We’ve all seen face painters, but how about pregnant belly painters? That was the scene yesterday in Jacksonville, where a Pittsburgh fan with a child in tow and a bun in the oven showed up for the Jags/Steelers game. Click the photo at right to enlarge, if you dare.
But hey, at least the expectant mother wasn’t wearing pink. Just about everyone else was wearing it yesterday. Here’s a slideshow of some of the Pinktober accessories. Bonus points to the Colts’ mascot for wearing a pink horseshoe.
In other notes from around the league yesterday:
• Several readers have noted that the Nikelace on some (but not all) Cowboys jerseys has been looking very blue in recent weeks. Additional examples here and in the background here.
• Buccaneers linebacker Lavonte David’s left-side helmet logo was coming loose and then suffered a tear.
• Broncos wide receiver Julius Thomas had a minor jersey tear.
• Another player with a jersey tear in a similar spot: Pats quarterback Tom Brady. Looks like they did a bit of repair to the silver shoulder stripe, too.
• Here’s a weird one: A table on the Jets’ sideline had a box of something — not sure what — featuring the team’s old SST logo, which hasn’t been used since 1997.
• With the Patriots playing the Bengals, the Pats’ cheerleaders showed their support for Cincy defensive lineman Devon Still, whose daughter Leah is fighting cancer, by wearing his jersey. Still himself wore a “Leah Strong” nose strip.
• Speaking of the Pats, their defensive line sure is keeping up with the Joneses.
• The Ravens were cooling off with a Colts-branded sideline fan.
• Speaking of fans, I guess Big Fogg doesn’t have a corporate deal with the league, because its logo on the Chargers’ sideline misting fan was covered up. Douchebags.
• Sidelines now have canopied areas where players can read their iPads Surface tablets without glare.
• The scoreboard at EverBank Field in Jacksonville featured the preggers chick going into labor when Big Ben tossed a touchdown pass an infinite regression.
• Another item from that Jags/Steelers game: CBS listed the score as “Final” in the middle of the first quarter.
• Yet another item from that game: In a move that turned out to be controversial, the Jags’ live mascot mocked the Steelers’ Terrible Towel with an Ebola reference.
• Thanks to Nike’s continuing incompetence, the Eagles’ green jerseys still aren’t ready, so they once again had to wear white at home.
• Other teams wearing white at home: the Jaguars, Titans, Saints, Panthers, and, of course, Cowboys.
(My thanks to all contributors, including Matt Barnett, Dan Budak, Steve Dodell, Jeff Flynn, Stephen Hayes, Wayne Koehler, Mike Lindquist, Jon Solomonson, and Tom Van de Kieft.)
Hard sell: After the first batch of Uni Watch 15th-anniversary patches quickly sold out, I ordered a big second batch, figuring it’d move as briskly as the first batch had. Instead: crickets, mostly. Come on, people — the patches are really cool, and are easily my favorite Uni Watch promo item ever. Reasonably priced, too. Get yours here so I’m not left sitting on a big pile of them, okay? Okay.
Also available: 15th anniversary stickers and T-shirts.
End of sales pitch. Thanks for listening.
NFL News: Thanks to the NFL’s new deal with Bose, players can no longer be seen wearing Beats By Dre headphones. Douchebags. ”¦ “My league just adopted a pretty novel ‘trophy’ for the league
champion: a customized, wearable jersey based on the champion’s team name and logo,” says Justin Cliburn. “We’re making it retroactive so our previous managers get one, too. Here’s the post announcing it with examples of two previous jerseys. As the other champions’ jerseys are delivered, I’ll send photos.”
College Football News: Is San Diego State getting new helmets? If so, let’s hope it’s not these (thanks, Phil). ”¦ Auburn CB Trovon Reed wore a long-sleeve orange undershirt with last year’s BCS championship patch against LSU last weekend (Phil again). ”¦ Arizona State’s BFBS uni will debut on Nov. 8 against Notre Dame. ”¦ Modest proposal from Pete Woychick: “If UCLA can’t, or won’t, get ‘UCLA stripes’ right on its football uniforms, I propose the term be redefined until such time as said stripes are restored to their proper shape and orientation. Henceforth, a ‘UCLA (Unsightly Curvi-Linear Aberration) stripe’ shall refer to any misplaced, short, truncated, shriveled, or otherwise unsatisfying uniform stripe, especially one that has replaced a superior option. Renaming of the stripe pattern that completely surrounds the shoulder and armhole [i.e., the old UCLA stripe] to commence immediately; nominations gratefully accepted.”
Hockey News: The Erie Otters — a major junior team in the Ontario Hockey League — “honor” their player of the game by having him wear a really garish suit (from Mark Coale). … Speaking of which: “major junior” has always struck me as one of those inherently contradictory terms, like “jumbo shrimp.”
Soccer News: New Volkswagen-sponsored kits for AC Fiorentina. “Volkswagon is at least their third different auto sponsor in the last 15 years, following Toyota and Mazda,” says Bryan Justman.
Grab Bag: A basketball player a Modesto Junior College had a backwards uni number during a preseason jamboree the other day (from Eric Sun). … Pinktober is also in full swing in the NHRA. It’s a little hard to see in that photo, but Antron Brown and Jack Beckman are racing this week with the names of people who have defeated breast cancer on the sides of their cars (from David Firestone, who, incidentally, hates commemorative patches).
As an Aztec, I have to say… the first time I saw those mock up helmets a few years ago I thought they were horrible. And time hasn’t changed that opinion.
The Jags scoreboard has so much wasted space. I quite surprised they didn’t maximize ad space on there.
I bet they will. This is from a new renovation project I thought. Or maybe companies don’t want to be associated with Jags (unlikely, they are still an NFL franchise).
Yuck, you need a viewer warning for that pregnant woman picture
+1
I thought I was the only person who didn’t find preggos “radiant” or “even more beautiful”.
btw, if I hear the term “baby bump” one more time I’ll barf.
C’mon guys, it’s not thaaaat gross.
+1 for “btw, if I hear the term “baby bump” one more time I’ll barf.”
If I have to read a headline about a celebrity “flaunting their baby bump” – i’m gonna barf, too.
Whether or not you find it “radiant” or “beautiful” or even attractive, there’s nothing gross about a pregnant belly. It’s just a belly.
Call it whatever you want, it’s not something I want to look at. It’s no different than the shirtless guy with a painted beer gut. I don’t want to see that either.
Odd to equate the two.
Okay, I have no issue with it (especially when she’s painted in Steelers garb), especially when it’s a natural occurrence. Of course, I’m also like link with regards to pregnant women.
What I don’t get is why the warning about clicking on the enlargment?
If you find a pregnant lady’s belly gross, you’ve already been blinded by the regular size pic in the article.. the enlargment isn’t that much worse.
What if she weren’t pregnant, and she’d painted “Go Steelers” across her breasts? Would that pass your nausea test?
Wow, “Go Steelers” looks AWESOME next to her gang tats! WTG
“… Thanks to the NFL’s new deal with Bose, players can no longer be seen wearing Beats By Dre headphones. Douchebags. …”
That’s such an insult to douchebags everywhere.
I really appreciate it, Paul, that you stay after this exclusivity walking-billboard horseshit.
When the hell did headphones become a fashion accessory? Banning them because the league has a deal with another company is stupid… but wearing them because you think you look cool (note: you don’t) is also kinda stupid.
Exactly, players wearing Beats headsets to a press conference is more douchebaggery than Bose not wanting a competitor brand shown on “NFL TV”.
Although, can the NFL ban Beats headphones from players walking to the locker room in suits?
But players aren’t wearing Beats by Dre to look cool. They’re wearing them because they’re paid to do so.
It’s a strategy that worked for Beats in the most recent Olympic cycle (they sent a free headphone to every Winter Olympian, which amped up the saturation). They were everywhere without being an official sponsor. So I can see why Bose is freaked out, as was Sony during the World Cup.
+1 on this. If banning Beats because of the deal with Bose means we don’t have to see players with the headphones on during press conferences, it’s a win in my book.
When the hell did headphones become a fashion accessory?
When were they ever not? It’s not like we were walking around the halls of high school twenty-five years ago with these on our belts because of any practical need to protect our MC Hammer tapes from extreme water depths:
link
You must’ve went to a more relaxed high school than I, because a walkman and/or discman was reserved for the bus ride to and from school. Wearing it in class meant having a teacher breathing down your neck and possibly taking it away from you.
You’re right – they were verboten in class. But in the halls, during study hall, at lunch, out on the grounds, in the parking lot, all fair game, and You Just Had to Have One. Point being, if one had a cassette player other than a $10 Sanyo, it was a fashion accessory.
Can you see Chuck Bednarik headphoned on the sidelines, getting into the proper mindset with some Dean Martin? Or Bronko Nagurski, pumping himself up with a little Rudy Vallee?
It’s ridiculous.
To be fair, players in Nagurski and Bedarik’s era were probably smoking like chimneys, possibly drinking too (and fast forward 20 years, they were munching magic pink pills).
So different eras, different pre-game rituals.
I’d rather see a guy smoking a cigarette on the sidelines, than wearing headphones.
I was watching most of the games yesterday, and I only saw the Jets using the “canopied area” – which was two hapless interns holding a green fabric banner attached to PVC pipes. Looked very homemade. Was any other team using something like this during the season?
When the league announced they’d be using tablets on the sidelines, first reaction was how the hell is anyone going to see the images in full daylight? I can barely see anything on my smartphone or tablet if I’m not in the shade. And even then it’s dicey.
Yep… it’s just another case of solving a problem that didn’t exist.
Why do they have to have people holding up those canopys? Is there a reason they can’t fix something up semi-permanent with PVC pipes that will stand on it’s own?
I wonder how many canopy manufacturers are attempting to produce “the official canopy of the NFL”?
Would work for teams on the sidelines and fans in tailgating areas.
Imagine the douchebaggery potential.
Pretty sure the canopy was just in use to keep the sun off the players. Most California teams take the sideline in the shade and force opponents to sit in the sun.
In looking at the Modesto JC backward numbers I thought, “No way”. I saw the logo on the back of the jersey was reversed so I figured the image had been reversed. Then I noticed the tramp stamp still seems to read “MJC”.
That’s a hard one to explain.
????
My guess is that the number is sublimated into the fabric rather than screen-printed, and the jersey is inside-out.
An giant, ostentatious television set that says DICK SWINGS in letters two stories tall. What could be more Florida?
How about this?
Yes. Those are full jeans in the pool…
Engine blocks hanging from trees?
Shouldn’t that ASU uniform be GFGS instead of BFBS? I guess it depends on what color you consider “anthracite” or whatever the hell they call it
We attempted to rename UCLA stripes right here link. I’m still link Louisiana link.
I live in hope that UCLA will finally reclaim their namesake stripes, link. Better we keep the name as-is to encourage them.
My thought was to ‘encourage’ UCLA through public shaming. If the term became synonymous with something ridiculous and inadequate, it might light a fire under them to fix the problem.
From now on, let’s call truncated UCLA stripes “trunc”or “trunk” stripes. I.e., short form truncated and dual-meaning, since they look like ass.
Also, dig that comment section from 2010. Talk about an all star cast of characters.
KELLY is not into the Pink?
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The Eagles’ head coach did not wear one (visible at least) pink item for the NFL’s October bca campaign.
Good for him. Someone with sense.
Yet another item from that game: In a move that turned out to be controversial, the Jags’ live mascot mocked the Steelers’ Terrible Towel link.
Yeah, couldn’t possibly have seen that flak coming.
If you’re going to laugh off the deaths of thousands of people, your joke better at least be funny.
But then there’s this response from the Jaguars, when approached by the press: “Jaguars officials declined to comment Sunday night, other than to identify the mascot.”
Jagoffs. No comment, just “Here’s our employee’s name; go bug him about this.” Lots of integrity in that organization, obviously.
Because we should take a sign held by a guy in a furry costume seriously. The internet just loves to rage over everything, doesn’t it?
But it’s not just “a guy in a furry costume”. Guy in a furry costume that is part of a customer relations/marketing strategy of a multi-million dollar organization. If a guy in a furry costume has your branding and takes your paycheck, you’re responsible for anything and everything he does and says.
“Because we should take a sign held by a guy in a furry costume seriously. The internet just loves to rage over everything, doesn’t it?”
~~~~
Just curious if you just take a contrarian position on everything of even semi-serious social import because you like to troll, of if you actually believe everything you write.
You know the answer to that.
I can’t speak for The, but I tend to agree that the whole ebola-Terrible-Towel thing is No Big Deal. And I believe that in part because of my natural contrarianism. The photo totally shocked me when I first saw it yesterday. And what that happens, I take a self-contrarian position to ask myself why, and try to consider the case for and against my own reaction.
So, yeah, it’s a stupid, juvenile joke. But it’s just a joke, and as bad as a world with an ebola epidemic is, the world would be an even worse place if we didn’t grant a fair amount of space and grace for people to attempt and even fail at humor and whimsy. And context matters: It’s a man in a fuzzy animal suit, riding a ridiculous toy scooter, at a stadium where grown men have dressed in colorful costumes to play a child’s game for public entertainment. It’s not like “and he drew an asinine sign” is the one thing out of place in an otherwise serious setting full of gravitas and importance!
I am not a troll. I just don’t take a lot of things that seriously. So the mascot (who I assume is given a large amount of freedom in the name of entertainment) did something stupid. Who cares? It’s a guy in a costume at a sporting event. It’s just not a big deal. Maybe the sign should have said that the towels have AIDS, since South Park declared a few years ago that it’s been long enough and AIDS is funny now. I guess I have a magical ability to say “well, that guy’s kind of an asshole” and move on, without making an issue out of it.
“without making an issue out of it.”
That’s cute.
Nothing wrong with calling out assholes on their assholishness. Otherwise it spreads.
“Who cares?”
~~~
Well, obviously some folks do, and whether or not YOU care, you seem to feel it’s your prerogative (which I suppose it is) to dismiss them as if they don’t matter. They don’t matter to you, and that’s fine. But when someone does something that may be in, shall we say, poor taste (at best), they’re going to get called out on it. Whether you care or not.
I don’t think Jeff is trolling here, and I think it’s perfectly fine for people to disagree — and to voice that disagreement — regarding what is and isn’t culturally relevant, what is/isn’t crossing a line a propriety, what is/isn’t worth making a stink over. Perfectly valid discussion about competing points of view.
Okay, how about a yinzer giving their opinion on this? And a yinzer who has laughed at link Seriously, I can’t really say anything on mascot actions when we have a mascot who link And I’m not even talking about mascots link My initial thoughts weren’t really on the whole ebola issue as it was Jaxon de Ville desecrating the Terrible Towel and as a result, handing the Steelers a win.
The biggest problem I have with the whole thing is the ESPN article gives the human inside the Jag mascot costume’s real name.
That breaks the whole fantasy of the mascot concept. They aren’t supposed to acknolwedge that there is a real person in there, it’s identity is the Jags mascot. They protect the anonimity under all circumstances, but he screws up he like this (I’m assuming the ebola sign, then, was all his idea) and they rolled over and gave up his real identity quicker than the Philadelphia Eagles in the two-minute offense.
Hey, wheres the playoff uni tracker for the MLB posseason?
Division Series isn’t done yet.
Have to say those ASU helmets look awesome. They are clean and original w/o being gaudy. Love that copper.
A couple of notes from the Patriots game.
Jamie Collins had his Nike logo on his undershirt sleeve blackout out with Sharpie it looks
link…
So did Chandler Jones. This picture shows the NFL logo blacked out
link…
Also, Brady changed gloves. He has blue gloves in the photo above, and had red later on.
link….
and white pre game
link…
The “75” jerseys on the Pat-ettes, and showing the music video, etc. was a very cool thing to do.
A nice moment.
I feel like Paul would give this speech a standing ovation.
link
As it happens, I wrote a column about the Clios for Fortune magazine 15 yrs ago, back when I was writing a lot about the marketing/advertising world:
link
It isn’t possible that the Cowboys are washing the white jerseys with the blue ones, is it? I’ve got an old MN Gophers white practice jersey that is a beautiful shade of pink, but that was just a practice jersey.
Just wondering if the Nikelace would pick up some blue floating in the wash, while the rest of the fabric does not.
Connor Barwin (Eagles LB) told local afternoon radio sports station that Eagles plan to wear a all black for Sunday night game against Giants.
I don’t think it’ll be ALL black — they don’t have black pants. (Do they?)
They do not have black pants. They have done the black jerseys with the midnight green pants in the past. Not the best look.
Along the lines of the Jets using an obsolete “SST” logo (circa 1997), the San Francisco Giants continue to use equipment bags with their pre-2000, vertically arched “GIANTS” logo. This webpage was presumably taken at this season’s spring training.
link
Not sure either. Here’s the link to the story: link
I’m not a fan of the ‘Pinktober’ movement (I think it’s largely just a cash grab for the pros), but when it’s done right, it’s special. Like a number of other schools, Holly (MI) High School wore pink jerseys at their game last Friday (10/3), but these carried the name of a cancer survivor or (as in the case of my father-in-law who passed away in May) cancer victim that is close to the school or community. Pictures are on the Holly Athletics Facebook page.
Is that not pink around the pregnant mom’s waist, or what’s left of it? Looks it to me but maybe I am color blind.
Pinktober just proves anything worth doing in America is worth overdoing. Yes, it is great organizations including the NFL support breast cancer month but why does that support mean everyone goes overboard?
The Jaguar joke was definitely tasteless but worth all the consternation? No way. Just seems that some people, like the media for one, look for things to have a grievance about.
Yes, it is great organizations including the NFL support breast cancer month but why does that support mean everyone goes overboard?
A cynical view might be that it was never about breast cancer (and while I think Komen et al. are well-meaning organizations with well-meaning backers and executives, but I wouldn’t say they’re “great”).
The Jaguar joke was definitely tasteless but worth all the consternation? No way. Just seems that some people, like the media for one, look for things to have a grievance about.
We can still point out that it was a dick move, right? And I’m okay with being tasteless and dickish, but the joke better be good. *That’s* what bugs me the most.
Just seems that some people, like the media for one…
Please stop blaming “the media,” as if “the media” were all in lockstep. It’s a lazy form of argument, especially in an era when anyone with a Twitter account is, essentially, “the media.” You know why “the media” picked up on this storyline? Because it was trending on Twitter.
Media in this case was news media. Watch enough of it and read enough of it and you see the same exact stories with the same exact words about those stories perpetuated across all news media outlets.
Striped socks alert: link
Paul, I thought you said the NFL was going to tone down the pink this year. But it seems they are emphasizing it even more, making the games very hard to watch.
I didn’t see it emphasized more than last year. I thought it was roughly the same.