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What was that on the Royals’ sleeves at a recent fanfest event? It’s their championship patch, which they’ll be wearing this season.
This type of patch is pretty standard now for reigning World Series champs. What do you think of it? Is it a reasonable expression of pride, an unseemly expression of hubris, or just a way to get fans to buy another jersey? If your favorite team won the Series, would you want them to wear such a patch? If your team did recently win the Series, how did you feel about them wearing (or, if we go a few years further back, not wearing) such a patch?
It’s worth noting that other sports take a more subdued approach:
• In the NBA, the reigning champ usually wears an O’Brien Trophy patch on Opening Night, and then that’s it.
• In the NFL, the Patriots have followed up their last three Super Bowl wins by wearing a championship patch for their opening game of the following season, and the Saints did likewise for Week 1 in the season following their Super Bowl win. All of these patches were worn for only one game. No other Super Bowl champions have worn such a patch.
• In the NHL, two teams — the Bruins and Kings — have worn Opening Night patches commemorating their championships. Again, these patches were worn for only one game.
I’m not necessarily opposed to an MLB team wearing a championship patch all season long, but I do think the differences between the leagues are interesting.
Discuss.
Friday Flashback: With the Super Bowl now upon us, my weekly Friday Flashback column on ESPN today takes a look at the history of patches worn in the big game (including the bicentennial patch worn by the Cowboys and Steelers in Super Bowl X, shown above). Check it out here.
The Ticker
By Paul
Baseball News: Always fun to see the uniform of the Aberdeen Black Cats. ”¦ The Hartford Yard Goats have a new jingle. ”¦ It turns out that the person wearing a Padres uniform on the 2008 Topps baseball card for Callix Crabbe was actually a guy named Carlos Guevara (from Chris Cruz). ”¦ Hall of Famer Rod Carew has been having heart troubles, so the Twins have launched a “Heart of 29” campaign to raise funds for the American Heart Association. Twins players and coaches were wearing a sleeve patch for the campaign at a fanfest event over the weekend (from Rob Bindeman).
NFL News: A jeweler who’s also a Panthers fan has created a ring to commemorate the team’s Super Bowl run. ”¦ A Colorado school won’t let kids wear Peyton Manning’s jersey number, along with several other numbers, because of gang connections. Cam Newton jerseys are fine, though. ”¦ In a vaguely related item, there’s a town called Denver in North Carolina (from James Gilbert). ”¦ You know how non-NFL businesses aren’t allowed to use the term “Super Bowl”? That apparently isn’t actually true (thanks, Brinke). ”¦ The Ravens are replacing their field turf with natural grass and are selling off the old turf (from Andrew Cosentino). ”¦ Hall of Famer Tony Dorsett is auctioning off some of his personal memorabilia. ”¦ Check out the odd Eagles logo on this 1978 ticket stub. Never seen that one before. Almost looks better suited to Wise potato chips (from Russ Havens). ”¦ Here are some renderings of the Rams’ new stadium (from @dpnation). ”¦ Ah, finally: It wouldn’t be Super Bowl week without a story about a big bust of counterfeit merch (thanks, Brinke). ”¦ Now I’ve seen everything: a corporate advertising patch on a Pro Football Hall of Fame induction jacket. Kay Jewelers make the rings presented to Hall inductees. Douchebags (thanks, Phil). ”¦ Former NFL WR Terrell Owens has an endorsement deal with Butterfinger — the candy bar — and showed up on Radio Row yesterday in a Butterfinger jersey. “Ironic, since T.O. had plenty of drops early in his career,” says Eric Wright. ”¦ Here’s another new helmet designed to reduce concussions (thanks, Phil). ”¦ Here’s an article on the curse of the Broncos wearing orange in the Super Bowl. ”¦ And here’s an article — although not a new one — about how the Broncos’ current identity was developed (from Kary Klismet). ”¦ Man, was Mike Ditka wearing a toy helmet or what? ”¦ Levi’s is expanding its NFL apparel collection (from Tommy Turner). ”¦ Former Packers S Willie Wood, whose interception of a Len Dawson pass was a key turning point in Super Bowl I, now has dementia and doesn’t even recall having played in the NFL. Very sad. ”¦ The Rams’ mascot, Rampage, was spotted wearing the team’s old L.A. colors. ”¦ Here’s a look at the evolution of the Panthers’ jersey (which, of course, hasn’t actually evolved that much over the years). ”¦ Ryan Lindemann wrote a piece about Bud Light’s partnership with the NFL, including the current Super Bowl-themed cans and Bud Light’s upcoming redesign this spring.
College and High School Football News: Kentucky will be unveiling new football and basketball uniforms today at 10:30am Eastern, to go along with the new logo. You can watch a live stream here. ”¦ “On the TV show Lip Sync Battle, actress Nina Dobrev competed against Tim Tebow and came out in a Florida-style No. 15 jersey with her name on the back and a blank orange helmet,” says Chris Flinn.
Hockey News: NHL players being interviewed between periods for Hockey Night in Canada wear a HNiC towel, which has has become a highly coveted item. Key quote: “One year, Shannon recalls, the broadcast received pushback from the NHL, which wanted a Gatorade logo on the towel. The answer was a flat no.” Not only that, but the towels aren’t available for sale and aren’t used as giveaways. They bring two per game — one for each intermission — and that’s it. Good for them (from Rob Yasinsac). ”¦ American Cancer Society jerseys for the Ogden Mustangs (from Brice Wallace). ”¦ The Cancuks will wear their “flying skate” throwbacks next Saturday (thanks, Phil). ”¦ The Islanders had a container of Isles-branded baby powder on the bench for last night’s game in Washington (good spot by John Muir). ”¦ American Heart Association jerseys tonight for the Wichita Thunder.
NBA News: The Warriors gave President Obama a home jersey and a “The City” throwback during their White House visit yesterday. Here’s the president posing with the home design (thanks, Brinke). ”¦ Former NBA star Spencer Haywood says he turned down a 10% stake in Nike more than 30 years ago, opting for $100,000 instead. “I don’t know, man,” says our own Mike Chamernik. “Between this and the famous story where a coke-addicted Haywood hired a hitman to kill Lakers coach Paul Westhead during the 1980 NBA Finals, Haywood is either the most fascinating person ever, or he’s a world-class BS-er.” ”¦ The Pelicans wore their purple Mardi Gras uniforms last night, forcing the Lakers to wear their gold home uniforms on the road (from @HitTheGlass). ”¦ Rockets and Suns went color vs. color last night. ”¦ Here’s NBA 2K16’s rendition of the NBA All-Star Game court design (from Conrad Burry).
College and High School Hoops News: It’s pretty weird when a team called the Blue Devils wears pink. ”¦ Nebraska wore white NOB lettering on white jerseys two nights ago. ”¦ Kentucky will be unveiling new football and basketball uniforms today at 10:30am Eastern, to go along with the new logo. You can watch a live stream here (from @caliparty8). ”¦ Solid-red Black History Month throwbacks last night for Wisconsin. Further details here. ”¦ Two Minnesota high schools had a battle of the Indiana-style warm-up pants last night. ”¦ Northwestern wore purple at home last night. ”¦ “Throwback Thursday” logo last night for Stetson University.
Soccer News: The Columbus Crew will unveil new jerseys next Wednesday, Feb. 10, and 2:30pm Eastern. The event will stream live on their website. ”¦ New primary jersey for the L.A. Galaxy, and their championship stars are changing (thanks, Phil). ”¦ There’s a new USL team in San Antonio. ”¦ More details on the Philadelphia Union’s new jerseys. ”¦ The Scottish club Rangers has severed its ties to the sports apparel retailer Sports Direct (from Saurel Jean, Jr.). ”¦ New home kit for DC United. ”¦ “Bayer Leverkusen of the German Bundesliga today announced JAKO as their new shirt supplier,” writes Bernd Wilms. “To announce the deal, they used a huge replica of their new shirt.”
Grab Bag: New alternate rugby shirt for France. ”¦ New athletics logo for Bishop Kearney High School in western New York. ”¦ Uber drivers don’t like the company’s new logo. ”¦ Great piece on the “S” that was mounted on the Spectrum’s exterior in Philadelphia. The guy who currently owns it is trying to get all the players and musicians who played in the Spectrum to sign it (from Art Savokinas). ”¦ Keuka College is changing its team name from the Wolfpack to the Wolves, due to legal pressure from N.C. State. ”¦ Yale’s new deal with Under Armour won’t result in a lot of camouflage or other bullshit. Key quote, from a Yale equipment guy: “You can expect to see the standard navy with white trim or vice versa. Nothing on that end is going to change.” See, it’s not that hard — the client runs the show, not the vendor (thanks, Phil).
I’m okay with year-long patches, the old “you’re the champ until dethroned” bit. It’s no 1906 NY Giants and their Worlds Champions jerseys though.
Yep. As long as they’re the ‘reigning’ champs, they can do whatever they want.
Actually, I’m a little surprised the 1906 Giants and the 1924-25 Canadiens didn’t get a mention in the lede. Granted, they didn’t wear patches so much as change the front of their uniforms to reflect their championship status.
Incidentally, neither team repeated; the Giants finished 20 games behind the Cubs in 1906, and while the Habs won the NHL playoff title, they lost the Stanley Cup to the WCHL champion Victoria Cougars, the last non-NHL team to win the Cup.
And don’t forget link. I wouldn’t mind doing it that way, but when you are officially eliminated, go back to the standard uniform.
Agreed. On the exceedingly rare instances when a team I root for has won a championship, I want to keep the celebration going as long as possible. And when teams I root for play the reigning champion, I take special pleasure when my team beats them. In each case, a championship patch on the uniform is a nice reminder.
As your ’06 Giants reference reminds us, there’s plenty of precedent for this kind of thing. Even so, by temperament I always like to err on the side of “act like you’ve been there before.” Hubris, Nemesis, etc.
Premier League teams wear gold patches featuring the league logo after winning the title; every other team wears white ones.
I like the idea. Not only is it a well-earned honor, it offers a nice bit of schadenfreude when the Defending Champs are fifteen games back in August.
I’m more in tune with the NBA philosophy on this. MLB champs should wear a patch for their opening series of the following season and that’s it, in my opinion. It’s like, sure, have a little fond remembrance, but move on. Once a new season gets underway, the past is the past and a team’s status as former champs means precisely squat, in and of itself.
I absolutely loved the gold-trimmed 2005 opening day Red Sox uniforms as a one-off. Anything that is a complete uniform modification I would prefer seeing as a one-off, but if it were a patch, I’m all for a season long celebration.
One of my favorite parts of the NASCAR drivers’ suits is that any past champion wears a patch saying “Champion” along with the year(s) won. Sure, the fans don’t the suit during the race, but I would be completely fine if the current champ had a decal on his car, similar to the little checkered flag decals drivers get for race wins.
Proofreading:
Tagging is messed up for the Dorsett story, affecting the next couple items.
“Levi’s is expecting its NFL apparel collection”
“Here’sa look at the evolution of the Panthers’ jersey”
“But Light’s upcoming redesign this spring” If this is deliberate, make it two Ts.
“They bring two per game – one for each intermission – and that it.”
All fixed. Thank you!
Tags are still not quite right: “Check out the odd Eagles logo of the Rams’ new stadium”
Got it.
more like Butt Light…am I right? eh?
Not sure I care for the World Series patch. Everyone knows you won last year but this is an entire new season. Bragging about last year like that seems a little bush league to me. But, that’s just me.
I believe you meant to type Levi’s is “expanding,” not “expecting”
The Friday Flashback is up:
link
link agrees with my recollection that the only time an AFL team wore the 10th anniversary patch was the Super Bowl. That, of course, was the last appearance of an AFL team.
Correct. In today’s Flashback, I mistakenly said the Chiefs wore the patch all season long. I’ll get my editor to change that.
In the 75-76 OPC/Topps hockey set, there are a few Philadelphia Flyers cards where they’re wearing a Stanley Cup patch. IIRC, they were never worn during an actual game, though.
link
A search resulted in my finding that the Flyers’ patch was covered in the Ticker link. link.
I find that case pretty unusual.
Contacted someone on a Flyers history site years ago and he said the patch was worn in pre-season games. Unfortunately I no longer have that email.
One member on the icejerseys site mentions them wearing it during the pre-season.
link
Championship patches happen in soccer all the time, the Premier League champions wear a gold patch, there is the Scudetto that the Italian champ wears, and World Cup victory stars on national team crests, so it’s not a huge deal. The issue comes when it becomes another revenue stream, like the locker room hats, and t-shirts, and DVD’so and so on, and so on…
But the Premier League “patch” isn’t really a separate patch like the Royals are wearing. All the Premier League teams wear a league patch on their shirtsleeves, just like all NBA teams wear the Jerry West logo, etc. The Premier League champion’s patch has a gold background whereas the patch for all the other teams has a white background. That is much more appealing to me than what the Royals are doing or even a one-off patch or uniform. Maybe the MLB logo on the back of the hat (and now the pants) could have a gold background instead of team colors?
FIFA also has these horrible shields for their champions: link
UEFA also has a slew of patches to be worn, though I’m not linking as I don’t have their system wrapped around my head.
I’m not a big fan of the FIFA shields, either.
MLS just revamped its system for identifying current champions and total championships won. link
Here’s how the number 8 appears on the current Blue Jays uniforms, at least on the blue jerseys: link
They look similar enough to me, aside from the 8 on the jersey having slightly more weight.
“A jeweler who’s also a Panthers fan has created a ring to commemorate the team’s Super Bowl run.”
You forgot the word “ugly”.
Thanks for adding my article! Happy Super Bowl Weekend, all
All the cool North Carolina tibits are great today. Gastonia is my home town, yay for the snazzy ring. And denver is the town i get fresh meat from at a great meat market there.
Anything ever happen with the project about people’s key chain stories?
Yes! The entries that people sent in were really good, and I’m pitching the idea to various media outlets as a regular feature. Haven’t found a receptive venue yet, but these things take time. If nobody wants it, I’ll just build a website for it myself.
Thanks for the update!
If I may piggyback this comment…Some time ago, like two years ago, you said you had your place deep cleaned and I believe you said you’d write about it, but I don’t remember ever seeing an update. Did I miss it? For some reason this seems interesting to me.
I wasn’t particularly pleased with the experience.
I’ve already asked you Paul, via twitter if you like Championship tributes on unis, so I know you’re not for them. I however, think its such a terrific idea and EVERY major sport should do this for the reigning champs.
I just see it as a cool thing to commemorate and an extra “Spoil” for winning it all. I think it would look better if the team name was outlined in gold or something like that vs a patch. But either way I am ALL FOR IT and all sports should do it
I don’t mind the patches. I think they deserve the bragging rights. I also enjoy when they do the gold jerseys for their first home game of the season. That’s a pretty cool tradition.
In some motor sports, the reigning champion can wear/display #1 on their car/bike/helmet. I have no problem with what the Royals are doing.
The Blue Jays wear that style of 8 now.
Huh. OK, I’ll remove that item from the Ticker.
I soooorta dig the championship patches, but it seems a little bit like overkill, especially when the season is as long as it is in MLB. Maybe just all of April, or the first couple homestands. If a team regresses badly, and is out of it by July, it’d look a little ridiculous to have ’em sporting championship patches.
I wonder if the good folks who pay you money to advertise on your website are also “douchebags” or do you only have a problem with other people making money from advertising revenue?
As I’ve explained many, many times, I am not opposed to advertising per se. But I am very opposed to advertising where it doesn’t belong.
Media outlets — especially those that give away their content for free, as this website does — being supported by advertising revenue is a business model that goes back literally centuries. If you think that’s morally and intellectually equivalent to wearing a corporate advertising patch on a Hall of Fame jacket, well, that’s your prerogative. I respectfully disagree.
It’s not so much a patch as a tag, probably a clip-on, considering the right third of it hovers over the part of the jacket past the edge of the lapel.
Still, I’m with Paul on this one. Using a Hall of Fame jacket as a billboard for anything other than the Hall of Fame itself just comes off as wrong.
Though, I do give bonus points to Derrick Brooks for the matching vest.
Only if they make popup ads.
Maybe I’ve just been lucky this year, but I haven’t heard “The Big Game” a lot when going to the store or in commercials. “Game Day” seems to be all the buzz now, which hasn’t annoyed me yet.
A few years back, I took a several week’s sabattical from shopping at one store. Their constant PA announcements for “everything you need for The Big Game” drove me so batty I couldn’t come back until mid to late February.
Maybe if Paul’s “Supe” catches on, stores could use that phrasing. Then again, Roger Goodell would probably go all “No Supe for you!” on them. No Fun League, indeed.
I hate the season long patches. I like them opening night for the championship banner celebration. Also hate season long allstar patches. If you choose to wear an allstar patch, remove it after the game has been played
I’m all for championship patches. I love that MLB has been doing this in recent years. In a way, the season after a title is often a “honeymoon” season anyway, where a lot of fans bask in the afterglow, so I’m totally cool with it. I’m a Mets fan and would have been elated to see the Mets wear a WS champs patch this year. Maybe next year…
The only time I hesitate on the idea of a reigning champs patch is when I see a player wearing the patch the next year who wasn’t on the title team. Ian Kennedy will be in this situation this year. Nori Aoki was a notable player who was in that situation for the Giants last year (which had to be even more painful since his team lost to the Giants in the Series). I don’t think there’s a fix for that, as-is. Like, I don’t think you can send out players that fall into that category without the patch, because then it’s not ‘uniform.’ Maybe the solution is the soccer style stars just above the wordmark (or maybe one large star with the number of titles inside, because 27 stars on a Yankees jersey would probably look a tad unwieldy)? So basically, what the NBA does, just moved to the front?
I’m not a fan of the World Series winning patch. It seems like a bit much. Teams have flags, banners, signage, and all sorts of reminders about their WS win. I think the patch is too much. I’d be interested to know how the players feel. My gut tells me most don’t like it as the patch cant help them win any games in their current year. Most athletes live for the season and don’t dwell on their past achievements until their career is over. Interestingly I really like the WS patch teams wear during the actual WS. I hope MLB doesn’t follow the NFL and make their championship game patch generic with only slight changes each year. I look forward to seeing a new WS patch each year. I used to look forward to each years Super Bowl patch but those days are gone.
I’m all for the Championship patches.. when considering all the stupid things people wear patches for (The 25th anniversary of a stadium, for example), at least this is actually about on field results.
I’m not a big fan of it, but to each their own. As a Yankee fan, I’m glad they didn’t wear any patch or outline their numbers in gold to celebrate the 2009 World Series championship. However, that didn’t keep New Era and Majestic from selling those products to fans.
I will say this: it’s obviously about merchandising. Even as the Mets got to the World Series this year, in my head, I was dying to buy a gold-outlined jersey or a gold ‘NY’ cap. I know that’s ridiculous, but it is noteworthy that New Era and Majestic have conditioned some fans to anticipate and actively yearn for these items, connecting their purchase to the emotion of winning a title. Same principle with championship gear, but MLB really did create the gold-trimmed category out of nowhere. I believe the Red Sox were the first ones to do it, right? Shows how far this category has come from a merch perspective in just over a decade.
The Indians actually wore an AL Champions patch during the 1996 season. Any other examples of a patch for just MAKING IT to the championship game/series?
link
The Colts have hung “finalist” banners: link
Sigh. Pre-1969, “just making it to the championship series” was known as winning the league pennant, and it was a significant achievement in and of itself. Winning the Series was a nice cherry on top of what was already considered a championship season. That’s sadly been lost in the era of divisions, wild cards, and multiple playoff rounds.
Now get off my lawn.
I have no problem with the patches. Teams and their fans should revel in a championship. I think what the Royals have done with their spring training hat – adding a gold crown above the KC logo – is more fun and interesting. It seems particularly fitting given the crown-shaped scoreboard at Kauffman, which has been there for years. Any word on whether the Royals will wear the crown-and-KC cap during the regular season this year?
Given the logistics of getting product into the retail pipeline, I’m pretty sure that that Royals cap (which I love) was already in production long before they won the Series. The crown simply refers to the team’s name. The fact that they just won the Series is a timely coincidence.
Wearing a commemorative patch for anything other the season or home opener (but not both) is an act of hubris AFAIC. You cease to be a championship team once the first results of the next season are in the book. That said, at the risk of being contradictory I’m a fan of the stars soccer teams wear to acknowledge their historical successes.
My daughter played on an NCAA championship team, and at the end of the game each of the players received a commemorative t-shirt and baseball cap (neither of which she took off, except to shower, for probably a week). Her coach told the team to enjoy wearing them for the rest of the semester, but that anyone she saw wearing one or the other after that would be punished with additional physical conditioning. And even with that type of team mentality, some of the incoming freshmen the following season still needed to be disabused of the notion that “defending champions” meant anything other than “just a team trying to win this year’s championship.”
Man, this is a great discussion topic — lots of strong feelings on each side! Keep it up, people.
Given that the Carolina Panthers wear the “greatest uniform” in the history of the NFL, or in all sports, any wonder why their evolution history would limited. I mean, how do you change “greatness”?
It seems like it would make more sense (to me anyway) to show the progression either the white or black jersey so you could actually see/track the differences. Jumping back and forth didn’t do it for me.
Not exactly the same as the champions patch worn the following season, but the Cubs wore a big goofy looking NL East champions patch in 1984 for the NLCS. I can’t recall any other team wearing something to commemorate a division title. link
Question about the Chiefs’ AFL 10th anniversary patch in Supe IV… I always thought that the patches were thrown together by the AFL just for the Super Bowl, to balance the NFL 50 patches. I don’t think the league’s teams wore the patch all season. Is that just legend?
You are correct. Several people have pointed this out. I’ve had my editor change the text accordingly.
I know the Cardinals sold the championship patches after winning in 2011, so it wasn’t just a move to sell another jersey (though I guess you could say it was just a move to sell patches). A friend of mine simply sewed one onto his existing jersey.
I tend not to be a fan of championship patches. Mostly I think because I tend to find the designs uninteresting or generic. The result is a patch that tends not to fit with the overall uniform. If teams put the same type of effort into design for championships that they are capable of with respect to anniversary patches (ex. 2016 Toronto Blue Jays) I might be of a different opinion.
Baseball has more history with championship patches and uniforms done by the individual teams than the other professional leagues. Makes no difference to me. I like what the NBA does with gold tabs on the back collar of uniforms and with some soccer clubs and national teams when they add a star to their logo for each championship.
I’m sure it’s been discussed in the past but it’s relevant to note in this discussion that the 1921 Cleveland Indians had a whole championship link following their 1920 World Series win.
I also remember the Indians wearing this patch in 1998:
link
The White Sox wore these on their home unis only throughout 2006:
link
I’m generally a minimalist/purist when it comes to aesthetic taste in uniforms (and everything else, for that matter), but I make an exception for championship patches. They’re damned hard to come by, so yeah, go for it. And you’re the champ until there’s a new champ, so wear it all season.
I don’t recall MLB teams doing the entire season long champions patch, prior to 2011 when the Giants first did it for their 2010 win. I’d rather the team just did it for the first game, maybe the game where they present the trophy. You also get the now standard gold trimmed outfits, too. The Giants are now old hands at this type of thing, but man those trophy celebrations can run a long time.
Hope to see another one in April of ’17; this is an even year.
Championship patches are fine for one game only–but if it was my team, I’d be worried that wearing them season-long could induce my players to “rest on their laurels”. I prefer what the Red Sox and Giants have done in recent years–gold outlining on the wordmark (also for one game only).
In 11-12 the Hershey Bears wore an opening night jersey that celebrated their back to back Calder Cup wins on the crest and the 2 shoulders had the logos of the 2 teams they beat to win the cups. That raised some eyebrows in the AHL. They were not playing either of those teams opening night.
Can’t find a pic of the jersey to share.
Also, they had on the lower stripe, outlines of the other callers they had won with year on trophy. (I think)
I don’t like championship patches when, as is almost always the case, they clutter up the design of the uniform.* I’m supportive of a subtler touch like the star customarily used in association football or an armband in silver or gold (depending on which better compliments the underlying uniform).
*Not limited to championship patches there, but very much including the various disease-of-the-week, non-potable makers’ marks, league logo, etc.
Poor Keuka College. I hate when major programs get into trademark issues with small guys. Nothing about Keuka College Wolf Pack would be confused with NC State. Tons of schools share mascots.
Just like the BS MLB lawsuit against the wallet hub app over use of a basic W.
link
Or heck, DC suing Valencia soccer over their bat logo.
link
DC has used over 20 different bats for batman. Pretty much giving them a monopoly on all bat logos.
Perhaps Bacardi ought to sue DC over DC’s misappropriation of the Bacardi bat.
Perhaps link (little brother of the Valencia city team) ought to sue DC over it’s misappropriation of it’s bat logo. They have been at it since the 1919’s.
Not too bad altogether.
First thing that occurred to me on the championship patches is that because it’s a new season, you’ll have people wearing them who were acquired through free agency, who are rookies, what have you, that weren’t on the team that won the championship. It’s possible that you were even on the losing team from the year before’s championship.
My other thought would be if the team after the championship sucks, I’d hate to be playing September baseball in last place in the division looking at the championship patch from the year before.
I think if a team is going to wear a championship patch then it should only be for the opening game but I’d prefer they didn’t wear a championship patch at all.
There will always be someone on the roster who wasn’t on the team when they won the championship so you end up with players wearing a championship patch who didn’t win a championship.
I think patches are a little tame. I would prefer WORLD CHAMPIONS in the largest text possible on the front of the jerseys all year. Loved those Habs jerseys with the globes, and other stuff I’ve seen over the years. Why not? It’s fun, can be a great-looking one-year style. Or two if they’re lucky. The fact the sport they are playing is likely played elsewhere in the world, yet no game was played to establish a world champion, makes it all the better.
I’m fairly certain that’s just an link, not an Isles-branded container.
and that odd link reminds me of link.
Typo in the hockey section – “Cancuks” should be “Canucks”
Friday Flashback happy birthday to link born on this day in 1942. Here he is flashing his NAVY duds all gold, all the time.
Yeah fanboys and girls, color-rush was alive and doing fine well in decades past. One of the fundamental keys to design and fashionable attire (whether sport or unsport) is that the whole industry is CYCLICAL (except for purple – I am sure that Paul probably hates the Phoenicians who invented the color) .
So basically, you are well within your rights to call the Super Bowl the “Super Bowl,” but the NFL can sue you and cost you money, even though they wouldn’t win the case?
Man… I’d hope that every retailer, bar, restaurant, and hot dog stand in the nation dare them to pull that nonsense.
It’s the Super Bowl. Corporate doublespeak is horseshit.
aren’t there laws against repeatedly filing frivolous and/or baseless suits?
Which means I’m even more within my rights to have a Not Watching The Super Bowl Party and to call it what it is. Party on!
I think it would be cool if defending NHL camps had the Stanley Cup on their jerseys. Not the cup in a rectangular or circular patch, and no additional words or numbers – just a patch of the cup and its actual outline.
I’m a soccer fan, and soccer teams always pimp their kits out after they win a trophy. In Italy, you get a scudetto after you win the league and a coccrada for winning the cup. In England, your league badges are gold for the next season.
Personally, I wish more American teams would adopt this. You’re the champions. Embrace it.
Can we get a shot of the Uber logo that isn’t on a pay site? Unless the Uber logo is just so-so…
Interesting perspectives: Season-long championship patches are a bad idea, because it will lead players to “rest on their laurels.” And season-long championship patches are a bad idea, because players will over-stress themselves trying to avoid the embarrassment of being a last-place team with a championship patch on their sleeves.
Obviously both cannot be generally true; it’s one or the other (or neither) as regards typical player attitudes. But each perspective does seem rooted in real experience of playing sports, at least at a youth level. Personally, I was the kind of player who was terrified of failing, and often undermined my own performance by not playing loose enough and not trusting muscle memory and training. But I also saw plenty of kids who rested on natural talent and wound up vastly underperforming their potentials. For professional athletes, I have to assume that the most common case would fall into the “neither” category. If you’re good enough to play the game for money, you’re almost certainly not the kind of person who would rest on your team’s laurels, and you’re almost certainly not the kind of person who would get so caught up in comparing your team’s current record with the past that your own performance would suffer. And even if you were the type of person who would do either, having a little decorative patch on your shoulder shouldn’t make a difference either way. But that’s a guess about the attitudes of professional players; I certainly experienced and witnessed both types of reactions to expectations as a youth player.
These competing perspectives on the possible disadvantages of a patch also raise a more fundamental question: Who is the uniform for? Is the uniform primarily meant for the players, so psychological impacts on player egos and performance are the first consideration? Or is the uniform primarily meant for the fans, so effects on the fan experience (and, sigh, retail merchandising) are the first consideration? I tend to think that uniforms are for the fans more than for the players. But I think there may be a really interesting conversation to be had on the subject of who the uniform is ultimately for.
Interesting thought re: who the uniform is for (assuming the base identification function is implicit).
“you’re almost certainly not the kind of person who would get so caught up in comparing your team’s current record with the past that your own performance would suffer. ”
For me, it wouldn’t be about performance suffering. It would just be a painful reminder of the current bad performance. I wasn’t thinking embarrassment, as much as a lament.
Spencer Haywood was definitely an interesting dude. Not many guys won NBA scoring titles, married a supermodel and beat the NBA in the U.S. Supreme Court. link
The FHWA is going to revert back to the old-style font (Highway Gothic) for highway signs because research showed that the new-style font (Clearview) they were using wasn’t more legible because it was a better font, new signs themselves were just more legible than old dilapidated ones they were replacing.
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For my teams, I don’t buy any *regular* team merch until after they win championships. Not as a fairweather fan, but I want to train the owners to create winning teams if they want to be rewarded.
As long as we’ve digressed into talking about lame-ass celebrations of things that are less than a championship…
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I’m good with celebrating a championship. If I were in charge, there would be no celebrating regular season titles, division titles, final eight, final four or first loser.
I live and Kansas City and I am indifferent on the championship patches. It is great to celebrate and remind everyone you are reigning champ. I am sure it is just another ploy to sell new merch. I had to pick up a new Royals shirt for my son and it had a new WS logo on the sleeve. People in this town gobble this stuff up and will buy whatever is new. I think the patch is way better than the new lame-o Spring Training hat that has the crown above the KC logo.
Championship patches are fine. Until the next champ is decided those patches are historically relevant and timely. Since it represents the TEAM’S championship, anyone on that team should wear it, regardless if they were not on that team prior. The aesthetic appeal is also fine. Much better than as mentioned a patch for a ballpark anniversary or anniversary of a previous world championship.
In soccer, World Cup champs get to add a star to their uniform. This is permanent until they win another. It was interesting at last summer’s Women’s World Cup, which at that time the USA was 2 time winners, that their warm up jackets did not have these stars, presumably because they are shared with the men’s team.
Anyone else irked by the truncated sash on LA Galaxy’s new shirt? The left shoulder, in particular. I’m no fan of adidas’ stripes from the neck down to the sleeves, but comparing the new shirt (no shoulder stripes) with last year’s (blue stripes), at least the blue stripes sort of give you the visual impression as to why the sash stops where it does.
Looking at the sash Nike put on the USMNT shirt ca. 2010 World Cup, it goes all the way to the seam on top of the shoulder. Similarly, the famous shirt they wore in ’50 has the sash stop at the stitching with the sleeve. And while the one the Galaxy will be wearing technically ends on the piece of fabric it occupies, I imagine it’ll look a little off from a distance/on TV.
Give me a season-long championship patch any day over a team trotting out another softball top.
Here’s an author addressing a topic we have debated many times on this site: Why do we buy $300 sports jerseys?
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My question: when Obama leaves office, what does he do with all these custom made jerseys? The guy could wallpaper his next office with them.