Putting a Bow on the Bowls…Part I

By Phil Hecken

All season (college football season, that is) long, our Sunday Morning Uni Watch guru Terry Duroncelet did an amazing job of guiding us through the tweaks, throwbacks, one-offs, amateur-pacifist, toy-combat and other uniform and helmet machinations of the NCAA. And it really was an amazing job. Today, Terry is here to begin closure for those of us who live, sleep and eat college football, with his wrap up of all the bowl games. It’s such a tremendous undertaking, it has to be viewed in two parts. So, without further ado…here’s TJ with…

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College Football Bowl Game Roundup Part 1
By Terry Duroncelet

Hello to everyone, and welcome to part 1 of the uniform observations of the 2012 bowl season. And wow, keeping track of each bowl game this season was just as fun (and a bitch for me to proofread) as it was last season. Without further ado…

Gildan New Mexico Bowl (held Saturday, December 15th, 2012); The University of Nevada Wolfpack dressed in monochrome white uniforms and blue helmets (as opposed to…?), while the University of Arizona Wildcats entered the field in a new combination: red helmets, blue jerseys, and red pants. This was a pretty sweet look, except for one thing: the level of red in Arizona’s helmets is too damn high. I don’t mind the lack of a helmet stripe, but couldn’t you at least have chosen a navy facemask to avoid the players’ heads looking like candied apples running around on the field. One of the Wildcats was wearing a jersey with no NOB. Also, this exchange happened. Most importantly, the first bowl game of the postseason proved to be a blast, as Arizona staged a comeback in the last two minutes or so to break the navy and grey hearts of Nevada.

Famous Idaho Potato Bowl (held Saturday, December 15th, 2012); The Utah State University Aggies looked very professional. The University of Toledo Rockets… did not (but when do they in this uniform?). USU — who received a monumental upgrade to their uniforms and overall identity over the offseason leading into 2012 — completed a productive year in my favorite combination to date: navy helmets, navy jerseys, and grey pants. Toledo wore navy helmets, grey jerseys, and navy pants. This game wasn’t nearly as close as the Arizona/Nevada game, as Utah State rolled past Toledo 41-15, claiming their first bowl victory since 1993.

San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl (held Thursday, December 20th, 2012); The hometown favorite San Diego State University Aztecs came out in their usual garb of monochrome black with red helmets. Meanwhile, the boys of Jeff Provo, Utah dressed in all-white.

Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl (held Friday, December 21st, 2012); Ugh… not one of my favorite uni-matchups. Wraparound stripes vs. screenprint numbers. Putting aside my disinterest in either team’s attire, the University of Central Florida Knights dressed in white helmets, black helmets, and gold pants, and the Ball State University Cardinals were clad in all-white.

R&L Carriers New Orleans Bowl (held Saturday, December 22nd, 2012); Aw man… I was hoping that the University of Louisiana (in Lafayette) Ragin’ Cajuns would come out in this… but ’twas not to be *sadface*. Anyway, as you can see, they got ready for their “home” game in their red helmets, red jerseys, and black pants. On the other end of the ball, the East Carolina University Pirates came out in a gorgeous purple/white/white look. Considering the side-paneled mess that they used to wear some years back, they’ve really come a long way. However, much like last year’s contest against San Diego State, UL-Lafayette came out on top 43-34.

Maaco Bowl (held Saturday, December 22nd, 2012); The University of Washington Huskies have a track record of doing this. Luckily, they did this. Gold helmets, white jerseys, and purple pants is a great look here, although the purple crew socks with the purple shoes were a bit much. At least they weren’t black. Speaking of black, the Boise State University Broncos wore this: black helmets, blue jerseys, and black pants. Yuck. Let’s just congratulate Boise State on winning their third-straight Maaco Bowl and move on.

Sheraton Hawai’i Bowl (held Monday, December 24th, 2012); The California State University (in Fresno) Bulldogs suited up in red helmets, white jerseys, and red pants for their game in Honolulu, while the Southern Methodist University Mustangs were dressed in one of 2012’s more underrated uniforms (IMO), specifically in white/red/white. The Northwestern stripes on the shoulders is an interesting and neat touch. They also played as sharp as they looked, winning it 43-10.

Little Caesars Pizza Bowl (held Wednesday, December 26th, 2012); The Western Kentucky University Hilltoppers came out in white helmets and a mono-grey uniform that really only looked like a white uni that needed laundering. The white helmets didn’t help matters. As for the Central Michigan University Chippewas, well… see for yourself. They received new jersey tops (no new pants) for their bowl game. If you look at that last picture, you’ll see what looks like a re-sewn ‘1’ that was torn. They had “CENTRAL” on the front and “CHIPPEWAS” on the back. What’s all that stuff on the shoulders?

Military Bowl (held Thursday, December 27th, 2012); The Bowling Green State University Falcons decided on mono-orange with star-spangled decal-outfitted white helmets, while the San José State University Spartans were adorned in their usual road uniform of blue helmets, white jerseys, and blue pants. Ya know, I never liked those contrast pit panels underneath the sleeves– makes them look like they’ve been sweating too hard and the equipment managers couldn’t get the pit stains out. But now, it’s kinda grown on me, but only for the Spartans. Funny how life works.

Belk Bowl (held Thursday, December 27th, 2012);Blue-and-white vs. black-and-red; sounds simple enough, right? Well, that’s how it seemed for the Duke University Blue Devils, who decided to wear school colors in this game, coming out in blue helmets, blue jerseys, and white pants. The University of Cincinnati Bearcats on the other hand? To be fair, the white jersey/black pant look is solid, but what’s up with the helmet? It’s like they took one of Oregon’s carbon helmets and said “You know what this needs to look tough? We should give it an even coat of thinned-out blood, and add some claw marks to it. Yeah, now we’re talking.” It’s not the worst helmet that I’ve ever seen, but the claw marks are a little much for me. Either go with the red carbon shell, or the claw marks on a regular red or black shell, but not both.

Bridgepoint Education Holiday Bowl (held Thursday, December 27th, 2012); The University of California (in Los Angeles) Bruins came ready for the Holiday Bowl– not in green and red, but in blue and gold. Specifically, gold helmets and pants paired with blue jerseys. I still curse the day that Adidas put their dirty TechFit hands on such a classic look, but all things considered, UCLA looked outstanding in this game. The opposing Baylor University Bears showed up in a rather sharp green helmet/white jersey/white pant look. Sadly, my sister’s Alma Mater did not come out on top, as Baylor would defeat the Bruins 49-26.

AdvoCare V100 Independence Bowl (held Friday, December 28th, 2012); A northwestern Louisiana matchup between the University of Louisiana (in Monroe) Warhawks and the Ohio University Bobcats. UL-Monroe wears a white helmet/maroon jersey/white pant look that isn’t that big of a hit with me, although the colors are neat. But Ohio? Hell YES! They would wear — from the bottom-up — green pants, white jerseys, and green helmets, which I see as the best matte helmets in college football. Also of note: my Dad was telling me about when he was in the Marines, he was stationed for a bit in Shreveport (where this game’s stadium resides), and how he and his fellow Marines used to run miles around the stadium every morning as part of their routine. He told me that the next time he’s in Shreveport for whatever reason, he’ll give the stadium a visit. It’s funny: I kinda have a direct connection with the Rose Bowl stadium (I marched on the field in October 2008 as part of the Band Day program that they have at times), and my Dad ran around Independence Stadium’s walls multiple times. And here I am writing about it. Funny how life works.

Russell Athletic Bowl (held Friday, December 28th, 2012); I understand that the Rutgers University Scarlet Knights (officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey) were part of the birth of college football, but their attempt to reinvent the college football uniform? Not so hot. At least they kept it modest in this game: their “knight in shining-UnderArmour” helmets paired with a mono-white uniform. Meanwhile, the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (that’s a mouthful, so we’re gonna call them Virginia Tech) Hokies decided to bid farewell to one of their classic logos: a gobbler that looks kind of like a blob from afar (that’s what was on the helmets). Speaking of classic logos being shelved, the stacked ‘VT’ used on the collars of the current uniforms is being retired as well. As for the uniform as a whole, they kept it straightforward with maroon jerseys and the stripeless white pants (which I very much dislike). The helmet was alright: the matte finish worked here, and even though he looked like an giant orange Cheeto stain, the gobbler logo was tolerable and added a fair amount of orange to the uni. That tapered stripe sucks, though.

Meineke Car Care Bowl [of Texas!] (held Friday, December 28th, 2012); The Red Raiders who call Texas Tech University home wore red jerseys (which they should make their primary jersey if they haven’t already. I mean, they’re the Red Raiders, aren’t they?) to go with their black helmets and white pants. The University of Minnesota Golden Gophers received a set of amazing uniforms during the offseason, so of course, they’ll look good in almost any combination, and their 2012 Bluebonnet Bowl outfit was no exception: maroon helmets, white jerseys, and maroon pants.

Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl (held Saturday, December 29th, 2012); What Armed Forces Bowl is complete without a military school? This year’s contest featured the United States Air Force Academy, who wore… uh… yeah. In case this seems like Déjà vu to you, the Falcons wore this very uniform against Navy a few months back. Still doesn’t look any better. As for the William Marsh Rice University Owls, they kept it simple (navy/white/navy): except for the helmet, which just loves to scream… let’s move on.

New Era Pinstripe Bowl (held Saturday, December 29th, 2012); A snowy football game in New York: what more could you ask for? How ’bout both teams looking like they came to play some football? Yup. The Syracuse University Snooki Orange wore an amazing orange/navy/orange look that was only enhanced by the weather. On the other end of the ball the West Virginia University Mountaineers wore a simple mono-white uniform with the signature navy lids adorned with the flying WV. Understandably, this is not a uniform that most would agree is a clean-cut outfit with all of its swoops and the like, but for some reason, West Virginia seems to have grown into them, kinda like how I grew to love the Sabian Artisan Hi-Hats, even though my first thought when I heard them for the first time in this video (15″ models being used here) was that they sounded too thin. Damn things are still too expensive, though.

Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl (held Saturday, December 29th, 2012); The United States Naval Academy Midshipmen wore the greatest football uniform in team history for a second-straight game! Phil has already talked about the uniforms a handful of times, but I would like to voice my opinion on these gems. The helmet… is IMO, the best one-off (or in this case, two-off) helmet that I’ve ever seen on the field. The jersey top is something to marvel at. The block font is one of the nicest that I’ve come across. If someone knows the specific name of this font, please comment, and I will, well… I’ll be really grateful. At first, I was slightly disappointed that the pants had no stripe, but then I found out that this uniform is supposed to be a gridiron translation of a Naval officer’s white uniform (and does a damn great job of doing so), which doesn’t have any stripes going down the side of the pants. Their opponents were the Arizona State University Sun Devils, who came out wearing (be sure to click on every word, as each one contains a link)… white helmets… black jerseys… and white pants. Why?? How?? Who?? Alright, to be fair, this isn’t the worst look that they could’ve gone with (white/black/black would’ve been vomit-inducing), but still… It’s like they were trying to channel the Brooklyn Nets with this look. Definitely the most out-of-place uniform that I’ve seen Sparky wear to-date.

Valero Alamo Bowl (held Saturday, December 29th, 2012); This bowl season’s unofficial “Orange” Bowl, as there was a lot of the color in this game: the Oregon State University Beavers in orange jerseys with black helmets and pants, and the University of Texas (at Austin) Longhorns in their all-white road togs (as Phil once said: no one can do all-white like Hook ’em), accented with their signature burnt orange. For some reason, I suddenly feel like eating the rest of that pumpkin ice cream in the freezer while drinking some orange juice.

Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl (played Saturday, December 29th, 2012); A prophecy was told: that in this game, HydroChrome would reign supreme. As it would turn out, the prophecy would be fulfilled… albeit, half-way. The Texas Christian University Horned Frogs wore their HydroChrome purple lids (made by the guys at Hydro Graphics, Inc.), with their mono-white uniform, while The Michigan State University Spartans (who also have a chrome-dome lid) sported their standard helmets with a green-over-white uniform.

Franklin American Mortgage Company Music City Bowl (played Monday, December 31st, 2012); In a game that provided one of my favorite all-time bowl game uni-matches a few years back (again: light-blue fetish), this season’s matchup didn’t provide that much contrast in the jersey top-department. The Vanderbilt University Commodores in a very light Vegas Gold top (with black helmets and pants), and the North Carolina State University Wolfpack in white tops (with white helmets and pants). Was color-vs.-color not an option in this game? Because if not, it should have been!. Luckily, there’s more to a uniform than just a jersey, as the pants and helmets picked up where the jerseys left off.

Hyundai Sun Bowl (played Monday, December 31st, 2012); A game that marked the University of Southern California Trojans’ return to the bowl game spotlight, and they played no gimmicks: cardinal helmets, white jerseys, and gold pants. As for the Georgia Institute of Technology Yellow Jackets, they wore their once-every-blue-moon navy jerseys to go with their gold helmets and white pants (stupid small images). Such a messy uniform, and it’s a shame too, because with a more legible number font, a darker gold, and less stringy stuff on the EVERYWHERE, this uniform has some real potential. Hopefully, they’ll make some revisions for 2013.

AutoZone Liberty Bowl (played Monday, December 31st, 2012); Yay, a color-vs.-color game! In the red corner, we have the University of Southern California Trojans Iowa State University Cyclones in cardinal helmets, cardinal jerseys, and gold pants (also note the player’s Schutt knee pads). In the blue corner, we have the University of Tulsa Golden Hurricane, in white helmets, blue jerseys, and white pants. Tulsa also had different decals for the game: a Liberty Bowl helmet stripe and a bell icon behind the main helmet logo. Tulsa would win by TKO, 31-17.

Chick-fil-A Bowl (played Monday, December 31st, 2012); You know, for a bowl game with a sponsor that makes a big deal out of color-vs.-color games, they kinda dropped the ball on this one, don’t ya think? At least both uniforms were on-point: with the Clemson University Tigers sporting orange helmets and jerseys with white pants, and the Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College Fighting Tigers wore a uniform that has a history as long as its name, with some slight changes. If you haven’t noticed the change by now, LSU’s wearing a Nike Speed Machine version of their usual uniform. And it’s not just the jersey, either: it’s the pants that changed as well, as noted by the padded belt chamber found on the Nike Pro Combat/Speed Machine pants. I was actually saying a while back that they should move LSU’s current uni to the Speed Machine template. The best thing about the new togs were the drastically improved shoulder stripes. UH-MAZING!!! Now if we could just convince UCLA to break their contract with Adidas… however, one thing that wasn’t apparent in the initial tweet which tipped me off about the template switch was the change in number width. DAMN, the numbers went on a serious diet. My guess is that Nike did this in response to how the lengthened stripes take up more space on the back. To me, it looks like they were also trying to bridge the gap between a regular block font, and the font that makes up the ‘LSU’ in the helmet logo.

That takes care of the “2012” bowl games. Tune in next week as we ring in the new year with… the new year’s games. Yeah, I really don’t know what else to type here. Anyways, see you all next week.

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Thanks, TJ!

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“Benchies” first appeared at U-W in 2008, and has been a Saturday & Sunday feature here for the past two years.

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From the Way Back Machine, a little lower case uni-watching…

Click to enlarge

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Uni Tweaks Concepts

We have another new set of tweaks, er…concepts today. After discussion with a number of readers, it’s probably more apropos to call most of the reader submissions “concepts” rather than tweaks. So that’s that.

So if you’ve concept for any sport, or just a tweak or wholesale revision, send them my way.

Please do try to keep your descriptions to ~50 words (give or take) per image — if you have three uniform concepts in one image, then obviously, you can go a little over, but no novels, OK? OK!. You guys have usually been good with keeping the descriptions pretty short, and I thank you for that.

Like the colorizations, I’m going to run these as inline pics — click on each one to enlarge.

And so, lets begin:

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First up is “Jonah” with a Portland hoops concept:

Hi Phil,

This time I decided to make another uniform design for the Portland Trail Blazers, and this one follows the format of the new red alternate uniforms that were unveiled this season. Now I know you and Paul are not huge on the whole gray uniform craze, especially since the spurs just unveiled a gray uniform of their own, but since gray is a Blazer color, I decided to make a gray uniform. Basically it is the same as the red version, except the gray and the red are switched and instead of portland on the front, it says rip city, while the tramp stamp says Portland. Anyways, I hope you enjoy and hopefully this will be an exception to the gray uniform craze.

Jonah

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Next up is Tom Bierbaum, with some love for the mistake on the lake:

Phil

Again, many thanks for running the weekly Uni Concepts feature.

Here’s a proposed re-design for the Cleveland Browns, who ought to keep their current traditional uniforms. But if they decide to change, my idea is to add tan to the color scheme and to update the “brownie” logo they proposed in the 1960s…

Oh, fyi, a little more detail on my Browns concept can be found on my journal at this link…

Opposing teams are colorful concepts for the Broncos and the Jets.

Thanks,

“Tenz”
Tom Bierbaum
Erie, Pa.

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We close today with Bert Ayres, with two different concepts for the relocated Jags:

Mr. Hecken :

I recently decided that the only thing keeping the Jacksonville Jaguars from pulling up stakes and moving to LA was the lack of a new uniform design. I’ve come up with two options to get the Jags motivated and bring football back to LA.

Concept 1 – Los Angeles/California Mountain Lions : I have always liked the Jags logo and it turns into a mountain lion so easily, so no need to completely re-brand the team on this one. Just a simple application of typical California colors, nothing too fancy.

Concept 2 – Los Angeles/California Grizzlies : Inspired by the California state flag, simple California colors again with a little nod to the flag.

Bert Ayres

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And that’s it for today. Back with more next time.

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Stirrup Fridays…

Because we love the stirrup here at Uni Watch, this section is devoted to those of us who sport the beautiful hose on Fridays — a trend popularized many years ago by Robert P. Marshall, III. For many of us, it’s become a bit of an obsession, but a harmless one — a reflection of our times. Where we once had Friday ties, which has been replaced by Casual Friday — we now have Stirrup Fridays. It’s an endearingly simple concept — no matter where you work (or even if you don’t) — break out a fresh pair of rups to compliment (or clash with) your Friday attire.

We’re all set with a fresh batch of stirruppians, so let’s get right to it:

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Jason Mack:

Phil,
Here’s a picture of a couple friends and I at Doubleday field in Cooperstown. We go every September for a weekend of baseball. No matter if we win or loose, thanks to Mr. Robert Marshall our rups leave the other players drooling.

Thanks,
Jason Mack

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Blake Pass:

Comrades,

My brother-in-law caught me “mid-sneak” on my way back to the dessert table on Christmas Day. I wore blue sannies under my Oops Oaks ‘rups for a little extra Christmas effect.

Blake Pass

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James Poisso:

Phil,

Happy Stirrup Friday! Part of me wonders if I should wear these with a blue under-sock.

James Poisso

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John K:

Phil,

Braves today. Another stealth look over dark socks for client meetings.

John K

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Brian Derrick:

Comrades,

Love the website, been a daily reader for 2 years now, but still not a member because I don’t have a favorite team and can’t decide how to design my membership card. I bought stirrups for Christmas and he sent me 2 pairs, not the best business strategy, but now I’m a loyal customer!

The picture in the background hangs in my office. It’s every president throwing out the opening pitch since Taft.

Brian

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Tim E. O’Brien:

Phil (and Robert)

As promised, now that Hockey is back, so are my stirrups. I wish I could face off against the real Kaner but instead I’ll be content to kick back in my Toews jersey, black jeans, Blackhawks stirrups, sip my Jack and Coke and enjoy the NHL. Thank the Corn Mother hockey’s back.

—
Tim E. O’Brien

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R. Scott Rogers:

Phil,

Almost baseball weather in DC this Stirrup Friday, so I got my sunshine on with Bad News Bears rups and a matching yellow tropical tie.

Cheers,

Scott

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And that ends today’s look at Stirrup Friday — all of you who participate, send me your pics and a brief (~50 words) description of their relevance, and I’ll run ’em here on Saturday (and sometimes Sunday too!). Be sure to visit Robert’s House of Hose for news on rups.

And now a few words from the leader of the Stirrup Nation, Comrade Robert Marshall. Comrade?

. . .

Hola comrades,

Thank you to those who gave me input last week, it is much appreciated. Since I don’t really run this as a business, but as a way to have some fun getting people the right proper aesthetic, it is important for me to know what the ‘rup-etariat wants from the Hosiery-buro. So thanks, I have some decisions to make. But two hose I need to re-stock first are the Cardinals and Red Sox, so consider them “new” selections.

As for this weeks stirrup friday winner, I considered giving it to one of the old pro’s as a “lifetime” award, but in the end it was hard not to go with Jason Mack, who along with two of his friends, wore the stirrups to Cooperstown to play ball in full uniform, and that was too cool to pass up. Congrats Jason, please get ahold of me so i can send out your Uni Watch hosiery.

from each according his stirrvp, to each according his strype.

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That will do it for this fine Saturday. Someone told me the NHL is back? What’s up with that? I guess now we’ll have a little something to fill the void between the Super Bowl and the first day of pitchers and catchers…

Big weekend in the league where they play for pay: The day kicks off with Ray Lewis’ last professional game as the Ravens head to Denver (4:30 pm ET on CBS) and the night cap features Discount double-checking out when the Pack face off with the Niners in The City by the Bay (8:00 pm ET on FOX). One of those games will look great.

You want to be CERTAIN to check back in tomorrow, as we get a look at all the Super Bowl XLVIII Logo Contest submissions, and you’ll get to cast your vote for your favorites in the first round of voting. I’ve snuck a peek at them and there are some really good (and clever) submissions. Until then, everyone enjoy your Saturday and I will catch you on the morrow.

Peace.

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“(L)ooking squarely at me, he said, ‘I’m Jewish. Do I LOOK Jewish?’ And I started to giggle, in the Holocaust museum I started to giggle, because if this guy ‘looked’ anything, it was completely and unalterably Jewish. He was horrified. The other people in our group were horrified. My wife was horrified. And I was so ashamed.”
–Cort McMurray