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Uni Watch

Monday Morning Uni Watch

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Very interesting developments at yesterday’s Jags/Cowboys game in London, as both teams adopted the British custom of wearing poppies for Remembrance Sunday — not just on their helmets, but also on their jerseys (which, as you can see in that last shot, created a bit of a clusterfuck for Jacksonville — good thing they don’t wear captaincy patches). Here’s some background on the poppy initiative from the Cowboys’ website.

Now, I’m all in favor of being a gracious guest and respecting your host’s customs, but I’m rather surprised the league went this route. I thought the NFL games in London were about imprinting our culture on the Brits, not the other way around. I also thought G.I. Joevember was about rough-and-ready militarism, not namby-pamby symbols of peace. What, all of a sudden camouflage isn’t good enough?! Not only that, but the poppy-emblazoned jerseys are being auctioned off to benefit a British military charity — what kind of message does that send to American service personnel? And it’s particularly interesting that the Cowboys and Jags are the two teams that ended up going poppy-clad — isn’t observing another country’s holiday precisely the kind of squishy multi-culturalism and sovereignty-sapping one-world-order-ism that should have people in Dallas and northern Florida reaching for their stash of ammo (which they keep, of course, right behind their stash of gold coins)? Like, is this the NFL or the United fucking Nations?

Fortunately, there were plenty of teams yesterday playing on American soil and honoring the military-sports industrial complex troops by wearing good ol’ camouflage. I won’t show all of them here because there was nothing new, but you know the drill: camo gloves, towels, and captaincy patches, military branch helmet decals, and so on. It’s worth noting, however, that Cardinals return man Ted Ginn Jr. became the latest player to wear camouflage tights. Stick your pansy-ass UK poppy in that!

In other developments from around the league yesterday:

• In that Cowboys/Jags game, remnants of the Falcons’ logo were visible in one of the end zones.

• The Saints wore mono-black.

• The Chiefs/Bills game in Buffalo, besides being a beautiful uniform matchup, reminded me of the old pre-wacky Pro Bowls: blue jerseys against red pants. Very nice.

• Dolphins cornerback Cortland Finnegan removed his shoe on the sideline, revealing a surprising sock design.

• Giants safety Stevie Brown was wearing a mouthguard with the U. of Michigan logo.

• A clown in the crowd at the Superdome was wearing a Saints captaincy patch with four stars.

• It’s a little hard to see, but Aaron Rodgers’ G.I. Joevember sideline ski cap had a little tag with his name and number, plus a little version of the team’s “Holstein Heisman” logo.

• NBC color analyst Cris Collinsworth, who was working the Packers/Bears game last night, wore a Rab jacket. But someone must have flipped out over the visible logo, because it was later taped over.

• Fun fact: Not a single home team wore white yesterday.

(My thanks to all contributors, including Mike Johnson, Matt Larsen, Chris Perrenot, Jerry Peterson, Jeff Shirley, and of course Phil.)

• • • • •

PermaRec double-dip: Two new PermaRec entries to tell you about. First up: When a California woman purchased a box of old letters and photos at a flea market (including the ones shown at right), she found herself going down an intriguing rabbit hole of family history. Get the full scoop over on Permanent Record.

Also: The Seattle Museum of Art recently acquired a needlework piece created nearly 200 years ago by a 10-year-old “liberated African” named Charlotte Turner. But who was Charlotte Turner, and what happened to her? Learn more in this PermaRec post.

• • • • •

Baseball News: Here’s our first look at the Twins’ new home jersey. Not bad, but that wordmark feels soooooo dated. ”¦ Who’s that on a motorcycle at County Stadium? None other than Robin Yount (from Douglas Ford). … Also from Douglas: Someone dressed up as an Expos robot for Halloween. “So bad, it’s good!” he says. … Oooh, check out this 1945 World Series bat-shaped fountain pen/pencil set (from Denver Gregg).

NFL News: Check out the logo on this Colts cap. Never seen that before. … In case you haven’t heard, there’s an odd controversy about an old jersey that was supposedly game-worn by former Raiders defensive lineman and current TV analyst Howie Long. The jersey apparently has “metal pebbles” sewn into the numbers, although Long says this is all news to him. ”¦ You can get this official Wilson football radio for a song (thanks, Brinke). ”¦ The NFL’s promo for this Thursday’s Bills/Dolphins game has soooo many uni errors. “You’d expect better from a commercial sponsored by the NFL,” says Jeff Shirley. ”¦ I suspect that the NFL’s one-helmet rule is the only thing keeping the Seahawks from wearing this. Someone was selling that on eBay (from David Firestone). ”¦ This is pretty awesome: The Wall Street Journal did a team-by-team breakdown of the jerseys being worn by fans at yesterday’s Cowboys/Jags game in London, revealing that UK fans are stuck in the 1980s (big thanks to Tom Adjemian.

College Football News: Colorado State RB Jasen Oden Jr. has a comma on his JrOB. Interestingly, they don’t include the comma on his roster page (from Michael Putlack). … Several readers have asked me about the mini-trend of players wearing baggy-sleeved base layers. I confess that I’m baffled by this one — I thought everyone was obsessed with skintight attire. Anyone know more? ”¦ This is odd: a Virginia Tech T-shirt with the outline of the state of Vermont. “I think the ‘VT’ initials confused somebody,” says Marc Burgess. ”¦ LSU’s live tiger mascot has refused to travel to the stadium this season. Maybe he’s smart enough to realize what his handlers don’t — that a live tiger never belonged at a football game in the first place.

Hockey News: This video from the Sharks’ first game in 1991 mentions that Neil Wilkinson’s jersey was missing, so he had to wear No. 45, instead of his usual No. 5 (from Jay Danbom). ”¦ This is interesting: The Senators are actively encouraging a more soccer-style crowd culture at their arena.

NBA News: Good point by Paul Lee, who notes that last season’s NBA Noche Latina jerseys didn’t have the NBA logo on the front. Did we even say anything about that at the time? It now looks like a warm-up for the logo’s front-to-back move this season. … The Pistons wore their sleeved “Motor City” jerseys last night.

Soccer News: “Since this was Remembrance Sunday in the UK and this year marked the 100th anniversary of the start of World War I, there were poppies on soccer jerseys as always, but with special markings like this and this and this,” says Yusuke Toyoda. “Managers wore the more traditional pins, while Millwall went camo and James McClean of Wigan explained his decision to not wear the poppy.” ”¦ Also from Yusuke: “A five-year-old Queens Park Rangers fan took an errant shot to the face from Manchester City’s Yaya Touré and received signed jerseys from both teams for her trouble.” ”¦ One more from Yusuke: “Diego Costa of Chelsea ripped his shirt attempting a bicycle kick and ended changing to (and scoring in) a long-sleeved shirt.”

Grab Bag: Bernard Hopkins had an unusual color scheme on his gloves, trunks, and shoes for Saturday night’s light heavyweight title unification bout against Sergey Kovalev. ”¦ “AFL’s Brisbane Lions (Aussie Rules football) released their 2015 clash strip with two elements that are a nod to the Fitzroy Lions (one of the two clubs that merged years ago to form the current club),” says Leo Strawn Jr. “One of those elements is the Fitzroy lion; the other is the homage to the Fitzroy lace-up guernseys worn well over 100 years ago.” ”¦ “Really nice rugby union uni matchup over the weekend, as England played New Zealand — a classic white-vs.-black matchup,” says Eric Bangeman. “Of interest is the change of the New Zealand logo and numbers from white to gray.” ”¦ Another rugby item from Eric: “Ireland wore their brand-new alternate kit with the horrid ‘3’ logo on the front against South Africa.” ”¦ Good piece on a type font used in the Star Wars series (thanks, Brinke).

• • • • •

What Paul did last night: Last night Phil and I were among 16 people who gathered at the Lakeside ice facility in Prospect Park and took part in first organized curling activities in New York City since the 1880s. It was the first session of a five-week clinic that will be a mix of instruction and competition.

There were a few growing pains, both for the players and the instructors, but for the most part it all went really well. Rather amazingly, they even provided us with beer afterward, “because that’s an integral part of curling” — a nice touch that made for a very sociable postgame scene.

Unfortunately, Phil and I were so busy participating that we didn’t take any photos, but a reporter from a local NYC-centric website was on hand, and she told me her story should be posted at some point today, so I’ll provide a link to it tomorrow.

 
  
 
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Comments (127)

    I’m guessing the NFL is designating either (a.) smaller-market teams, or (b.) teams with lackluster attendance as the “home” teams for London games. (This has probably been reported here and/or elsewhere but if so I either haven’t seen it or don’t remember.)

    You don’t want to take away a home game from the Cowboys. Imagine trying to explain to Cowboy season ticket holders that one of the season’s home games was going to be in London this year. There would be rioting.

    I read/heard that the NFL will make it mandatory each team does a London game in the near future.

    I remember hearing something, maybe back towards the beginning of the season saying that if a team wanted to host the Super Bowl, said team would have to forfeit a home game to London. Don’t know how true that is, but that’s what I hear.

    Owner of Jaguars is owner of Fullham (recently relegated EPL team) so he has a contract to be the home team in London for a number of years with his link to both styles of football

    Re: Baggy undershirts. As a player (high school and college), wearing a long-sleeve tee as a base layer was always more comfortable than the tight compression ones. If I was going to wear sleeves I’d always go with either a plain long-sleeve tee or even a hoodie in practice. My guess is it’s mostly a comfort thing.

    I’d call the Twins jersey script on the 2015 jerseys “drab,” not “dated.” For one thing, the script in its current form dates from 2010, that long-ago time when Barack Obama was president, the United States had troops in Iraq, and the Giants won the World Series. The 2010 script was a tweak that eliminated the the only truly “dated” elements of the script, the blocky serifs on the “s.”

    For me, it’s mainly about the color. The script pops in red and that gives it just enough whimsy that it humanizes the look of the thing. In dark navy, though, the script is all weight and heft and seriousness. It’s like the Rays script, but more so, rendered in navy. Drab drab drab.

    The T and the underscore? Those are the least of-their-time computer-aided-looking elements of the wordmark. The T is all about continuity with the 1961 wordmark. The squared off serifs of the W, I, and N, the oblique angles of those letters where the verticals bend to meet, the perfect circle of the dot in the I – those are the parts that scream 1980s.

    Not digging the amount of white space between the “w” and the “i” (as shown by Joe Mauer in the photo). And when did Minnesota Kasota Gold become a thing???

    I’m not a Twins fan, and probably in the minority on this, but I like the wordmark. I think it may have passed the dated stage and become iconic, or at least retro/nostalgic, even with its tweaks.

    Something I’ve never really thought about, but what separates dated from retro? Is there an understood amount of time, like 10 years=dated, 25+=retro, or is it just a matter of perception?

    Retro = old and you like it.
    Dated = old and you don’t like it.

    At least those are my deffinitions.

    The wordmark is pretty good, but as Arrr said, it looked better in red. In blue…I’ll repeat what I read elsewhere on the web: they need to bring back the red cap with the blue bill to go with that.

    Which would be yet another example of aping the Nats, so they’ll probably do it sooner than later.

    If something shows obvious signs of the era in which it was designed, and you think it looks pretty anyway, then it’s “classic.” If something shows obvious signs of the era in which it was designed, and you think it looks ugly for any reason, it’s “dated.”

    I’d say that “retro” as distinct from “classic” describes something that is not actually from a time but that is designed to appear to be so, or something that is actually from a time but that today is used ironically.

    I’m sure Mr. Webster wouldn’t approve, but by retro, I meant from a certain period, but has fallen out of style only to become stylish again, perhaps permanently…at which point it would become classic.

    There’s not much they can do with the wordmark to make it look better than mediocre. Unfortunately, MLB is probably going to be stuck with it–if not forever, then at least recurringly. The Twins won both their Series championships with that wordmark, so merely on the strength of that, a large number of fans will never tire of looking at it, and will never want to see it go away for good.

    Overall I think it’s a downgrade. The pinstriped version was a nice look. This one reminds me of the Marlins’ current whites.

    The gold trim reminds me of printing that’s out of registration. The whole thing just looks incomplete, which is not helped by the lack of front numbers. Without the pinstripes and with the trim being so tiny, there’s just so much vacant space. It just looks like a dress shirt with a logo on it, not a baseball jersey.Trim around the neck and down the placket would have tied it in with the blue jerseys and filled some of the dead space, making it look like it belongs as part of the set.

    I’m also put off by the name and number on the back being the same color. The Twins have made a habit of making them the opposite from each other for nearly 30 years and that will take some real getting used to.

    I know this website is all about detail and all that when it comes to uniforms, but calling out every typo etc in the comments is getting ridiculous.

    Paul has said more than once that he appreciates the corrections. As long as they’re not presented in a “you missed this, you idiot” manner (and they’re usually not), it’s OK.

    Paul already got on this, but a lot of my comments are grammar stuff, so I feel the need to comment. But as a writer, I want to know when I’ve messed something up or missed something. I never saw Paul asking for it, but I assumed as a writer (or media professional, as he termed it), he wants his text to be as perfect as possible and doesn’t mind the help.

    The corrections I point out (and I assume others) are done out of nothing but respect, and I assume Paul takes them as such.

    Well, everything the Twins have done to their unis in the last five years have screamed “Nationals,” so this is nothing new. The one good thing that I can imagine saying about the 2015 Twins home jersey is that it handles the gold elements better than the 2005 Nationals jerseys.

    Change the gold to white and maybe it can distinguish it a little bit more. With red/white/blue stripes it might look more like the 70s Twins design.

    It’s been officially released now, and no – they’re not changing their other unis (road grays, alternate blues, and throwback pins).

    Stupider even than that, Chance. This comes days after the Twins announced fan favorite Paul Molitor as Gardy’s successor. Way to keep the focus on your shiny new manager and the continuity he represents with the team’s two prior managers dating to 1986. The whole Twins offseason is being handled with the professionalism and deliberation of the Calvin Griffith era.

    I’m almost not willing to call it “gold.” It’s way too dark and warm. It’s mustard. And it’s supposed to call to mind the tan limestone of Target Field. Which is a perfectly attractive stadium element and a perfectly reasonable thing for the team to make part of its visual identity. But it’s not gold. I’m pretty sure the Yankees are the only team with an actual gold-plated backstop behind homeplate.

    I like how the Twins describe “a new alternate cap to be worn with this uniform.” If you have a “primary” home uniform as the Twins define the new uni, and you have a cap that is intended to be worn at all times with that home uniform, then the cap is not an “alternate” cap. It’s your home cap.

    It just seems weird to me that the Twins would do this to their home uniforms without also bringing the mustard into their road uniform, alternates, or logos. If your goal is to “evolve” your brand, as the Twins claim, then this seems like something less than a half-measure.

    The back of that Cowboys helmet with the poppy got me thinking…

    I know the Cowboys have used Dymo tape for a long time back there, but it seems to stay in the same place, regardless of what bumper is at the back of the helmet. So in that photo at the top of today’s article, you can see the uni number, first initial and surname of the punter Chris Jones (aside – it also looks like he’s has his white center stripe re-applied to finish just above his Dymo tape).

    In link of the poppy helmet from Tyrone Crawford shows his number obscured, but his surname still visible.

    In link of Romo’s helmet from some time in 2012 (note the Sandy Hook memorial) almost none of the tape is visible because of the bumper.

    I know this is going back some now, but Emmitt Smith had link Dymo tape clear of the bumper.

    I’m sure this is significant, but i’ll be damned if I know why.

    I’m not sure if I’ve seen this addressed on UniWatch, but the VFW has had a long association (1922) with the poppy and I’ve bought a poppy or two at one of their public sales locations in the past. That’s one of the reasons I’m surprised that it’s not a bigger symbol in the US. Here’s more info: link

    Some significant aspects of the traditional VFW poppy:

    1. Its not just a campaign but a project by and for veterans. Wounded men and women assembled the paper flowers (for which they are also paid) and all proceeds from the sale thereof benefit them directly.

    2. Its a form of catharsis and healing as the simple manual task can be a form of therapy for wounded and aged men and women.

    3. Most important of all, it puts the emphasis on the person not the institution. The veteran is in the spotlight not the military. In joining the service, the soldier gives up some of his or her individuality for the sake of the nation. In showing appreciation via a poppy, the nation restores some of that individuality and humanity back towards to the veteran.

    re: Ireland rugby

    Sponsors on international rugby jerseys make me really sad.

    I know that rugby doesn’t bring in quite the money that association football does, so they can’t be picky about revenue streams. And I sort of get the more “modern” materials and the kit redesign cycle are a necessary evil. But I really hate seeing sponsor logos on what should be clean, iconic jerseys.

    We get clean ones thankfully for the World Cup every four years where ads are specifically prohibited. Aside from that France is the only major rugby nation (possibly only at all) to never wear jersey ads. It seems strange that France of all nations would be the outlier seeing as French club sides have some of the most polluted jerseys in the world. I would genuinely love to know why they’ve remained pure while everyone else, including the much older and tradition steeped rugby cultures, have simply rolled over.

    Who’s that on a motorcycle at County Stadium? None other than Robin Yount

    Ah, the 1982 post-Series rally. I was there, like just about everybody who currently lives in Milwaukee (even those who weren’t born at the time). link

    I’m guessing the Twins folks consulted the Padres about taking as much of their personality out of their unis as possible.

    Couldn’t disagree more with Paul on the NFL participating in the remembrance day observance. It is not coincidental that UK’s remembrance day and US Veterans day are one and the same (11/11), that both were adopted to remember the sacrifice of millions of UK and American service members in WWI, which concluded 11/11/18, and have since been expanded to remember the sacrifices, which UK and US forces made in WWII to preserve a world in which things like sports uniform-fetish websites can exist.

    Definitely sarcastic, though I’m sure a lot of people do think Dallas is a bastion of right wing furor. While Texas as a whole is very conservative and the Dallas suburbs are as well, the actual city of Dallas is very blue.

    But you see the difference in how the day is observed in sports. Remembrance Day takes a more somber view that focuses on the loss of lives, with very little martial imagery, while NFL’s “Salute to Service” seems to put more focus on the fighting and the military missions, to the point where it comes off as a celebration of the military.

    Yup, subtle and almost unnoticeable, but I find the latter a little disturbing.

    Also, if those were from Pyongyang, my initial reaction would be “creepy”.

    I do agree that our nation’s take is much more martial than the UKs. However, it is notable that even the UK’s observances do come in for criticism as “too nationalistic.” This years display of ceramic poppies at the Tower of London, which was quite beautiful, received criticism in the Guardian as an “inward looking” right wing memorial. I suppose it is a matter of opinion and how much flag waving you are accustomed too.

    Thank you. I feel so uncomfortable at sporting events where we go all North Korea and Russia with our military masturbation. Part of my discomfort is that I feel like I’m the only one in the stadium that feels that way. It’s as if no amount of patriotic fervor is too much.

    “Why do you hate America?”

    We’ve talked about this before, I’m pretty sure, but the North Koreanization of our public culture around the military extends link, who have started to link in ways that would make the link blush with shame.

    When our country had a healthier relationship with our military, the generals seemed to have link. It’s sad.

    Not meant as a direct reply to anyone, but the muddling of Veterans Day and Memorial Day is one of my larger pet peeves.

    Plus, Fourth of July and 9/11 are de facto “Yay, America and Her Armed Forces” days, too.

    FWIW, from the link – the answer to the second question is interesting and explains the differing approaches to Remembrance Day/Veterans Day:

    Q. What is the difference between Veterans Day and Memorial Day?

    A. Many people confuse Memorial Day and Veterans Day. Memorial Day is a day for remembering and honoring military personnel who died in the service of their country, particularly those who died in battle or as a result of wounds sustained in battle. While those who died are also remembered, Veterans Day is the day set aside to thank and honor ALL those who served honorably in the military – in wartime or peacetime. In fact, Veterans Day is largely intended to thank LIVING veterans for their service, to acknowledge that their contributions to our national security are appreciated, and to underscore the fact that all those who served – not only those who died – have sacrificed and done their duty.

    Q. Why are red poppies worn on Veterans Day, and where can I obtain them?

    A. The wearing of poppies in honor of America’s war dead is traditionally done on Memorial Day, not Veterans Day. (emphasis mine) The practice of wearing of poppies takes its origin from the poem In Flanders Fields, written in 1915 by John McCrae. For information on how to obtain poppies for use on Memorial Day, contact a veterans service organization, such as the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States (VFW) or The American Legion, as a number of veterans organizations distribute poppies annually on Memorial Day. You can find veterans groups in the Veterans Service Organization link on VA’s Veterans Day web page. Veterans groups in your area can be found in your local phone book. Look in the yellow pages under “Veterans and Military Organizations” or a similar heading.

    Also Armed Forces Day. Neither Memorial Day nor Veterans Day is a day for honoring those currently serving.

    The Patriots jersey was the most popular in London yesterday? They may be stuck in the 1980s, but apparently they’ve gotten over the late 1700s.

    Maybe they like the Pats because they’re tired of Old England.

    Anyway, the very unscientific findings lead me to believe that Brits think of the NFL as some sort of 80s nostalgia. Basically, American football was something they watched on TV as kids and now reaching back to reconnect to their childhood, like updated versions of Transformers or ALF.

    And yet the Transformers movies have milked that nostalgia cow to the tune of almost $4 billion in ticket sales. So even if that’s what’s fueling the NFL interest, it may be enough for the league to make the whole experiment work.

    That is my favorite hat! I struggled to find one for years and have been dying to find one again, sadly it did not make the Reebok-Nike transition.

    That was actually the Pats’ official alternate logo for a few years.

    link, according to Chris Creamer’s site. But I believe it was created for and used almost exclusively on merchandise. Including the odd on-field cap.

    I have a Bengals hat from that line… the logo looks like the current striped B, only taller and more angular. Surprised that nobody sued.

    Speaking of the Jags’ end zone in London, it appears that their logo as painted was missing its blue tongue.

    As I posted last Friday about this, Long started out on a Raider team with people like Alzado and Ted Hendricks on it. Hendricks was especially notorious for having wrapping on his arms and hands which was about the consistency of a cast. And Hendricks was also rumored to have ‘something extra’ in there as well. Hendricks was probably doing that back in his days with the Colts and the season he spent with the Packers.

    I could just be imagining things, but I swore yesterday that backup QB Brock Osweiler had a Pat Tillman memorial decal on his helmet whereas everyone else on the Broncos had a branch of the military decal. Anyone know? I mean, it would make sense, and be a hell of a lot more personal.

    I saw that too. Osweiler went to ASU (Tillman’s alma mater), so I’m guessing that was the connection.

    As for the other armed forces decals, I’m sure there was some relevance to which decal each player had, but I didn’t do any research to learn more.

    Growing up in Vermont, I always got excited when I would first see logos/references to VT on ESPN – “Oh man! They’re going to talk about Vermont for some reason!”. Of course, that never ended up happening, and I eventually realized that more people probably associate “VT” with Virginia Tech than they do “Vermont”. Oh well.

    I’m a Tech grad and a funny thing happened when I was out in San Francisco last year – I had on a ‘VT’ pullover, and some girl came up and said ‘VERMONT’ to me very enthusiastically. I’m almost certain she was not a sports fan, though.

    The Jags do where Captain patches. I know this cause the TV always show Chad Henne sitting on the bench and he is a Captain. I have always wondered how many NFL captains are sitting on the bench. I cant find a photo of him in London though…yet.

    Not necessarily uni related right now, but will probably lead to “one game” uniforms in the future. Nebraska and Wisconsin, two of the biggest Adidas schools, now playing for the Freedom Trophy. link

    Paul, are there other teams you’re aware of that are doing uniform updates/tweaks, etc. this off season? Thank you.

    Because I’m a *huge* nitpicker and also a fan of fountain pens, just wanted to let you know that the pen in the pen-and-pencil set is not a fountain pen but a dip pen, or a nib pen. A fountain pen is one with its own ink supply held inside.

    I’m a terrible person. I know.

    baggy is just comfortable for undershirts, i wear them under my basketball practice jersey. skintight is sometimes constricting. its just personal preference i think

    The poppies may not be an american symbol, but with it being remembrance sunday, it makes perfect sense to display some respect for everyone who lost their lives at war.

    Anyone have a clue what this might be? I haven’t ever seen any indication that the A’s wore this design anywhere…

    link?

    I showed that to A’s equipment manager Steve Vucinich. He confirmed that they never wore that design. Also said the autograph looked fake.

    This mishmash logo appears at the start of the Twins video announcing the new home uniform:

    link

    Probably doesn’t presage anything, especially give the mismatched blue. Still, the current logo has a gray drop shadow, so simply swapping the red and blue in the wordmark and switching the drop shadow to mustard would seem an obvious move to go along with the new uni design.

    not sure if someone already mentioned this, but some of the tight- fitting compression shirts are slippery. Skill players probably wear looser shirts so the ball might not slip. Also, I think loose shirts are more comfortable and easier to breathe in.

    “took part in first organized curling activities in New York City since the 1880s”

    thought you might appreciate this pic of curling in Central Park from a little bit earlier.

    link

    I’m a college football player who sports the baggy sleeved undershirt look. The best explanation I could give as to why some of us do it is that while the overall belief is that players desire tighter uniforms that hardly cover the shoulder pads, I do not believe this is true with some players, myself included. I think the companies who make the jerseys are just in a pissing contest to see who can make the tightest and lightest jersey using the least amount of fabric. This is not my preference at all and I like the loose under sleeves for cold weather games because I feel they do a batter job of keeping warmth than an incredibly thin tight under sleeve.

    Paul – I beg of you to please rip into the Blackhawks in tomorrow’s post. The t-shirt that the team tweeted out this afternoon is not only hideous, but it is insulting on so many levels. Amazing how it has the ability to offend multiple groups at once. I’m embarrassed as a life long fan.

    The Eagles are finally wearing their green jerseys. Is it me or do they look like they do not quite match the helmets?

    Maybe slightly green-ier – i.e. a slightly lighter shade than last year? Probably just imagining it.

    Not sure if anyone else has mentioned this, but I wish MLB would clue in on the poppy idea, it would make a whole lot more sense for the Blue Jays to wear a poppy crest on their jersey than wearling military garb, on US Memorial Day (if they have to do something) .

    The green jerseys don’t match the helmets and to add just look horrible. Time to tell Jeffrey Lurie’s ex wife to suck it up and break out the Kelly green.

    That lime green Seahawks helmet would be incredible if it was just plain green like their plain silver helmets they wore in 1976.

    Of course, what would they do for the QB helmet sticker!?!?!?!?

    I get the satire, but it does come off as typical NYC Liberal to us folks in flyover cities. Guess we have to learn to take it better! I mean, the military purpose is to fight, but they do work to keep the peace more than anything. Plus our British brothers are as strong of a Military ally as we have, even over Canada (Australia is a close #2).

    Regardless, a strong military is what makes the US the world power. So our observing it, although sometimes a little much, is a showing that we still are that.

    More subtlety would be nice though. Speak soft but carry a big stick is a great motto!

    it does come off as typical NYC Liberal to us folks in flyover cities.

    Yeah, I hate flyover country. That’s why I just got back from my umpteenth vacation in Wisconsin.

    a strong military is what makes the US the world power.

    This is what’s known as a tautology, because you basically said the same thing twice: “Being big and strong is what makes us big and strong.” The problem with this is twofold: (1) Saying the same thing twice is not an argument for anything. (2) You’re working on the premise that being big and strong is the best of all possible states of being. But it’s not. Plenty of countries are neither big nor strong (New Zealand immediately comes to mind) yet are perfectly functional, have good standards of living, etc. The notion that being a “world power” is a self-justifying end in itself is just that — a notion.

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