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When I was six years old, I reached into a box of corn flakes and pulled out this giveaway card of 49ers running back Ken Willard. At that moment I became a Niners fan, and I’ve been one ever since.
Since then the 49ers and I have had some ups (all those Super Bowls in the ’80s and ’90s were nice) and some downs (people forget that the Niners went 2-14 two years in a row in the late ’70s), but there’s always been one thing I could count on: My team looked good out there, at least from a uniform standpoint. This isn’t to say their uniforms were perfect — the pants striping was way too wide during the Montana era, I could have lived without all the black trim that was worn from 1996 through 2007, and the current sleeve stripes are a continuing embarrassment. But the red/gold color scheme has always been a winner, the helmet logo has proven to be extremely durable, and the team’s overall look has been solid.
Until now.
The Niners’ new alternate uniform, which was unveiled last night, is a disaster on almost every conceivable level. The best thing I can say about it is that it’ll be worn for only two games. As for the worst things I can say about it, you can get my full take in this ESPN column.
ESPN update: My latest ESPN column (aside from today’s piece about the Niners) has five key takeaways from the NBA’s new sock deal with Stance. Check it out here.
Culinary Corner: Tomorrow is the first Saturday of May, which means it’s time for the Kentucky Derby. And that means I’ll be making the dish I always make for the Derby: a derby pie.
Technically speaking, you’re not supposed to use the term “derby pie,” because that’s a registered trademark of some annoying people in Kentucky who insist that they own the name and love to send their lawyers after anyone who thinks otherwise. (They even sued their own chocolate chip supplier, Nestlé, for printing a “Tollhouse Derby Pie” recipe on the chip package.) So you’ll often see wink-wink names like Triple Crown pie, race day pie, winner’s circle pie, and so on. But screw all of that — derby pie belongs to the people. It’s also really easy to make. Here’s how to do it:
If you know how to make pie crust, make some dough and position it in a 9-inch pie pan; if you don’t know how or just can’t be bothered, get yourself a frozen 9-inch pie shell.
Set your oven to 350 degrees. While it’s heating up, get a big mixing bowl and beat together four eggs, a cup of light corn syrup, 3/4 cup of light brown sugar. and 1/3 cup of melted butter. Then add 3 tablespoons of decent bourbon (or maybe a smidge more than that, if you’re so inclined), a tablespoon of vanilla extract, a tablespoon of flour, 6 ounces of chocolate chips, and a cup of chopped walnuts.
Mix all of that together, pour it into the pie dough or frozen shell, and pop it into the oven for an hour. It’ll puff up high like a soufflé, but it’ll settle back down while it cools, which you should allow it to do for an hour or so.
It’s standard to serve each slice with a dollop of whipped cream, although I frankly think that’s unnecessary — the pie is rich enough on its own. Less traditional and even less necessary, but nonetheless delicious: this bourbon sauce, which is pretty much the bomb.
Trust me, there won’t be any leftovers.
Fight-night orphans seek home: Uni Watch reader Marty Buccafusco (who you may remember from this excellent DIY project) and I would both like to watch the Mayweather-Pacquiao fight tomorrow night, plus I have an out-of-town houseguest this weekend who’d also like to see it. But sports bars in NYC are charging at least $45 to see the bout, and in some cases a lot more, which is nuts, especially since the word I’m hearing is that most of these bars will likely be so packed as to be uncomfortable. (Plus sports bars are, you know, sports bars.) The three of us could order the fight at home, split the $100 cost three ways, and save money, but then it’d just be the three of us, without any of the social vibe that normally accompanies a big event.
So I’m taking an admittedly unusual step: If you’re hosting a fight-night party in NYC (preferably in Brooklyn, but we’d consider other parts of the city as well), could the three of us come over? We’ll bring beer and snacks, and of course we’ll gladly pay our fair share of the pay-per-view fee. I can promise that at least one of us is pretty boxing-knowledgeable, another one of us has actually written and recorded a song called “Muhammad Ali,” and all three of us are well-behaved. Basically, we’d just like to see the fight in the company of other fight fans without getting ripped off or being packed in like sardines at some godawful sports bar.
If this appeals to you, please give me a shout. Thanks for your consideration.
Navels aren’t just for oranges: Had a revelation yesterday morning while making a batch of toast. Speaks for itself:
I know, tans fats are evil, blah-blah-blah, but there's something oddly satisfying and even compelling about the "belly…
Posted by Paul Lukas on Thursday, April 30, 2015
Design contest ”” last call: Today’s the final day to get in on the contest to design a Uni Watch smart phone case. The winner will get a $100 cash prize. Full details here.
As an aside, many of the designs that have been submitted so far feature a white background. As you can see, I used a white background for the mock-up shown at right, so maybe people were following my lead, but I want to stress that the base color does not have to be white. If you go to this page and click on “Layout,” you’ll find a link that will show all of the available background colors.
’Skins Watch: Colorado is the latest state whose legislature is considering a bill that would ban schools from using Native American team names and mascots unless local tribes grant permission. ”¦ Lots of people in North Dakota still oppose UND’s change from the “Fighting Sioux” team name. ”¦ The Organization of American Historians is the latest group calling on the ’Skins to change their name. … The local high school in Watertown, Mass., is moving away from using Native American imagery, leading to a big debate over what the new team logo and name should be (from Jordan Mayblum).
Baseball News: Autism awareness jerseys this Sunday for the Binghamton Mets. ”¦ Two North Dakota high schools will wear “Striking Out Cancer” jerseys next Tuesday. … UCLA’s beautiful blue/gold color scheme doesn’t look so beautiful when used for G.I. Joe pandering (from Jared Buccola). … The A’s will be wearing 1965 Kansas City A’s throwbacks on June 27. Interestingly, their opponents that day will be the Royals, so it’ll be KC vs. KC. No word yet on what the Royals — who didn’t yet exist in 1965 — will be wearing. ”¦ Two bad tastes that taste worse together for Michigan State, which will be wearing BFBS and G.I. Joe letters/numbers tomorrow (thanks, Phil). ”¦ Big time for black jerseys in the Bay Area, as the Giants’ new black alts will debut tomorrow (thanks, Brinke).
NFL News: In keeping with the NFL’s plan to celebrate the Super Bowl’s golden anniversary, first-round picks in last night’s draft had their NOBs rendered in gold lettering. The one exception was overall No. 2 pick Marcus Mariota, who didn’t attend the draft in person but was given a Titans jersey with standard white NOB lettering. ”¦ Football helmets based on Marvel superheroes? Sure, why not (thanks, Phil). ”¦ “A Dancing With the Stars reunion/anniversary show on Tuesday featured former NFL stars decked out in horrible jerseys/costumes,” says Richard Stover. ”¦ I’ve often criticized the sports world for celebrating the military over and over and over to the near-exclusion of all other sectors of society. And now we may know why, at least in the case of the Jets: because they were paid to do so. “Makes me wonder if the Jets’ situation is a one-off or if these payments are, sadly, commonplace,” says Richard Stover.
College Football News: Some very low-quality photos of Colorado’s new uniforms have leaked. The unveiling will be today. ”¦ In a related item, here’s a look at Colorado uniform history (thanks, Phil). … A pair of Wyoming recruits have settled a jersey number dispute. … New field design for Ball State. … Animal Planet has a show called Flipping Ships, which is about renovating boats. In tonight’s episode they turn an old pontoon boat into a Clemson-themed boat for former Clemson football player and current Clemson radio broadcaster Will Forrester. You can watch a preview clip here.
Hockey News: With the Rangers and Capitals opening their playoff series last night, the Rangers’ Twitter feed stopped using capital letters (from alan kreit, who avoided using capital letters in his email to me). ”¦ A Halifax shop will stop selling hockey jerseys after an investigation found that a lot of its merch was counterfeit.
NBA News: Reprinted from yesterday’s comments: Former NBA creative director Tom O’Grady checks in with his thoughts on four recently released NBA team logos (from James Steever). ”¦ Why are the Warriors called “Golden State”? Answer here (thanks, Brinke). ”¦ Love John Havlicek’s backwards jersey in this sock ad (from Jerid Morris).
Soccer News: An amateur team in Austria has an ad for a massage business in a suggestive spot on the shorts (from Stefan Schubert). ”¦ Very sutbtle stripe pattern on Chelsea’s new third kit. ”¦ A German lower league club will be sponsored by a local heavy metal band for one game (from Yusuke Toyoda). ”¦ Also from Yusuke: West Ham United will be outfitted by Umbro next season.
Grab Bag: Texas A&M’s board of regents has unanimously approved a new design for the school’s official seal. ”¦ There’s a really interesting-looking exhibit currently on display in Manhattan about Jewish boxers and wrestlers. It’s full of great Yiddish fight terms, like “knak” (a hard punch), “shtaysl” (an uppercut), and — my favorite — “der gubernator” (jabbing one’s thumb into a foe’s rib cage). ”¦ Good piece on how boxing rings aren’t treated with reverence like baseball diamonds or other sporting surfaces. ”¦ Consumer Reports has ranked the safety of various bike helmets. ”¦ A new restaurant that will be opening in a few weeks in Dallas is being bill as a male version of Hooters. Key quote: “Don’t expect Chippendales, the iconic male striptease troupe, [the owner] said. Food service and bare chests don’t mix in city health officials’ eyes. But customers likely will see waiters in tight red T-shirts and a version of a boxer brief, he said. The uniforms are still being designed.” ”¦ The Wounded Warrior Project is suing a small nonprofit that has a similar logo. … Here’s another one of those “Guess the corporate logo” quizzes. ”¦ Johns Hopkins lacrosse helmets have “The greatest casualty is being forgotten” on the back (from Jared Buccola).
The 49ers alternate is now the worst uniform in the league. It has absolutely no redeeming values. When you look at some of the other bad uniforms of late – the Browns pants, the Jaguars helmets, Tampa Bay’s numbers… at least those teams were trying to do something different and creative. It just didn’t work very well. The 49ers? They’re about 15 years late on the black trend and it isn’t creative at all. They look even more like a high school team than Cleveland does. They might as well be the black & red St. Francis Wildcats, who were too cheap/lazy to come up with their own logo and instead opted to “borrow” an NFL helmet.
Amen! Just terrible. I imagine there will be a lot of 49ers fans who think this is a Cool Thing but I hope the majority are vocal with their displeasure.
Additionally, as a Raiders fan, I don’t have any love for teams adopting black uniforms. In this case, it doesn’t work aesthetically or logically.
Excellent point. With the Raiders so close by, you’d think the Niners would want to avoid having a predominantly black jersey. …Guess not
Raider fans act like their team has exclusive rights to the color black just because it is included in a slogan. I never hear Steeler fans complain and they have been wearing black longer than the Raiders have been in existence, and their home unis have more black than the Raiders do. I’m not saying I like the 49ers alternates, but they remind me more of Atlanta & Arizona unis more than the Raiders.
Perhaps San Francisco is banking on the Oakland NFL franchise moving away from the Bay area?
the raiders claim the black as much as they do because they are the only “black” team that doesn’t have a secondary color that can really be represented. silver is, for all intents and purposes, essentially a neutral color. if steelers fans went to a game in all yellow, or saints fans in all gold, or falcons fans in all red, they would still project intense team spirit. if a raiders fan went to a game in all silver they would look like they just walked in from jack london square where they make money as a “living robot” street performer. as far as fans are concerned, black is the team color, and silver is an afterthought, that’s just the way it always has been (despite the slogan “silver and black attack” which is worded that way for the sake of the rhyme).
Just when we thought the BFBS trend was over!
They said GOLD miners, not COAL miners!!
coal miners. i love it. let’s make that the official term for these, please.
these jerseys could be a nail in the coffin for my fandom.
as a lifetime niners fan, and bay area native, of course i have always been faithful to the niners (i was born on this side of the bay, no offense to raiders’ fans). i have stuck with them through thick and thin, even this last season when i struggled to understand why they weren’t using their talent on-field and on the sidelines to its fullest ability. it felt like the entire team – including coaches – had been kicked in the head, and retained their basic football skills, but had forgotten what, exactly, football was.
the move to santa clara was a decision that was incredibly disappointing to me for reasons i won’t go into here, but will allude to later, but i could live with it bitterly because i rarely go to football games in person, and i rarely go to santa clara for any reason at all. however, when the season ended, and harbaugh’s ass hit the curb to the sound of the final whistle, i began to think my fears were correct. the niners were no longer a team with a heart and a community, they were a brand with a marketing strategy and a whole region of new money, disposable income to bleed dry. i believe that some – certainly not all – of the players that have jumped ship this offseason felt the same. the bottom line is not a good season record, it’s a good fiscal year, and the ownership no longer sees any connection between the two.
these jerseys are just a half-baked attempt to appeal to the new fanbase, and they are more than a few fashion cycles too late to be excusable even as a transparent marketing ploy (BFBS is soooo 2012).
when i was growing up, fans painted their VW bugs to look like niners helmets, now they demand a team that changes their jerseys to match their nondescript mercedes SUVs.
perhaps the time for this helmet has finally arrived: link
I look forward to the 49ers unveiling of their all gray uniforms in 15 years.
They already wore gray in the 50s & 60s.
Instead of BFBS, it is UFUS – Ugly for ugly’s sake. This uniform looks like something a junior high school in a poor school district would wear.
I can’t quite agree. The helmet keeps it from being as bad as even Jacksonvile. And Atlanta’s set is still by far the worst in the history of sport.
I suppose you make a point… from the neck down, these are better Falcons uniforms than what Atlanta currently wears, though I don’t think their set is that terrible. If we could put a red Falcons helmet on top of these, they’d actually be not bad.
“The helmet keeps it from being as bad as even Jacksonvile.”
For me, that’s what makes the 49ers’ new uniform design stand out as really bad design. With almost no gold to be found anywhere on the black uniforms, they’re a horrible mismatch with the traditional gold helmets. It looks totally slapdash.
exactly how i feel. i understand that NFL rules don’t allow for multiple helmets, but the lack of gold or white in the rest of the uni makes the helmet look out of place. maybe if they pull the helmet stripe decal and replace it with a red/black/red it would feel more coherent (but it still wouldn’t feel like a 49ers uni).
unfortunately i just don’t see any way for the niners to have an alternate uniform that looks decent. BFBS, GFGS, and WFWS are all better reserved for college teams and the NBA who can pull off a FULL uni (including all elements) black, grey, or white look, and asking the niners to use a retro uni is like asking the yankees to wear a retro uni. there really isn’t one that looks different enough from what they are wearing now/have always worn to be worth it. the 90’s drop-shadow look, for example, would look exactly like their current jerseys, only with a drop-shadow. and a gold uni top, well, i just don’t think any team can pull that one off (i’m looking at you, padres). i’m with paul on this one: put this design effort into correcting those ridiculous looking sleeve stripes.
The gold jersey might have looked something like…
link
They certainly couldn’t wear it with gold pants; they’d need to bring back the whites from ’96-’97.
Also, keep in mind that those jerseys were not only based on the 1996-2008 design, but fashioned from shinier cloth. Made with Nike’s contemporary matte-for-matte’s-sake fabric, gold jerseys would look quite awful, indeed.
Niners are the new Mean Machine. Brutal.
The only gold elements, other than the helmet, are the Nike logos. I think that explains so much.
More like 25 years late on the black trend. I think it has one redeeming quality: block numerals. Overall, it’s hideous. A huge mistake.
I agree, that is horrible. As a Giants fan, when you saw those gold helmets and red jerseys coming out of the tunnel, you felt a pang of intimidation. The Niners’ Red and Gold worked. This is a total elimination of that.
I’d say that this is the worst *jersey* in the league…worse in most respects than Tampa Bay’s, though it doesn’t have that grayish-brown crud.
The pants are bad, but let’s not get crazy here. The Ravens and Saints still wear solid black pants with no stripes; *those* are the NFL’s worst pants, and those of the Jaguars and Buccaneers (with the “stripes” that don’t reach the waist or cuffs) aren’t much better.
And they appear to be using red-topped socks with all this, so at least there’s contrast there, though I fear that they’ll find some black socks, sooner or later.
The biggest problem here is that everything is ridiculously harsh; no white or gold outlines/detailing to soften all that bright red against the black. It looks very bush-league, and indeed, very much like some of those glaring novelty jerseys sold to fans.
It’s as if someone attempted to combine some bizarre post-modern minimalism with a misguided conception of “old-school.”
Expect to see more of this, at all levels of competition.
I wasn’t able to find this earlier, but here’s an example of what a somewhat-palatable BFBS 49ers jersey could be…
link
Again, it’s based on the 1996 design, and it probably couldn’t be worn with gold pants, since that would look too much like the Saints (or…what the Saints *should* look like, in any case). Maybe some red pants, or something…?
Or maybe some teams just don’t need BFBS in the first place.
“Some very low-quality photos of Colorado’s new photos have leaked.” All those generations might explain the low quality.
What are you talking about?
I get this when trying to see the cereal card (Ken Willard).
link
Thanks. Now fixed.
Here’s the proper link:
link
That Ken Willard photo is indeed transcendent.
“A Dancing With the Stars reunion/anniversary show on Tuesday featured former NFL stars decked out in horrible jerseys/costumes,”
Those gold jerseys would make better 49ers alternates than what the team picked.
Ha!
What were those things hanging off the sides of the draft jerseys last night??
link
Oh, sleeves!! It’s been so long I almost forgot what they looked like.
I can’t imagine how disappointing it’d be to go to a game in SF, and want to see their traditional red/gold…..and they instead wear this trash.
Those Dancing with the Stars jerseys turned out to be jackets (thus the epaulets, I guess).
link
As aweful as those unis are, and they are turrible, it said they were players choice. It just goes to show how bad these nfl players tastes are.
Hey, remember that team that beat us in the Super Bowl a couple years ago? They wore an all-black alternate uniform. That was cool, wasn’t it? We should look like that too.
Idiots.
Nice dig NY Rangers. Except even the Caps (regular Home/Road) jerseys don’t really use CAPS either so………
The Niners should have released those on April 1 rather than April 30, ’cause they’re a joke.
re: the Marvel themed NFL helmets, some were clever and i actually liked the Cleveland Things.
Tom O’Grady may have been a helluva creative director in his stay at the NBA… helped them make buckets of cash by bringing the merchandizing program from out of the stone age to big dog it is today. So yeah if you love the 90’s unis – this is your guy.
But as a Uni-critique-er… he is no Pee El. His review is more or less on track with what most of the Uni-verse has said, so nothing new there really. I give him a “C” for blandness.
Not sure what else O’Grady could say? He mentions some of the same things our uni-verse sees — a lot of “blandness”— sounds like he calls them the way he sees them.
He did bring some really interesting insight to each review IMO.
BUCKS= It’s an update… a very average update, right?
A “cream” color for merchandise would be tough tell at retail. That’s insight you wouldn’t get elsewhere unless you’ve been on the inside of such conversations.
THE WIZARDS? No wizard in the new identity. I’ve NOT seen one Uniwatcher point out that huge oversight? There is no wizard in their identity? He went soft on that one and should have given them a D. But I’m sure he has a lot of respect for the NBA so probably went light.
THE RAPTORS? Everyone seems to hate the new BLAND Raptors identity. Was O’Grady supposed to wax poetically about how “dull” an update was? His comment “missed opportunity” is spot on. I loved the Happy Meal of NBA logo comment… that’s great!
THE CLIPPERS? What can you say right now about the Clippers? Is this the final look? O’Grady’s point that it’s a simple and smart update makes sense. I might have given the Clippers an INCOMPLETE since we’re not sure if that’s the final final…
It’s great to hear from someone who’s been in the trenches and understands that most of the decisions made are from many different vantage points.
Refreshing review.
That he gave the Clippers logo the best grade is very head scratching to say the least.
It was the only fresh approach to a new identity. The Bucks and Wizards were updates (and dull at that) and the Raptors has been “Uni-versally” criticized. The Clippers was the only fresh look out of the four. Agree 1000% with this summations.
That logo quiz was child’s play.
Yeah it was.
Now you know how I felt when the Lakers came out with those
Nightmare on Figueroa St. costumes“Hollywood Nights” alts.Interesting story about some of the unique mascots in Montana. Love the Belfry Bats.
link
The Browns’ two draft picks were given the brown jerseys, so the brown is now officially confirmed as the primary.
Of course, that doesn’t rule out a switch to orange in the future.
I noticed that the names on the draft/stage jerseys last night were all applied with GOLD letters.
link
Read the ticker, you dumb guy.
shit
Recycled from a FB discussion: The 49ers managed to make their classic helmet the incongruous uni element. Just terrible.
It is so disappointing to see the 49ers make a jersey that was already a bootleg.
Am I seeing what I want to see, or are bootlegs creeping into legit design? It could be a simple case of the bootleggers having already imagined every incorrect colour combo, leaving Nike to have to copy something LOL.
I sincerely hope I’m wrong and nobody in charge saw people wearing those bootlegs at the game and thought “hey let’s make those…”
I’d love to try derby pie! (…I’ll make it without the bourbon, though.)
Maybe I’ll call it “darby pie,” though, so I don’t get sued. When a lot of Brits say ‘derby,’ it sounds like ‘darby.’
Derby Pie is, without question, one of the best things you will ever eat. Ever had pecan pie or dixie pie (pecan pie with choc chips)? Derby pie beats the ever-loving shit out of them (and just about every other pie on the planet imho). My folks lived in KY for a while, so I’ve had it a number of times. As Paul said, there’s no chance of any leftovers!
Oh, and don’t dare leave out the bourbon. It makes the dish.
Does it have to be bourbon(I realize the link b/w bourbon and Kentucky)? Could it be made with decent Scotch?
Good God, no. Bourbon or GTFO.
Wow.
As a 49ers fan, allow me to say those uniforms make me want to throw up.
brb.
I’m back.
Those Niner uni’s would be better paired with this. link
If you want to tweak the recipe name guardians (and I think you do), you can call it link.
Those nice Kansas City A’s caps remind me that the this is what the C in the Brooklyn Cyclones logo look like. The C would intersect with the Brooklyn B in the same beautiful way that it intersects with the K on the A’s cap.
Instead, the Cyclones’ logo uses a C from a totally different font family, thus creating a terrible clash and a very bad-looking logo.
My beef is how the hat monogram suggests the team is the BROOKLYN cyclones. Keep the “B”, delete the rest. It’s unnecessary.
You’re right, of course. But the B alone is a Dodger mark, which the Dodgers still control. The Mets could not have used it.
I meant to write “this is what the C in the Brooklyn Cyclones’ logo *should* look like”.
As someone who reads the “‘Skins Watch,” and watches the “Worlds Worst” bit by Olbermann, I find it inconsistant that for a guy who won’t say, write, or put in graphics the team’s name, their Youtube page will. Re: Washington ——– are the World’s Worst, Apr 30, 2015.
It’s entirely possible that the Olbermann channel is run by ESPN and the headlines are written by copy editors at ESPN (as paper and online headlines usually are).
I find it interesting that there’s SUCH strong hatred for the 49ers new uniforms. Like all uniforms that I’ve ever known, the key element is the jersey. In this case, the jersey is simply a “blue/black and white/gold dress” counterpart to the Bears’ current throwback alternate. If the Bears’ alternate is so loved, why are these so hated?
Now … the overall leotard look, matched with the gold helmet trimmed in white – I’m good with those issues, but again, the key element is the jersey, and that is SO close to the beloved Bears’ throwback, I can’t figure out the extreme hate.
In this case, the jersey is simply a “blue/black and white/gold dress” counterpart to the Bears’ current throwback alternate.
The big difference being that the Bears jersey is still team colors and is based on the team’s history, while the 49ers version is lagging 15 years behind a fashion trend and has nothing to do with anything. If this jersey was an Atlanta Falcons “1947 fauxback” ala the Tampa Bay Rays, it wouldn’t be hated nearly as much.
The short version is that Context Matters.
Re: the article concerning the UND Fighting Sioux nickname.
So in short, the political cowardice of the leaders of the most historically warlike Sioux tribe in not permitting a referendum on the nickname was the principal cause of it being dropped? If that’s not ironic, I don’t know what is.
There’s a concern of mine that UND might- just might- pick a new iconography that I could get behind, but the cloud of acrimony surrounding them would drown out the hopeful voice. I’ve wasted so much emotional capital on them, I’d be disappointed that they didn’t read my mind (and call themselves the Thunderbirds).
But having said all that, what if the ultimate choice was not to have any mascot at all?
Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania has already gone that route. It seems to work for them. But frankly, if a college mascot is such a part of your identity, perhaps it’s time to take a look inside and reevaluate your priorities.
Slippery Rock does so have a mascot.
link
Whatever respect you had for me is about to be squandered: I like the 49ers’ new duds. But I’ve always enjoyed pop art. I’m an easy touch with black uniforms. Remember, I was one of the solitary voices boosting the BFBS Mets’ stuff. That said, I can see the shortcomings of San Francisco’s threads; it’s a fad that will wear out its welcome, and it bogarts a crucial element of the Raiders’ identity. But I’m okay with it while it lasts. It’s a new spin on an old favorite.
Forget high school! The Niners remind me of the cheap youth football jerseys we wore in the 70s.
HA! I called it months ago when I said the 49ers link End result: about as what I predicted. They don’t look bad IMO. Different, but about what I expected if the Niners went the BFBS route–except for the black pants, which is a bonus extra touch.
“HA! I called it months ago when I said the 49ers could come out with a BFBS uniform.”
Yeah, you really went out on a limb there. No one could have seen this one coming. ;-)
Joseph…me and you agree. They are so Purdy! I just want to see a black stripe on the hats, no stripes on the britches and all red stockings.
I share your fascination with the navel in the margarine. My favorite is the lakelike appearance of the freshly-opened peanut butter jar.
Two of my favorites as well. Re: the margarine ‘swirl’ as we called it, my daughter would insist that we try and keep it intact as long as possible, so we ended up with a moat around the outside of the tub.
That’s great — love the moat idea!
When I look at the margarine tubs pictured, I try not to see the back end of a pig, but my resistance is futile.
I like how perfectly smooth and concave a new tube of Blistex or container of Carmex is.
I’ve always loved the navel in tub margarine, PB, etc. Glad to have a name for it now!
Here’s a cookie version of the Derby Pie for those who prefer cookies:
2 ¼ CUPS ALL PURPOSE FLOUR
1 TSP BAKING SODA
1 CUP BUTTER
½ CUP WHITE SUGAR
1 CUP BROWN SUGAR
2 EGGS
5 TBS BOURBON
1 ½ CUPS CHOPPED PECANS
1 ½ CUPS CHOCOLATE CHIPS [mini chips work well in this recipe]
Mix all ingredients. Chill over night or for an hour or 2 hours, if possible.
Bake at 350 for 10 minutes, until edges are golden and middle is set. Makes 4 to 6 dozen, depending on size.
Mother of god.
“… … The local high school in Watertown, Mass., is moving away from using Native American imagery, leading to a big debate over what the new team logo and name should be (from Jordan Mayblum)…”
I am totally impressed by the quality of the student newspaper. Excellent reporting, cool graphics. Watertown is a cool funky place, with haut-borgeois smarty-pants now mixing with the tough-as-nails working class families of older municipal pedigree. Watertown was the source of the best pizzas in Boston, thanks to the Greek and Armenian guys who made them. Funny how in an Italian-rich metro, few of the pizza places were run by Italians. A picture of the Parthenon on your pizza box was a sign of quality.
Watertown was the Armenian-American capital of the Northeast, in fact, so maybe the school nickname should be Caucasians.
Watertown was the Armenian-American capital of the Northeast, in fact, so maybe the school nickname should be Caucasians.
!!!!!!!
I always thought “Caucasians” would’ve been a perfect nickname for Georgia, but figured most people wouldn’t get the connection.
Or, Watertown could honor its role in the capture of the Boston marathon bomber and go with “Boaters” or something.
Water is wet, so could they be the Watertown Wetskins? /jk
Apparently Ball State didn’t get the New Field Design Guidelines memo. They’re actually using green turn on their new field.
That’s a bummer with the niners. I was really hoping for the 1994 throwback unis they wore in the Super Bowl.
This is what happens when you use “a color in the logo” that isn’t a team color. I don’t care what the style guide implies. Black is not a team color. The only “good” thing I can say about the 49ers in black is: at least we’re not getting the Chicago Blackhawks in yellow to match a feather in that logo. And I’ll concur with every negative opinion that says “the 90s called and they want their BFBS back” and confusion for looking like the Bay Area rivals.
Highest order failure.
PS Is it ironic that the players have never looked more like Jim Harbaugh?
Yeah, the style guide rationale is such an intellectual dodge. Everyone knows the team colors are red and gold. This isn’t the Bulls going with a alternate.
“UCLA’s beautiful blue/gold color scheme doesn’t look so beautiful when used for G.I. Joe pandering.”
Nothing shows appreciation for the military better than wearing “camouflage” in a pattern and color scheme that the military itself never wears and never would.
Why did the Titans give Mariota a light blue jersey when they are supposed to be done with those?
And I love Kaepernick’s comment that it’s a “fresh look” on their alternates. Yeah sure, because an all black uniform is a brand new concept and hardly anyone has done that.
“And I love Kaepernick’s comment that it’s a “fresh look” on their alternates. Yeah sure, because an all black uniform is a brand new concept and hardly anyone has done that.”
Something something… “youthful energy and edge,” blah blah… “proactive paradigm.” I guess if you surround them with enough buzzwords, there’s always going to be someone who thinks overdone fads are new and fresh. Even though black hasn’t been new or edgy since the Beatniks were wearing black turtlenecks to poetry readings at coffee houses back in 1958.
Late last night in the comments section from yesterday, reader Rob S. pointed out another good reason why Kaepernick is wrong about the 49ers uniforms being a “fresh look: – it’s nothing more than a retread of a link from the early 1990s. Recycling something that looked bad over 20 years ago does not qualify as a “fresh look.”
Here’s the official promo video for the 49ers’ new uniform unveiling:
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I’m not sure what’s worse – the uniforms or the cheesy knockoff of “Back in Black” playing in the background. Seriously. You’re the NFL. You can afford to play the royalties.
At the :31 mark….
“Eric Reid, Saftey”
I’m surprised that ‘Skinswatch didn’t mention the recent the legal developments that look likely to work in Daniel Synder’s favor:
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Interesting. Hadn’t been aware of that development. If you see such items during the week, please send them in!
“Some very low-quality photos of Colorado’s new photos have leaked.” Did you mean unis or uniforms rather than that second “photos”?
Yes, thanks — will fix.
The 49ers missed badly here for certain. Maybe it will look better in action? In the late 50’s early 60’s, they had silver helmets. Something along those lines would have been better – silver numbers on the red jersey perhaps? I’m sure that some of the Uni Watch minds will come up with much better renditions. I’ll look forward to seeing that.
Best wishes.
Today’s ESPN column, about the new Niners uniforms, is up:
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Paul,
I’d be great if you could nudge your ESPN webmaster/editor to try to encourage your links on your ESPN column to open as new tabs. I love your use of links as visual aids, but it’s really cumbersome to navigate when you have to hit the back button and have the page reload.
I agree, Brian. One thing you can try as a short-term solution, though, is hitting right-clicking on the link and selecting “open link in new window” or “open link in new tab.” It’s still an extra step, but it saves you from having to navigate backward and wait for the previous page to reload.
For 10 years I’ve been coding my links to open in new tabs. Believe me, I know how important it is.
But for reasons I don’t fully understand, ESPN.com’s new design doesn’t allow for this functionality. I’ve specifically asked about it and been told that it won’t be happening. Yes, I agree it’s frustrating.
BvK1126’s solution (see above) is the best option for now.
ESPN’s new layout is geared toward mobile devices rather than traditional browsers.
And like I’ve said recently, it SUCKS ASS.
Or, press down on the mouse wheel instead of left-clicking. That usually works.
I can’t imagine that it will be easy to distinguish the numbers on the Niners alts on TV. Especially on a night game, which is when they’ll probably wear them.
The red numbers will be just as easy to read as the Bears throwbacks orange on navy. There’s no shortage of things to complain about here, but legibility isn’t an issue.
The 49ers jersey reminds me of one of those league wide fan jerseys where all the jersey’s are black with the numbers in team colors.
You mean like link
I’m a Niners fan and hate the black uniforms but I did enjoy the joke from the Raiders twitter account after the draft last night (complete with picture)that they would be wearing gold this year to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the Super Bowl.
The Niners should have put gold numbers on the black jersey instead of the red numbers:
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That would be nice as well. With gold stockings.
Hats and britches still would match not.
Your ideas, consider more carefully, you must.
I have. My opinion. I love the color black. I just think this is awesome. Would love to see the Illidelph vs. the 9ners in a black on black game.
So purdy!!!!
Yeah, but then they’d look like the Saints. They should have just not used black for this thing in the first place. They had 2 logical options for an alternate – bringing back the 1994 throwback that everyone loved and they won a SuperBowl in, or wearing a gold jersey. They chose neither.
They had one additional option: a throwback with silver pants/helmet. There were rumors that that’s what they were doing. Too bad the rumors were wrong.
Could they even do that with the stupid one helmet rule?
In a way, the black uniforms are true to the spirit of 49ers. Because you really have to go looking for the gold.
The new 49ers uniforms look like the “Prank” uniforms in this video from UH, maybe they will roll out the real ones today.
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I would like to throw my name into the “worst uniforms in the league” camp regarding the new 49ers uniforms. I had been cautiously optimisitic that they’d go with some sort of throwback look inspired by their 75th anniversary, or at worst a gold jersey with white pants. But this? Horrible. BF$S. I thought Nike loved history and their unis telling a story? These are apparently inspired by the fact that the players think they look cool. Perhaps Harbaugh, Willis, Gore, and Borland all opted for different destinations because they knew this trash was in the pipeline.
Those Wyoming recruits play basketball not football
Love those 1965 KC caps, except that the throwbacks use a larger logo that the original. Apparently this is standard operating policy for the manufacturers such as American Needle, so they are not accurate throwbacks (in fact, American Needle’s 1969 Seattle Pilots’ cap uses incorrect “scrambled eggs” and their placement is also wrong. But who cares, right?
We care. I was browsing thru Colorwerx site the other day. This is what used to be SSUR, a site that lists all of the colors of professional and college teams. I noticed they list “light blue” as the color of the White Sox road uniform in 69/70. I used this point as a measure of credibility.
I sent an email and they responded by telling me MLB has concluded the Sox wore light blue. The writer suggests I take this up with MLB. (??? – Call an 800 number maybe?) And that he knows people involved in the Cooperstown Collection. And they say: light blue! Really? link
Well we’ve been thru this before… Yes. People care.
I’m going to blame the 49ers alt unis on Jed York.
49ers jerseys are beautiful.
Pro sports teams secondary logo evolution and prurpose featuring logo branding expert, Todd Radom and creative director and executive producer, Tom O’Grady. Interesting.
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My thoughts on the 49ers alt:
1.) I’m a Falcons fan of a few decades so I’m programmed to hate anything the 49ers do no mater what.
2.) These look like practice jerseys.
3.) Black is my favorite “color” and red is up there with blue as close to favorites so seeing a black/red alt is not something I hate. I don’t see it being worst in the NFL by far. No way it’s worse than Tampa, Cincy, Cleveland, Atlanta, or Arizona.
4.) I like the red numbers but really hope they tweak it to add a gold (or silver) outline on the numbers and do something with the terrible pants striping. Maybe mimicking the regular pants in a red-gold-red pattern?
5.) I STILL hate the gray facemask and wish teams with no gray in their colorsceheme would realize it’s not the 60’s anymore and they can be painted in team colors now.
6.) I’ll admit it. I hate the 49ers current look. I mush prefer the previous version they wore in the 90’s and early 2000’s.
7.) And totally unrelated. I didn’t hate the gold names on the jerseys last night. It would be a bitch to read on some teams but I wouldn’t hate it if that was made a season long thing. It’s better to do something subtle like that than go way overboard with gold like the NFL will certainly end up doing.
“6.) I’ll admit it. I hate the 49ers current look. I mush prefer the previous version they wore in the 90’s and early 2000’s.”
I feel similarly. They got a bit of a downgrade from what was a really nice-looking set when they went to their “sorta ’80s, but not really” throwback-for-throwback’s-sake with matte pants and messed-up stripes.
But fans will disagree, because those previous uniforms were dropped for a VERY good reason.
“We never won nothin’ in those…”
All they had to do was tweak that former set to look fantastic. Match the pants stripes to the helmet stripes in a black/red/black pattern and turn the drop shadow into just a toned down double outline of the numbers and it would’ve been perfect. Not to mention it had RED facemasks instead of gray!
I get WHY they went back to the updated version of those Montana/Rice era uniforms. Seeing Rice, Montana, Young, and the rest from that era still makes my stomach turn thinking about all the whippings they gave the Falcons every season. But I still think the set the current ones replaced were much better.
The Raiders have already link the Niners’ BFBS announcement… Classic.
The best part about that other than the obvious 49ers uniform that was used for the photoshop is that the Raiders have a gold history and can pull that off.
Why are S.F. teams suddenly enamored with BFBS? On that subject, in the new Giants commercial, the equipment staff tosses the wrong unis into the washer with the black dye. They should have been throwing in the road alternates, not the home jerseys.
Those Niners alts are seriously, embarrassingly awful. My only hope is that there’s overwhelming negative feedback and the team caves just like they did some 24 years ago.
How about a design contest that still forces entrants to use black as the primary color, but does a better job incorporating gold, the helmet logo pattern, readable numbers, etc.
Not a banner week for new football unis.
Colorado Buffaloes new set intro video can be seen link.
Bad:
– gold pants are more like ecru, should match the helmet in a richer tone;
– white helmet – in the P12 that belongs to ‘zona, in state it belongs to the AFA and in CU history that belongs to the damn Bugeaters;
– solid black socks means a leotard look is overly likely with the stripeless black pants;
– the “Colorado” wordmark and the “CU” monogram juxtaposed so close is overkill;
– inside collar slogan;
– silver is an official school color so WTF is it called “steel grey” instead?
– the slightly modified flywire described as “horns”.
Not so bad:
– jerseys are free of silly piping;
– pants don’t have wordmarks on them;
– gold and grey helmets look quite good;
– NNOB is right for CFB.
Can’t quite make up my mind about the numbers. While they match the front lettering nicely, the variable width around the corners is annoying (very noticeable on the 3).
I hope the black jerseys are worn only with gold or white pants and that the grey jerseys are worn only with gold, black or white pants. The gold helmet should be default for all home games. Grey helmet for in conference road games. Black helmet for non-conference road games. White helmet for playoffs only.
As an aside, it’s good to see that they didn’t show everyone with the same number – there was a good broad sampling of digits on display.
From seeing the pictures I don’t hate these. Maybe it’s because I feared the worst so they were a bit of a surprise in how “un-Nike” they could’ve been but I sort of like them.
Except for the white helmet and white pants. I’m sure they’ll go full storm trooper at least a few times a year and annoy the crap out of me.
UIC Flames sporting some very link I sometimes catch their games on ESPN 3 – in the corner of my computer screen. I’ve only seen them wear plain red ones at home, but I found they have a link also (second pic is from the school’s site.)
Don’t know if this is legit or not. It’s almost too crazy to believe.
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The Raiders jersey is just a twitter joke by the team. The next post was Just Kidding.
Of course. Glad my suspicions were correct.
*** Did the Colts TWEAK their Horseshoe logo??? I work for the ABC affiliate in Indianapolis and I noticed the TV graphic we’ve just started using is a Colts horseshoe but instead of the usual rounded off edges on top it now has sharp, pointed edges. This could just be our doing, but normally we get these logos from the team. (or at least that was my belief based on past instances).
I think it could look fine if they replace all of the white on the helmet stickers with black. They can’t change the shell, but they can change the stickers. Ultimately I am disappointed because I’ve been proud that we didn’t need an alternate uniform because the niners have the best uniforms in the game. oh well.