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Uni Watch

Monday Morning Uni Watch

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Good morning! Hope everyone had a good weekend, as I did.

Now then: These MMUW reports usually feature teams wearing something out of the ordinary, like a throwback uniform or an unusual uni combo. But sometimes the most notable thing is just a good-looking game between two teams wearing their traditional uniforms. That was the case yesterday in Chicago, where the Bears and Packers provided some nice eye candy. The uni combos, the grass field, the angle of the late-autumn sun — it all felt Just Right.

Obviously, there’s nothing new about a Packers/Bears game in Chicago — it happens every single season — but it’s still a visual treat. Here’s a glimpse of how it looked in action:

Similarly, the Raiders host the Chargers every year, so there’s nothing new on that front. But it sure was easy on the eyes yesterday:

In other news from around the league yesterday:

  • The Falcons wore their throwbacks, and also went with a throwback-style scoreboard:
  • From that same game: As you probably know, if an official throws a flag and then needs to signal another infraction, he throws his cap. But it’s really rare to see two hatless officials standing side by side:
  • The Giants wore their throwbacks and also had throwback end zones:

  • That Jints/Commies game featured a rarity, as both punters — New York’s Jamie Gillan and Washington’s Tress Way — were left-footed (these photos are not from yesterday, but obviously their dominant feet have not changed):
  • The Cowboys changed one of their helmet stripes from blue to red for military appreciation. They also did this for one game last season, so it now appears to be an annual thing (and of course they also did it for the entire 1976 season, but that was for the bicentennial, not for the military):
  • Another awful look for the Lions, who for some reason chose to wear blue over blue:
  • The Texans wore their mono-blue alternates:
  • The Bengals wore their orange alternate jerseys:
  • Jets quarterback Mike White is a big hockey fan, so he and some his teammates showed up for yesterday’s game against the Vikings wearing Mighty Ducks jerseys:

  • Speaking of the Jets, they once again wore white over black, which means Gang Green still has not worn green jerseys or pants at all this season:
  • Sock shenanigans continue to spread, as Steelers cornerback Cam Sutton went rogue by wearing striped tube socks (with mismatched shoelace colors for good measure):
  • Speaking of the Steelers, defensive lineman Cam Heyward wore his father Craig “Ironhead” Heyward’s old Falcons jersey for his postgame presser. He said he had visited his father’s grave prior to the game.
  • If you noticed some particularly funky-looking footwear on the field yesterday, that’s because this was the week for the annual “My Cause, My Cleats” promotion. You can see a lot of the custom footwear here and here.
  • Just one home team wore white: the aforementioned Cowboys, of course.

As for tonight: The Bucs are hosting the Saints, with New Orleans slated to wear their black alternate helmets.

(My thanks to all contributors, including David Clemons, Darrell Dawson,Alan Kreit, Steve MacLaughlin, and our own Jerry Wolper.)

 

 
  
 

Very Early Example of Uni-Watching

This statue is of ancient Roman magistrate Pliny the Younger, who, as it turns out, had some interesting things to say about uniform. Check out this quote from a letter he sent around 109 A.D.:

It does the more surprise me therefore that so many thousand people should be possessed with the childish passion of desiring so often to see a parcel of horses gallop, and men standing upright in their chariots. If, indeed, it were the swiftness of the horses, or the skill of the men that attracted them, there might be some pretence of reason for it. But it is the dress they like; it is the dress that takes their fancy. And if, in the midst of the course and contest, the different parties were to change colours, their different partisans would change sides, and instantly desert the very same men and horses whom just before they were eagerly following with their eyes, as far as they could see, and shouting out their names with all their might. Such mighty charms, such wondrous power reside in the colour of a paltry tunic!

In other words, Pliny was making the “rooting for laundry” observation nearly two millennia before Jerry Seinfeld!

(Huge thanks to our own Scott M.X. Turner for bringing this one to my attention.)

 

What Paul Did Last Night

Went to Jersey City last night to see an all-star tribute show for the seminal 1970s power-pop band Big Star. That’s Jody Stephens, Big Star’s last surviving original member, at the mic, and other band members included, from left to right, Pat Sansone (from Wilco), Jon Auer (Posies), Mike Mills (R.E.M.), and Chris Stamey (dBs).

I’ve been to several of the Big Star all-star shows over the years, and it’s always a great time. Definitely worth seeing if they come to your town.

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Comments (47)

    The Falcons could look this good all the time? Wish they’d wear a red jersey too, but Jeez. So much better.

    FYI… should be Jets QB Mike White, not Sam White.

    Bucs’ Twitter has been pushing a ‘red-out’ for MNF tonight. No further word if that means the Bucs are wearing their all-red Color Rush unis which haven’t been worn since 2019.

    I doubt it, seeing that the color rush unis have the old pant striping and the old alarm clock numbers. The GUD says it’s the traditional red over pewter, but I would be curious to see if they break out a new red pant today (though I doubt it).

    link^13

    I hate when my own stuff comes back and bites me. You may not know it, but I am the graphics guy from GUD. We put up the red/pewter based on early season jersey schedules. However the Bucs have not been scared to ‘change their plans’ and divert from the original jersey schedule at times.

    I have mixed feelings on Cam Sutton wearing the striped socks. I think the Steelers uniform set is nearly perfect, if only they would go back to block numbers. I don’t mind their current sock status but I just love striped socks. It they were to create a set that matched their sleeve stripe, it could be a really solid look…I’m looking at you too Packers. I just wish Nike/NFL/teams would collaborate to create striped tights and socks so players had the option to wear either but also be uniform with each other.

    Do teams talk to each other beforehand? Nothing about the Lions in all blue with the Jags in teal pants looks visually appealing and I love the Jags in teal pants. What were the Lions thinking?

    NYG, Atlanta…please make these full time.

    The NFL uniform police have clearly given up.
    I would say the Lions should blow it up, but I’m sure Nike would come up with something even worse. Do teams let players vote to wear these mono looks? If so, need to reconsider that practice.

    Only the Lions could mess up what once was one of the great uniforms of all time with what they are rolling out these days. Silver, white and Honolulu Blue please, stop with this new blue and the black.

    Absolutely one of the nicest uniforms in NFL history… the Lions home Honolulu Blue unis with the white numerals.

    And somehow, it looked even prettier on Thanksgiving.

    link

    Bengals in Halloween Spiderman costumes.. OOF! That’s a bad look. Falcons look 1000% better in their throwbacks (as is the case w almost every team I suppose).

    I hate the Cowboys, but the stripe change is an amazingly simple but effective tribute.

    And it looks great…

    Obligatory Falcons should wear that all the time comment.
    But seriously, replace the old logo on the helmet with the new one, place the stripe pattern from the socks on the jersey sleeves and suddenly the Falcons go from the worst dressed teams to one of the best.

    Packers/Bears is without a doubt the best uniform matchup right now. Regardless of who is at home, both combos look great and contrast well against each other. Chiefs/Raiders is the only other one that comes close.

    Big Star: to say that Jody Stevens is the last surviving member is not correct.

    Last original, yes, but 2 other members from the bands lifetime are alive.

    Jody Stephens looks like he hasn’t aged since 1973.

    Speaking of tribute concerts, I will be attending the 40th anniversary tribute concert for R.E.M.’s “Chronic Town” EP in Atlanta on the 15th. Can’t wait!

    I’ll be there too! Would have been really cool to see it at the 40-Watt in Athens the previous night, but making the drive to Athens on a weeknight was a bridge too far, sadly.

    Seeing the Cowboys will have worn 4 different helmets this year had me thinking, what’s the record for different number of jerseys in a year? Is it also 4?

    Technically, it’s only two different helmets (silver shell, white shell), but yes, so far four different permutations. I believe in 2018 the Jets also did this, when they wore white, gray, kelly green and hunter green facemasks. I’m sure there are others as well. As far as jerseys? Four is easily the “record” (many teams already do this with home, road alt and color rush or throwback); four is mostly the standard and not the exception now. I’d venture there have been teams with five different jerseys as well, but that would require some research.

    That’s what I was figuring because like you said, almost every team (including the Cowboys!) have a four jersey rotation, but idk if anyones gotten to 5. A better question would be how many variation of the same design has a team trotted out (so excluding throwbacks). Based off this year alone I can think of Chargers, Seahawks, even teams like the Ravens, Texans, and Cardinals who repeat one color.

    Paul, while you’re not wrong that officials throw their caps after they’ve already thrown their flags, for the play in question from the Steelers-Falcons game, they had both thrown their hats because they were marking a Steeler receiver that went out of bounds. He ultimately came back into the field of play and caught the pass so by rule, it’s illegal touching and then they threw their flags.

    But the point still stands that it’s odd to see TWO officials sans hats.

    Unrelated, but I need to know where Cam got those socks. Those along with the socks from the throwback uniforms (bumblebees) are must haves.

    You know, the Commies’ white over red look has actually grown on me. That game against the Giants actually looked pretty good.

    Agreed. Although Washington should have kept their old Redskins uniforms exactly as they were, and replaced the helmet logo with the new W. Why fix what was near-perfect?

    Tube socks are wonderful, they look cool on everybody. NFL and NBA, please make them part of must wear uniform items as soon as possible!

    Any reference to Big Star makes me think of The Replacements., cuz children by the million sing for Alex Chilton.

    Ya know, a fella can stumble over a kindred spirit in the most unexpected places. This will be my earworm for the next several days. Thank you.

    After reviewing the photos posted this morning, it’s clear that we’ve reached the nadir on NFL uniforms being, you know, uniform.

    Players have never looked sloppier. But such is fashion today in general. So, no sense in pretending to be surprised.

    -C.

    Jets fans got to decide on what pants the team wore this week. 47.6% voted for black pants, while white and green got 27.2% and 25.2% respectively.

    link

    They’ll likely go to the same uniform for next week, but might switch to green jerseys for their next home game against Detroit. They’re wearing all-black against the Jags on Thursday night after that, and then finish out their last 2 games of the year on the road. BUT the last game of the year is in Miami, so maybe they’ll wear green then if Miami opts for white (but in January they don’t really do that?)

    A close observation of the Falcons’ throwback helmet reveals a small, but significant, sartorial signature. It features two gold stripes, one either side the white stripes. This is the first time I have seen this detail on a throwback. The interesting history is that when the new team’s colors and logos were revealed in the mid-1960s, Georgia Tech fans were quite displeased that their new NFL team too-closely resembled their nemesis, UGA. So the Falcons appealed to the “Wrecking Crew” by adding the gold stripes. These were present 1966 – 1969.

    More here: link

    Hard time deciding between my favorite look of this weekend. Tie between the Bengals uni combo and the Giants’ endzones.

    No one noticed the “Giants” decal on Saquon Barkley’s helmet was missing the underline and looked like it was placed too high up?

    The “GIANTS” on Saquon Barkley’s helmet was missing the underline on one side. The other side was fine. On Thanksgiving, the “tail” of his NY was crooked on one side of the helmet. The other side was fine.

    link

    the bengals orange over black was nice….will they ever have orange pants? the commanders should have just kept the unis the exact same (and colors) as before and just replaced the logo and team name on the jerseys. the previous washington unis are iconic, why mess with perfection? also, if you are going with the military vibe for the commanders, why not go with a camo print jersey/pant (in team colors) combo as an alternate uni? would go perfect with salute to the military games.

    As the old saying goes “keep it simple stupid” or “KISS” as some say. Love Atlanta’s throwback with the red helmet. Also, I am enjoying the Giant’s throwbacks as well. Wouldn’t mind if either team were to make these full time (in Atlanta’s case, that would be a couple more years). I’m also ready to see the Eagles break out some kelly green sometime soon. And, let’s see Seattle break out some Steve Largent era unis. I know Nike is in the business of selling merch. But, some of their current designs may look ok up close. But, on the field, they just look too busy.

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