Phil here — Paul’s definitely enjoying his Wisconsin vacation — but his eagerly-awaited NBA Season Preview is now Live On ESPN. As the title of the column suggests, there are LOTS of new looks — so go check that out, then come on back here and we’ll discuss. OK? OK.
NFL Superhero Project
By Thomas Correia
With the Chargers facing the Broncos in tonight’s Thursday-night NFL game, the two heroes chosen here may not be particularly familiar to non-comic fans. Still, one of them appeared in a recent Hollywood film (X-Men: Days of Future Past) and will also be in an upcoming film (Avengers: Age of Ultron), and the other is known from a popular video game series (Batman: Arkham). Here, take a look (click to enlarge):
For most fans, the Chargers’ lightning bolt logo represents electricity, so I did consider using Spider-Man villain Electro. But I feel that the bolt also represents speed. I didn’t want to use the DC hero Flash, because his main color is red, so instead I decided on the blue Marvel speedster Quicksilver. His color and the lightning bolts that run across his chest and waist made this a perfect match.
The Broncos presented a huge dilemma. I couldn’t find a way to do anything successful with their current horse head logo, so I turned to their retro logo. I knew I had to find a character whose name begins with a D; if he wears blue and orange, even better. I got both in the DC antihero Deathstroke. I just had to create his pistol to replace the white horse and added in his trademark left eye.
Next Week: Saints vs. Panthers. You may have a good idea who one of these will be, but what about the other? Feel free to guess in today’s comments.
Mike Chamernik’s…
Question of the Week
Every Thursday Intern Mike Chamernik poses a uniform-related question to the readership. Here’s today’s:
Paul or Phil may have explored this topic either on their own, or they might have asked you all before, but I wanted to know what you think is the best-looking World Series? Consider the uniforms, obviously, but also the ballparks, fans, decorations (I miss bunting), historical context, or whatever you want to factor into your decision.
Also, what would you say is the worst-looking, or least remarkable, Series?
World Series Uni Tracking
Last night, the Royals and Giants played game two the World Series, and once again it was the Royals in their home whites and Giants in their road grays:
As they have been doing throughout the playoffs, the guys from the Diamond Uniform Database have been keeping track of the uniforms throughout. You can check out all the Wild Card, Division, and League Championship uniforms for all the teams here.
Thanks to Matt Donnelly for the images.
Uni Watch News Ticker
Today’s ticker was compiled by Mike Chamernik
Baseball News: Check out the cool baseball cartoons inside Action Comics 1. Really the highlight of that issue, by far. … Here’s some more info on the Marlins guy who attended Tuesday and last night’s World Series game (from Phil). He may have also attended some other World Series games too (h/t to Derrick Goold). … New logo and uniforms for the Tennessee Smokies. … Zack Hample tweeted this a few days ago. It’s 64 MLB balls with different logos that he’s collected in the past 15 years at games (thanks to Chris Flinn). … Not much took place during the World Series, uni-wise, last night, but it’s good to know that Homeland Security agents have confiscated unlicensed Kansas City Royals underwear (you can thank Brinke for this). … But here’s a look at the World Series hoodies for the Royals.
NFL News: DeSean Jackson and other NFL players have been customizing their cleats (from Brinke). … The Hungry Hungry Hipster found an NFL bag off of eBay that is missing two stars in the logo. … The Steelers will wear their striped alternates on Sunday. … The Falcons will be playing in London this weekend. Let’s see if you can spot what’s wrong with this graphic depicting their flight (Need a hint? Go here).
College/High School Football News: Team logo-emblazoned belts are now a thing (from Tommy Turner). … Here are two great photos that show how football uniforms have changed at the high school level over the last 65 years (from Blair Thompson). … New Mexico State once paid royalties to Oklahoma State for the rights to use Pistol Pete (from Phil). … Seems that Urban Meyer has had some black Ohio State mock-up unis run past him. Yet, there are no plans to actually wear them (from Phil). … A Maryland high school (unsure which school) has its helmet logo inside the center stripe (from Rick Friedel). … West Virginia is urging fans to wear blue next Saturday against TCU (from Phil). … Cal coach Sonny Dykes is a little dismayed that recruits factor in uniforms into their college choice (from Phil). … Miami will wear white unis with black socks tonight (from Phil). … Do the sleeves on this undershirt for LB Poly say “FUNK HOUSE”? (via Uniform Nation Blog).
Hockey News: The Penguins wore their new third jerseys last night. … The men’s and women’s teams at the Rochester Institute of Technology have camouflage unis on tap for November (from Joe Werner).
Soccer News: Anderlecht midfielder Steven Defour’s shin guards are ridiculous (from Yusuke Toyoda). … Bayern Munich gave Pope Francis a signed customized jersey (also from Yusuke Toyoda). … Mario Balotelli will be fined for swapping shirts at the half of Liverpool’s loss to Real Madrid.
NBA News: For reasons that remain unclear, over the last three years, whenever ESPN displays a miniature Bulls logo on its site the nostrils are not present (from Jon Arthur). … Kevin Durant’s Washington DC-themed Nikes will not be available for retail (from Tommy Turner).
College Hoops News: Ohio State set aside a locker for LeBron James (from Brinke). … New unis for Ole Miss. … New road jerseys for Notre Dame. … Maryland’s jerseys have collars that are reminiscent of the Nikelace that NFL teams have (from Rick Friedel). … New uniforms for Detroit (from Scott Held). … New court for Appalachian State (from Phil).
Grab Bag: New names for two NASCAR series. … Gavin Rossdale wore an arm sleeve while performing on Jimmy Kimmel Live the other night (from Chris Perrenot). … This has nothing to do with sports or uniforms, but on Tuesday every episode of The Simpsons became available for free streaming. I’m a huge fan of the show and quote lines like a lunatic. While Simpsons World is awesome and I will undoubtedly watch it until my brain turns to mush, there was still something memorable about the way I viewed the show as a kid. I would plan my afternoon and evening around the three re-run slots (5, 6 and 10 p.m.) on local TV. Sure, it was a pain, and I was a little bummed if I missed an episode, but it just made The Simpsons more special. I had something invested, and it was a small example of delayed gratification. I still would have enjoyed the show if streaming were available in 2002, but it wouldn’t have been the same experience. Even though advances in technology continue to make our lives easier, perhaps it’s not making our lives universally better. I’m sure many of you can relate.
And that’s all for today — everyone have a good Wednesday. Back with more tomorrow. Thanks to Thomas, Matt and especially Mike for all of today’s content.
“This ice girls talk is redic’. They sign up to wear those outfits, they enjoy wearing those outfits. They have good bodies & mostly good looking faces ”“ what do you think they wear when they go out? Not sweaters, I assure you.”
— Neeko
This may be a re-post, but I found this Seahawks helmet on eBay this morning.
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Not sure how legit it is, a quick google search yielded similar images, but I couldn’t find a reference to it on UW or in Paul’s ESPN columns. Was this a legit prototype, for the 2002 redesign, or what?
I’ve never seen or heard of a prototype with a red eye before. I guess it could be something from one of the previous redesigns, but the fact that it has 2 different logos on it is kinda weird. You’d think they’d just mock up both helmets, like Tampa Bay did with all of their prototypes in 1997, not a split one like this.
My thoughts exactly. From the description, the seller claims to be a former staffer of the Seahawks, and the helmet was given to the team as a sort of sample.
…But having two different logos, and the warped application of the left facing decal, I’m not so sure this is legitimate. Hope someone here knows more about it.
Interesting find. I have not seen the red eye before either, although I had heard some rumors about it.
I am still mad about getting outbid at the last minute in an auction a few years ago for one of the plain silver helmets the Seahawks wore early in 1976.
You should be glad you got outbid, it’d be a waste of money to buy some old high school team’s helmet, since the Seahawks NEVER FUCKING WORE BLANK HELMETS.
Yes they did. I have seen pictures.
The Ohio State-LeBron locker has been around for at least a year (or at least has been used before):
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A Maryland high school (unsure which school) has its helmet logo inside the center stripe (from Rick Friedel)
That would be Aberdeen High School.
This Series looks pretty good, as did the Giants-Tigers one a few years back. Any Yankees-Dodgers series of course, but especially the ones where the city was on the Dodgers roadies.
Paul’s ESPN column that linked to the 0/00 article from 2012 reminded me that Derek Jeter might NOT be the last single digit Yankee player ever if someone chooses to wear 0 down the line.
QotW – For ones I remember, 1973 was swell with the brilliant colors of Finley’s As and the Mets.
That’s neither a new name nor logo for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series; it’s just the Xfinity Series logo that’s new (replacing the Nationwide Series, though I still tend to think of it as the Grand National).
To this day I still have to catch from saying ‘Busch Series’, and miss referring to Cup drivers who compete in the lower tier as ‘Buschwhackers’.
Worst looking Series? For uniforms, 1979 Pirates-Orioles. Height of the disco era with tacky, bright looks for both teams, plus three of the games were played on artificial turf in the gloomy, concrete doughnut of Three Rivers Stadium.
At the time, I bet people liked the 1979 uniforms.
Some of us remain fond of the 1979 Pirate uniforms. In my case, not quite as much as I am of what the Penguins wore last night.
At the time, people liked a lot of horrible things. Doesn’t make them not horrible.
The 84 series was very odd with the already dated Pad-squad look against the timeless Tigers and the even starker contrast between the brutalist multi-purpose Murph and the seedy rustbelt digs.
The 1984 Series certainly had the two most-contrasting uniforms to date.
WorstBest looking Series? For uniforms, 1979 Pirates-Orioles. Height of the disco era withtacky,bright looks for both teams, plus three of the games were played on artificial turf in thegloomy,awesome concrete doughnut of Three Rivers Stadium.Fixed.
Although, I may have to go with the ’71 Series instead with the historic Bucs pullovers. Or the ’82 Series with the Brewers in the uniforms (and league) they should have stayed in, or the ’84 contrast of the Taco Bell Padres vs. the classic Tigers, or slightly before my time, the ’65 Twins/Dodgers Series.
’44 Cardinals/Browns could be up there, as well as one of the many Yankees/ Dodgers matchups. But I’d need to see a Dressed to the Nines composite of each Series before I’d ever pick a Best Ever.
No contest on the worst-looking Series…it was 1994, hands down. So drab and uneventful, it’s as if no one was playing at all.
Well, I can’t put ’79 in contention for Best because of the pillbox caps. Other than that, though, it was a great looking Series.
Height of the Disco Era? Oh yeah, baby. link
I’m glad to see that the first comment about the ugliest World Series was for the 1979 Series. Not only was it ugly in its own right, but it stood out compared to the dignified looking Series that came immediately before (and, as it turned out, also after).
Any World Series with the Yankees in it has at least half a chance at being beautiful. The 1977, 1978, and 1981 Series against the Dodgers have to be up there as some of the best ever.
But I’ll nominate the 1973 Series between the Mets and the A’s as the most beautiful. I generally dislike pullovers and beltless pants, and I strongly disapprove of any scheme other than white at home and grey on the road. The A’s broke all the rules — and did it beautifully. Those uniforms are amongst my all-time favourites.
And the Mets’ uniforms were perfect: they had no name on back, and they used varsity numbers on the road. The road uniform had a bluish tint in the sunlight.
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Phil and I guessed 1979 was going to be a hotly-debated answer
I wish you hadn’t given the hint to the “Falcons to London” graphic.
With regards to the Simpsons, I remember as a kid how my mom “banned” me from watching the Simpsons, yet I somehow found a way to watch it every Thursday night–then Sunday night–on Fox 53. Then when it went into syndication and I somehow found a way to watch it in the afternoon. I’m not sure how to react to having every episode available for streaming, as South Park (which should’ve went off the air about 2-3 years ago) has had a similar service for some time now. Truthfully, if I were to watch some of it, it would mostly be earlier episodes. The Simpsons should’ve gone off the air in 1998—and especially since 2007.
I find it funny how my mom didn’t want me watching it as a kid, seeing that Ren & Stimpy was arguably worse (we got away with that one because “it was on Nickelodeon”, even though in hindsight it shouldn’t have been on a kids channel), yet we see shows like South Park and Family Guy go WAY worse. I migrated to Family Guy years ago (unlike the Simpsons and South Park, Family Guy is still worth watching, albeit some episodes are hit-or-miss anymore), and rightfully so. Its time for the Simpsons to end and leave it with whatever dignity it has left. I’m 29 as of today and am old enough to remember when it was on The Tracy Ullman Show.
YES! I’m also 29, and my mom also ‘banned’ me from the Simpsons back in the early days. Thankfully, my Dad snuck me away to the second TV and we watched it anyway. He also taped a bunch from 90-91, I always get a kick out of seeing the old commercials.
Yes, watching the Simpsons and playing Mortal Kombat were highly frowned upon in my household as a kid. Interesting that’s where my mom decided to draw the line.
Strangely enough, my mom had no issue with us playing with Mortal Kombat as a kid. She’s basically the microism of America: she had no problem with violence (though she did have me wait until I was in middle school before she let me see Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom–although I saw The Last of the Mohicans when I was six and that was arguably more violent), but hated anything with sex.
Religious viewer since ’89. I’m in the minority on this, but it’s still the funniest show on TV.
I’m always amused by people who say they don’t watch The Simpsons because it’s not good any more. How would they know? (for the record, I stopped watching around 2001, but I’m told there’s been a mini-resurgence)
Same goes for SNL – nostalgia gives you the power to forget mediocrity of the past and judge things you don’t see.
Agree with this as well (didn’t really want to trash the original poster) – yes, the Simpsons obviously isn’t what it once was, but to say it hasn’t been watchable since as early as ’98 is a little bit laughable.
Also – South Park still has it to this day. (Not just because of the redskins episode from a few weeks ago)
It was about the late 90’s that the show did seem to go into decline, then it had a resurgence around 2003, almost like a second wind in creativity. But yeah, since the movie came out it’s almost unbearable to watch anymore. It’s like almost every week they have some sort of celebrity guest star–something that South Park and Family Guy both keep to a minimum. (In the case of Family Guy, I consider James Woods and Adam West to be semi-regulars.) At this point, IMO the only reason its even still on the air is because it still makes money for Fox. At least King of the Hill went out at around the right time.
With regards to South Park, it just seems like Trey Parker and Matt Stone have just gotten lazy with creativity, and there’s only so much you can do by having episodes based around Cartman, Butters, and Randy Marsh. In all fairness, as the Book of Mormon has shown, they do have other projects that they are focused on. Much like the Simpsons is to Fox, I think Comedy Central owes South Park a debt of gratitude, as the channel probably would’ve become yet another reality-based show on cable and especially within the Viacom umbrella. Without South Park, there would be no Daily Show, Chapelle Show, The Cobert Report (which is going off the air next year due to Stepehen Colbert taking David Letterman’s job), Reno 911, and I’m sure anything else I can think of that has come from there in the years since.
Family Guy–the one I watch the most–still has it in some episodes, like this past Sunday. But it is clear that Seth MacFarlane is doing other projects, even more so than Parker & Stone, and even admitted last year that he’s tired of doing Family Guy. It doesn’t hold the same status that the other two shows have, but it did bring Adult Swim into the mainstream. It still draws well for Fox–some nights it even outdraws the Simpsons in the ratings–but more than likely of the three it’ll probably be the one that ends first.
DeSean’s customized cleats: Custom does not always equal good.
Steven Defour vehemently disagrees, probably in Flemish but possibly in French.
Yes, I’m biased – but I loved the 1980 WS. Both Phils and Royals had powder blue road unis, and their home sets were/still are pretty damn solid.
That was a good-looking Series. 1976 Reds-Yankees would have been another standout from that era.
Surely someone has a sense of humor putting “TRADITION” on the back of those LB Poly jerseys.
New trend to start? Hunter Pence has his pants pulled above the knee.
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Please no. It’s like scientists got together to run an experiment to see if it was possible to create a look even uglier than pajama pants, and succeeded in proving the hypothesis.
Might be heading towards something similar to the bike pants some NFL players like to wear
The world series uni tracking graphics are incorrect…KC’s shoes are blue. Among major leagues, MLB is one of the last holdouts that actually holds teams (or attempts to) to some level of uniformity with regard to shoe color. NBA and NFL have gotten much more lenient in this area in recent years.
The eagle-in-stripe seems to be offered by a company this year. One school has it in Arizona (Santa Rita) and another–American Leadership Academy–put its own Patriots logo in a stripe:
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Partly sentimental, but for me the 1991 World Series is both the best World Series ever played (though it wouldn’t be crazy to pick either 1924 or 2001 for the top spot there) and the best-looking. The Braves were wearing the purest version of their modern uniforms, which is among the handful of greatest sports uniforms of all time. And the first years of the current Twins set were a minor classic with no distracting alternates or compromises. With both teams, both home and road had consistent designs that made both instantly recognizable at a glance.
Braves: Blue caps with red brims and a white logo, lots of uni piping, red script with tomahawk underline. Home and road.
Twins: Navy caps with a red logo, pinstripes, red script. Home and road.
In each case, no other team in baseball had quite that combination of elements, so you always knew instantly when you saw an Atlanta or Minnesota player what team he played for.
“it wouldn’t be crazy to pick either 1924 or 2001 for the top spot” – No, it would be completely crazy to pick 2001 for anything other than the worst with 1994 and the various astroturf series as the competition. Now if 2001 was a typo for 2000 or 2002, then you’ve got a point.
What exactly does the astroturf have to do with uniform matchups?
Consider the uniforms, obviously, but also the ballparks, fans, decorations (I miss bunting), historical context, or whatever you want to factor into your decision.
So turf vs. grass can be a detterming factor here.
*determining
Oh.. right. I kinda skimmed past that part when I saw it was a baseball question that I had no answer for.
The reference to 2001 was for the quality of the series, not the uniforms, so the astroturf thing is a fair enough critique. Except that it’s just plain wrong. 2001, like 1991 and 1924, featured an exceptionally high number of closely matched games and extra innings, which I think are reasonable objective standards for the quality of a World Series. Any World Series that goes seven games is better than any that goes six, which is itself better than any that goes five, which is better than any sweep. And the closer the games, and the more of those games decided in the final inning and/or extra innings, the better. By those criteria, the only real question is the order in which you rank 1991, 1924, and 2001, not whether those three occupy the top three spots.
I was answering about aesthetics. Also I have a vehement – nearly fanatical – dislike of the Phoenix team.
Gant was safe…but agree about the uni matchup.
Oh, man, I was at Game Two! Even from the farthest reaches of the upper deck, it was plain as day that Hrbek had just committed felony assault and Gant was safe. But gosh that play cemented every Twins fan’s affection for Hrbek. I figure it was his way of working through his rage at all the Gold Gloves Don freakin’ Mattingly won with his bat that Hrbek should have been awarded for his glove, if anyone in the 1980s baseball press had bothered to notice that there were teams that play home games outside of New York.
Related to the Maryland high school helmet with the logo in the stripe: A few days ago in the Ticker, there was an article to vote for the best high school helmet in New Jersey, I think. I noticed that a few of those schools also have a logo there.
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With regards to the Action Comics cartoon of Lou Gehrig having the nickname “Tarzan”:
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non-topical:
So I watched link that was linked to link (great visual presentation, BTW) and realized the Blazers are wearing red at home. I don’t think I can take Portlandia seriously any more.
What makes you think the Blazers won’t wear red at home in the near future? More than a couple teams have worn colored uniforms at home in the past few seasons, and it’s probably going to keep happening more as the NBA is desperately pushing the alt jerseys and sleeves & stuff.
The Blazers HAVE worn red at home of late. Many NBA teams are wearing their Road/Alt color unis at home to mix it up.
I stand corrected.
Then again, the feminist bookstore featured on the show is in danger of shutting down. I’m not sure what to believe in any more.
Come ON, Coach Dykes, the kids gotta look dope. You don’t expect football players to think about little things like academic programs, do you?
Bo Pelini has similar sentiments to Dykes — though his focus (love it or hate it) is on having parents along to explain where uniforms should fit into their decision-making process…
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Nebraska head coach Bo Pelini has been vocal in the past about his preference for a rule change that would allow schools to pay for parents to accompany student athletes on official visits.
Pelini, asked about recruiting during his weekly press conference, reiterated his preference for a rule change that would allow for schools to pay for parents to travel for official visits, helping recruits to make decisions. The rule change would also benefit Nebraska, which is land-locked somewhat from the historical recruiting hotbeds.
“I look at it from a parent standpoint. If a 17, 18-year old kid, is getting ready to make a life-changing decision, his parents should be with him,” Pelini said. “Because most kids, there are a small percentage of kids who are ready to weed out and make their decisions for the right reasons, but you have a large majority of kids who aren’t ready to make that decision because they don’t know what’s important yet. They should have their parents with them. They should have their parents with them to say, ‘it’s not about the uniforms here, bud.’
“This is a 40-year decision. These are the things that are important. I think sometimes that gets lost. I think it’s real important that if a kid wants to get on a plane and go take a look at a school, his parents should be sitting next to him when he gets on that plane.”
I don’t know if this has been posted already, but ESPN’s Around the Horn has uploaded a photo of panelist Frank Isola in his old Maryland soccer jersey. Kinda looks German, no?
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I can link.
But take away the Adidas Trefoil from the chest and it could also pass for a McDonald’s uniform from the ’80s.
Nice choices on the Superhero Project. I thought the use of Deathstroke was pretty brilliant. I like the Quicksilver choice, too. There was a lot of ways you could have gone with the Chargers, though. Black Lightning’s colors match up really well with San Diego’s. I always look forward to these.
Next week: Black Panther is an obvious possibility for Carolina. New Orleans is tougher for me to think of. Saint Walker (too obscure)? Saint of Killers (ditto, probably)? Black Adam? I’m sure your choice will be pretty great.
Yeah, that’s an inspired one.
I don’t watch Arrow, but I’m told Deathstroke has been link on it. Tapping into the zeitgeist, that’s you.
Haha Chance. I try to catch lightning in a bottle when I can . . . I forgot that Deathstroke has been on Arrow (I don’t watch it either). Good catch. Too bad the Broncos and Packers don’t face each other this season.
Thanks for being a fan, Jeremiah. Black Lightning would have been cool. I chose Quicksilver though as he’s gaining popularity now with the Marvel films.
You nailed it with Black Panther! . . . As for the Saints, look at the shape of the fleur-de-lis and its colors. Someone should come to mind.
Not only is the person who produced the Falcons’ travel graphic geographically challenged, he/she also can’t count. Wow.
Nor can they do advanced math. You know, like addition.
Or perhaps they just can’t draw dotted lines appropriately (they last things says London to Atlanta, but there is no flightline indicated).
A mess.
Your Public Education Dollars At Work!!
Um…not seeing how they can’t count. Help me out?
That math is fine – I think it’s a combination of poor presentation and poor wording.
Like you said, there should be a dotted arc between London and Atlanta. Maybe the numbered bullets should be at the destination, not the originating city.
The “will take three planes to London” is confusing – because it’s right above a map, it can easily be misread as “will take three flights” rather than “will occupy three aircrafts”, which makes more sense.
Well, besides the geographical error, obviously.
Agreed, confusing, although they’re only taking two flights to get to London.
The geographical error? What’s the difference, London is just “somewhere over there” after all.
I think “take three planes” means “the traveling party is so big that three planes are needed to fit everyone”, not “make two connections”. Like I said, poor wording.
That would be easier to accept if they didn’t number the three flights 1, 2 and 3 and highlight both those and the “three planes” text link.
And how many people do you think they’re taking to London? Most commercial planes that make that flight seat between 300 and 500 people. Even the smallest is about 200 – do we really think they’re flying 600 people across the pond? I suspect that they did indeed mean they are taking three flights in their round trip.
Graphic fail all around.
Three planes doesn’t sound all that unreasonable – the equipment by itself might require its own plane. You’re also talking about 40-odd guys who are huge and are accustomed to flying charter/first class. And they’re probably taking more staff and embedded media than they’d do on a typical road trip.
But either way, you’re right, terrible piece of communication all around.
Wait so they’re not taking three planes on three flight segments for a total of nine flights?
And I could easily see how they’re taking lots of people. I would imagine the team and coaches and trainers and people directly related to the team could easily fill 200 seats. Marketing folks, broadcasters, roadies, families etc could easily be a few hundred more.
Last comment:
“500 pounds of equipment (9 pallets) were shipped ahead of time by boat”
Five Hundred Pounds. On 9 Pallets. That’s 55 lbs per pallet.
BY BOAT!! BY BOAT!!!
Don’t they have 9 people in the organization that can carry 55 lbs of stuff???!!!
My wife’s suitcase weighs that much when we go on a long weekend trip!
I suppose they at least got the right continent for the destination…
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Although, the “take three planes” thing is MORE confusing with the graphic about filling a single plane, so they had to add this explanation:
EDIT: The Falcons have had three planes involved in getting team and staff to London – one that flew the team from Atlanta to Baltimore, one that flew the team from Baltimore to London and one that flew staff, sponsors and cheerleaders from Atlanta to London. We regret the lack of clarity in the graphic. We also regret and apologize for any unfinished and unedited drafts that were published.
Kinda defeats the point of an infographic if you need an extra paragraph to explain it.
It would have been easier just to remove it!
Theory: The Falcons assumed their QB would be responsible for routing the flight, and drew the map accordingly.
Can’t say I’ve ever given much thought to a best- or worst-looking World Series. The first Series I ever actually made a point of watching was in 1984. And to be honest, unless my hometown team, the Tigers, are in it, the Series is not appointment watching for me. For example, Tuesday night I watched the Red Wings, and last night I watched the Penguins.
Though, best-looking, to me, would probably be 1985 with the Cardinals and Royals. There’s just something about the Cards’ traditional red and navy blue on white against the Royals’ powder blue road unis of the time that just makes it pop for me.
Though the Astroturf was pretty bad…
I’m inclined to boost any Series when the A’s were playing. It’s a pity they haven’t played the Cardinals.
1930 and 1931. But they weren’t green and gold yet.
It’s a pity Oakland did not get to play Montreal in 1981.
That Broncos underoo shirt is a thing of beauty. Kudos.
Thanks for digging it JefDem!
QotW: Best looking Series? In living memory, 1960 and 1969.
I wish I could’ve seen more of link. 1916 would’ve been interesting to see with the Brooklyn checked uniforms. 1924 is still the Series I want to travel back in time to see.
Worst: Toss-up between 1979 and 1982. Sansabelt and trucker cap overload, garish colored unis. 2001: Sartorially, at least, the ridiculous over the sublime.
QOTW:
I’m going to focus on the modern era, but I’m thinking the current series might be the best. Both teams have traditional, yet modern looking unis with colors that are distinct from each other (I would’ve picked SF vs DET otherwise) and play in distinctive stadiums.
I had a hard time picking the worst. I wanted to pick all the early-’90s WSs since they were all played in charmless multipurpose stadiums, most of them with Astroturf. I went with 1990 – CIN vs OAK. As much as I like the A’s color scheme, I dislike the white shoes, hate the Reds’ pullover tops and both stadiums were awful. At least Sky Dome and Metrodome had some character.
Actually, no, the worst was 1994.
In Oakland’s defense, their stadium was MUCH MUCH better back in ’90, that is pre-Mt. Davis, after all.
Even though I still hate the result, Yankees/Arizona 2001 looked great. Old school vs new school, they had a nice WS logo that actually incorporated bunting, Yankee Stadium of course, and the underrated dirt runway from the mound to home plate at the BOB.
Worst: Phillies/Rays, what was that, 2008? Domes don’t look good on TV, I hate the Phillies’ candy cane home pinstripes (I can take the grays and the alts as they are, and maroon pinstripes in the modern template would look good, but no candy canes), and the Rays just look so blah in their clip art generic snooze jerseys. Bring back the green!
Well, it could have been much worse if the Rays were still in their 07 unis.
What’s so bad about the Phils red pinstripes? At least it’s got the unique-ness factor.
Personal judgment, I always thought red pinstripes looked goofy. Candy canes are also mostly white with red stripes. When I was seven years old and collecting baseball cards, I decided that the Phillies looked like candy canes.
And as an addendum, I don’t give much weight to “bonus points for uniqueness.” If it looks like crap, thus nobody does it except for the one who doesn’t realize it’s crap, it isn’t any “better” for being unique.
Meh, there are way worse uni detail offenses than red pinstripes. Not your style? That’s fine. “Looks like crap”? A bit of a stretch.
Wasn’t 2008 the WS debut of those Elmer Fudd caps?
Philadelphia’s home pinstripes have never been my favorite in either shade of red(they have that wonderful alt…wear that for every home game!), and the ’05-’07 Tampa Bay uniform is under-appreciated.
I agree those Tampa Bay uniforms were pretty nice, with the exception of the unattractive Devil Rays’ font. It always reminded me of the Lexus lettering.
Yes! Loved the 2001 WS from a visual standpoint.
I’m adding that one to my list. Arizona looked so much better back then (yes, even with the black alts)…never should have ditched that look.
Great series, and regardless of your political leanings, that was one heck of a presidential first pitch in Yankee Stadium.
SIGH. Probably the last time anything coming out of the Federal Government went straight down the middle. #PartisanshipCanBeExhausting
Bush’s pitch was goosebumps on goosebumps.
Hey Diamond Uniform Database, I love your graphics but what’s up link? You omit the Majestic logos, but add the swoosh? Somebody call Andre Ethier.
And having just read the NBA preview, props to the ESPN commenter who called the rear neckline championship tags “Willy Wonka golden tickets.”
And props to the guy calling for a T-Wolves upgrade. But they’ll be in Seattle in a few years, so no need to bother.
Really disappointed in the new referee uniforms. If you’re not going to wear black and white stripes, just go with the Mickey Gordon look.
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Glad the BuckS are now the BUCKS, but sorry to see the Kings are back to being the KingS. At least Sacramento’s owning its purple.
Oh, and Orlando…make that new gray uniform your everyday one. Best thing they’ve ever worn.
As soon as the Wolves leave Minnesota, they’ll start winning championships (see also Stars, North).
One of the trends of the (’90s? ’00s?) I am really glad to see dying is the capital last letter. I get that it “balances” the logo/wordmark/whatever, but it makes no sense. All caps, all same sized is the way to go.
Also, the NBA logo belongs on the upper chest, because it fits there. It is a vertical logo, and works perfectly with the sleeveless top. Moving it to the back seems to just push everything else down.
Last year I read about the Wolves extending their lease until 2032 in exchange for the city paying for 50% of the renovations to the Target Center. Has something changed since then?
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Didn’t see that before, so I guess someone else will be the new Sonics.
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Mike: “Here are two great photos that show how football uniforms have changed at the high school level over the last 65 years”
Me: Seems like they show how playing the game has changed over the years as well. Yikes. Seems to me like football was more like boxing with a ball, at least from the looks of that picture.
I think after that game they instituted the “No punching a guy in the face” rule. But it was only a 5-yard penalty back then.
Yeah I loved the punch (or what appeared to be a punch). Definitely a game for roughnecks back then.
QoTW:
Best: 1996 and 1999 (New York AL/Atlanta Braves)
Worst: 1997 (Florida/Cleveland Indians)
QOTW:
Best: 1989 – A’s vs. Dodgers
I must say, however, that this year’s series is pretty compelling from a uni/stadium perspective. Both teams have beautiful unis and gorgeous stadia.
Worst: I agree with ChrisH, 1997 – Marlin vs. Indians
I agree that that A’s vs. Dodgers World Series may have been the best ever from a uni standpoint. But it was 1988. 1989 was A’s vs. Giants, which was also a great-looking match-up (which I admit begrudgingly because I am not a Giants fan).
Well, I pretty much have to hate the Giants – but I could never get past those 80’s era GiantS unis. (Since we’re on the topic of captialized first and last letters…)
Doh! I think I had 1989 on the brain after watching the 30 for 30 the other day on the earthquake/battle of the bay series.
QOTW:
2004, Red Sox vs. Cardinals. Especially the colder games in Boston. Two classic uniforms, two aesthetically-pleasing (at least on TV) stadiums.
Hey, I guess 2013 works, too!
Kudos to Marlins Guy! I love it. And I’m glad Royals management didn’t go too far in trying to “make” him leave or cover up. Still, I’d try to have fun with the guy. Pay the network to green-screen (sorry, I forget if there’s a proper name for the technology) all his orange stuff to blue. Pay some stripper to come sit in his lap. Something.
Every Simpsons episode is not available for free at that link. As far as I can tell, you require a cable account (and I’m guessing the FXX network).
Comcast is already fleecing me for internet, I’m not giving them another dime.
That’s the rub, yes. I realize more people are going cable-free, so this sucks for them. Yet if you do have cable, you don’t have to pay $30 for each season’s DVD box set, like I did for a decade.
RE: Marlins guy. I’m pretty sure he was at the ALCS games as well.
Yes, he was.
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re: COTW… my Best Looking Series vote goes to 1966. I think the Dodgers and Orioles had contrasting yet classic looks, and the two stadiums made for interesting visuals. Chevez Ravine in LA and the white houses past the hedges on 36th St in Baltimore are/were perfect backdrops for day baseball.
Totally agee. There has not been a nice looking World Series since they started playing night games. Best looks have always been day time games on real grass between pre-expansion (1969) teams.
QOTW:
Best: Probably ’72. A’s yellow unis are awesome. And their use of green complimented the Reds classic sansabelt unis very nicely.
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Worst: Any recent series (since players started wearing pajama pants).
In reference to the Pistol Pete item.
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The story shows that the University of Wyoming’s trademark application predated the one from OSU by 11 days, but the trademark office gave the trademark rights to OSU…causing a court filing and agreement between the two schools.
“OSU’s Pistol Pete logo must remain orange and black, with OSU on one leg of the cowboy’s chaps. The University of Wyoming cowboy logo can only be used if it’s brown and yellow – the school’s colors – and if the university is named on the cowboy’s hat. Neither university can use the logo in the other’s colors.”
Speaking of the Pistol Pete logo, the story you linked to also has a link in it o this story about Oklahoma State filing a trademark infringement suit against New Mexico State for trademark infringement:
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Has this been discussed here at Uni Watch recently? Because if it has, I don’t remember seeing it. It seems like that little tidbit in today’s ticker about NMSU previously paying royalties to Okie State for use of the logo won’t bode well for the Aggies’ defense of the case.
Everton is playing its Europa League match right now with no sponsor logo on its jersey. I’m not sure if this has to do with playing in France or something (no beer ads allowed?), but it’s the first time I’ve seen it from Everton. The team hasn’t worn its usual Umbro wordmarks on its sleeves in any Europa matches this season, but this is the first time with no main sponsor.
Yes, no beer ads (like Everton’s Chiang shirt sponsor) are permitted in French stadiums.
Many many years ago I went to the French Grand Prix and Marlboro gave out hats with “Red and white team”.
France is very keen on its advertising laws.
I haven’t had time to look through the other comments (and actually haven’t watched a second of the World Series), but this year would have a chance to be one of the best-looking series of recent memory (especially if there are actually any striped Giants socks showing) if not for the nonsensically mismatched piping on the headspoon and sleeves/pants on the Giants road uniforms.
(Not saying it would beat Red Sox-Cardinals, etc., but it would be up there.)
Since Black Panther was so obvious, I had a couple of ideas for the Saints. I thought of Black Adam, also, but let’s try something else. Since it’s just DC and Marvel, that takes off, Simon Templar, (just as well, his logo, or a similar one, is used by the St. Kilda Saints Aussie Rules team), but I was thinking something else. There was Sir Justin, the Shining Knight, but also there’s the Marvel character, the Black Knight, which would work.
Also, DC has a character named Fleur-de-Lis:
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It’s a very high profile character that I used for the Saints. As I mentioned to Jeremiah above, just look at the shape of the fleur-de-lis and its colors… But your Marvel guess is somewhat of a hint.
Theres also the Batman family character Azrael, who used to have fleur-de-lis as part of his uniform.
A link to Wyoming’s version of the logo
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A link to OSU’s version of the logo
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QOTW: Among my favorites that haven’t been mentioned yet are:
1983 – The Baltimore Orioles’ white-paneled Smiling Bird cap versus the Philadelphia Phillies’ classic zipper front burgundy pinstripe set with the rounded “P” logo? Why, yes, thank you very much!
1986 – The Red Sox looked great, both home and away (I have a soft spot for their understated road grays of that era). And count me as a fan of the Mets’ racing stripe look. One of the better-looking pullover jerseys, in my opinion. And I loved the aesthetics of both stadiums, with Fenway obviously being the old classic and Shea representing the best of the ’60s-era cookie cutter designs. Plus, natural grass fields in both.
1993 – The stadiums and artificial turf knock this one down a peg, but both the Toronto Blue Jays and Philadelphia Phillies’ uniforms were things of beauty. And I’m not saying the Phillies’ wavy mullets were good, but they did provide visual interest. You couldn’t look away.
Worst: 2003. The Yankees looked like the Yankees should, but even they couldn’t save the aesthetic disaster of the Florida Marlins in those black jerseys with the gigantic silver script wordmark on the front with the too-thick three-layer black-teal-and-white outline. Also, it’s a crime against the sport of baseball that two World Series were played in
Joe RobbiePro PlayerDolphinsLand SharkSun Life Stadium.Boston’s road grays were five steps below understated. The only thing more drab than those were the 1912 numberless throwbacks they wore two years ago.
I wasn’t a fan, either. What prevented them from using the McAuliffe font on the navy numerals?
“What prevented them from using the McAuliffe font on the navy numerals?”
History, maybe? The 1986 look was essentially a throw-back to the link road uniforms.
But hey! The red stirrups really popped with those unis!
I’ll give you that much.
Thanks, Jim. Here’s a little photographic evidence to back me up:
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1983: Philadelphia playing against Chicago AL would have been a sight to behold.
1986: I would have liked to have seen a Houston/California Series.
“1986: I would have liked to have seen a Houston/California Series.”
You and me both! As an Angels fan, I still have painful memories of Dave Henderson’s home run to deny the Halos their first-ever trip to the Fall Classic. And it’s a shame that Houston’s Tequilia Sunrise jerseys never saw action in the World Series.
QOTW:
From before my time, but 1968 Tigers – Cardinals was a gorgeous series. Same with 1965 Dodgers – Twins.
The best ones I remember watching:
Current Royals – Giants
1999 and 96 Braves-Yankees
1990 Reds – A’s
1992 Braves – Blue Jays
1977 and 78 Yankees – Dodgers
I should add a disclaimer that the pajama pants drop the otherwise very nice Royals-Giants matchup below all mentioned above.
Hey I’m not sure what guidelines need to be adhered to for your NFL comic tshirts, but cat woman obviously works well with the Panthers, and what about Boondock Saints for New Orleans?
Glad you asked Jared. The guidelines I created for myself were to stick to heroes or villains from either the Marvel or DC universe. I did my best to stick with well-known characters from either films, TV shows or video games so that each character could be recognizable to more people than just your typical comic book fan (of which I have been for over 30 years). I did not use any female characters (don’t hate me).
Here’s a recap of what I have posted on UniWatch so far with dates so you can look back in the archives.
Week 1: nothing.
Week 2-Thu 9/11: Steelers (IRONMAN) vs Ravens (ROBIN)
Week 3-Thu 9/18: Buccaneers (GHOST RIDER) vs Falcons (FALCON)
Week 4-Thu 9/25: Giants (SUPERMAN) vs Redskins (HULK)
Week 5-Thu 10/2: Vikings (THOR) vs Packers (GREEN ARROW)
Week 6-Thu 10/9: Colts (PROF. X) vs Texans (SPIDER-MAN)
Week 7-Thu 10/16: Jets (GREEN LANTERN) vs Patriots (CAPTAIN AMERICA)
Week 8-Thu 10/23: Chargers (QUICKSILVER) vs Broncos (DEATHSTROKE)
Just a note about the UEFA Europa league:
Everton wearing blank jerseys (sans Chang Beer sponsorship) in Lille today due to French ban.
Yellowjacket is the Marvel character????
Let me try that again. Yellowjacket is the Marvel character for the Saints????
Nope. A good guess though. It’s not a Marvel character…Not sure how many more hints I can hand out without giving it away.
QotW-
Would liked to have seen: 1979- Orioles vs. Pirates
World Series I saw: 1993- Blue Jays vs. Phillies
FrankenSeries: Uniforms- 1919 White Sox vs. 1975 Reds
Stadium- Fenway Park
Crowd- Cubs & Angels Fans
FWIW, Chris Douglas-Roberts’ link – they’re basically what was considered “long” in 1990.
Still, he might be the only NBA player whose NOB is longer than his shorts.
John Stockton would consider those long pants.
Good responses, as per usual. I’m surprised more people didn’t pick any of the Dodgers-Yankees Series from 1947-1955. Can’t go wrong there.
Of the modern era, 1996 and 1999 were good, as was A’s-Dodgers in 1988. We’ve been blessed the last six years, as each World Series had two good-looking teams in it and some pretty nice ballparks, too.
Best uniforms in their entire World Series history against each other? Red Sox vs. Cardinals.
Imagine if the Penguins went with these theoretical link if there hadn’t been a lockout.
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I would have to vote for the World Series that almost happened in 2003. Cubs vs. Red Sox.
Wrigley Field & Fenway Park. Ivy and the monster. Two great baseball cities with classic uniforms. I would vote for it to go seven games just for visuals.
And this is from a Detroit fan who hates anything Chicago sports and wants to kick that bullpen cop in the knee.
Was the ’86 Red Sox road jersey a
BO.STON or a BOS.TON?
Sorry to wait until now to try again for the Saints, but based on the hints, I’m going to guess at two. Batman or Nightwing.