Good thing the World Series was on last night, because the Vikings chose their Sunday Night Football showcase to do the full-on Grape Ape thing (lots of photos here). I don’t think you have to hate purple as much as I do to conclude that this was, you know, not the best idea.
Aside from that it was a quiet day around the league, with just a few items of note:
• The Bengals appeared to be honoring Halloween a few days early.
• 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh was wearing a shirt with last season’s Super Bowl patch.
• The Jaguars’ cheerleaders can’t spell “Jaguars.”
Turning to Saturday’s college action, Phil and his contributors provided lots of coverage in yesterday’s entry, so start there. But here are some additional items:
• South Carolina quarterback Dylan Thompson was wearing a gray undershirt with the SEC logo on the sleeve. Nobody else on the team was wearing that.
• Check out the purple-fest that took place as Central Arkansas played Stephen F. Austin. In addition to both teams wearing the accursed color, the game took place on Central Arkansas’s purple-striped field.
(My thanks to all contributors, including Ron Amadeo, Hal Gordon, Chirstopher Mycoskie, JJ Sledge, and of course Phil.)
NBA/ESPN update: The NBA season tips off tomorrow. That means it’s time for my annual NBA season-preview column, which is up now on ESPN. Enjoy.
One late-breaking item that isn’t included in that column: Roger Mason Jr. of the Heat will have JrOB. According to that article, he’s wanted to have “Jr.” on his jersey for years but is only being allowed to wear it now because the Heat “lobbied the league.” That’s particularly interesting in light of the fact that Tim Hardaway Jr. of the Knicks is also wearing JrOB this season. Maybe the Knicks had to lobby for that..? I’ll try to find out.
(My thanks to Mike McLaughlin for bringing the Mason story to my attention.)
Membership update: Some new designs have been added to the membership card gallery (including Rob Peterson’s early-1980s Bucks design, shown at right, which is based on Mickey Johnson’s double-decker FNOB). The printed/laminated versions of these cards will ship out on Wednesday or Thursday.
As always, you can sign up for your own custom-designed membership card here, and you can see the process of how we make the cards here.
Party reminder: We’ll be convening a Uni Watch party this Saturday, Nov. 2, 2:30pm, at Sheep Station. Hope to see you there.
’Skins Watch: One of Daniel Snyder’s neighbors has trademarked the name “Washington Bravehearts,” although it’s unclear what, if anything, that means for the future of the ’Skins. … A request by a coalition of groups, including the American Indian Movement, to block the Minnesota Sports Facilities Authority from using the ’Skins name or logo in the promotion or playing of next month’s Vikings/’Skins game has been denied (Don Schauf). ”¦ Here’s a piece on Ohio high schools whose teams are called the Redskins (from Kyle Shaner). ”¦ Here’s a look at the legal issues surrounding the trademark case against the ’Skins name (from Tommy Turner).
Baseball News: One important uni note from last night’s World Series game: Boston pitcher John Lackey was wearing the Postseason sleeve patch instead of the World Series patch. ”¦ In a related item, on Saturday night Fox ran a promo shot of St. Louis outfielder Matt Holliday with a Postseason sleeve patch and a World Series cap patch (good spot by Matthew Hiett). ”¦ Peter Fredrickson sent along these pics taken by a family friend of the Milwaukee Braves’ Photo Day in 1962. Pretty amazing stuff! ”¦ Did merchandising and retailing bring MLB uniforms back to basics in the late 1980s? This guy thinks so (thanks, Phil). … Odd that Adidas would make a Cardinals/NLCS shirt with an American League logo (from Joe).
NFL News: Lots of helmet/concussion news, including the following: Many NFL players still have a pending lawsuit against Riddell; former NFLer Freddie Mitchell is blaming his tax evasion on concussions; concerns about the size and weight of pee-wee league helmets led an Illinois town to launch a flag football league as an option to the pee-wee tackle league; and evidence is showing that no helmet can prevent concussions (all of these from Phil). ”¦ Steven Robinson was poking around in some boxes at his parents’ house and found this killer NFL tray, some NFL curtains (with matching sheets in the same box, he says), and this football lamp. Very cool! ”¦ What’s up with these old shots of Lions WR Terry Barr’s off-center uni number? It’s like he had a No. 4 jersey and they added the 1 later (from Dennis Hasty). ”¦ Oh baby, check out the awesome World’s Fair patches on the warm-up jackets being worn by the Brooklyn Dodgers (NFL version) (great find by Tom Farley).
College Football News: New uniforms on tap this Thursday for Houston (from Chris Rodriguez). ”¦ New matte black helmet in the works for Purdue (from Kurt Esposito). ”¦ Oregon State will have new uniforms and helmets this Friday (thanks, Phil). ”¦ Looks like Baylor will be going solid-black on Nov. 7 (Phil again).
Hockey News: Good story about the Canadiens’ use of acents and other diacriticals on their NOBs this season (from Don Silsby). ”¦ The Flames have officially unveiled the third jersey that most people already knew about. They includes a new shoulder patch design (thanks, Phil).
Grab Bag: Here we have a brief history of the sports bra. … An Irish hurling star whose old jerseys were stolen from his home has appealed for them to be returned. … Students at a Maryland high school who wore Pinktober shirts have been suspended for violating the school’s uniform policy. ”¦ In the HBO documentary Life According to Sam, Dave Matthews Band drummer Carter Beauford was wearing a Virginia football jersey and FootJoy golf gloves (from Chris Perrenot). ”¦ Here’s what happens to an auto racing helmet after a serious wreck (from David Firestone). ”¦ In a related item, F1 driver Fernando Alonso wore a helmet with “1571” on it. “That’s because last race he became the driver with the most points earned in F1 history,” says Omar Jalife. ”¦ More auto racing: No photo, but Jacob Armstrong says, “Sunday’s NASCAR race at Martinsville featured pink curbs in the corners, rather than the usual yellow.”
What Paul did last night on Saturday: Saturday was a big day. After going for a late-morning bike ride in Prospect Park, I went to Manhattan, where I checked out the latest gallery show by Raymond Pettibon (you know, the guy who did all the Black Flag artwork). Wasn’t my favorite show of his work, but it was still fun to see it in person.
Then I ran back to Brooklyn, because it was time for my favorite annual event of the fall: Bike Kill. If you don’t know what Bike Kill is, check out these photos I took (if you’re reading this on a mobile device and/or are having trouble viewing the slideshow below, click here):
The best part of Bike Kill was this one guy who had rigged up his bike to do a very cool trick. I managed to get a bit of video of it (you’ll definitely want to use the full-screen option here):
How cool is that?! I fucking love Bike Kill.
As I headed home, I remembered that a local BBQ joint called Morgan’s had recently put turkey tails on the menu. Chicken tails are among my favorite foods in the world (they almost won the meat bracket), and I’ve been stoked to try the turkey version, so I headed Morgan’s-ward, got a seat at the bar, and ordered up some tail:
They were every bit as good as chicken tails, but bigger and meatier — consider me a fan. Bit of a rip-off, though: That serving was $12 (which translates to $15 after tax/tip). So I’m gonna buy my own raw tails and cook them myself. Details to follow in a future “Culinary Corner” installment.
After a day like that, I didn’t feel bad about spending my Saturday night on the sofa, watching Game 3 of the Series.
Black Angel’s Death Song: I was coming out of a movie yesterday afternoon when I got the news that Lou Reed had died at age 71. I knew he’d undergone a liver transplant earlier this year but hadn’t realized there’d been complications. Given the way he lived, especially in the ’70s, I’m sure there are those who are surprised he lasted this long. But 71 still seems way too young.
Lou’s death hit me hard. When I was in college, he was probably the single most important living artist in my life. Some of this had to do with my youth and immaturity (I knew nothing of the visual arts, knew relatively little about cinema or literature, and was only beginning to learn about music outside of rock and roll), but a lot of it also had to do with the connection I felt with him. Like me, Lou was a Long Island misfit who was drawn to classicism while simultaneously being drawn to fuck with it. Unlike me, he was extremely fond of poetry and drugs, neither of which appealed to me in college (and still don’t appeal to me now), but that didn’t bother me. It just made him more of an interesting character.
Lou made his share of bad work to go along with the good, some of his work hasn’t aged all that well, and there were times when he could be a real dick. But his late-1960s work with the Velvets remains some of the best and most important rock and roll ever made, and two albums he made during my early college years — 1982’s The Blue Mask and 1983’s Legendary Hearts (the latter of which includes one of my all-time favorite love songs) — sound as strong to me today as they did back in my dorm room. And aside from his individual songs, albums, and projects, one of the best things about Lou was that he was a seriously interesting person who seemed committed to living an interesting life — a good lesson for all of us. He made my city a more vibrant place to live, and I’ll always be thankful to him for that.
Lou had been on my mind lately, or at least in my head, because NYC’s annual Halloween parade is fast approaching. Whenever I hear the words “Halloween parade,” I think of Lou’s song by that title. The tune is very New York and very Lou, and therefore seems like as good a song as any to remember him by:
About 20 minutes after I came out of that movie and heard about Lou’s death yesterday, I had to get on the subway and go to two friends’ engagement party in Greenpoint. I thought about Lou during the subway ride, and then I got off the train and walked past a record store that was already saluting Lou by putting two of his LPs in the window (click to enlarge):
I don’t think anyone would rank Street Hassle or Rock and Roll Heart among Lou’s better work, but it was still a nice gesture to see, and it was good to feel that shared sense of loss. RIP, brother.
Garçon was worn those fangs every game over the past two years.
He’s worn them longer than that. I remember he wore them as a Colt in the Super Bowl against the Saints at the end of the 2009 season.
+1 – As far as I recall, every game as a Colt
No mention of the Raiders changing their endzones? They were black with the actual team wordmarks in silver/gray, rather than the usual black outlined silver/gray text in that weird font that doesn’t match anything else.
I can screencap it if necessary, but I’m sure they show up if you just check the game highlights.
Didn’t know. If you knew, why didn’t you tell me?
Heh… because I didn’t actually watch the game until 1am, and I figured someone else would have said something. :)
Here’s a pic: link
The other end said Oakland, same font.
I thought it looked different but was too lazy to research it to be sure. I still miss the LA days when they had the silver endzones with black wordmark though (unless I’m hallucinating). I believe at that time USC also had a much better gold endzone as well. But that was many years ago so I may be incorrect.
Poor examples but in the quick few minutes on the Google this is what I mean:
link
link
The Cardinals NLCS shirt with the AL logo appears to have been made by adidas, not Majestic.
Sorry. Brain cramp. Now fixed.
It’s also slightly misplaced, in the hockey section instead of the baseball section.
Yup, came here to point that out also ;-) On a related note, St. Louis is hosting a World Series game and a Monday Night Football game tonight. How often does that happen?!
Well, it wasn’t MNF, but the Cowboys hosted the Rams on the same day the Rangers hosted the Cardinals for game 4 of the 2011 World Series…
Oddly enough, you have to go back to 2007 to find a Series where there wasn’t an NFL game played in the same city on the same day as a Series game, and that was only because Boston swept Colorado; had the Rockies forced game 5, they would’ve played on the same night the Broncos hosted the Packers on MNF.
2012 – Detroit – Lions/Seahawks, Tigers/Giants
2010 – Dallas metroplex – Cowboys/Jaguars, Rangers/Giants
2009 – Philadelphia – Eagles/Giants, Phillies/Yankees
2008 – Philadelphia – Eagles/Falcons, Phillies/Rays
Before that, it was averted in 2006; the Lions played the Jets at the Meadowlands when the Tigers hosted the Cardinals for game 2 (also the last time to date the Series didn’t start mid-week). Had that series gone 6, it would still have been averted as the Lions had a bye.
“It’s also slightly misplaced, in the hockey section instead of the baseball section.”
~~~
Damn sectioned tickers…
1986 Game 7 Mets/Red Sox, the Giants were home for MNF. Of course, there was not supposed to be a conflict. Game 7 was supposed to be played on Sunday night, but was rained out.
My research shows the Jets were home on Sunday, so there would’ve been an NFL game and a Series game on the same day anyway had there not been a rainout.
Stu, according to ESPN its the first time that a city has hosted Monday Night Football and a World Series game at the same time.
Okay, my research on common same-city dates for World Series and pro football games has turned up a couple of interesting dates…
It appears that at least twice, the same stadium has hosted a World Series game and a pro football game on the same date: in 1940, when Briggs Stadium is listed as hosting game 4 of the Tigers/Reds series and a game between the Lions and (Chicago) Cardinals on Saturday, October 5th; and in 1948, when Cleveland Stadium is listed as the home field for both the Indians’ game 5 against the (Boston) Braves, and the AAFC’s Browns and Brooklyn Dodgers, on Sunday, October 10th of that year.
My 9 year-old daughter helped solve the ‘Skins name problem – keep the name & put Mike Shanahan on the helmet.
After a bad play, they showed him looking like he was going to burst a vein on the sideline. When I mentioned how his face was the same color as his (burgundy) shirt, my daughter commented, “Well, they are the Redskins.”
It’s mean-spirited to name a football team after people with rosecea.
Bill Coughlin does not approve. link
That football lamp is horribly awesome.
Over here in England I believe they are planning to make a David Moyes lamp.
It will look good in the middle of the table.
(Apologies to the majority who won’t understand this – it’s a “soccer” joke)
Haha, fantastic.
There’s a reason Arsenal fans call Spurs “gravy boat”….
AFAIC you’re dead wrong about “Street Hassle.” Yeah yeah I know – a lot of the songs on it had been laying around for years and/or weren’t deemed good enough for inclusion on prior releases (though Lou was hardly an astute judge of material, even his own, in those years), and “I Wanna Be Black” merits inclusion on the short list of most debasing songs ever (the title being one of its least offensive features).* But the album’s aural (binaural, actually) onslaught, the sustained emotional investment in the material that up ’til then had been largely absent from his post-VU career, and – oh! – the 11:00 title track heralding his creative return make it one of the seminal releases of the era. On a par artistically with “The Blue Mask” or “The Bells”? Probably not. But not all that far behind, either.
Now “Rock ‘n Roll Heart”? The best one can say about it is that the reception of “Street Hassle” benefited from coming immediately on the heels of that sheer dreck.
* Though admit it – one can’t NOT secretly thrill to the chorus of “I don’t wanna be fucked-up middle class college student anymore, I just wanna have me a stable of foxy little whores.” Complete with back-up vocalists belting out “fucked-up, college student” and then “foxy little whores.”
Suffice it to say Lou meant a lot to me back in the day as well.
I really enjoy what Bob Lefsetz wrote on his blog about Lou Reed.
link
Stick to uniforms, Paul.
/kidding
I’m currently reading link, which I think is a must-read for anyone with any interest in New York music in the 70s. The book covers pretty much every genre that popped up in the era, but obviously, Reed and VU cast a huge shadow.
Less far-ranging, but focused more on Lou Reed, et al., is:
link
Great find on the Carter Beauford pic! I graduated from UVa in may, and as many of you Uni-Watch readers probably already know, the DMB all hail from Charlottesville. They still spend time there when their not on tour or recording, during my 1st year I met Carter and Boyd Tinsley randomly in downtown C-Ville. Good guys.
Glad to see some Hoo love, as we’re not especially relevant in college fb this year, and UVa prefer’s to keep their unis classic.
Props to the Canadiens’ equipment manager for saying this: “But if a Czech player writes down his name with all those accent marks, I’ll include them.”
Not just for his devotion to correctness, but for his presupposition that it’s how the player chooses to spell his own name that matters. These days you often see organizations insisting, over the individual’s wishes, to use a government-sanctioned spelling such as what’s in a person’s passport. I salute Mr. Gervais for doing things the right way and his enlightened thinking.
I agree in principle, but as a longtime editor, I’ll stand up for the concept of editorial discretion. While I generally think we should honor a person’s preferences with regard to his name, sometimes people are wrong. The Washington NFL team’s quarterback’s surname, for example, is Griffin. His surname is not Griffin III. He can write III at the end of his signature a million times for all I care, but the Roman numeral should never, ever appear on the back of his jersey. Someone needed to take the young man aside and explain that to him, rather than just putting it on his jersey because that’s what he said he wanted to be called. Such cases are rare, but they do exist.
And getting more common. Another “look at me” phenomenon.
What’s worse is that some announcers insist on using the suffixes – like Dick Stockton with Roy Helu, Jr. (he also pronounced ‘Helu’ in a manner I’d not heard before). “Helu, Jr. on the carry.” “The pass, complete to Helu, Jr.” Enough already. I didn’t watch this guy’s father play, I don’t care about his family history. Just give me his last name.
The greatest NYC rocker who ever lived. It has hit me hard too Paul.
On a brighter note. Reading the NYT and seeing you and Tim Gunn quoted in the same piece made me and my lady very happy.
2 words that are bandied about far too often these days are “iconic” and “legendary”. Lou Reed truly was both. It’s hard to overstate his impact on modern music – probably 75% of the music I listen to just wouldn’t exist without Lou & the VU.
He was beloved too.
From what I have read, Lou was a good guy to people in general. More legends we grew up with will pass all too soon as well.
very nice tribute Paul. I was a loner in high school (mid 70’s) and I always found comfort in Lou’s solo stuff and V.U.
I kept seeing messages indicating the news of Lou’s death was a hoax, was really hoping that was the case. You’re right, 71 is REALLY young.
I used to work in NY and see celebs on the street all the time. Like a typical NY’er, I’d be too blase to be excited about it.
I ran into Lou Reed on 57th Street and 6th Avenue, and he’s the only one I ever stopped, and said hello, and that I liked his work, and how the stance he took on Metal Machine Music was inspiring to me as a teen.
RIP Lou.
Martinsville curbs have been going pink for a number of years now, here’s a link back to 2011 with photo.
link
Paul, I hope you washed up after Bike Kill, those are some scary looking bohemian wannabes playing on a trash strewn street. I get the “artsy/emo/hipster” scene is inhabited by flunkie layabouts but when did a bar of soap become uncool? and no, I’m not an old grouch either.
Oh, for fuck’s sake, please just go away. Only a seriously self-loathing Grinch could take issue with Bike Kill, which is a big, life-affirming party. It’s a bunch of creative kids having fun and not hurting anyone, but for some reason you need to let us all know that you’re “better” than them. I feel sorry for you.
The only thing smellier than Bike Kill is a drum circle!!
(I “joke” because I’m a drummer!)
haha!! love it!! i’m just speaking the truth I felt. I’ve been in those settings many times and speak from experience, the drugs are the only thing about those scenes I enjoy!
Nick Barnett from his Packer days…
link
“… Oh baby, check out the awesome World’s Fair patches on the warm-up jackets being worn by the Brooklyn Dodgers (NFL version) (great find by Tom Farley)…”
Is there a Trylon & Persisphere Society? With membership cards? Honestly, it’s one of the coolest designs ever, both flat and in 3-D.
RIP Lou.
Yeah, gotta love that design!
Here’s a few that I sent in a few years back:
Christy Walsh & The World’s Fair Ladies
link
Bill Terry & Casey Stengel showing off the baseball uni patch
link
Speaking of Casey – I, and a couple of others have been searching high and low for a picture of Casey posing with Babe Ruth. As weird as it sounds, no such picture seems to exist. I even wrote the NBHOF and Museum, and even THEY seem not to have one in their collection. Nor does AP on their photo website.
When you consider that both of them were not exactly camera shy, that they played against each other in 4 WS, that the Babe was hanging around New York retired when Casey was the Dodger manager – posing with any and every body – and was a Brooklyn ‘coach’ when Casey was managing the Braves, it seems really crazy that these two never got in the same photo! A definite mystery in baseball historical records.
Aren’t you overlooking the obvious hypothesis here: Babe Ruth and Casey Stengel were one and the same man, and their supposed individual identities were an elaborate hoax? And just like Superman ultimately wishes he could just be Clark Kent, so too did the Babe ultimately choose to live out his days in the simpler life of his Stengel alter ego?
Count me in, Connie…
link
Wow! Thanks, men.
QS, do you have — or can you direct us to — a hi-definition version of that amazing it-says-everything poster?
Where do I send my dues?
Turkey tails look very tasty.
Man, that cornbread portion is quite generous!
BBQ always seems to be on the pricey side thesedays no matter where you live; is that simply a function of the time involved?
The Jags’ cheerleaders must have thought it was Hispanic Appreciation Day with “JAGURAS.”
In the NBA, it would be El Jaguras.
And MLB would use “Los Jaguras.”
And they completely forgot the “w” and the “i”.
Actually, in Spanish you just add an E and say Jaguares
I think the “A” was just slow and got passed by the “R”, look how far behind him he is. Heck, at the end, the “S” was gaining on him. If he was any slower, he’d of gotten passed by the Nationals’ William Howard Taft
Then “R” needs to be fired.
“It’s about the word, Man. Not about how fast you are.”
That SB*Nation article is wrong about one thing; the link, not the link, were the last team to abandon pullovers.
I was on my way to the comments section to post this very thing. Still have a fondness for the Reds pullovers. The Uniform of the Big Red Machine. The solid black shoes, the low cut stirrups, the ban on facial hair, the giant lettering on the NOB’s. Didn’t help that when they switched to button-ups they wore that awful pin striped lid.
Agreed. When the Reds went full “ice cream” in 1993, it was very dissapointing.
link
Would love to see them go back to a button-up/belt version of the 1990 World Championship Reds.
My favorite Lou Reed quote (from “Up-Tight: The Velvet Underground Story”), “If you line the songs up and play them, you should be able to relate and not feel alone — I think it’s important that people don’t feel alone.”
I think that’s important too.
Also in dead people news, link. My youth is starting to crumble away.
Nope — your youth (and mine, and everyone’s) has been crumbling all along. You just didn’t notice until now!
The same can be said for my spelling and grammar, clearly.
What is more telling about our youth crumbling away, is that if animated characters aged in real time, Bart Simpson would be 33 years old (or exactly my age!).
Kind of a sobering realization…
Of course that would make Grampa Simpson a ridiculously old man, which is much funnier!
This news bums me out WAY more than Lou Reed’s passing.
I first think of Bob Newhart Show with her, I didn’t even know she was a voice on the Simpsons.
I was introduced to the velvet underground during a literature class in college. The prior session, we read a short story called “sonny’s blues”, which is about a young heroin addict. The next session, my professor walked in silently, shut the lights off, and played the velvet’s “heroin” on a stand-alone record player. It was a late-afternoon class in winter, so it was pitch black. The music was loud, the room was small, and the song kind of just ran through you. The only light was the orange glow from the professors cigarette he was smoking in the classroom. After seven-plus minutes of that masterpiece, I was in awe. After it was over, the professor turned on the lights and told us that that is the closest you can ever feel to having done heroin without actually doing it. I’ve been a fan of Lou’ s work ever since.
Great story.
“The Minnesota Sports Facilities Authority on Friday denied a request from the American Indian Movement, American Civil Liberties Union and others to block the team’s name from being used on materials and the public address system. The groups have argued the logo is offensive and racist.”
Interesting. I thought that ostensibly the ACLU defended free speech no matter how odious. They seem to spend more of their time trying to ban things these days.
This is less a free speech issue than about the use of publicly funded/operated facilities.
True. You and I and other individual citizens have a right to free speech. Government agencies do not. The Bill of Rights protects people from the government; it does not protect government from the people.
However, I am troubled by the ACLU’s involvement in this one. I honestly don’t see a civil liberties issue anywhere in this particular question.
Do we know what costume the Bengals will wear when they play on Thursday (Halloween night)?
The Cincinnati NFL team’s jersey schedule indicates white:
link
I don’t know what pants they’ll be paired with for that road game.
The league office must have a sense of humor scheduling the Bengals to play on a Thursday Halloween night.
Today’s ESPN column is up:
link
Mr. Lukas, the NBA uniforms are going from bad to worse. The Spurs GI Joe look, Military City or not, is just God awful.
I think I listened to Waiting for the Man about 60 times yesterday. And Sweet Jane a few times as well.
RIP Lou Reed
Best comments on the Flames third jerseys I’ve heard: Looks like Walmart pyjamas
link
“… committed to living an interesting life….”
Love that.
As everyone who’s graduated from high school in Texas knows from the unsolicited college literature in the mail, it’s Stephen F. Austin, not Stephen A. Austin. They don’t yell to make themselves appear more authoritative. They’re just lumberjacks, and they’re ok.
Oopsie. Will fix.
Wording issue in in the ‘Skins Watch
One of Daniel Snyder’s neighbors has trademarks the name “Washington Bravehearts,”
Should be has “trademarks FOR The name” or “has trademarked the name”
Thanks. Fixed.
Paul,
RE: this in your ESPN column:
“If ads ever appear on NBA jerseys (and the strong hope here is that they never do), the most likely spot is the upper chest, because that’s what’s most visible when a player steps to the free throw line. A sleeve wouldn’t provide as much exposure.”
While a sleeve wouldn’t be the best place for an ad, there may still be an indirect connection, i.e. a sleeved jersey provides more space than a tank top for the ad, and the increased space makes the ad look a bit smaller than it would on a tank top, and maybe seem a bit less objectionable.
I notice many of the sleeved unis are putting player numbers on the sleeves instead of the chest. I can’t help but wonder if that’s to make room on the chest for an ad.
The numbers are going on the sleeves so they can slap a big ol’ logo on the front – think the Spurs’ alts, but bigger.
So you’re thinking more like hockey (or old Raptors) jerseys?
Could be, maybe NBA logo on the left, big team logo in the center, ad on the right, and number on the sleeve
It was late for me, an east coaster, but the LA Kings wore their purple jerseys last night, for “Legends Night.”
link
Football: To my eyes, monochrome (avec helmet) is a very tricky thing to pull off in any color but white. Getting rid of the purple pants would make the Vikings uni exponentially more palatable.
Baseball: Has any other World Series have had both teams wear the geographic name jersey (like last night’s “St. Louis” and “Boston”) for the same game?
All my lazy memory can think of is Texas’ jerseys all saying “Texas” for home and away.
Thus, San Francisco vs. Texas, 2010.
“What’s up with these old shots of Lions WR Terry Barr’s off-center uni number? It’s like he had a No. 4 jersey and they added the 1 later”
In the first (color) photo it looks like there is seam between the 4 and the 1 that suggests the jersey may have been torn at some point and then repaired. I wonder if the tear went through the original 1, the two sides were stitched back together shifting the 4 over and then a new 1 was added.
Guy runs in the Marine Corps Marathon dressed as RG3, link.
Oh, and he’s missing the knee brace, an essential part of any RG3 costume. So lame.
As a recovering New Yorker, loved today’s COTD.
And I just happened to be back in the city this weekend. I liked the way One World Trade Center looked with the rest of the skyline much more than I thought I would. As much as I thought the old Twin Towers were an eyesore, it’s nice to have something anchoring the bottom of the island.
I’m surprised that has posted this yet (or maybe they had), but the Milwaukee Bucks’ new court caused a game to be cancelled in the first quarter because it was too slippery for the players to continue the game.
link
link
In remembrance of Lou Reed, I recall a professor once saying that only artists and crazy people tell the truth about how the world is. I think that was Lou’s impact and legacy. He told the truth as it was. He was able to strike a chord in all of us that appreciated his artistry. Life is so short. Even if you live to 90 it is short compared to all of human history. We are nothing more than radar blips if you will. What seems important to you now, will probably not be important at all when you are on your death bed. Money, fame, popularity, work, and things like that will mean nothing. Another day with your loved ones will. So why not spend that time with them now and tell them you love them before it is too late. No one on their death bed ever wished they worked more.
And to Uni-Watch, the Jacket Shop sponsor is awesome. I had to have my old High School letter jacket re-created and got them to do it a few years ago so it could be framed. Came out perfect. DISCLAIMER; I have NO involvement with Jacketshop.com in any way other than customer.
True story: I first learned about Jacket Shop in Amsterdam circa 2004. I don’t know if they still do, but at the time they had a big Amsterdam shop and Dutch online presence, and were the jacket of choice for Dutch biker gangs. The backstory here is that from the 1960s until the late 1990s, biker gangs affiliated with American gangs like the Hell’s Angels dominated organized crime, especially drugs, in het Nederlands. Then over the next decade, much more violent Serbian gangs took over most of the rackets. “Took over” meaning, killed anyone who stood in their way, with guns if the bikers brought knives or with bombs if the bikers brought guns. Anyway, the neighborhood around the Jacket Shop was one of the few places you’d still see Dutch Hell’s Angels congregating in public and wearing their colors openly.
Schools like Auburn, Oklahoma, Alabama get it right.
They dont have to have 10 different jersey combos to get recruits. They have so much tradition- and their uniforms are so sweet- there’s no reason to mix it up
Tennessee just BFBS a few years ago, and they got a smokey set this year. The smokey set is cool for basketball or baseball- but not football. Its big orange football. Orange and White. Atleast they still have the old school helemts …if they changed the color at all I’d flip. What UGA did a few years ago for the Combat uniform was an abomination
The idea that fancy uni sets help recruiting might be true somewhat for struggling programs but not for the top programs. Maybe one alternate might be fun for a week but that is all. What attracts top recruits is the potential the program has to play for championships. Athletes want to win championships. It is what they play for. Even kids playing on down programs would love to be able to play for one that wins titles and still have the dreams of winning titles where they are.
I have yet to see any game won because of the uniforms. Not one.
I’ve said this before, but no one uniform is going to recruit a blue chip recruit, but it is a useful tool for signalling to prospective recruits that it’s a fun place to be. And if nothing else, any time a player Instagrams a photo of a new uniform and a recruit sees it, it’s a small win for the program.
A talented engineer is not going to choose to work at Google because of link. But it does signal to anyone considering Mountain View that it’s a place that cares about employees.
In that sense, uniforms aren’t any different from other parts of the college football arms race – million-dollar weight rooms, attractive hostesses, clubhouses with big flatscreen TVs. Every program does this in its own way.
I remember when I was driving through Mississippi and I was listening to the M State Bulldog Radio station. The commentators were talking about how big their deal is with adidas and how they want to get cool uniforms
remember with croom how miss state had plain uniforms. they were horrible. then mullan came and they got the egg bowl unis and the snow bowl unis.
having a good coach like mullen helps too
paul! not you! the vertical iphone video syndrome have struck you too.
first thing i thought too, amateur hour…..
I’m in the minority. I liked the Vikings all purple. Minus the matte helmet of course. But only because the striping on the white pants makes my OCD go crazy. The purple-gold-purple in the mismatched size stripes makes me want to throw something. Change it up to gold-white-purple and it would be much better.
GI Joevember is a little early.
Look what showed up at PackersProShop.com
link
Paul try turkey wings next time you’re jonesing for buffalo wings. Roast them low in the oven then tossed in sauce. You’ll never eat chicken wings again
Both are great but chicken wings are still unbeatable.
Considering the pride Uniwatch takes in it’s accuracy, it’s sad to see that links are still being posted to the Driver Suit Blog. A lot of the postings often error filled, misinformed or simply extremely poor analysis. I realize motorsports isn’t Uniwatch’s area of expertise, but those of us who follow it often laugh at what’s posted there.
I think Lou Reed’s music insulting to today’s modern sensibilities. If just one person is offended by his lyrics referring to “colored girls,” then I hope radio stations stop playing his work.
I hope DJ’s at least stop using his name, and call him “The singer from Brooklyn.”
I bet Rick Reilly would defend Lou Reed, but it’s shocking that someone so progressive as Paul idolizes him. “Colored girls?” Appalling.