By Phil Hecken
I’m back again today with another installment of the popular “Timelessly Representing” series, and today we will conclude the second half of the NHL.
Originally envisioned for baseball, several readers have submitted their thoughts on which uniform and stadium (or arena/building) would serve as a “snapshot,” if you will, of a club’s perfect uniform and home, if one were to consider a team’s entire history. It’s subjective, of course, and very likely can be heavily influenced by the ballclubs and stadia from a particular reader’s childhood, although this is not necessarily the case. But based on the more recent vintage chosen of both team and building, it seems like one’s formative years play a role in this.
We’ve now tackled MLB, the NFL, the NBA, the CFL, and will be finishing up hockey — if you’d like to refresh your memories of Part I (and there are links in that article to all the other “Timelessly” pieces). As I previously mentioned, I have also received submissions for many of the NCAA Football divisions, and I’ll get to each and every one of those as soon as the football season starts (and I return to weekends).
There’s not much more to say, so let’s see what’s …
Timelessly Representing the NHL, Central and Pacific Divisions
By Kyle Schroeck
My name is Kyle Schroeck, that’s Shrek like the ogre. Thanks to the readers and Phil Hecken for having me write the “Timelessly Representing the Hockey Clubs” feature. Born and Raised in Erie, Pennsylvania, I have grown an affinity for all things Western PA and I have loved hockey since the late 80’s. I am only 31 years old, but I do embrace the history of the NHL and other sports. By the way, in regards to the NFL column of the same topic, Three Rivers Stadium is as timeless as $10 Wal-Mart sneakers.
The NHL is not exactly the most stable league for teams staying in their original cities. That fact makes this write-up a bit challenging, because the best jerseys in Hurricanes history have a Whalers logo in the center of the chest. Plus we add the Winnipeg to Phoenix and Atlanta to Winnipeg conundrum. So here we go, sorted by the new divisions. On an aside, if they wanted to make the division names timeless, they would have gone back to the Patrick, Adams, Norris and Smythe divisions.
Central Division
Chicago Blackhawks Best jersey in the NHL, hands down, so clean, yet so colorful and Chicago Stadium.
Colorado Avalanche: Nordiques or Avs? I like the usage of the lighter blue and the fleur-de-lis around the waist, the successes have been more plentiful in Denver at the Pepsi Can.
Dallas Stars: Even though the Cup was won in Dallas, the Star jersey was short lived, and they have really bastardized that thing since. Gotta go with the 1991 photo, if only for the gratuitous Mario inclusion, and Reunion Arena in Dallas gets the nod over the Met Center.
Minnesota Wild: Current green fauxbacks and Xcel Energy Center.
Nashville Predators: They broke the mold a couple years ago by going yellow at home, first time since the Pens had yellow primaries in the 80’s, and Bridgestone Arena and its interesting sculpture.
St Louis Blues: The Blues should be Blue, right? It’s a shame the steeples were demolished before the original expansion in 1967.
Winnipeg Jets: Should I choose the Thrashers or the Jets? No question the Jets look is more timeless, considering Atlanta changed sweater designs every two years. The MTS Centre is arguably the loudest rink in the league. Even though it’s new, it has a reputation.
Pacific Division
Anaheim Ducks: The eggplant still supersedes the crap they are putting out on the ice today, and the Pond is their entire history.
Calgary Flames: The firefighter unis just feel right, as does the Saddledome.
Edmonton Oilers: Gretz, Kurri and Mess, and Rexall Place, the third oldest barn in the NHL.
Los Angeles Kings: Gretz, Kurri and Luc, and the Great Western Forum.
Phoenix Coyotes: Winnipeg’s second appearance on this list, and The America West Arena only because the sightlines for hockey were terrible, so bad that the balcony seats could not see the near net.
San Jose Sharks: Remember when teal was badass? Yeah, me neither, but they have stayed the course in the Bay Area and the Shark Tank is a great venue.
Vancouver Canucks: Lots of sweaters, tons of color schemes but which stands out? I can’t stand the orca, the skate on the black and yellow jersey, the deep V-neck, nothing really stands out, none are timeless. I think the new stick in rink is the classiest, with the V in the sleeve striping, and the Rogers Arena seems to be a suitable venue.
Ok, let the comment section argument begin!
Once again, thanks, Kyle! OK ”” that’s it for puck. Like most “Timelessly” articles, I find myself agreeing more than disagreeing with your choices, but I’m sure there will be some good discussion in the comments. Readers? What say you?
Power Rankings Update
Today’s installment of the Uni Watch Power Rankings takes a look at the NFL — here you go.
In case you haven’t been following along all week, here are the introduction and ground rules, the MLB rankings, and the NBA rankings. We’ll continue tomorrow with the NHL rankings, and the master chart of all 122 teams will run on Friday.
Also: I’ll be doing a live web chat on ESPN this Friday, 2pm Eastern. I’ll stay on for at least an hour, and maybe a little longer.
Finally: In Monday’s MLB Power Rankings, I mentioned how the Orioles’ secondary logo has a backwards apostrophe. This prompted a reporter to ask Orioles marketing VP Greg Bader about it, which in turn led Bader to issue a very amusing (and transparently false) response. Sure, Greg, if you say so! ”” Paul
Sharknado…or Sharknada?
Yesterday the San Jose Sharks unveiled their new uniforms. You can read about it on the Sharks homepage, where there are plenty of pics and a video. But lets check out the new unis here (click any image to enlarge):
Not much of a change, right? Here’s a closeup of the home & road:
Here’s how the Sharks themselves detail the changes:
The home jersey look is clean, focusing on the Sharks primary color, Pacific Teal. Orange accents were removed from the lettering and numbering as well as the arm stripes. The classic crest logo will still be the centerpiece of the jersey.
To complete a classic look, neckline lacing was added and neckline striping was removed.
Clean, classic, bold and designed for performance, the Next Wave jerseys will help take the Sharks to the next level this season and many to come.
Next wave? OK. But it really doesn’t look that much different from their previous set. The biggest differences are the lack of shoulder yoke on the new unis, and a bit less orange. In fact, a lot less orange — the new set feels like the tiny orange piping is almost an afterthought (or a mistake). The other big change is there are no stripes on the hem. That’s a necessary ingredient on a hockey sweater, folks. Now it almost looks like a football jersey (if football jerseys had actual sleeves).
Not a fan.
Here’s the specs:
The Sharks will keep their black uniforms for 2013-14 and beyond. Since their new sweaters now basically look like the black jersey, I guess this was done in the name of symmetry? Those jerseys need hem striping too.
I’m all for simpler uniforms, but this feels like subtraction by subtraction. I never liked the Sharks unis especially, but now I especially don’t like them more.
Your thoughts?
Uni Watch News Ticker: “Here is my youth football jersey for the Otay Ranch Broncos,” says Andrew Domingo. And, “Here is my football patch for 10 year anniversary.” … “Aladdin Bail Bonds,” read the subject of Joseph Gerard’s email, “I immediately thought of Chico when I was watching tonight’s Pirates-Padres game.” … This is the design for the 1977 Milwaukee Bucks basketball floor. Painted by pop artist Robert Indiana, it is considered the world’s largest pop art painting. There is hopes to revive this floor and tour it around the country (big thanks to Eric Sahnow). In a similar vein, Nicole Haase writes, “I know how you like the old Mecca floor. A group here is having it run out one last time in Milwaukee. Some great history on this site, too. And a picture of it started to get laid down.” … $13,000 for a . . . Basketball? (thanks Brinke) … Elijah Netting has a request from the UW faithful (especially you DIYers): “I have a project that I need some help with and I’m hoping you guys might be able to point me in the direction of someone who has experience with this sort of thing. I have 2 replica Steelers jerseys that I would like to combine into one. I know the differences between Authentics, Replithenitcs (aka: Premier), and Replicas and these are both Replicas. One is a black Hines Ward (#86) and the other is a white James Farrior (#51). Since neither are on the team anymore, I thought it would be cool to combine them. Ideally, the finished product would have the name “Warrior” on the back. Looking at the back of the Farrior jersey, I don’t think the cut will be right down the middle, but if it was done right, I think it would still look good if done by the right person. I’ve attached pictures of the 2 jerseys (these aren’t the actual jerseys from my closet, but they are pics of replica jerseys that I found online) and also a very rough PC “sketch” of what the jersey could look like. I’m looking online for ways to do this but since DIY projects are in your collective wheelhouses, I thought I’d see if you guys could either send me some tips or point me in the direction of someone from the Uni Verse who can. I appreciate both of your time and any assistance you can provide with helping me find the right person for this project.” … New Ice In at Penn State’s Pegula Ice Arena, notes Jeremy Fallis. Our new hockey facility is opening next month and was painted yesterday. … Manchester City Tribute — Late Bert Trautmann honored by Manchester City in training (thanks to Kenny Loo) … “A pro-USA post about the ‘Made in China’ caps given away at a Nats game in our nations capital last week. This should balance out all that bleeding-heart pinko/commie crap you guys usually post,” notes Ben Fortney with sarcasm. “Not only do they name check my favorite vintage baseball nickname (Go Excelsiors!), but they also list 5 Made in America cap companies.” … If you’re going to source Paul in your article, you really can do better than spelling it correctly and incorrectly in the same graf. … Wonder where they’re putting Chipper’s Bull Durham plaque? (h/t James Gilbert). … These are some, um, interesting (what the kids call “sick”) gloves for the OSU Beavers (h/t Beavers Equipment). … Are the LA Lakers going to be one of the five (pretty much confirmed) teams wearing sleeves next season? (good spot by J. Wright). The answer is “yes” (thanks, Paul). … Gotta love MiLB — the Blue Claws gave away a Jake Diekman bobble last night (thanks Sully). More from Sully: If you like electric orange, you’ll probably like this Brooklyn Cyclones giveaway cap (from August 20th). … Brady Phelps says, “This RGIII shirt should go over well.” … Findlay (a Div II college) has new football uniforms. Interestingly, the helmets have the players’ names on the back (thanks to Kyle Shaner). … And who doesn’t love a DDNOB (Double-Decker Name On Back)? “Don’t know if you’ve seen this before,” says Tyson Camp. “I was editing video clips from BYU’s National Championship season in 1984 and found a Michigan player with FNOB: Mark Hammerstein.” … Some late-breaking NCAAFB “news” — looks like Baylor now has a matte black helmet, and here’s a closeup of their jersey (with complimentary Nikelace) — note the “Sic ‘Em” on the collar; and of course, there is a black jersey too (huge thanks to Josh Lassiter). … And “TTC operators reject ”˜Montreal Canadiens-coloured golf shirts’ as new uniform” (from James Gilbert). … In yesterday’s comments, a question was asked as to the highest NFL referee number. Up until then, it was 147. Well, that’s been topped (thanks to Rob Holecko). … The recently completed 2013 Solheim Cup between Europe and the United States featured a uniform for both teams, as seen here worn by Paula Creamer (USA) and Charley Hull (Europe), with thanks to Graham Clayton. … Hmmm, first time I’ve ever heard the Arkansas football helmet described as “clean” (h/t Tyler Crawford).
That’s going to do it for this fine Wednesday everyone. Before I go, I want to thank Kyle for Part II of the NHL “Timelessly” series, and of course to all the fine readers and ticker submitters. But before we go for good, I wanted to wish a special Happy Birthday to Ricko. I won’t say how old he turns today, but lets just say the candles cost more than the cake. And because we all miss “Benchies,” I’m going to run a special Birthday “Bunchies” just for the birthday boy (click to enlarge):
Everyone have a great day and I’ll catch you on the morrow.
Follow me on Twitter @PhilHecken.
Peace.
“Sometimes things are–whether right or wrong when seen in the rear view mirror–a product of their times.”
–Rick Pearson
Just to clarify what may have been misleading the way I phrased it in the tweet, the highest NFL official before this season we could find was in the 130s, then on Monday night in the post about Bill Leavy’s having the old font, there was a comparison picture of another official in that game wearing 147. Which was topped last night when I saw this official from last Thursday’s 49ers-Chiefs game wearing 150.
I guess I’ll have to disagree about the Sharks unis – it seems to be a very positive upgrade. Now they just need to get rid of the number on the front of the sweater.
NHL sweaters need stripes at the hem and no numbers on the front.
The Sharks need: no front number, no orange stripe, hem striping, and the fin logo on the shoulders. Sounds a whole lot like the classic, original Sharks jerseys, no?
Totally agree. Adding the orange at all was terrible. And it’s still there. They need to bring back the gray. They basically need to go back to the original uniform. :)
I agree. The original was a classic.
I’m with Scott. Sure, the Sharks uni breaks some molds, and I certainly wouldn’t put it anywhere near the top half of the current NHL. But it’s about a 3 on the “too plain” scale, whereas the old uni was a 6 on the “too busy” scale, so it’s an upgrade.
There’s a certain shark-like sleekness to having the jersey reach the hem without an interrupting horizontal stripe. Not every NHL jersey requires hem stripes, any more than every MLB jersey requires a headspoon.
I kind of like the original Shark logo better as well. I suppose that would make this look very similar to their original set, though. Not that it would be a bad thing.
Yes, go back to the original because it had traditional hockey striping at the waist and sleeves. Jerseys that lack waist striping often look like practice jerseys. Their new jerseys are AWFUL!
-Jet
Hockey uniforms without waist stripes are as heinous as Cooperalls. And the fifteen minutes are up on the front number.
Happy birthday to a Uniwatch legend!
Have a great day, Ricko!
“… I won’t say how old he turns today, but lets just say the candles cost more than the cake…”
Let me put it this way. If you’re Medicare-eligible, you might think about Uni Watch retirement. The sad evolution of this once lively site into Camp Curmudgeon — a forum for elderly bilious time-wasters who faint at the sight of stretch fabric — betokens a larger demographic trend in which Boomer Narcissism drowns out the creative voices of younger generations, even though the little shitheads can’t tell you who fought who in the Second World War. Dammit, when I was kid, I had to wrestle with the rabbit ears on top of the Sylvania 13″ TV just to watch a football game. And my mommy didn’t have to drive me to soccer practice just get exercise, fer krissake. Nobody had to drive me anywhere. If I wanted some exercise, I’d go down to the corner and beat up a fat kid and throw some rocks at streetlamp bulbs.
You mean there’s been a second World War?
I thought once we’d got rid of the Kaiser …….
link
You had a TV as a kid?
Why, I had to walk uphill to school in the snow, barefoot, both ways! And we were lucky if the Philco was able to receive the Lone Ranger out of WXYZ a coupla days a week.
And what’s this “soccer” of which you speak?
You were a link kiddie, Phil?
Say, that goes double for me, Connie. You said a mouthful. And how!
Except, back in the Olden Times, us fat kids got our exercise by deftly rolling into a protective ball, potato bug style, while the skinny kids pounded on us and gave us wedgies.
Happy Birthday, Ricko!
Enjoy your B-Day Ricko!
Cheers!
~B
Can’t argue with Kyle’s choices, except for where I disagree, and even there Kyle makes interesting choices that would make for great bar-debate fodder. So another excellent “Timelessly Representing” entry.
Maybe once all the leagues are in, we need some kind of fill-in-the-gaps list of also-rans to deal with things like Winnipeg and Minnesota getting two entries and Phoenix getting none. “Timelessly Representing the City” or something?
I am somewhat offended at the term “also-rans” and Minnesota used in the same sentence, although they’ve certainly shown to be such as of late. :)
And I am biased since I grew up less than a mile from the Met Center, but I’d take that over Reunion Arena every day of the week and twice on Sunday night after a North Stars-Blackhawks brawl. Reunion Arena was primarily a basketball arena that only became a hockey arena when Norm Greed stole the North Stars away, while the Met Center was primarily a hockey arena with great sightlines and one of the best surfaces in all of the NHL. Picking Reunion Arena over the Met Center is a travesty of epic proportions.
Reunion Arena was a soccer arena, yo.
link
OK, the Mavs were first, but the Sidekicks were the last full-time tenant.
And it doesn’t matter how good the Avs are/were…the Nordiques uniform is far superior.
Reunion was a great hall for concerts too.
the Sharks look like they’ve upgraded their practice sweaters. Meh
No kidding; do they plan to just throw their sticks into the center circle before the games as well?
RE: the USA made caps for Nats….
Along those lines–I was in the All-American College Marching Band that performed at Ronald Reagan’s 2nd Inauguration. We felt it appropriate to cover the giant YAMAHA logo on our drums.
(Yes, I still have the uniform!)
link
Honestly I think that is a pretty odd article. Yes, the hat was made in China. The shirt, pants, socks shoes and just about every article of clothing in your closet is likely make abroad. It’s a global industry supporting a global market.
Show me a Washington Nationals’ (or any professional team) piece of merch that was actually made here in the US. a high percentage of New Era “pro-model” hats are made in China. Even the Independence Day Stars and Stripes, New Era hats were made in China!
link
Should Canadians be pissed that a Blue Jays caps might have been made in the US?
To clarify, I would also like to state that I am also disappointed that more MLB merchandise is not produced in the US, but that is simply the reality of our current global market.
I mean, it was a free promotional hat. What did that writer of that article expect?
Not sure how many people know, but Canadian New Era hats have bilingual black “seam taping” or whatever it is called inside the hat.
The US version has the mlb logo, 59FIFTY wordmark, new era logo, and “OFFICIAL ON-FIELD CAP” on this black seam taping. The Canadian version has this slogan in english & french – “CASQUETTE OFFICIELLE”. A french Phillies hat?
To answer the question, no, I wouldn’t be pissed if a Blue Jays hat was made in the US. In fact, I’ll probably pick up a US version next time I cross the border that’s unilingual on the inside!
So you’re looking for a monolingual U.S. Blue Jays cap. Meanwhile, I didn’t know about the bilingual seam tape, so you’ve just made a bilingual Expos cap my new holy grail.
Yeah, everything sold in Canada has to be in both languages. I’m surprised the New Era’s go as far as they do with the inside of the hats (all the little tags, etc.). The price of doing business in Canada…
The drawback to Canadians is we don’t get everything, such as low crown mlb caps (unless the market is big enough to do the custom run with proper tagging).
Hang on to that Expos cap!
Arr, I just re-read what you wrote. Not sure if you have the Expos hat, or if you plan on obtaining one.
If you don’t have it, you could try lids.ca instead of .com – maybe if you email them and ask before ordering.
If you visit across the border, you can get the Expos hat anywhere no problem.
Did I miss a previous piece that provided the evidence that the O’s apostrophe was a mistake and not intentional, making this week’s explanation a “transparently false”? If I did, please let me know where to look. If there never was any evidence to suggest it was a mistake, can I suggest that the fact that is so obviously blatant proves that it had to have been an artistic choice? If dozens (hundreds?) of designers, interns, assistants, friends and family, players and executives and others missed the “error” on the team, league and apparel company levels this was either the biggest proofreading error in history or [simplest explanation] it was in fact intentional.
Also, since we are talking about a logo and not a grammatical construction, why are we applying the rules of punctuation in addition to design? I mean, it’s a symbol, not a sentence. If the team had chosen to use a star, a bat, a feather, home plate or some other symbol to indicate the distinction between the two letters, no one would have batted an eye. But turn another symbol upside down and everyone loses their minds…
Yeah, it’s an error. An apostrophe is always a symbol; that’s what all letters and punctuation are. Being in or out of a sentence has nothing to do with it. This apostrophe I’ve just written? Symbol. The point of symbols is that they convey meaning.
For example, you could use a little baseball bat as an apostrophe in O’s. Imagine that the apostrophe there has a little knob on the bottom like a bat. But what if you turned the baseball bat on its side so it displays as a horizontal line, as in O-s? That just wouldn’t read like an apostrophe; people would stumble over it and have to do a momentary mental double-take to figure out what the baseball bat is doing there. It’s still a symbol (bat) standing in for another symbol (apostrophe), but it’s doing so poorly.
Or put another way: If any orientation of the apostrophe is correct because “it’s just a symbol,” then so too would be any orientation of the letters, which are themselves just symbols. So O’z = s’O = o’S = o’Z = Z’o. Each has the same shapes, just in different up/down and left/right orientations like the apostrophe. Either they’re all equally valid with O’s, or the apostrophe on the logo is wrong.
Well, yes, your analogy works *if* we stipulate that the line is oriented horizontally and looks like a hyphen. In that case it would be poor design, cause confusion, etc. In the case we are talking about the line is oriented in the same way as an apostrophe, so no one confuses it for a hyphen. The fact that Paul has to point this out to readers proves the point – nine out of ten people who have looked at the logo saw nothing wrong. One out of ten saw an upside down apostrophe. But none of them said “what is this symbol supposed to mean DOES NOT COMPUTE I have no idea what this logo is supposed to represent!” They said, “oh, the apostrophe is upside down.” Meaning they recognized it as an apostrophe and associated the meanings assigned to the apostrophe symbol in the English language, regardless of the exact orientation. If the grammar disrupts the design, we have a problem. My question to Paul and others is: if the grammar doesn’t disrupt the design, what’s the problem?
But it does disrupt the design – it’s literally the first thing I notice about it. What does the designer or the team want the viewer to see when they look at the logo? An oriole. The Baltimore Orioles. A baseball team. That’s pretty much it. If any significant number of viewers also sees the apostrophe, then that is a design failure. I don’t mean “notice the apostrophe is wrong,” I mean “notice that the apostrophe exists at all.” Only it’s the error that makes it noticeable. The apostrophe is supposed to be an invisible element of the design, something nobody notices at all unless they set out to do so. If even 1 in 10 viewers notice the presence of the apostrophe, then by definition the apostrophe disrupts the design.
In contrast, when one looks at the A’s cap logo, pretty much nobody will say to themselves, “Oh, look, an apostrophe,” any more than they would say, “Oh, look, a serif.” Yet a significant portion of those who look at the O’s logo do say to themselves, “Oh, look, an apostrophe.” As such, the A’s logo handles its apostrophe in a manner superior to the O’s logo, even though the A’s apostrophe is much larger than the O’s apostrophe. Thus we demonstrate that the orientation of the apostrophe does matter as a question of design.
This is the “everyone knows what it means, so it’s OK” argument. Based on this “logic,” it’s OK to substitute “their” for “they’re,” because everyone knows what it means. It’s OK to substitute “I ain’t” for “I’m not,” because everyone knows what it means. And so on.
The thing is, if you don’t maintain standards, pretty soon people WON’T know what you mean. Deviating from the norm is only OK if most people continue to stick with the norm. In other words, it’s selfish and puts the burden on everyone else.
More specifically, about the Orioles: As I’ve documented many, many times, the level of apostrophe illiteracy in our culture at the moment is extremely high. This wasn’t an “artistic choice” on the team’s part; it was simple ignorance. The fact that many people haven’t spotted it simply speaks to a greater cultural ignorance. And no, that doesn’t make it OK.
A few points:
1. I’m attempting to draw a line between grammar and design. I am not hearing a compelling argument that a design element should obey the rules of grammar. Lots of design elements in logos – like dashes – are stylized to the point that they don’t look like the grammatical symbol they are emulating. Camden Yards, like most retro-modern parks, uses fancy old-timey script on signage. Dashes look like tildes, for example. We aren’t up in arms about that because it’s a sign, not a book. I live in Baltimore and receive mail from the Orioles organization. The apostrophes aren’t all upside down. Because it’s a letter, not a sign. I can agree that the rules of grammar are important and still argue that the rules of design are not the same.
2. I highly doubt this logo was created in such a way that making this “mistake” was even possible. I’m no designer and can’t speak from professional experience, so if someone else can, correct me. But I have a feeling the designers who made this logo didn’t go into Photoshop, type “O ‘ s”, change the font, and call it a day. If they did, how would they even have “accidentally” inverted the apostrophe? I have one apostrophe on my keyboard and it is rightside up. I think it is much more likely that the logo was designed more or less from scratch, and the designers had to decide what the apostrophe would look like before they digitally rendered it. Again, if I’m totally wrong about how design works here, let me know. Or, we could ask the Orioles to briefly describe the process of creating the design (was it hitting three keys and changing the font, or something else?). I’m not a journalist either, so they are very unlikely to respond to me. Maybe a journalist here would be willing follow up on this one at a later date.
3. Thanks for chiming in here Paul, because this made me think of an example you had included on the site a while ago that supports my point. You posted a video about the new logo for the Whitney Museum (link) which is a stylized W. The video showed that the Whitney changes the shape of the W in various communications in order to convey certain meanings. You said you liked this. I agree it is clever. If you go to the Whitney website right now the W on the front page looks absolutely nothing like a W I ever learned to write in school. But that’s okay because it is a design, bound by the rules of design, not grammar. I think this is more appropriate analogy to what the O’s logo represents.
Deviating from the norm is only OK if most people continue to stick with the norm.
Reminds me of something a friend of mine said: “Thinking outside the box sometimes reminds us why there is a box there in the first place.”
Doing something wrong intentionally doesn’t make it right. The backwards “R” in the Toys R Us logo is still “wrong” by any normal standard.
Fair point, Brian. Although I have in fact been trying to make exactly the grammar-design argument you say you’re looking for, I guess I have not been clear. The definition of “grammar” most applicable to the point your’re trying to make is,
The whole system and structure of a language or of languages in general, usually taken as consisting of syntax and morphology.
So the distinction you posit between “sentences” and “design” is false. The O’s logo is not a mere abstraction, intended to look like a round squiggle and a curvy squiggle with a little hash-mark between them, sort of like that ridiculous little glyph Prince changed his name to back in the day. On the contrary, the viewer is meant to see the O in O’s as the letter O. He is meant to see the s in O’s as the letter s. And he is meant to see the apostrophe in O’s as an apostrophe. Thus the use of O’s in the logo is precisely, exactly the same as the use of O’s in this very written sentence.
If the distinction you posit were true, then Q*z would be precisely as valid a representation of O’s as the actual Orioles logo. It’s just design; the normal rules of grammar – the system and structure of language that gives meaning to symbols arranged in a certain order – don’t apply.
Whenever letters or words are used in graphic design, grammar applies, simply because grammar is what gives meaning to the symbols that make up language. Without grammar, the symbol-strings Oriole and hWkystsl would be indistinguishable and equally valid in any design.
Now, designers may choose to violate some rules of grammar, and do so to good effect, just as speakers and writers often do so in oratory, prose, and poetry.* This, however, is not such a case. First, it’s implausible for reasons Paul has stated that the O’s did this intentionally. Second, it simply does not improve the quality of the design or the clarity of the letters as a word.
*Example: Normal English grammar calls for saying, “The Orioles have the worst cap logo ever.” But a person might choose instead to write, “Orioles? Worst. Logo. Ever.” The latter basically takes an a-bomb to the normal rules of grammar, but the result communicates the intended meaning with greater clarity. A design could likewise violate the rules of grammar to good effect. The design in question does not.
“First, it’s implausible for reasons Paul has stated that the O’s did this intentionally.”
The thing that got me started on this whole exchange this morning was he fact that Paul *hasn’t* stated a single reason why this was done unintentionally. The Orioles put out a statement saying the design was intentional. Paul said this was an obvious lie and let the matter drop. I questioned anyone’s ability to know the facts of the matter. I’ve still seen no case at all that this was an obvious error that never got caught. I personally think following up on this would make a great article. I don’t have a sports design blog, though, so that’s not for me. I hope Paul follows up on this, so I’ll drop it for now. Without asking some more specific questions of the designers, no one can prove anything.
As for the rest of your argument – no, the logic of grammar is not required to convey the meaning of a well-designed symbol. Remember this guy, featured on Uni Watch before:
link
He is the guy who killed Moammar Gadhafi while wearing a Yankees cap in an Islamic country. A country which has totally different language, grammar, and syntax then ours. The interlocking “NY” is a symbol that is (becoming) universal, despite a dramatically different set of linguistic logic in every country we see it. It is, in fact, a mere abstraction. The Libyan viewer cannot possibly be expected to see the N as the first letter of the word New and the Y as the first letter of the place York. That word and that place don’t exist in their language. Yet that guy was wearing that hat because the symbol meant something, even divorced from the language it is in.
Brian, I can assure you from personal experience that people in non-English-speaking countries who wear Yankees caps usually know exactly what the N and the Y are and what they mean. You underestimate the education and intelligence of the Libyan viewer.
Now, it’s true that to some degree the NY logo does transcend the mere Latin alphabet, but that transcendence is only possible because the logo is in the first instance rooted in the Latin alphabet. (By definition: A design cannot transcend what does not first characterize it.) Do you mean to propose that you believe that either of the two statements is true, keeping in mind that logically at least one of them must be if your point about the Libyan photo is valid:
1. The Orioles O’s logo is equally widely known and understood around the world, as a symbol, as the Yankees’ NY logo; or
2. The Yankees cap would be equally effective and widely understood as a logo if it combined the shapes Z and >- as it does combining the shapes N and Y?
If you cannot with a straight face tell me you believe one or both of those to be true, then your argument about the Libyan example is falsified.
BTW, I love this kind of debate – I hope I don’t come across as hostile or anything. I’m having fun with this exchange, for which I thank you.
By any grammar standard, yes. By any design standard, no. Great example, though. The store name would look silly all spelled out. The name is meant to convey a symbol of youth – childish misspellings. Anybody eat at Chicken Fillet lately? How about Chik-fil-A? It would just be silly to demand that these places change their names to be grammatically correct.
Even if the apostrophe was intended, I think that article’s author had the best question: why is there an apostrophe in the first place? Unless it is supposed to be possessive, there should not be one (Os vs O’s).
An apostrophe stands in for letters that are missing. In this case, it stands in for “riole” — simple.
Similarly, the apostrophe in the A’s logo stands in for “thletic” — simple.
Thanks for pointing out my own ignorance. I didn’t realize apostrophes were supposed be used that way (or I simply forgot that from English class). Big “duh” for me.
Not necessarily true – by customary usage, the apostrophe can also be used to indicate plural where the lack of an apostrophe would be confusing. See Chicago Manual of Style 7.16. MLA style uses a similar rule. In its online grammar, Oxford Dictionaries (link) says,
There are one or two cases in which it is acceptable to use an apostrophe to form a plural, purely for the sake of clarity:
1. you can use an apostrophe to show the plurals of single letters:
– I’ve dotted the i’s and crossed the t’s.
– Find all the p’s in appear.
2. you can use an apostrophe to show the plurals of single numbers:
– Find all the number 7’s.
Thus A’s. Otherwise, they’d just be a team with the word “as” on their caps. Which would be sort of equivalent to slapping the word “los” on the jersey and calling it Latino Heritage Night.
Who cares? The cartoon bird is on the hat! That’s all that matters. Honestly, some on this site need to be diagnosed for Asperger disorder.
I think I’m with arrScott on this one. It makes more sense that the “A’s” nickname came about because they wore a very prominent A on their uniforms and hats rather than because it’s a convenient contraction of Athletics, though it’s probably a combination of the two.
Great idea to use the MECCA floor as an art exhibit! I’d definitely visit the museum exhibit if it comes my way on its tour! Cool idea and most certainly art.
Wow I wonder if ManCity is selling those Trautmann jerseys? Pretty cool to see a possible distant cousin honored. My original ancestor who came over from Germany was a Trautmann – over time it became Troutman.
The players wore them for pre-match warmups before their season opener against Newcastle. Some of the player (strangely, not all of them) wore black armbands during the game, to memorialize Trautmann.
The player-worn Trautmann shirts are going to be auctioned off, to support a local charity. I haven’t heard anything about them selling replicas, though.
Bert is an amazing character, one of the most beloved in City history. He played the last 15 minutes of the 1956 FA Cup final with a broken neck! And he started his life in England as a German prisoner of war. It’s a little like a guy who spent 2 years at Guantanamo eventually signing with the Yankees, and ending up with a plaque in Monument Valley.
Bert’s story is amazing. He was incarcerated just a couple of miles from where I am sitting writing this.
link
In other uni-related (sorta) the other LA team is going sleeved next season.
Geez link.
and some outstanding Korean female “first pitches” the definitave edition from Deedspin.
link
The Winnipeg arena, complete with picture of the queen, is miles better than any craphole in Phoenix. Otherwise, good job.
link
SB
Not surprised that the Winnipeg Arena had a portrait of the Queen. After it was designed like Maple Leaf Gardens where Major Conn Smythe always made sure that a portrait of the Monarch was always prominently displayed for all to see. Unfortunately when Harold Ballard began running the Leafs Her Majesty’s picture was removed to allow Pal Hal to install more seats in MLG. Maybe if some supporters of the Royal Family had purchased a season seat for it then Lillibet’s picture could have stayed.
Anybody who has fond memories of Winnipeg Arena never saw a game there.
The photo you posted was pre-renovation, when it was a very serviceable 10,000 seat arena. Post renovation, when they shoehorned in another 5000+ seats, it was not a great building. All of the great memories come from the fans, the noise, the white-out, but the building sucked.
The portrait of the Queen was pretty awesome, though
link
You obviously haven’t been to Glendale (no I’m not going to call it jobing.com) Arena. Unfortunately not a whole lot of people have been there either. Actually it is a really nice place to watch hockey.
The NFL Power Rankings are now up:
link
So will the Vikes be 2013’s Most Improved with that 14-point jump?
They’re most improved in the NFL. But the Nets made a similar leap in yesterday’s NBA rankings. As for which one made the biggest jump in Friday’s master chart, they’re very close. You’ll see the results yourself on Friday.
Since I have to log in with Facebook on the ESPN site, I will make my comment here.
Absolutely have to disagree on the Cowgirls unis! The different silver and blues are what you call “a quirk that scores a few points in the intangibles column”.
Absolutely LOVE LOVE LOVE your entry for the Panthers!
I have to disagree with the Minnesota Wild jersey choice. I’d have to go with the first green sweaters, or even the whites. The bear head logo is a great piece of design, and should outweigh any wordmark.
With regards to the Sharks’ new unis – it just looks like people have been stealing pieces of material from last season’s jerseys – it’s just a shame they didn’t come back for the front numbers. Huge downgrade in my opinion, they’ll look like they didn’t change after morning skate.
Mark Hammerstein’s brother, Mike, also played for Michigan, and also wore a FNOB:
link
wonder how many other teams have retired numbers of fictional characters like the Bulls did with Crash Davis..
i forget what team it is, and i’m not googling it, but someone retired reggie dunlop’s #7
I believe it’s the Syracuse Crunch of the AHL.
But which # would they retire, link?
Re: Tyson Camp’s DDNOB find –
Mike Hammerstein had one as well:
link
He (and presumably Mark) went single-decker FNOB the season before:
link
Paul’s head explodes in 3 . .2 . . 1
link
Man… I’m on the side of leaving the Redskins alone, and that’s still a bad shirt.
Agreed, the shirt is beyond bad.
Someone didn’t read the ticker thoroughly ;)
How did I miss that? There too much information on the ticker!
Just catching up on a post from yesterday….”Jerry Kulig noticed this bad paint/decal job on Manny Machado’s cap.”
This has been the case since the rebrand, and has been driving me crazy. They ALL are like that – link
Worst part is that they do it correctly on the road jersey!!! link
Also from the O’s, did we even make note that they have stopped using the “Orioles Baseball” version of their MD state flag patch? link
The new Sharks jerseys look like a cheap chinese knock-off sold on eBay. They removed the black yoke on the shoulders to make them lighter, who knew black material was heavier than Teal?
The template that Reebok uses for yolked jerseys (Boston, Montréal white) is constructed with seams to accommodate the yolk. That creates the “extra weight.” All of a couple of ounces.
They meant lighter in terms of color, not weight.
EVERYTHING that the Evil twins (Reebok and Nike) is done to make their stuff lighter. The fabric is newly designed to be lighter. They make it offshore because it makes it lighter. They wipe their ass after using the facilities to make it lighter.
If having a yoke is wrong, I don’t want to be right.
I haven’t read all of today’s post but I have to give kudos to whoever came up with “Sharknada.” Brilliant! Kudos. Well played.
*bows deeply*
The things one comes up with at 1:00 am…
At first I thought Sharknada was the female version of Sharknado. Then I realized, “Ah, it’s Shark-nah-da, not Shark-nay-da.” Makes more sense now, so yeah…well played.
In the spirit of the NFL rankings coming out, I’ll just leave this here:
Courtesy of Adam Treisler a few years ago here on UniWatch.
link
This needs to happen, yesterday. Or just go back to the Buddy Ryan era unis.
I wonder if I mentioned at the time how much those look like old USFL Federals’ uniforms. A bad team with a great look, if you ask me.
I have to go with the classic North Stars green/gold/white uniforms from the 1970s, before BFBS. And the Blues should be blue/gold/white, no red for the owner’s sake trim. And the Kings should go back to the Gretzky era black and silver.
And there should be a Constitutional amendment requiring waist stripes on all hockey jerseys. ;)
Amen! Although I go for original purple/gold Kings. A Northstars jersey with black in it is just wrong.
-Jet
I saw those black pants in the lede photo and wondered if it was a joke.
Kudos to the TTC workers for refusing to wear Habs-hued shirts. Go Leafs Go! Eh?
I love watching the Bears and Packers play in Lambeau. Especially when the Bears wear their navy blue pants. Its hands down the best looking game of the year.
Paul,
Seriously, the Browns’ uniform is a “middle-of-pack-design”? “Plain Jane”? Except for the “G” on the Packers’ helmet, the sets are practically the same. That’s good for a 14 spot difference? Orange is not an autumnal color? Eleven guys running around with pumpkins on their heads? It screams Halloween. It’s time to end the myth of the Browns’ “boring” uniform. Paul Brown’s research revealed orange is one of the easiest colors to spot, hence the team changed from the white helmets they wore early on. And quit giving the Steelers points for being wishy-washy. Logo or not to logo. Jeez, make a choice.
Pfft. I’d put the Browns a lot lower. Even if you ignore their stupid blank helmet, they lose points for the gray facemasks, for wearing white at home so often, and for being the Browns and wearing an orange helmet. They’re lucky Paul put them at 16.
– Wearing white at home
dallas should be in the bottom half then too
– ..being call the Browns and wearing orange helmets
derp…not named after the color ..
but i am guess some of this was just tongue and cheek
Yes, Dallas should be in the bottom half, both for the white at home and for the inability to figure out what color they actually are. They’ve got so many shades of blue and silver, they’re a joke.
As for the Browns, yeah, I know they were named for their first head coach – that was a stupid thing to do in 1946 and it isn’t any better today. In addition, that coach ended up founding the Bengals. The connection between Paul Brown the the Cleveland Browns was severed decades ago. Ultimately, the origin of the name doesn’t matter. If your name is a color, you should wear that color. The St Louis Blues are named for the music, but it would still be incredibly stupid if their colors were red & yellow.
Except for the “G” on the Packers’ helmet, the sets are practically the same.
1) This is like saying, “Except for their bank accounts, a pauper and a millionaire are practically the same.” Or to put it another way, the Packers’ logo is one of the best in sports, so it counts for a lot.
2) The Browns often go white-on-white, which is a very plain look; the Packers never do.
3) Green/gold is my favorite color scheme. Yes, that’s a personal bias.
his point is you docked them for being “plain jane” but they have the same template as the Packers do. so your explanation was just shaudy, you should have said it was the colors that downvoted them, not the design especially considering how high you have the chiefs and packers.. i mean really how did the chiefs get that high with their ketchup and mustard look. just seems like you’re being inconsistent in your article
Please go back and re-read points 1 and 2 in my previous comment. Thanks.
1. that’s a terrible example
2. then why don’t we dock the Cowboys for the same reasoning.. like i said inconsistent
why don’t we dock the Cowboys for the same reasoning.
As soon as the Cowboys wear white over white (something they haven’t done since 1963, and even then they at least had a contrasting shoulder yoke), I’ll be happy to describe them as “plain Jane.”
Until then, maybe you should stick to things that actually take place on the field instead of engaging in a losing game of gotcha.
i wasn’t refer to white on white for the cowboys.. i mean just wearing white at home in general
But I never made the white-at-home argument. Someone else did. I made the white-on-white argument. If you’re going to accuse me of being inconsistent, at least stick to things I’ve actually said.
[Tony will now scurry off to the Power Rankings to find a new inconsistency. And he’ll probably find one. Or more than one! That’s how these things work — there’s no formula or equation. There’s just a feel. And feels are sometimes inconsistent.]
just pointing out how the reader can sit there and scratch their head at the list when you dock a team for one thing but not another..
Except you haven’t actually pointed out any such inconsistency!
Packers: Awesome logo on helmet, colored pants every single game.
Browns: No helmet logo, white pants every game, often go white-over-white (sometimes at home, sometimes on the road, although I don’t care about that part).
So, yes, one team looks significantly plainer than the other.
Do the Power Rankings have inconsistencies? Sure. But you haven’t come up with one yet.
Got nothing against the Browns uniform, or their lack of a helmet logo – green/gold is a much better color combo than brown/orange.
I agree with Paul’s comments on the Browns’ white on white combo. They look like ice cream men with hunting caps on. Trouble for them, it’s hard to make crap brown and orange look good not matter what they do. I know many Browns fans didn’t like the look, but I always favored the orange pants with simply a home/road change of brown jerseys to white. In that scenario, they’d be even more similar to the Packers, sans helmet logo.
The Sharks should go back to their inaugural uniforms. Classics. The new unis look like what NHL teams wear in practice.
The consensus seems to be that these look like practice jerseys. What garbage. There was never any reason to stray from their inaugural design. Oh… wait.. yes, there was:
$$$$$$$$$$$$$
-Jet
Just wanted to mention, for the record, that the gorgeous MECCA floor has been my UniWatch membership card for several years now. Thanks as always, Paul!
One of my favorite card designs!
I simply do not understand the fascination with teh MECCA floor… link is pop art!
this?.
Okay maybe Keith Haring was a few years off. link is by all means pop art. But I don’t see how a full paint job on a bball court qualifies. Only because a pop artist actually painted it???
Definitely link. Absolutely link.
Hmmm… link.
In fact, do a search on “pop art basketball floor” or “pop art basketball court” and you get only one hit – an article from yesterday.
Just makes me think how awesome a floor in the style of Roy Lichtenstein would be. Like, say, this on the canvas of a boxing ring:
link
Yea…, same era, right? But please explain why everyone loves that floor! I don’t get it.
I didn’t get it, either. At first I thought it was just an overly-busy-looking court. Then one game, after years of watching, I realized, “Ah HA! There’s a big M at each end of the court!” After that I loved it.
Not saying you’re as unobservant as I was. You may have seen the M’s already and still been unimpressed. In that case…well, I don’t know what to tell you.
Yea, I saw the Ms…
Re the NFL Power Rankings pic of the Eagles’ throwback. It appears the front number font is serif, and the sleeve numbers are not. (See link).
Seems like that was lot of effort to make, and would only have done it if it were true to the original. Any witnesses to the olde days of The Vet to attest?
Those throwbacks were based on the 1960 uniform worn by the NFL Championship team and are pretty spot-on:
link
The Philadelphia NFL franchise played at Franklin Field at that time.
Thanks!
Jet’s timeless Kings:
link
Jet’s timeless Northstars:
link
Jet’s timeless Blues:
link
Yes, yes and yes.
Also, Kyle suggests that the Canucks bastardization of the stick in rink is their best look. No, the best look is, oddly enough, the one pictured in his link. ;)
Several “huh?” moments in today’s power rankings. Eagles (and that awful midnight green) and Chargers in the top 10? Pats and Bucs ranked above the Giants and Browns? I’d have Cleveland at a solid 4th – yeah, they wear all white too much, but that still looks better than what 3/4 of the league wears. And…the Colts squeaking in at 13, behind Tampa and Philly? Come on, the truncated shoulder stripes don’t warrant that kind of punishment.
As for the bottom 10, no arguments. The Jags may be the worst looking team in NFL history.
Giants lose big points with me for the red-centric road uni paired with the blue helmet. I’ve never accepted that and never will.
I’m not a big fan of the red either, but shouldn’t they get points for uniqueness? Is there anybody else in the NFL who completely “flips the script” for their away jersey? Has a certain “change kit” charm to it, no?
No.
How bout the link that had more blue trim?
I like it: Paul doesn’t. I can live with that.
They definitely deserve to lose points for that. It’s always bugged me.
I like those.
as someone stated earier, espn requires facebook, so comments are going here. i agree with paul’s rankings, except that the Philadelphia Eagles need to go back to the kelly green. I dont think that they could pull off the kelly greeen with the current logo, or even a redesigned logo similar to the current logo to update the colors. if they go back to the kelly green’s, they need to do a complete rebranding. new logo, new color scheme, everything. also would love to see the kelly green’s wit a black or silver number color, which would be an upgrade over the white numbers on the old throwback
Like I posted earlier, I think this would work –
link
Even keeping the black accents in this case, it goes with the Buddy Ryan era number outlining. You could even keep the current branding, although I personally would not care if they decided to change that up as well.
I understand why they made the “change for change’s sake” back in the mid-90’s, but this color scheme would make their ‘modern’ look perfect.
i must have missed that from earlier. i do like that idea, but i think a band new start would have more of a lasting feel to them
Is there an echo in here? The Washington Federals even had an eagle on their helmet.
This Giants fan doesn’t watch KC much, and even with all they adoration they get around here, I’d forgotten how good looking the Chief’s unis are.
Power rankings quibbles:
Falcons are about infinitely too high;
Colts are too high with their quotation marks in lieu of stripes;
Cowboys are about right, though they’d be better if they standardized the silver to that used on home pants and the blue to that used on home jersey sleeve stripes;
Giants are too low;
Panthers are actually too low – lots worse than them.
Falcons are about infinitely too high
This is bound to end up as my favorite comment of the day, since the Falcons are already ranked 28th out of 32.
“Colts are too high with their quotation marks in lieu of stripes”
~~~
I don’t know if you’ve seen the Colts since the Nike redux…but they don’t have the Rbk quotation marks anymore. Wasn’t going to make any comments on the ESPN article, but those photos of the Colts are all from the Rbk era.
They could still make the shoulder loops more like actual loops, but it’s MILES better than the previous uni sets.
Baylor is going to be awesome with the black hats/shirts and britches.
No, they aren’t. They’ll look just like every other team wearing a black uniform. Seriously, it’s not cool anymore.
No. They are not. Embarrassing… as I have called them since 2009, the Oregon of the Big XII. Of course, with TCU now in the Big XII, I am not sure Baylor can claim that title – but it’s close!
I love it!!!. It was bad with the gold hats, but black/black/black is pure greatness.
No
Hopefully Baylor will wear the green matte hats, black shirts and green britches this season with black stockings.
The beauty of the Timelessly Representing feature is the way it adds a subtle shading to uniform critique. Example: My favorite Calgary Flames sweater is the one where the crest sits atop a pedestal of diagonal stripes. Is it their best uniform? Not by a long shot. That honor belongs to when the team had a big “A” on their shirt. But as for embodying the team when it enjoyed its iconic moment, I can’t argue against the choice that was made.
I won’t get into my personal tastes on the NFL rankings; just too many differing opinions, and I’ll leave it at that. I will say that another year has passed that I have to live with the Eagles midnight green. Sigh.
I hate the colour, the name/number font, the logo, and the rest of it. That concept posted of taking the current look and swapping in Kelly Green makes my skin crawl.
Why?
I’m a die-hard Eagles fan, but even I will concede that the birds have never really had a ‘defining’ look, like the Packers, Bears, etc. I would love to see them put on the 1960 throwbacks on a weekly basis. However, if that happened, there would just be more of the ‘oh those plain things are terrible’, yada yada yada.
That’s why I enjoy Adam’s mock-up so much.
I started being a fan at 10, in 1990. I am biased towards those uniforms but I do love everything prior to them as well.
I just never liked the midnight green. To me it is a dainty colour (no offence intended to anyone). Kelly green is classic.
As for the fonts, I’m just a traditional pro block guy. A full body logo is my preference.
Being too plain in football is a good thing to me. The Raiders, Giants, Browns, Packers do it right. I would never get bored of the 1960’s throwbacks. On the retail end of things, midnight green doesn’t look good to me. I wear so much Kelly I should’ve been born Irish.
As a long time Miami Dolphins fan, I was relatively sure their new unis would rank low on the power rankings. Wasn’t disappointed. Though I may be in the minority, I love the Fins’ new logo and uniforms. That aqua is fantastic! The logo and unis are very clean and classic with a modern flair.
By the way, the Dolphins ditched navy blue…they use marine blue which is a bit lighter than navy blue and, combined with the aqua, is reminisent of the waters near Miami. If it was up to me the Dolphins would be #1 on the rankings.
P.S. I would definetly put the Browns way higher on the rankings. Orange/brown doesn’t work for everyone but I think it works great.
As has been (kinda) pointed out, the Canucks’ “new” stick-in-rink with sleeve V’s is actually their ORIGINAL uniform design.
So congrats on picking the “classic,” even if you didn’t realize that’s what it was.
With all three Oakland teams ranked in their respective top 5s it looks like they’ve locked up the second best average uniform rankings for a city with an impressive 3.67, as I have no doubts that the Habs are getting the top spot in the NHL and the Blackhawks and Red Wings duking it out for 2 and 3.
I have to say I was pleasantly surprised with the NFL Power Rankings today. After both the NBA and especially the MLB rankings, I would have made several changes. But the NFL rankings were almost exactly as I would have done it. I would have dropped the Eagles lower. That would pretty much be my only change. I can’t stand that midnight green. Kudos for the Cowboys ranking. Sure, they need to standardize their silvers and blues, and the blue jerseys just don’t look right. But with the exception of maybe two or three games a year, we see one look from them. And it’s a pretty good look.
First look at Towson’s new uni’s
link
The number font is eerily similar to nearby Maryland’s
link
Ugh,
I think I threw up in my mouth… a little. However it is everything we have come to expect from the folks at UnderArmwear.
You know you change the yellow to orange on the cat’s headlogo, add some buckteeth and you have the Oregon Beavers. Crappy logo, crappy uni.
But that is just me.
You would think that after all this time, someone could redesign the shoulder pads. Yes they have gotten smaller, but with the new materials available I am surprised that NIKE has not taken the lead on this.
I’ll say it: The Carolina Panthers look good.
Columbia blue and black and silver look nice together. The shoulder stripes work. I like the block numbers and simple one color trim. The logo tweak was an improvement. Even the black mono makes sense.
The Eagles and Bucs? They are ghosts of what they once were.
Ah, the Donnelley Directory. (See the ad in the opening pic. Yes, between that and Aladdin Bail Bonds, I’ve been distracted by ads lately.) It got replaced in this area by Yellow Book about 12-15 years ago. I remember Donnelley using the Road Runner as a mascot to rival Bell Atlantic’s phone book.
I wonder how many people actually still use physical phone books these days. My YellowPages.com app on my phone is more than sufficient when I need to find a business number.
I just toss mine straight in the recycling bin when I come home to one at the base of my driveway. When I was a kid, I used to like looking at the seating diagrams of the Vet and Spectrum.
You should do a write up on the good old roller durby. As a old season ticket holder of the old New York Chiefs I think it would be fun . The three main teams were the Los Angeles Thunderbirds, San Francisco Bay bombers, And the New York Chiefs They played half the year on the East Coast and the other half on the West Coast
I’m sure this has been brought up before. But does anyone else see the neon green outline on the football laces in the Uni Watch Power Ranking logo as being wrong. Don’t we nitpick everything?
There are several things about the Power Rankings logo that I don’t love. But when it comes to ESPN stuff, I have to pick my battles, y’know?
Still, the extraneous neon green costs the Uni Watch Power Rankings logo at least a position in the Power Rankings Logo Power Rankings.
I’d say it drops it at least 3 spots.
I hear you Paul. If you ever want to mysteriously send in a corrected version I’d be happy to fix it up for you. Hope you’ve enjoyed the time off. Look forward to your return.
I must be missing something because I’m not seeing the neon green in the versions of the logo I’ve been looking at. But that may just be because my Mac is older than dirt. Or also because my tears are blurring my eyes at how awful my Falcons still insist on looking. I am surprised at the choices of the shades of green and gold that were chosen though. I’d figure the Green Bay or A’s colors would’ve been used. Can we get a tweak for next season? LOL
Love & appreciate the rankings, as always. Hard to see how the Chargers rank above the Jets, but I digress…..
Seriously, as much as I love the Jets uni, I think there are a lot more things to nitpick. Nike, for all its faults, does a much, much better job with the sleeve treatment than Reebok ever did, but having the wrong shade of green on the jersey fabric is inexcusable. I also can’t stand the fact that they wear the link with the white-over-white combo. That uni just looks too white to me; the link link the green sleeves.
I think the Sharks current logoset is a big upgrade over their original set except for the shark fin. I still like the original fin better. I’m still not a fan of the orange on the uniforms but these are a slight improvement. I like the lace but the numbers need to drop from the front and the stripe at the waist needs to come back. The one orange stripe is already killing my OCD. Either add a second stripe back or get rid of the one they kept.
Not bad overall though. It is am improvement but I wish they would’ve put the current logos on the original sweaters and called it a day though. But no apron strings or boxes or any other stupid crap means these are still not that bad.
The Sharks’ new jerseys don’t look nearly as bad in action (link, white) as they do in drawings or on someone just standing around. The black pants really help, IMO.
I can’t find the article anymore, but I read that the stripes and the yoke were removed so they could be made out of the same material as the black alts, which the players preferred because they felt lighter and less bulky. Hopefully this means the black alts won’t show up as much this season.
Wait… the Mets dropped 7 slots this year? Last year’s blurb said something to the effect that they’d rank higher if they dropped the black jersey & cap, which it seems they have, although there’s still a chance they might break it out on Piazza Day. I mean, I’m not a fan of the blue tops and alternate cap either, but really? Replacing the black alts with the blue alts cost them 7 slots????
Yup. They replaced the black alts (which they only wore, what three times last year?) with TWO sets of blue alts (which they wear quite a bit), plus a truly miserable alt cap (that white outlining on the logo is utter crap).
In short, they went from being a classic-looking team to just another team riding the softball-top carousel. Went from being a Coke team to a Pepsi team. Too many alt looks. Classic Wilponian overkill.
I think I’m the only person other than the designer (who probably hated them as well) that likes the Mets 1994 season uniforms the best. I don’t know why but I liked them although if 93 had numbers on the front of the roads I’d go with them over the 94 look. I get why it’s loved but I just never liked the current “New York” script and I’ve always liked the way the underscore looked on them even if it was only a brief appearance. Wearing only the pinstripes at home back then was another plus since I don’t care for the other white set.
The rest I’m mostly with you on even if I do happen to like the white outline better than just the orange but I HATE the orange bill. And I do like softball top alts as a change but the Mets do tend to overkill with them. OK maybe we mostly completely disagree but they still look a lot better than the Brewers, Padres, and Natinals.
For the record, I think the ’94 road unis would have looked fantastic without the white trim. Placket piping would have made it even better. But the current road grays are hands-down the best uni in MLB, IMHO.
Okey-doke, I can accept that. I hadn’t considered the frequency of softball-topdom this year vs. last year. Now that I think about it I’ve been frustrated at times this year at how often they’ve worn the blue tops on the road (last trip notwithstanding), keeping MLB’s best road uni in the closet.
And yeah, the alt cap really does suck.
(BTW, the black was worn twice in 2012; Franco night and Alfonzo night.)
I think it would help even more if they swapped the fabric color on the pinstripes and home alts, so the former are white and the latter are off-white.
So the team that did the nod to Orange County well has pretty much eliminated Orange from their uniforms, while the team that horrifically implemented it into their entire identity still continues to use it.
Hey Ducks, Gold and Black OR Orange and Black, you can’t have all 3, actually better yet, go back to Eggplant and Teal.
Looks like ESPN jumped the gun by putting the top 4 in the NHL uni rankings up for a poll (and probably did the same with the other sports, too): link
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