeaning to the university. They lobbied for UC to fully restore the use of its traditional seal, with its “Let There Be Light” motto, a drawing of an open book and the 1868 date of UC’s founding.”
funny, apparently they didn’t get it…it’s not just a “U” and “C”, it’s also an open book at the top…
creative thinking/reasoning/visualization is apparently not encouraged at cal…it’s ok for a traditional graphic to represent an open book, but not a modern graphic…
…
They like the “Let there be light” logo because of the full meaning of that phrase
Let there be light, and there was light
Let there be drums, there was drums
Let there be guitar, there was guitar
Let there be rock
It wasn’t a “Cal” logo, it was a logo for the University of California system. “Cal” is a nickname for UC Berkeley only, and individual campuses were not supposed to use the new logo even before it was rescinded.
Was looking over at sportslogos.net, and the Pirates are gonna be using a 5950 BP hat made of lighter fabric, instead of the 3930 style. Is this going league wide? Anyone know more?
Yes, league-wide. I’ve seen all the designs, a few of which are serious eyebrow-raisers. On the plus side, no stupid-ass panels and stripes.
I’ll be writing about this shortly.
Thx Paul most appreciated.
Saw the retro Pirates jersey at Piratefest and compared it to an authentic from the early 70s that was displayed in a memorabilia booth. The gold in the uniform is a bit too bronze, but the lettering and numerals are true to form. I wish they had opted not to add player names on back.
The caps are a gold-olive hue that doesn’t match to the jerseys quite right. But all in all, a faithful rendition of a fondly remembered uni.
When I think of the Pirates of my youth, that is THE uni I would imagine. It looks really good in the pictures…Shouldn’t be so hard to recreate a uni, many originals and pictures exist, but have they ever nailed one perfectly?
I’ve seen that they’ve been wearing the HOF patches- but why exactly are they doing it?
50th anniversary of the Hall.
Did anyone see “Jeopardy!” tonight? They had a category called “New Jersey” and it was all about uniforms. One question was about Nike’s redesign of the Seahawks and another was about the Habs’ barber poll throwbacks. Kinda cool.
I did, and I aced the category. The wife just rolled her eyes at me.
No one probably will get excited about this but me as a former French teacher and current French language nerd: Rougarou comes from the French word Lougarou which means werewolf. “loup” means wolf in French. My jr. high kids always liked it when I taught them this word. That would be awesome if the Hornets changed to this name! I’d love to see the logo they’d think of. Sorry, I couldn’t stop myself from posting this. I got too psyched for self-restraint.