By Phil Hecken
Yesterday evening, the Florida State Seminoles revealed their new football uniforms (they actually unveiled for several sports, but the big unveil was for football). As you can see in the splash photo, they’ve gotten a bit more busy.
Before we even take a look at the stills, I want you to take a look at the following video, which is fairly in-depth, and provides some excellent views and angles of the new uniforms. Be warned…they’ve added a black jersey AND pants, plus a new helmet … and white pants.
OK –that’s a lot to digest. Let’s now take a look at each of the three (because there are now three complete) uniform sets. Click on any photos to enlarge.
Home:
There are more photos (which you can view in a Nike press release, which I’ll link to at the end), but that is a pretty good representation of the home uniform.
The helmet is gold (and although it is shown with a gold facemask, FSU assures everyone the actual helmet will have a red facemask), with a garnet jersey and gold pants. Pretty much what FSU has been wearing forever, but obviously there are some additions (the collar imagery, which is replicated on the sleeve panels) and of course, new fonts.
Away:
The road uni will also be worn with the gold helmet, and there is the addition now of a set of white pants. Once again, the jersey (like the garnet) has the collar art which is repeated on the sleeve panels. The numbers are gold, which differs from previous sets, which were garnet. You’ll also notice that the new Nike fonts differ from the old rounded ones.
Alternate:
Other than being black, these are mirror images of the white uniforms. You’ll notice there is a garnet and black helmet. It appears that this helmet will be worn with this (hopefully and ONLY this) uniform.
Helmet:
You may note the new helmet is slightly different from the old helmet. Obviously the spears crossing in the back of the helmet (as the video pointed out, mimicking the State Flag of Florida). The spear on the helmets has also been changed. It’s slightly less intricate now, and also features a new feather (which was part of the logo that leaked several days ago).
OK. So. If you watched the video posted at the beginning of this article, you’ll note that the Nike designers made multiple mentions that not only was this redesign two years in the works, they also went out of their way to clear this design by (and get the approval of) the Seminole tribe, from whom the team takes its imagery, logo and name. I will NOT get into any of the debate about Native American names, logos and the like — since this is a completely different situation from those surrounding several of the professional teams who we discuss on these boards quite a bit. Since the team has received the blessings of the tribe, I’ll say that I actually like the collar design quite a bit. I’m not sure the old collar design, which also had a native-inspired design had to go, but OK. I like this upgrade.
If you look closely at the new design, you will see the Seminole tribe’s symbols for arrow, man on horse, and fire. The “man on horse” symbol also looks a lot like the letter “F,” which may or may not be purely coincidental. As was explained in the video, Nike’s designers are trying to go hard on the symbolism, and the collar design reflects that.
Unfortunately, instead of keeping the sleeve patches (I can’t really even call them sleeves) blank, the collar pattern was repeated on each jersey sleeve. It looks OK on the red jersey, since the sleeve design is garnet, but not as great on the white jersey, as that same garnet design is repeated on the sleeves. On the black jersey, the gold is traded for black, so it’s fairly difficult to see. In my opinion, none of the sleeves need the pattern, but it looks best on the garnet jersey.
Overall — I like the new look (except for the font, which is now SOP with every Nike redesign), but I don’t think any change was needed (FSU has had, again, in my opinion, one of the best looking uniforms of all time and have for a while). Even when changes had been made, they always seemed to be more subtle than this one.
It wasn’t broken before, but they fixed it anyway. I liked the old design just fine, but I think the new one is just fine as well. Whether or not the “new and improved” version is any better will remain to be seen, once the unis are on the field. As far as the new helmet, white pants and black uniform — all unneeded, but again, this is now SOP for most programs now. I don’t know if all the new bling will help FSU attract recruits, but I’m sure Nike is telling them it will.
Florida State has always been garnet and gold (although the shades of gold have changed over time); the black uniform — not completely BFBS since they did get talked into wearing black before. They’ve also worn “pro combat” special uniforms before — so change for change sake shouldn’t come as any surprise to the Seminole fan.
And, while we are at it, the ‘noles introduce new uniforms for baseball, soccer, track, volleyball and basketball as well. You can see more photos (of the football as well as the other sports) here.
OK. I’ve said all I’m going to say. Now it’s your turn. What do you thinK?
Find Your Way…
Today we’ll be taking a look at the seventh set of uniform submissions for the Lewis & Clark Design-a-Uniform Contest, for the team known as the “Pathfinders.” If you’re not familiar with the contest, please give that a read. The contest’s creator, W. Ross Clites will be asking readers to design uniforms for all of the teams in the Lewis & Clark League, and thus far we’ve asked for submissions for a total of eight teams. We’ve looked at the “Captains,” “Diplomats,” “Explorers,” “Governors,” “Lookouts,” and “Navigators,” and today, we’ll see the concepts for the “Pathfinders.”
Two other teams have been put to readers for concepts, the Pioneers and the Travelers. If you’d like to submit your concept for either team, the deadline for submissions for the Pioneers is Wednesday, April 16 and the deadline for submissions for the Travelers is Wednesday, April 23. Tomorrow, Ross will have a short write-up for the tenth team, so make sure you check back then!
At this point I’ll turn it over to Ross, who will go over the guidelines for voting, and then I’ll be back with some final words before we take a look at the entries from our contestants. Here’s Ross (these guidelines will likely accompany each set of voting):
Alright boys and girls, here is how the voting is going to go for each Lewis & Clark Baseball League team:
1. The hierarchy of importance goes primary logo, then uniform design, and then all rest (i.e. hat design, secondary logos, etc.) Cast a vote for the design with your favorite primary logo, first and foremost. Do not fault someone for going outside the design guidelines. Changing a wordmark or adding a third color is not a disqualifier for good thought process.
2. Your votes will take the field of applicants down to a final two per team.
3. We, the LCBL Executive Board will make the final decision on the winning proposal. However — and this is big — design is never complete and collaboration is paramount to success. We will likely settle on a combination of the final two submissions. We might love the logo of one, but prefer the jersey scheme of the other. In this, you will both be winners with full prizes to ensue. The possibility does exist for a total victory, of sorts. One designer could present the best looking jersey, logo, hat, and all the rest. Do not get offended when your submission gets handed back to you with redlined edits. We hate to hand out homework to the winning look, but tweaks may be requested. It is a studio project and not a math equation; the “right” answer takes some massaging of details.
4. With permission from both finalists, our graphics department will meld the two submissions together (if necessary) and place it in our common platform. This is done as a common denominator showcase for all twelve to look uniform when the contest has reached its end.
5. Someone, not even in the top two, could see an element (such as an awesome secondary logo) appear in the final iteration. We would never select the winner based solely on a minor design element, but we will also not let it go to waste. In this, all submissions could be part of a bigger design team. This contest — and frankly this site — was created to identify the best possible combinations of logos and materials in the sports world. This rarely comes from one person’s mind; we will reward any of those that play a part in making our on-field product the best it can be.
Thanks, Ross. A few words about the submissions below:
Some of the contestants sent one single image, others sent multiple images. Some contestants sent descriptions (in some cases, very lengthy ones), others had little or no description. In an effort to make the voting as fair as possible, I have put those who sent multiple images into one single image, and no descriptions of the uniforms will follow. If you’d like to see all the entries for the Navigators and their write-ups/descriptions, I have hosted the entire set on Flickr. Keeping in mind Ross’ rules for voting, you may use these as an additional guide in determining which submission(s) you think are the best.
The submissions will be in alphabetical order and voting will follow. You may vote for any three of the concepts below. You may click on any image to enlarge. OK? OK. Here we go:
Bert Ayers:
Matthew Blinco:
Timothy Fesmire:
Ryan Foose:
Brady Ivie:
Denver King:
Matt Malinoski:
Kevin McLaughlin:
Lennie Nelson:
Curtis Peddle:
Bryan Phillips:
Andrew Seagraves:
Will Sinnott:
OK, readers. That’s quite an impressive set of contributions! Now it’s time for you to vote. You’ll be allowed to vote for up to THREE (3) submissions. You may wish to scroll up for one more viewing, and write down your favorites.
And now it’s your turn! Make sure to vote for your favorites and let all of the concepters know what you think of their designs. They all put a great deal of effort into this, so tell them how they did (and lobby for your favorites, if you wish).
Thanks to all the submitters ”” we’ll be back next weekend at which time Ross will reveal the winner(s) and how they will adapt the design for the Lewis & Clark league!
One Shining Moment…
He’s baaaaaaaaaaaack.
Our once (and future???) 5 & 1 man has returned from his multi-year sabbatical to bring us a look at his favorite sporting event (ever???) — the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament. And he’s not just going to grace us with his favorite five, and least favorite one, matchups of the tourney — oh no, he’s got that PLUS a whole lot more. So for one shining moment, I turn this portion of the post over to Jim “I’d Wear That” Vilk, for his…
NCAA 5 & 1
By Jim Vilk
Some individual awards before we begin:
Best number font:
• Manhattan – Reminds me of the Richfield-era Cavs.
A small thin number font that I actually like:
• Delaware – Don’t ask me why, but it works.
Funkiest uniform:
• North Carolina Central – Right on.
Old-school award:
• Milwaukee – Richie Cunningham would wear that, and so would I.
Points for originality (three-way tie):
• Albany
• Dayton
It takes onions to stand out in the crowd, so kudos to them.
Now for the matchups:
Honorable Mentions to Stanford/New Mexico – I’m loco for those Lobos unis.
And to Tulsa/UCLA – Tulsa has a good number font, too.
5: UConn/Michigan State – Congrats, champs.
4: Wisconsin/Arizona – Doesn’t take a lot of courage to like those red Badgers unis.
3: Coastal Carolina/Virginia – Teeeeeaaaaal!
2: North Dakota State/Oklahoma – The Sooners need to stop leaving the tourney so soon.
1 Shining Matchup: Kentucky/Michigan – Simply fab.
Dishonorable Mentions to the same dang basketball court – Don’t waste your money, NCAA.
And to Tennessee/Michigan – I like bright, not blinding.
Finally, the & 1 goes to…
Baylor/Creighton – Pretty sad when the homogenized court is the best looking thing in that picture.
Send us out, Bill Raftery…
Hope you enjoyed the season!
Thanks, Jimmer
Welcome back. OK folks — surely there’s something in there worth talking about, right? Right! Now, head down to the comments and tell Jim what you really think…
[Today’s Ticker was compiled by Paul]
Baseball News: Holy moly, look at these amazing Japanese baseball player kites (great find by Rob Walker). … The two biggest things that drive MLB jersey sales are apparently winning the World Series and the retirement of a player (from Tommy Turner). … Max Scherzer’s eyes are two different colors, which explains these jerseys and caps (nice one from Kyle Geralds). … Looking for custom stirrups without having to buy huge quantities? Look here. Ignore the hideous camo designs and check out the basic designs in the right-hand sidebar (from Dustin Semore). … I’m quoted very briefly in this very nice article about old-fashioned MLB sweaters. … The Angels normally wear black belts and black shoes. But last night they went with red belts and shoes. They’ll be doing this when wearing their red jerseys at home. … “Elvis Andrus nearly tripped and fell on his super low pants in the 10th inning of the Rangers game (last) night,” writes Mike Klug. “Wouldn’t have happened if he was high cuffed! I’ve attached the video, and it’s on YouTube here.”
NFL News: “I am running the Inaugural NFL Hall of Fame Marathon at the end of the month,” says Jim Jeitler. “I think it’s interesting that there’s no Nike logo on the shirts — all of the stuff they are selling for the race definitely has the swoosh. Also, all the mile markers are going to have team color schemes. I don’t know how that will work with 26.2 miles and 32 teams, but I’m looking forward to finding out.”
College Football News: Reprinted from yesterday’s comments: A promo for this October’s Cal/Oregon game appears to show a new Oregon helmet, although it could just be that the person doing the mock-up took some creative license (from Mike Lindquist).
NBA News: “The Magic post scores of their wins with a nice little uni-related touch,” says Erik Morris. “The backgrounds of the score boxes match the uni pattern of the respective teams.” … Ever wonder what NBA team logos would look like if they were all Pokemon-themed? Me neither, but here they are anyway (from Tom Currie).
Grab Bag: Tenth-anniversary logo for the Rat City Rollergirls in Seattle (from Markus Kamp). … Good story on the Heartbleed logo that you’ve likely been seeing a lot of lately (thanks, Brinke). … Oregon’s women’s lacrosse team will be wearing a jersey and “kilt” — that’s their term for it — for the lacrosse Final Four (thanks, Phil). … And finally, good spot by Joshua Edney, who noticed that Jason Day wasn’t wearing a belt during yesterday’s Second Round at the Masters.
Whew! That will do it — almost like two full posts in one, since the FSU new unis bumped our usual Saturday lede to second place. So, make sure you have voted for your three favorites in the Lewis & Clark contest, OK?
I’ll be back again with more tomorrow. Everyone have a great Saturday.
Follow me on Twitter @PhilHecken
Peace.
“While I agree that there shouldn’t be anything offensive about depicting a Native with a tomahawk when historic Natives did in fact use tomahawks, I feel I must point out that Vikings didn’t actually wear horned helmets. That’s a modern creation.”
–The Jeff Provo
I’m going to go out on a limb and say that the gold numbers on the white jersey won’t make it to next season. Everyone and their mother will bitch about them being too hard to read, and they’ll get switched to garnet for 2015. Shame really, because I think they look awesome. Good job, FSU.
Since when does “fail to achieve its functional purpose” cause any college AD to change a Nike design? No, the gold numbers will stay. If anyone gave a crap about things like “being able to read a player’s number,” they wouldn’t hire Nike in the first place.
But that aside, I agree. These are terrific uniforms. Kind of stunning to see a major college overhaul that has this much doesn’t-suck.
Georgia Tech has worn Gold numbers once since 2002 for that very reason. We tried to go with them back in 2011 but the outcry was so strong that we had a new home jersey by the next game.
I think FSU will be fine because all that matters is if the coaches can read them to make the correct adjustments. Yes there will be fans at away games that won’t be happy about the inability to read the numbers but the decision to change will be decided by the team.
Gold numbers are really only an issue on white jerseys, and since only 2 teams at the FBS level wear white at home, and only one of those 2 teams has historically had gold numbers, they aren’t really a problem for any school but Georgia Tech.
When the US National team switched to red-and-white vertical striped jerseys, Nike put grey numbers on them. They were practically impossible to read, so they switched them to navy. If the FSU numbers can’t be read, I assume they’ll change them too.
Actually those were numbers consisting of tiny blue dots, after complaints about their lack of legibility (and I believe a request from FIFA to make them easier to read), they increased the density of the blue dots which got rid of that silverish-grey look and made it more of a bluish-silvery look.
Its important to note the difference in activities. Soccer is constantly moving, so silver numbers on white jerseys are so much more difficult to read. Gold numbers would have been more legible because while they will still reflect the light when they aren’t reflecting it they would be distinctly different from the white jersey they are on.
Gold numbers will work better than silver numbers, and as long as they are legible to the refs and the coaching staff they will likely remain. Because they are away jerseys most FSU fans will be watching the game at home, where the reflection of the numbers is not an issue.
I think they will switch to Garnet numbers, but it would only be if the coaches upstairs (i.e. coordinators) have difficulty reading the numbers).
When I played high school football we had white jerseys will gold numbers outlined in purple like the FSU jerseys. Just from personal experience it was almost impossible to figure out who was who when we watched film of away games especially compared to the purple jerseys with white numbers outlined in gold we wore at home.
HAIL TO THE REDSKINS
Oh come on, you have to be more creative than that.
With the Oregon helmet, we can bet it already exists even if it hasn’t seen game action.
^^^I think a clean up is needed on some of the above…^^^
I just love that the troll couldn’t even type the real word and resorted to using a 1 instead of an i.
New Miami Hurricane uniforms today at 5PM.
link
I really like how Nike and FSU included tribal symbols on the new unis. The old collar design looked really dated. Even though changed wasn’t needed I’ll say it’s an upgrade and give it an overall B.
My only thing about the logo is that the feather doesn’t follow the wrap of the circle like the other logo (as shown in the FSU alum’s post earlier this week); it really pierces out just like the new buccaneers flag…Nike smh
Like the new FSU stuff, with the one exception that the numbers look a bit big for the surface they’re on.
Also, it has been determined that I cannot resist smiling foxes wearing hats.
I’m starting to think these guys are collaborating with each other a bit. Seven concepts with foxes? C’mon now, foxes aren’t that good at finding paths, are they? And when they do, what do they say?
I believe Ross suggested a fox when this particular contest began.
Absolutely love Malinoski’s fox using a bat as a walking stick. That’s vintage. Went with him, Peddle and Seagraves this time.
FSU did have an all garnet uniform with the gold helmet, this was before the pro combat era, and I don’t know how many times it was actually worn.
The football uniforms are taking a while to grow on me. I think my biggest issue is with the numbers — if they’d scale them down a bit, I think they’d look sharper.
But I *love* the new baseball and basketball uniforms. Hopefully they will also add a turquoise variant on the basketball side for Native American Heritage Month like they did this year.
Those vintage Japanese baseball player kites are outstanding!
From the penthouse to the outhouse…
Allow me to clarify.
White pants: completely unnecessary.
BFBS: you just won a national championship. Do you really need this as a recruiting tool?
Garnet helmet: might look OK — if they wear them with something other than that mono black crap. I’m thinking white jersey and garnet pants would work.
Sleeve designs: trying to cram 10 pounds of shit into a 5-pound bag.
I agree that this is a pretty disappointing redesign. And bear in mind, I don’t care at all about FSU, but there wasn’t anything wrong with the look they just dropped.
Change for change’s sake.
Leaving out the whole issue of Native American imagery, and judging purely based on aesthetics, I think the new FSU uniforms look fantastic (besides, of course, the black uniforms and garnet/black helmet). The approach was a great one for adding a unique update while staying true to the classic design. I might prefer white numbers to keep with tradition on the home jersey. Unlike others, I think the number font looks great, far better and brand-appropriate than the old one, but I agree their could be some readability issues with the size and especially with the gold numbers on the white jersey. I actually wouldn’t be surprised if the switch to garnet numbers happened even before the season. I also worry that it will prove difficult to tell apart 5s from 6s and 8s from 9s (and maybe even from 3s).
I think it’s interesting that Nike decided to depict the new Seminole head logo deep in the throws of passion. You don’t see many sports teams/athletic manufacturers making that choice. Living in Florida, I fully expect to see many entertaining renditions of that on the inside of bathroom stalls.
Brandt Snedeker is using ‘Vanderbilt’ themed tees at The Masters
link
No need to qualify usage of the term “kilt” in connection with the Oregon women’s lacrosse uniform item, it’s what they’re called (along with “skirt”). Would be nice if more teams opted for them instead of baggy shorts, which tend to make the women look disheveled.
Would be nice if they hadn’t resurrected Bellotti Bold. What does it take to rid us of this accursed font?
Four depictions of jerseys – three in stills and one additional in video. The same freaking digit repeated over and over. It’s ugly, but how will other digits look? They could have shown Winston with his famous 5, but made the others, say 13, 26 and 78.
I like the tweaks to the spear, especially the junction.
Improvement suggestions:
1. Make the gold more like what they wore about 25 years ago. This would also make the gold numbers on white jerseys more legible.
2. Drop the white pants.
3. Tweak the logo to reduce opportunities for ridicule.
4. Abandon the alt helmet.
5. Ditch the black.
If you want to see what the other numbers look like go view their 2010 Pro Combat unis. The font is the same, though I believed they are larger in size.
Thanks!
Just went out for lunch and it’s funny. The FSU spring scrimmage was on the tube. They’re still wearing last year’s gear, but the midfield logo is the new one that looks like Wayne Newton about to say “Danke Schoen” with real feeling IYKWIM.
I was a young 49ers fan growing up in Northern California when I saw the Florida State Seminoles for the first time playing against Nebraska in the Orange Bowl. It was love at first sight, the uniforms were the greatest I had ever seen.
20 years later, the entire living room in my house is decorated in red(ish) and gold in honor of the Niners and Noles.
I somehow survived the 49ers darker red and gold uniforms of 1996-2008. Fortunately they’re somewhat back. This new Florida State look is hard to take, I’m not gonna lie.
I refuse to replace my huge fathead logo on my wall. I nicknamed the new logo, “The Climaxing Indian.” Look at it! He’s coming! It’s horrifying! It is not allowed in my house! The old logo is everywhere in here and it will remain that way. To me, it is iconic.
The new uniforms remind me of Hawaii and their tribal symbols all over the place. This uniform looks like something a mid major would wear. Florida State should be above that. If it was up to me, they’d wear the same design they had in that ’94 Orange Bowl, except more consistent gold color.
I hate the new helmets. The garnet to black one reminds me of San Diego State. Again, something a mid major traditionless school would do. The old helmets remain in my living room. (I have the black one from that pro combat game.)
Overall, it is a sad day. How the hell am I gonna root for this? What a bummer. :(
White Sox are wearing their 1983 uniforms for the first time this year. Noteworthy things about them are that they include the same black “DJR” patch that the rest of the uniforms do (which looks weird with the different color scheme) and that they are using the original 1983 hats, not the new “Batterman” hats they said they were going to use with these uniforms this year.
The only three things I don’t like about these jerseys are: The black alt, the spears crossing on the back of the helmet and the collar art is to thick. Overall the home look is still one of the best in college football.
Not a fan of the new “Elvis” logo. I guess if the Patriots can make him fly then FSU can add him too. The new spear is a downgrade as well. If the neck and arm trim wasn’t so damn huge I’d like that but it’s Nike so it has to be oversized like everything else. Of course the number font sucks because, Nike. Gold numbers on the road? I’m hoping that gets reversed before the season starts or soon into the season. Also the all white road set looks terrible. I’m hoping the photo set is the only time these will see the field and they go with the gold pants full time.
On other teams at other times I’d actually like this logo and uniform set and would consider it an upgrade. But for FSU it’s not a good look and is a downgrade for them. Hopefully it doesn’t last long before they go back to the previous look and we can forget this ever happened.
White Sox inconsistency: Avasail Garcia and Leury Garcia wear “A. Garcia” and “L. Garcia”…but John Danks and Jordan Danks both just wear “Danks”.
And I wonder if Leury Garcia will drop the “L.” eventually with Avisail Garcia out for the season.
I hope my Miami Hurricanes receive the same critique and treatment tomorrow with their uniform unveiling set for today!!!
Interesting how, with the presentation of the new FSU uniforms, the stage stills and the video show the jersey tucked while the live modeled jerseys are untucked. Tucked looks sharp, while untucked (which is probably how they will be worn on the field, unfortunately), looks sloppy. Perhaps they should return to the drawing board and create something that looks good when worn how most of the players prefer.
Overall Grade: C.
Miami unveiled their set today.
link
I find it odd that the away uni is almost completely devoid of Orange (I believe the logo on the collar is the only place that has it), and the green uniform is the the same (at least the numbers have an orange outline).
They better attribute those GFGS uniforms as storm clouds as opposed to saying they represented the smoke they run through when they enter the field (because that smoke has always been white). If you’re gonna come up with a BS excuse for going GFGS, at least have it make sense.
Good: no eyebrows.
Bad: GFGS
Bad: mono-color has never been a UM tradition. All-white has shown up occasionally, and they famously went almost 30 years between all-orange games. (I don’t remember ever seeing all-green.). But the default since at least the late ’70s has been orange/white and white/orange.
I imagine they were just going same color over same color.
I think the All-Orange look will happen, and they may try mono-Green for a game but I don’t think it will happen often.
They went Mono-Green in 2005 against Georgia Tech, we came in their and upset them (they were a top 10 team, I think #5 to be more specific). It was also the game where they wore that stupid Orange sleeve (which VT and UF also did at some point during the ’05 season).
link
FSU is wearing ugly Christmas sweater jerseys!
Is this pop-up ad on ipads new? I usually read during the week on my Android phone. But noticed the pop-up yesterday.
It’s new and it’s super annoying. I don’t need Dr. Oz’s skin cream, but twice while trying to get rid of the ad I ended up on that site.
I fu**ing hate all these funky numberals they’re using on uniforms these days. And those things are gigantic! Everything else would have been fine, but that numbers are for sh*t.
really like the FSU uniforms except for the alternates. the alternates to me looks worn out but the away and home, also the helmets really look new and fresh which I really like.
Did Dayton really get originality points for wearing one of Nike’s stock uniform templates?
So you know, the picture of Leon Washington in the black FSU uniform is a photoshop. I recognize that picture and he wasn’t wearing black in it.
The original is here: link
The new FSU jerseys are an abomination. The trim is okay but grotesquely large, the numbers are blocky, ugly and also too big.
I will simply not address the cheap-merchandise-friendly logo.
If you wish to contact me I’ll be quietly weeping by my Warrick, Weinke and Jones jerseys.