By Phil Hecken
Quite an interesting day on a couple college gridirons yesterday. As you can see by today’s splash, three teams (Army, Navy and LSU) — and there were more — remembered the victims of the Paris terror attacks by displaying the flag of France as they entered the stadium. There were also some clothing tributes and inspirational messages scattered throughout yesterday’s games.
As one who isn’t necessarily big on flag waving and the deification of the American military, I thought these tributes were both heartwarming and heartfelt. Unlike several politicians (particularly some running for the highest office in the land), the French flags and words of support didn’t seek to politicize the events halfway around the world. Rather, they almost felt spontaneous. Similar sentiments also poured forth in other sports (see the ticker for more). It was especially nice to see two of the Academies carrying the French flag, whether it was solidarity with France or a simple gesture of respect is probably irrelevant. It was nice to see.
In this day and age where GI Jokevember is at full bore in the NFL (and in some college games as well), the show of support for other peoples was welcome. I wonder if we will see anything at all from the NFL today.
Anyway, there was plenty of action taking place on the gridiron, so I’ll now turn it over to my right-hand SMUW man, Terry Duroncelet, who will bring you week 11 costume highlights in today’s…
Sunday Morning Uni Watch
By Terry Duroncelet
From Wednesday:
• Western Michigan wore white at home (as well as flag decals).
From Thursday:
Georgia Tech and Virginia Tech went color-vs-color (the proper way).
From Saturday:
• West Virginia wore classic decals on the white helmets against Texas. Closer look.
• Apart from the flag decals, Illinois looked like classic Illinois against Ohio State. Here’s a closer look.
• South Carolina seems to be really enjoying all the black they’ve been wearing as of late. Also as you can see, they wore some Boise State/Mizzou-ish decals on their helmets.
• More like “Syracuse Navy”. Also, here’s a closer look of the patch they were wearing.
• We would’ve had uni déjà vu if Republican Kansas had worn white pants.
• Marshall wore black tops, and they also wore ’75’ on the side of their helmets in honor of the 75 whose lives were lost in the plane crash of 1970.
• As I’m sure some of you are aware, Keith Joseph Sr. and Keith Joseph Jr. died in an unfortunate car accident on November 6th. In addition to having ‘MJ’ on the field in memory of, Jamal Peters (who normally wears #12) wore his fallen teammate’s jersey in their game against Alabama.
• Indiana wore plain block ‘I’ decals on the right side of their helmets, and T.V. numbers on the other. Also, Dan Feeney seems to be having some technical difficulties with his helmet number. Also in that game, Michigan wrote several messages in support of Chad Carr. More info here.
• Tennessee wore mono-orange for the first time this season.
• Not necessary, but hey, Baylor Black Bears does have a ring to it. Also, Joe Mixon’s got some chompers.
• Contrary to what some may think, TCU was not wearing camouflage against Kansas. Not one of their brightest ideas for a uniform. Speaking of the Jayhawks, nothing seems to be going right for them this season.
• We can’t talk about this week’s aesthetic happenings without giving mention to Cardale Jones and his hand-drawn Eiffel Tower illustrations on his cleats in recognition of the recent events in Paris.
• In addition to Army, Navy and LSU, Texas A&M, Cincinnati, many others showed their support for Paris by flying the French flag at the start of their respective games.
• All I can think of these togs that Jacksonville State wore on Saturday is that red forest from that one episode of Courage the Cowardly Dog.
• Vanderbilt wore mono-gold.
• Ladies and Djentlemen, stop the presses. Hell has frozen over. The Iowa Hawkeyes have finally worn an original uniform (well, as original as a typical, all-black, minimalist uniform can get). This is NOT a drill. HOLY SHIT WHAT A TIME TO BE ALIVE. My take? Eh, not all that interesting of a look. Also, you know that ANF (America Needs Farmers) decal they wear fairly-often? Here’s an updated version of that on the back of their helmets.
• I kick myself at times for discovering the “Ball is Life” meme after Montee Ball finished his time at Wisconsin. I guess this will have to do for now.
• Cincinnati wore military branch decals across the back of their helmets.
• Oh boy. How do I even approach this? All I can say is… shit, I don’t even know what to say.
That’ll do for Week 11. See you next week.
Thanks, TJ! OK, now on to the rest of your Sunday Morning Uni Watch.
NCAA Uni Tracking
Back again today with our new feature: NCAA Uniform Tracking.
Once again, I’m pleased to welcome our 4 NCAA trackers, tallying the uniforms worn by the Power 5 conferences.
We’ve got Rex Henry (tracking the ACC & SEC), Dennis Bolt (tracking the PAC-12), Kyle Acker (tracking the Big XII) and Joey Artigue (tracking the B1G).
We’ll start with Joey & the B1G today:
B1G
Joey will be establishing a separate website for B1G tracking, but for now, you can follow him on Twitter.
Rex is up next today:
ACC
More Here.
SEC
And now, here’s Dennis with the PAC-12:
PAC-12
More here.
Here is your link to the 2015-16 Duck Tracker.
And finally, here is Kyle with the Big XII:
Big XII
And that’s all for today — thanks Joey, Rex, Dennis and Kyle!
Joe Ringham’s 5 & 1
We’re on to week 11 in the NCAA, and there were a bunch of games that might make the list for 5 & 1 decider Joe Ringham.
You may not agree with him, (I rarely agreed with Jimmer Vilk and only occasionally with Catherine), but he’s got his reasons for his picks.
Here’s Joe:
Happy Sunday, everyone! Let’s get to this week’s list.
5) Virginia Tech at Georgia Tech — I’m a sucker for a color vs color match-up. The Hokies looked quiet sharp going white/orange/white, and I thought that Georgia Tech looked quite nice in gold/navy/white.
4) Ohio State at Illinois — The Buckeyes always look sharp in their road whites (and I just threw up a little in my mouth saying that, since I grew up hating Ohio State). But, this may be the Illini’s best look, minus the S&S on the helmet, going orange/navy/orange.
3) Miami at North Carolina — Finally, a look from the U that wasn’t worthy of the +1. Really liked how the white/white/orange of the Canes matched up against the Carolina blue/Carolina blue/white of the Tar Heels.
2) Wyoming at San Diego State — This was quite the good looking game out of the Mountain West, and it sneaked its way right onto the list. Wyoming’s white/white/yellow really popped against the red/black/black of the Aztecs.
1) Oregon State at California — A late game in the Pac-12 that also sneaked its way onto the list. Loved how the white/white/orange of the Beavers clashed against the navy/navy/gold of Cal
And, finally…
+1) North Texas at Tennessee — I usually don’t really mind the Vols mono-orange look. However, when you pair it up against the green/white/green of the Mean Green… well, it just doesn’t look pretty.
Enjoy the week, everyone!
Thanks, Joe! Remember, the tip-line email (UW5and1@gmail.com) is back for any games you want Joe take a look at. Pictures of the game/games you want are very much suggested.
Colorize This!
Occasionally, I will be featuring wonderful, high-quality black and white photographs that are just begging to be colorized.
Got just one this week from our friend Bruce Menard, who is once again busy with the Colorizations. And that’s a very good thing.
Click photos to enlarge.
Enjoy!
Hey Phil,
Here’s that photo of the “Executioner-style” football helmet” with color…from November 15, 1950.
Here’s the tag:
Football Player or Dr. Hannibal Lecter?
65 Years Ago Today – November 15, 1950
~ (ACME Wire) – “Indianapolis: Sid Tillery, center for a local high school football team, wears this weird mask to protect his nose, broken in an early season encounter”Cheers,
~Bruce
That’s it for today. Great job B!
T-Shirt Club reminder: Paul here. In case you missed it a few days ago, the Uni Watch T-Shirt Club’s design for the December — the ugly sweater design — is now available. We’re offering it in three formats: a standard short-sleeve tee (American Apparel or Teespring Premium), a long-sleeve tee, or a sweatshirt. It’s a doozy of a design — dig (click to enlarge):
This shirt will be available through next Tuesday, Nov. 17. Again, you can order it here. Thanks.
Uni Watch News Ticker
Baseball News: Check out the awesome Major League Baseball beanbag that Trevor Milless “has had since (he) was a baby.” I don’t think I’ve ever heard or seen these — anyone know if they were popular or were made for a while? Looks awesome. … I’m not entirely sure what this means, but it can’t be good: “Following the release of a Fallout 4 Boston Red Sox Jersey mod featuring a virtual David Ortiz, the MLB declares that they will pursue legal action against the modder.”
NFL/College/High School Football News: Colgate Raiders Football won the Patriot League. They go some gear tee shirts for the effort (via Colgate Equipment). … In the wake of the Paris terrorist attacks, the NFL is going to step up stadium security. … In what should come as a surprise to no one, everyone loves the Pitt script. … Last night the Pro Football HOF was bathed in B/W/R — wonder what, if any, Parisian tributes NFL teams will have today. … From Josh Claywell, “A few pics from across the state of Kentucky from this weekend: First one (Mayfield HS) is what looks to be patriotic gloves; Second one (Louisville Fairdale HS) is white numbers on white jersey -”“ always a bad combination; and, Lastly, Allen County-Scottsville HS uses the old Patriots’ logo.”
Hockey News: Cornell had players research former wearers of their number. That name then went on the nameplate; after being worn for a game, the jerseys were auctioned to fund a mission trip to the Dominican Republic (from Joe Makowiec). … Yesterday night, the Indy Fuel wore Guns & Hoses unis (h/t Mark Grainda). … The Philadelphia Flyers’ Pierre-Édouard Bellemare, who is from Paris, France, wore a France flag sticker on his helmet yesterday (h/t Thom D.). … Also wearing a French flag decal was Antoine Roussel of the Dallas Stars, who is also a Frenchman (via Timothy Westside). … The Utah Grizz threwback to their Salt Lake Golden Eagles days (via Jorge Lopez). … Jordin Tootoo of the Devils wrote #PrayersForParis on his stick blade tape (via New Jersey Devils). … Quinnipiac hockey celebrated their military appreciation night by wearing these GI Jokevember duds (from Brosh). … Both the Montreal Canadiens and the New Jersey Devils had moments’ of silence and displayed French flags on the ice. As did the Boston Bruins. Not to be left out: the LA Kings. … “I attended my first USHL game here in Madison, where the Capitols hosted my hometown Cedar Rapids Roughriders. Two uni-notable elements,” writes R. Scott Rogers. “First off, with the Capitols in white and the Roughriders in their ‘throwback’ green-black-cream barber-pole uniform, it was an extremely good-looking game. Like, if it had been an NHL game, it would have been above average. Which was good, since the quality of play was extremely poor. Second, toward the end of the first period, the Capitols arena announcer announced that The Hockey News had voted the Capitols the 47th best hockey uniform of all time. I can’t recall hearing a stadium announcer comment overtly on uniforms and uni-watching like that. The announcement was a pitch for the team shop, but kind of a weak one, since they didn’t seem to have any jerseys in stock.”
Basketball News: The Howard Bison have an interesting location for their wordmark, don’t they (via Daniel Malone). … “Ever seen a photo of the NBA’s Zollner Pistons?” asks Leo Strawn, Jr.. “You have now! From the 1955 NBA Finals, Ft. Wayne v Syracuse Nationals, the first Finals series with a shot clock. Ft. Wayne lost to Syracuse, 4 games to 3.” … Last evening the Akron Zips wore all purple in memory of Coach Pete for their contest against CSU in the Coaches vs Cancer Event (h/t to Alumnus Jimmer Vilk). … The Houston Rockets put up a French Flag graphic on their scoreboard last night, while the Milwaukee Bucks put up a “Peace for Paris” graphic. … The Phoenix Suns had take on Paris on their scoreboard. … The Houston Rockets wore “Clutch City” unis last night. Kill me now. These things are awful. … And this, from Michael Preston, “With the Spurs wearing their grey alternate uniforms against us tonight, the officials went with white alternate tops.”
Grab Bag: This is great, from Tony Crespo: “Thought the readers might get a giggle out of www.thedrawplay.com take inn the color rush design process.” … “A friend who’s into roller derby shared this with me,” writes R. Scott Rogers. “Tenth anniversary logo for the Women’s Flat Track Derby Association, international governing body for women’s flat-track roller derby. A good example of how decent design can make pink a strong color for sports.” … A few Iowa wrestlers went with ANF helmet stickers on headgear for Grapple on the Gridiron (via Jake Binggeli). … Ugh. It’s always a story, “For Under Armour, the goal is to establish emotional connections with the company’s athletes and to engage their fans in the marketplace.” How about just design better unis? … Curler Brad Gushue’s faceplant fuels sales of Barrie biz’s headgear product — wouldn’t it just be easier to just get one of Alex Torres’ skull wraps? … And finally — saving the best for last — here’s a fantastic article/interview with Paul, by Erik Horne, of NewsOK. You probably knew everything in there already, but it’s totally worth the read!
And that’s it for today — everyone enjoy your Sunday and have a great week. Thanks to Joe, Joey, Rex, Dennis, Kyle and of course Terry for their bits.
Follow me on Twitter @PhilHecken.
Peace.
“You’re telling me that after years of submitting losing entries into design contests, I finally get picked for something on a contest where I submitted nothing other than a smartass comment?”
–AlMaFi
I’m not entirely sure what this means, but it can’t be good: “Following the release of a Fallout 4 Boston Red Sox Jersey mod featuring a virtual David Ortiz, the MLB declares that they will pursue legal action against the modder.”
It means that MLB are being a bunch of greedy assholes.
Absolutely. The game is set in a post apocalyptic Boston. It’s supposed to be very true to the city.
There’s a survivors community based within Fenway! It’s actually really cool. The guards wear baseball equipment and put nails in baseball bats. (Something Uni Watch might want to take a look at)
If this is a mod, then that means it’s most likely free to anyone who wants it. The modder is creating something as a free service to Red Sox and baseball fans. He’s making zero profit.
So yeah, it means that MLB are being a bunch of greedy assholes.
Or maybe MLB is a business trying to protect their copyright, just like any other business.
But ya, I’m sure if a MLB team decided to rename themselves the Fallouts, the vid game makers would be super cool with that and no lawyers would ever become involved. Video game companies are well known charitable endeavors with pure humanitarian motives as we all know.
the red sox jersey was put in by a modder, who has no affiliation with the makers of the game
We would’ve had uni déjà vu if Republican Kansas had worn white pants TAKES ME TO PIC OF ARKvsLSU
Some folks jokingly pronounce Little Rock’s state as “r-kansas”. “R-Kansas”, for those marinated in politics, would be “republican Kansas”.
Jokes that need ‘spainin’ ain’t the best jokes.
thanks for clarifying and now I am in on the joke!
And isn’t it kind of redundant to say Republican Kansas, anyway? Someone could legitimately think you were talking about Kansas (who did wear white pants against TCU).
Hockey Night in Canada noted the French flag decals on the helmets last night too. Surprised that neither of you commented on the fact that the sticker on Bellemare’s helmet wasn’t just the French flag, but that it also had a black ‘armband’ across the corner of it.
the most important part was the flag, blackarm band was a bonus
The Washington capitals also had a moment of silence and displayed the French tricolor on the ice
Beginning on Saturday, when French officials would make statements, you would see the standard Tricolor/European Union flag at the podium; the Tricolorhad a black diagonal band in the upper left-hand corner.
My first reaction was, that was a shadow from the contour of the helmet. Ah well.
Pretty sure you are right. The black band follows the edge there on the helmet perfectly. Looks like a shadow.
What was the other logo on the Ucla helmet
According to the googles, it’s a bone-frog, and it’s supposed to be some kind of tribute to the Navy SEALs.
So, in other words, it’s stupid pandering bullshit.
I thought it was the GEICO gecko.
Michigan state actually wore their alternates from the Oregon game with their normal helmet against Maryland.
It’s not often that Maryland doesn’t have the more ridiculous look.
I nominate UCLA for the best jersey that looks like a gift wrapper:
link
There’s your &1 game right there.
N. Texas/Tennessee (and Michigan/Indiana)? That’s Top Five material.
you think all those gasbag senators will change Freedom Fries back to French Fries now?
Wait, Freedom Fries(tm) are still a thing? I thought that went away years ago
I’ve been a UCLA fan for over fifty years. I always thought their colors and uniforms were unique and classy. I now hate everything they wear.
Anyone know where to find the Cornell alumni list?
From Cornell’s official site:
link
I liked TN vs N Texas.
My memory may be failing me, but I think back in the day N Texas had almost neon green unis – that would definitely have been a color clash.
the Patriotic gloves from the ticker is just more Nike GI JOKE. Link right here thttp://www.eastbay.com/product/model:222480/sku:0106090/nike-vapor-fly-field-general-gloves-mens/silver/white/&SID=7726&inceptor=1&cm_mmc=SEM-_-PLA-_-Google-_-0106090&gclid=CNPInNKKk8kCFU6SfgodcBgMPwhings they’ve been on sale for ever. Heres the Link
Just wanted to point out that the Navy unis Georgia Tech wore were supposed to be a tribute to the 1990 National Championship team (25 years) but they got so many things wrong.
The shade of Gold being one (too light, the usual shade of Vegas Gold would have worked better). The pants striping got the colors reversed which is weird considering we wore the same white pants were did in 1990 until 2008 (Gold pants in ’90 had 3 stripes but we eventually adopted Gold ones with the same stripe design). Not only did we wear the same pants for around 20 years (maybe longer don’t know exactly when they were adopted), but Russell Athletic was our uniform supplier at the time.
The numbers should have Blue between the White and Gold and the collar should have been Blue/White/Gold/White/Blue. And finally, there should have been TV numbers, don’t know what our problem with these are (aside from the almagamation-backs, we haven’t had TV numbers on our jerseys since 2012).
Someone put together a comparison that gives you a good look at all the differences (I found it hard to get a pic with a good look at the collar so I’m glad I found this)
link
I look at this tribute as just that. The jersey is basically a mashup of this year’s shoulder stripes and last three years’ throwback template plus the collar stripes. The gold/blue/gold pant stripes don’t contrast very well on white, but maybe it’s an excuse to do something different.
While I wouldn’t blame Russell Athletic for not getting everything right, just remember that Adidas could have done worse.
link
Kalen Ballage? We have a Marcus Ball. Oh yeah, and he had the game-sealing interception yesterday.
So ASU can do better than even Ballage.
I liked the Iowa alts. Think of all the alt mistakes they avoided:
1) the minute you changed the channel you still knew it was Iowa
2) readable numbers
3) school colors
4) streamlined, spaceman look the kids like without giving up much tradition (removed stripe, enlarged logo (?), altered ANF logo on back with Iowa map (improved?)
I think they put on an alternate uniform clinic!
Well the cammo is a bit better than the pink so far. It blends in much better. The only logical thing to do is go pink cammo for the last 2 weeks of October and first 2 weeks of November to maximize everything… Or, you know, not do stupid shit like this at all…
From the interview with Paul: “It’s not about the gear for me.”
Wait, what? Let’s hope that was a paragraph header and not part of a quote from Paul.
West Virginia should have added the Marshall Memorial logo given the weekend like they showed in the “We Are Marshall” movie
You already mentioned how you liked the French flag gesture by the two academies, which I agree with, but I also like the gesture by LSU, a school that represents a population with more substantial French ties (cultural, ancestral, linguistic, etc.) as compared to the rest of the country.