I met many wonderful people at last night’s Uni Watch party, including Max Weintraub, who as you can see wears his sports heart on his sleeve — or at least on his arms.
Max was among about three dozen readers who showed up at last night’s shindig. It was a tremendous turnout — the best of any Uni Watch party ever, I’m pretty sure. It was great to meet readers with whom I’ve e-mailed for so many years, like R. Scott Rogers, Jonathon Binet, David Goodfriend, William Yurasko, and Eric Trager, along with old friends like Conn Nugent and Joe Hilseberg, as well as lots of “silent majority” lurkers. It was a sensational night, and I was truly humbled by all the kind words from the party attendees. Thanks for coming out, everyone — you’re all aces.
I’ll try to run more photos from the party later on, but I don’t have time for that today. Gotta run to the symposium at the National Museum of the American Indian and then catch a train back to NYC tonight. See you tomorrow. ”” Paul
Initial this: A month or two ago I Ticker-linked to this ’Bama/Geogia photo, which shows lots of players wearing FIOB. Looks like the Crimson Tide may have even more FIOBs this coming season, at least according to equipment manager Matt Lesser:
Looking over our recruiting class, and factoring in new players and returning players, we’ll have between 19 and 22 players sporting an initial this season. Five will be sporting more than one letter for their initial. The players are:
• Cyrus Jones, Christion Jones, Harrison Jones, Walker Jones, and Tyren Jones (plus Bernel Jones, who’s non-scholarship)
• Kellen Williams, Jarrick Williams, Eddie Williams, and Tim Williams
• Cade Foster, Robert Foster, and Reuben Foster
• Brandon Hill and Grant Hill
• Cyrus Kouandjio and Arie Kouandjio
• Geno Smith and Maurice Smith
• Alphonse Taylor (and maybe M.K. Taylor, who’s non-scholarship)
• In addition, A.J. McCarron, who does not wear an initial, has a non-scholarship brother, Corey McCarron, who does wear an initial.
Is having 19-22 initialed players some sort of record?
If it isn’t a record, it’s certainly in the running. Great stuff!
ESPN reminder: In case you missed it yesterday, my latest ESPN column has the results of our “Redesign the Browns” contest. Enjoy.
Uni Watch News Ticker: Washington mayor Vincent Gray avoided saying the word “Redskins” in his State of the District address. ”¦ The Cubs are inviting fans to design a 100th-anniversary logo for Wrigley Field (from Matt Lindner). … Scott Chamberlain received a letter from the Pirates, inviting him to be part of a focus group regarding a new primary logo. He has accepted the invitation and will report back to us after the focus session on Feb. 12. ”¦ Here’s a closer look at Tennessee’s gorgeous new baseball stirrups, which they’ll be wearing for Sunday home games — Stirrup Sundays! ”¦ Here’s a real prize: a full page-by-page scan of a 1972 Texas Rangers program (big thanks to Matthiew Mitchell). ”¦ The centennial soccer jersey for the U.S. men’s national team may have leaked (from Patrick Runge). ”¦ Jaylon Smith, a high school football player who just committed to Notre Dame, wears some very cool wristbands, or tape, or whatever (from Steve Krah). ”¦ Can’t believe I’ve never linked to this before, but here’s the site for goalie mask artist David Gunnarsson. Tons of fun stuff to explore (from Anthony Giaccone). ”¦ David Mann thinks the new Jags logo would look better if the aspect ratio were altered a bit, and it’s hard to disagree. ”¦ Tuesday’s miserable-looking basketball game between Adidas and Nike Michigan and Ohio State has prompted an amusing manifesto. ”¦ If you scroll down to the bottom, you can see a uni-centric correction to this article about the latest cowardly move by the Boy Scouts. ”¦ Kyle Martinek notes that BYU’s black matte helmet appears to have a raised logo. Can that be? ”¦ It’s a little hard to see, but Eric Voglmayr says the number fonts on the front and back of Marcus Foligno’s helmet don’t match up. “The one on the back is the same font as the jerseys, but the one on the front is the old Buffa-slug font,” he says. ” As far as I can see, all the other players have the correct font on the front and back.” ”¦ Here’s a look at Italian soccer socks (from Michael Orr). ”¦ Meet the new UNC uni, same as the old UNC uni, more or less. ”¦ Football throwbacks apparently in the works for North Texas (from Travis Aidoghie). ”¦ Amusing Family Guy tribute on goalie Petr Mrazek’s new mask.
If i were a team doing focus groups on a new logo, i thinki would want people to sign a non-disclosure agreement, in so far as the designs themselves.
Mrazek’s mask is more of a play on words than it is a tribute to ‘Family Guy’…the Wings’ AHL farm team is the Grand Rapids GRIFFINS…not sure everyone caught that one.
Sorry to have missed the party…during my annual eye exam earlier in the afternoon, they ended up dilating my pupils, so I wasn’t really in any shape to drive downtown and party…
In defense of the new Jag’s logo, the wider aspect ratio more closely resembles a cat’s head aggressively roaring at prey. It also gives a feeling of motion and activity that the more squared logo does not. To me, the smaller squared logo reads as more passive.
Yeah, what HE said.
Not to mention the wider logo will probably fit better on a helmet.
True.
My thoughts, exactly.
The tweaked Jags logo with the different aspect ration looks a thousand times better than what they released.
One. Thousand. Times. Better.
*ratio
I dunno… the original logo looks like it’s on the prowl. The revised version looks more like it’s about to yawn.
Was anxious to see the “fixed” aspect ratio of the Jaguar, but I like the originally released aspect ratio better, as Keith said, motion, agressively pursuing prey, etc. The “fixed” aspect ratio looks like a yawning/smiling jaguar and is less of an improvement over the yawning/smiling logo they had.
The released jaguar is obviously much more fast and athletic than the altered jaguar. I also like that, as a nod to the team illustrious history, the released version’s footprint fits almost perfectly onto the original version’s footprint (much as the Lions update did a couple years back). Upon first glance, the altered cat is more pleasing to the eye, but when you think about it, the released version makes more sense.
I have to disagree. The altered logo looks better. The released logo is more sleek but jaguars (as well as lions, panthers, leopards, etc.) are not really sleek. Big cats, while cunning and devious, and defined by raw power and strength. To me the altered logo gives the cat more weight and muscle than the slimmer, sleeker version.
link
I agree 110%. The altered ratio looks much better.
Just added this photo from last night’s party:
link
Dang. I had to bolt before picture time. Oh well.
Thanks for getting the party together! Great time last night!
Jason (Red Caps jersey and Nats hat)
LOVE those Tennessee stirrups!
Yeah, they look good. Even though black has slowly creeped up in other Tennessee sports over the years, it’s been a staple in baseball for a long time.
Here’s Todd Helton back in the mid 90’s.
link
Comrade Marshall, add these to the stirrrup selections!
Thanks Paul for getting to DC and rounding up so many folks. As a silent majority lurker I was blown away with the response last night. It was great to see many others really do love this uniform stuff. Good luck at the museum today.
Why is the Boy Scouts’ decision to delay on the issue of gay members “cowardly”?
You’re right, “cowardly” isn’t a good term here. How about “absolutely fucking pathetic”? Because deciding to NOT DISCRIMINATE AGAINST PEOPLE is a really difficult decision, right? One’s sexual orientation has exactly no effect on anything the Scouts are expected to do.
I wouldn’t have made such a good Boy Scout, anyway. They were looking for kids who were Trustworthy, Loyal, Helpful, Friendly, Courteous, Kind, Obedient, Cheerful, Thrifty, Brave, Clean, and Reverent, whereas I tended to be Fickle, Devious, Obstructive, Hostile, Rude, Cruel, Stubborn, Gloomy, Extravagant, Cowardly, Dirty, and Sacrilegious.
You rock, Walter!
To answer your question, it’s not cowardly. The Boy Scouts are a private organization, and should be able to make their own rules for acceptance.
If Paul doesn’t like the decision a private organization makes, he uses this platform to tell everyone.
I’m pretty sure the Klan had their own rules for joining as well, and they were a private organization.
But you probably wouldn’t think twice if anyone had a few choice words for that particular private organization.
Being on the wrong side of history is ever so easy. Bigotry and discrimination, even for a private organization, is still bigotry and discrimination.
Sure, it’s their right to perpetuate it. But anyone, including Paul or any reader, should be able to call the ‘punt’ for what it was. A chickenshit move.
Lets hope when they actually vote on rescinding the ban, they’ll show some fucking stones and do the right thing.
Guess my crayon artwork ain`t getting to the Cubs
“Jaylon Smith, a high school football player who just committed to Notre Dame,…”
I notice his helmet stripe stops at/before the top of his “9” numeral on the front of his helmet.
I don’t care at all about the Browns, but I would give my left nut for them to adopt that Northwestern-esque uni, which I realize probably isn’t a healthy statement.
One thing I noticed about the top logo is has massive Flying Elvis tendencies with an arm & football added.
If I had to pick a favorite concept, it would be link link. Basically a Browns version of the Colts, which looks sharp & clean. I always liked the B-football logo, too.
I could get behind that, too, but I’m a sucker for that stripe-across-the-chest look.
What he said!
TWO Kouandjios on one football team? Reminds me of the apocryphal story of the only two licensed automobiles in the state of Kansas (?) around the turn of the century…that managed to hit each other.
They’re brothers.
I think the only 2 licensed automobiles to hit each other was in Ohio.
The Y on the BYU helmet is actually in 3D.
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ECODOMES are a 3-Dimensional, flexible emblem of incomparable beauty
That’s hilarious.
You gotta give them some credit for finding a way to make puffy stickers sound cool.
Nats and Caps tattoos on the wrists? Given how their seasons have ended recently, I don’t know how that guy has managed to stave off suicide.
LIKE!
Yes. Which wrist does Maxie slit first?
Thanks so much for being such a gracious host last nite Paul. It was a pleasure to meet you and a pleasure to meet and talk with so many people who “get it”. If Caldwell (Still calling
it shea”) reads this send me your email cause I would like to continue our discussion. Hope we can do this again sometime.
Jaylon Smith’s wristbands are against Federation uniform rules. A large wrist band can only be used if the team uses it to call plays. Those clearly do not.
It does look more like tape than actual wristbands (as in the terry cloth type of the wristbands), maybe it’s a loophole since it is tape?
Yes but “large” is a very relative term. Something that’s large on my 5’10” 150 lb frame will not necessarily be large on a 6’3″ 285 lb. lineman. Is the size defined? How are you to know that a certain level stripe does not coincide with a certain play, or an audible? I think in this case, we are looking at layered tape anyway, but stated the way you put it, that rule would be next to impossible to enforce.
Since you asked, though at this point it’s late enough that you might not see this post. I omitted the parts that don’t apply. It’s not so much that it’s explicitly illegal, it’s that they don’t fit the definition of permitted wrist adornment.
Section 1.
ART. 3 . . . Illegal equipment. No player shall participate while wearing illegal equipment. This applies to any equipment, which in the opinion of the umpire is dangerous, confusing or inappropriate. Illegal equipment shall always include but is not limited to:
a. The following items related to the Game Uniform:
5. Uniform adornments, with the exception of:
(b) Moisture-absorbing sweatbands, when worn on the wrist beginning at the base of the thumb and extending no more than 3 inches toward the elbow.
c. The following Other Illegal Equipment:
8. Play cards not worn on the wrist or arm.
Paul, I forgot to ask last night if you’d be wearing the custom-tailored suit you chronicled on the blog to today’s symposium.
The leaked (?) design of the centennial shirt for the USMNT reminds, the US Soccer Federation needs to ditch its current logo. The italic font, the motion lines below the ball, even the blue stripes…
Why not start fresh with the crest on the centennial shirt, maybe slap an eagle of some sort (swooping, spread, etc.) over the vertical stripes. Or there’s that serpent/”Don’t tread on me” logo that Nike uses for its USMNT merchandise. Anything to class it up a bit; the current design feels a bit childish and amateur when compared to those used overseas.
(Sorry to miss the meetup last night.)
Early photos out of Mets camp show players wearing a regular cap, no Mr. Met “batting practice” cap in site. Anybody else notice if their teams are wearing the new lids yet?
Also out of Mets camp, a clubhouse pic of link getting prepped.
Kinda looks like a uni-tracking chart.
Not a single non-royal batting helmet to offend the eye.
The irony of reading about a DC meetup paired with a big scan of Bob Short’s mug linked in the ticker is not lost on me.
Bad timing on my end; I was in DC for business a couple of weeks ago and plan to be there again for a baseball history event in a week. Looked like a fun, low-key gathering.
Nice Texas Rangers 1972 scorecard. Look at the page with the out-of-town teams’ pitchers list – interesting that they used a unique numbering system instead of uniform numbers. Perhaps scoreboard could only accommodate a single digit or two digits only if first digit was one?
The 1972 Rangers program!
For a few minutes there I was 12 again.
…A catcher’s mitt with three–count ’em–three packs of cigarettes. The Cattlemen’s Steak House sign looks to stretch all the way to the moon, just as the Apollo program was wnding down. No first names for the coaches….I could go on.
I really want to check out Seven Seas Park… They had a killer whale, 12 performing dolphins *and* penguins on roller skates? Holy crap…
Its still there. Its called Hurricane Harbor now. Its on the other side of I-30 in Arlington. Its part of the Six Flags family.
Seeing the photo of Bill Mercer…so many memories of him hosting World Class Championship Wrestling on Channel 39
The Statler Hilton still stands today. Right now they are refurbishing and remodeling that hotel to make it the grand hotel it was back when it opened.
Man I did not know Pancho’s has been around that long. I love that place, but I would hurt myself in there now. The buffet is so awesome.
A buffet for less than 2 bucks.
Congrats to the boy scouts. nothing cowardly about letting local troops set their own rules. Actually brave to mimic our Constitution in an age when progressives view it as toilet paper
Decentralized bigotry is still bigotry.
nothing cowardly about letting local troops set their own rules.
Except they didn’t decide to do that. They didn’t decide to do anything. They just punted. That’s what’s cowardly. They have every right to be cowardly (and bigoted), of course.
Let’s move on. Thanks.
I love how you always post derisive stuff about politcal subjects and then quickly want to move on when it gets questioned. And you call them cowardly?
I’m glad you love it!
Now let’s move on.
I am reminded of this classic exchange:
link
Not the most eye-popping kit for USMNT, if this is for real.
Paul,
Going to pull a Lee Corso on the UNC jersey ticker point and say “Not so fast my friend.” That new Carolina jersey is quite different than any current or old one. It’s part of Nike’s “Hyper Elite Road Uniform series being worn by 12 select basketball programs” according to NikeBlog.com ( link ).
The most glaring change is that giant superhero-style chest logo. UNC has done a similar logo before with an alternate in the 90s but with that jersey featured the typical white on Carolina blue color scheme for the logo and numbers ( link ). The sizing, the placement, and the way that combined with a double digit number it leaves a negligible amount of white space are all all reasons why I’m not a fan of this look.
Truly odd is that collar crest which seems to have been left as the usual tiny interlocking NC directly about the gigantic interlocking NC.
As an alum, I am actually more disappointed by the argyle though. The traditional UNC argyle is Carolina blue diamonds and navy stitching on a white backdrop, and with few exceptions (the Ed Cota link above being one), it extended up the side of both the shorts and tops. This alternate features navy diamonds and white stitching on a Carolina blue background that seems to match the blue of the shorts but is separated by a navy stripe. It looks like someone accidentally messed up their paint by numbers. The argyle also doesn’t continue to the tops which just looks incongruent overall.
My only solace is that we seem to have given a single-game reprieve from the hideous back hologram. The photos of the NOB don’t feature hologram, but they do show an odd (and surely Nike proprietary) stripe on the back. It looks like this might be a sort of flywire material. From the Nike blog photos, it looks like the stripe is made of the same material the front is and gives a kind of nameplate look, but overall it’s tough to tell from the limited photos.
Speaking of the NOB, we have a 43 on our team (James Michael McAdoo), so this may be hinting that the “TAR HEELS” could replace the typical LNOB. We’ll just have to see on that one.
(Just as an aside, I’ve been reading your blog since 2007. I’m a huge fan. This is my first comment, and I just want to thank you for the fun an enlightening work you do. I’ve always found your blog to be the perfect intersection of two of my greatest passions – design and sports. Have a great day.)
I kept my peace for a long time, too. Sooner or later, a question goes unasked that becomes an irresistible force. Happy Commenting!
a new pirates logo?
They should at the very least ditch the red.
I really hope the new logo is not in any way inspired by those Johnny Depp movies.
I think it’s a new pirate head, as in what’s currently on the sleeves. I don’t think it’s a new “P” hat logo.
I think Paul had something about this a few weeks ago but I’m not sure.
Thank you for throwing such a great event last night, Paul! It was great to meet you and to spend an evening with so many knowledgeable uniform and design enthusiasts. Hopefully you’ve enjoyed your time here in the Nation’s Capital and that it won’t be another 10 years until you return!
The 76ers just signed Jeremy Pargo who is going to wear #0. That will put them with Spencer Hawes wearing #00 n him wearing #0.
Awesome time last night, pleasure meeting you Paul and Phil! Hope you made it to Ben’s Chili Bowl! Thanks again
Love those Tennessee stirrups. I think that pattern would look great on the Boston Bruins’ stockings.
I’ve always wondered: Just how necessary are first initials/names on the back of jerseys? Even if there are five Johnsons on a roster, they all have different numbers, so you can differentiate Johnson #5, Johnson #72, etc. If I recall correctly, when the Mets were managed by Davey Johnson, his jersey simply read “JOHNSON,” while Howard Johnson’s had the first initial. HoJo eventually dropped that initial, but I can’t remember if it was before Davey was fired in 1990.
Regarding the Sabres uniform number fonts, the front numbers and the sleeve numbers are a thinner variant of the back numbers, which are your typical block-style athletic numbers.
The slug jerseys did not use this style, but rather a rounder, more modern font. That is not what is on the Sabres jerseys any longer.
However, they have continued using the slug font for their helmet numbers. A small detail that’s been irking me since the slug was (hopefully) forever retired. Not so much because it’s a bad font, but it’s just inconsistent with the other uniform numbers.
Regarding the numbers on the back of Foligno’s helmet, it does indeed look like the back ones do match the jersey. An interesting development! Maybe they’re in the process of standardizing and Marcus was first on deck.
link
Throwback jerseys Michigan will be wearing vs. Penn State as part of the upcoming Crisler Center Rededication. No word on whether they are going with the short shorts, but I highly doubt it.
Good times at the Hamilton Bar-n-Grill in the methadone clinic / courthouse district of DC. The brawl at the end of the evening was unfortunate, I think, but seeing our friends smashing wooden chairs over each others’ backs and breaking bottles over skulls and then taking on the cops with those spray thingees they have these days —— almost worth it.
Sorry. Didn’t mean to nest my junk under Graham’s report on UMich…
Please don’t nest your junk anywhere on Uni Watch…
It actually gets better – the 1968 Michigan jerseys had belts.
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Sadly, the UM athletic department has said that, although Adidas claims the unis are “identical” to the 1968 uniforms, they won’t have short shorts or belts.
I was watching SportCenter and they had a preview of the NFL Draft. They had the new Jag logo up. I must say it looks pretty good. It might be one of the best logos in the league. They needed the update
Glad the turnout in DC was a success. Wish I could have made it, but work tends to get in the way of that sometimes. Next time you’re here, I’ll make sure I’m there, sporting my Fightin Phils uni.
New helmet for Colorado? link
No. Buffs on one side, Broncos on the other.
Probably not EXACTLY what you’re looking for, but I’m almost positive there was a season in the 80s that Pitt football had EVERY player wearing their first initial
Re: Browns. The classic tweak is excellent. I prefer Brownie to stay as-is, although the updated designs were very well done.
Phil, please e-mail me when you can, your contact was a yahoo acct, I believe you told me you had a gmail acct. It’s about the Senators/Nats caps, and Pat Patriot, thx Jesse
Hey Jesse,
Great meeting you (and everyone) last night!
I sent you two emails (three, actually) containing all the pics I took of your gear. You should have them (hopefully) by now.
Got back from DC a little while ago. Looks like I got home just in time to find Nemo.
Foligno seems to be the only to still have the slug-font anywhere. That kind of inconsistency drives me crazy, especially since Foligno never wore the slug.
In the Rangers program from 1972, I believe the headshot of Frank Howard in a Rangers cap was taken in RFK Stadium in Washington, D.C. The stands in the background sure look like it.
While everyone knew the Senators were leaving before the 1971 season ended, it seems like a slap in the face to Senators fans.
Loved the Ranger’s program. I grew up in Arlington in the 80’s and it was fun to see some of the ads for the places that had shut down. Thanks for taking the time to scan it in!