In today’s ticker, the Texans are expediting their uni redesigns and should have them by the start of the 2024 season, will TB’s creamsicle alts be enough to lure TB back? and more!
Uni Watch News Ticker for Jan. 15, 2023
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Baseball
MLB
- Here’s an article that ranks the top eight powder blue jerseys worn this past season. Unfortunately, some of those were worn over white pants, rather than the full powder look many of us grew up with.
- Somewhere in Austin, TX, a mural exists depicting Willie Nelson in what appears to be a NASCAR cap, Astros Tequila Sunrise jersey — a muscle shirt, no less — and shorts. And his right forearm appears to be about twice the size of his left. Yes, there is a lot to unpack here. (From SteveinLC)
- We’ve discussed “rubbing mud” on MLB baseballs before, but here’s another good article discussing the specific type used on every MLB ball.
- Former Chicago Cubs star Ryne Sandberg will be getting a statue at Wrigley Field.
- MLB earned more than $10.8 billion in revenue during the 2022 season. Yet they will permanently sully all uniforms beginning this season with ads because, ya know, greed.
Minors
- The Winston-Salem Dash, a high A affiliate of the Chicago White Sox, will wear (at least) 10 different home jerseys this season. (Via Paul)
More
- Japan: Here are the Chiba Lotte Marines with their 2023 uniforms. (From Jeremy Brahm)
- College: ICYMI — The Arizona Wildcats baseball team will wear throwback 1986 white uniforms in Tucson for the 2023 season, the team unveiled Monday.
- Holy crap: check out this photo of a Death Row inmates baseball team. Submitter Allie Allie Oxenfree notes it’s “interesting” the “team” is integrated. I’m a bit more concerned about what appears to be a very young child in that photo. WTF?
Football
NFL
- Last night the Jacksonville Jaguars wore black/teal/white — according to the GUD, the first time they’ve worn this combo since the first week of the season, and first time this season at home. (Thanks, Paul). Visually, the game was pretty brutal, as the Jags wore solid white undersocks/sleeves/tights with their stripeless pants. Meanwhile the Chargers countered by going white/white/white, with some players even going with white socks/etc. for that extra icy look. Far too much white laundry between the two squads.
- If you scroll down a bit in this article, it kinda/sorta explains why the Minnesota Vikings will be wearing their all-purple uniforms in today’s playoff game against the New York Giants: “The Vikings are wearing purple on purple this weekend. It’s the same arrangement they had for the playoff game against the Saints in 2019 when Kirk Cousins and Kyle Rudolph walked off Drew Brees’ pals.”
- The Houston Texans could have new uniforms after next season: “They’re on a fast-track process that could give them new uniforms as soon as the 2024 season with a potential to unveil them that offseason.” It’s hard to believe that 1) their current uniforms are 20+ years old; and 2) while they have multiple combos (and did introduce a new red alternate helmet this season), they’ve basically remained unchanged since their inception.
- When the NFL relaxed their one-helmet rule this offseason Tampa Bay Buccaneer fans were eagerly awaiting the return of the throwback Bucco Bruce uniforms complete with creamsicle jerseys. But supply chain issues didn’t allow Nike to produce them in time for a throwback look in 2022. The Bucs are hoping their return to the creamsicles will be enough to lure Tom Brady back for another season with the Bucs.
- The Dallas Cowboys apparently have a real jinx when it comes to wearing their blue jerseys in the playoffs. Will forcing the ‘boys to wear blue on the road in Tampa Bay be enough to secure the win?
- Every time die-hard Packers fan Matthias Krause, who’s from Germany, meets Aaron Rodgers — he takes a photo with them holding up a canvas of their previous photo together. (From Kyle Malzhan)
- Next season will mark the 25th Anniversary of the Cleveland Browns 1999 “restart”. Will they have a patch/logo to commemorate the occasion?
- Folks on the Interwebs who don’t follow Uni Watch were shocked to see the 49ers’ George Kittle wearing an oddly designed helmet. But we all know it’s a Vicis Zero2 Trench — the first position-specific helmet on the market and built for lineman.
- Moe Khan says, “not sure if anyone noticed this but SNF on NBC used the wrong picture in describing the Jaguars 1999 playoff year. This image was during the Reebok era, at the time, the Jags were wearing Nike when they slaughtered the Dolphins.
College
- Did the Georgia Bulldogs “warm” red uniform colors enable their triumph over Texas Christian’s “cool” purple/black color scheme? One writer thinks so.
- Last month, Nebraska football updated their Blackshirts logo. The design was cleaned up, made symmetrical, and is now front facing. The text remains in the same stencil font. The original defensive unit came in 1964, the previous logo in about 1992. (Via Paul, originally from College Sports Logos)
- Pretty sloppy NOB nameplate placement spotted at the Hula Bowl. (From Caroline)
Basketball
NBA
- If the NBA needs someone new to design its alternate jerseys or basketball courts, Mr. Brainwash is clearly the league’s guy.
- The NBA All-Star Game is fast approaching. Which means it’s time for every writer to steal a page from Uni Watch by ranking the best NBA ASG uniforms of all time. No offense to the writer of that article, but he’s pretty much wrong about everything, even failing to mention the 2008 uniforms were basically frankenunis.
- The Jazz and Delta Air Lines have officially entered a naming rights agreement that will lead to the return of the Delta Center name for (former) Vivint Arena come July 1, 2023. (From Mike Chamernik)
- Breckenridge Brewery has released a beer with packaging that features the Denver Nuggets’ old rainbow logo. (From Kary Klismet)
College
- Tennessee women’s basketball hinted at a debut of their “Summitt Blue” uniforms for their matchup against Georgia on Sunday with a social media post on Friday afternoon.
- Texas A&M women’s basketball will debut black uniforms today, and the “12th Man” (aka the audience) is encouraged to wear black as well.
- The Columbia Mens’s basketball coaches were spotted donning Tiger Woods branded Nike sweaters. (From Weird Sports Merch)
- Great photo and article of a Colorado School of Mines player from the Feb. 5, 1916 Denver Times, evening edition. (From Tyler Maun). The full shot is even better!
More
- Louisville has a new minor league basketball team called the Derby City Distillers. You can see their logo here. (From Kary Klismet)
Hockey
NHL
- Here were the special warmup jerseys worn by the Anaheim Ducks on Friday. Celebrating the Year of the Rabbit. (From Wade Heidt)
- The Vancouver Canucks have been dropping hints for weeks that they would be bringing back the beloved black skate jersey sometime this season. The jersey itself appears to have leaked thanks to a Fanatics jersey uploaded to the NHL Shop’s international site. Here’s a bit more on that.
- Looks like the Toronto Maple Leafs are on track to host the 2024 NHL All-Star game, which would be the first time since 2000 the Leafs would host the game.
- Speaking of All-Star games, looks like this year’s tilt in Sunrise will have a distinctly “Vice” look. I happen to love the “neon pink” jerseys/accents (it’s a sorely underused color throughout sports), but does anyone else think it’s starting to get a bit played out?
- This video not only shows more of the Vice look, but we also get a sneak peek at the upcoming new alternate uniform for the Arizona Coyotes.
- Ads have sadly (but not unexpectedly) made their way onto the Bruins’ Winter Classic alternates. (From Okie)
- The St Louis Blues inshrined their first HOF class of Friday night. Check out the Blazers the inductees got. (From Erik Spoonmore)
- Alex Ovechkin wants the Washington Capitals to bring back their Reverse Retro (“Screaming Eagle”) unis next season. Not sure if the NHL has that in their plans. Of course, it might be moot if they don’t, since adidas is out as league uni supplier after next season.
College
- UConn has opened its new arena. (From Kary Klismet)
- Boston University have new uniforms. (From Wade Heidt)
- UConn and Northeastern played a color-vs-color game last evening. (From Jack Sinclair)
Minors/Juniors
- Washington Capitals fan Jordan Dabney has designed incredible Black History jerseys for Erie Otters. (From Brandon Weir). Here’s a bit more on those jerseys.
- The Junior “A” BCHL’s Vernon Vipers unveiled their new 3rd uniforms in time for Friday night’s game. (From Wade Heidt)
- The Junior “A” BCHL’s West Kelowna Warriors wore their special Peachland Warriors uniforms on Friday night. A unique peach-coloured uniform. Created a color vs. color game with the visiting Prince George Spruce Kings. (From Wade Heidt)
- The Victoria Royals celebrated the Lunar New Year last night with specially designed, one-off jerseys celebrating the Year of the Rabbit, which will then be auctioned off for charity.
- Want a puck or jersey from the ECHL All-Star game? We’ve got you covered.
- Military Salute uniforms for Rochester Americans last night. (From Wade Heidt)
- Also from Wade: The Henderson Silver Knights paid homage to the Las Vegas Thunder last evening.
- David Westfall says, “It bugs me that Baxter Arena in Omaha uses upside down 2s for 5s.”
Soccer
USA
- Here are interior photos of a new indoor soccer arena opening next month in Murfreesboro, Tenn. (From Kary Klismet)
International
- Netherlands: Back in 1974, the Netherlands, with their famous orange shirts, were sponsored by Adidas. Star player Johan Cruyff was sponsored by Puma. “He doesn’t want his sleeves to be sullied by the iconic three stripes that denote an Adidas shirt,” says Max Weintraub. “He demands a shirt with two stripes on the sleeves. He gets his way.”
Volleyball
- New uniforms for the Toronto Metropolitan University’s women’s team. (From Kary Klismet)
Grab Bag
- Cal has finally ended its relationship with Under Armour, and they will be changing suppliers to Nike. (From La Piñata Bandida)
- New rodeo arena in Mandan, N.D. (From Kary Klismet)
- Kaukauna (Wisc.) High School, whose teams are called the Galloping Ghosts, has added a new welcome sign to the mascot sculpture on campus to help offset its resemblance to a Ku Klux Klansman on horseback. (Also from Kary)
- We may have seen some of the work of this artist — who reinterprets modern brand logos through a medieval lens — before, but this crop of images seems new, and the Adidas logo (toward the end) seems particularly uni-relevant. (Kary Klismet, again)
- Ball State’s student newspaper thinks the school needs to refresh its athletics logo. (Another from Kary)
- Still more from Kary: New tiger logo for Jonesboroguh (Tenn.) Elementary.
- This new ESPN commercial featuring Delta State University’s Fighting Okra costumed mascot is good for a chuckle. (Kary, yet again)
- Here’s a really good article on how the Nike swoosh logo originated and became one of the most recognizable logos of all time. (Thanks, Paul)
- The new Space Force logo that appears on uniforms is actually made of PVC, not embroidery, like other service branch logos. (Thanks, Paul)
- The Unionistas logo (a soccer team in Salamanca, Spain est. 2013) looks somewhat similar to the Atlanta Hawks logo, at least in Juan’s eyes.
Comments (22)
I must have missed the part in the NFL Style Guide where Long Johns are listed as a pants option for the Jaguars.
The NHL may be changing uniform suppliers, but unfortunately the retail replica market is still stuck with overpriced, substandard Fanatics garbage.
The rumour is the new black Skate uniform is the new regular 3rd for the Vancouver Canucks. Expect it will make an appearance in the upcoming week.
The Canucks ditched their old 3rd with Stick-in-Rink logo this season. The switch to a new version of the black Skate as regular 3rd will appease a portion of the fan base constantly complaining about need to bring back the black Skate uniforms on full-time basis. Many of the cries from them to ditch the blue and green again for a return to Skate logo and colours as primary. A majority of these voices coming from younger fans who did not see the Canucks wearing this on a full-time basis in the past and have enjoyed the uniform’s resurrection on a limited basis.
Of course this is a good compromise. The Canucks known for vastly changing their look more than once. They finally went back to their original NHL colours of blue and green which is great and need to stick with it. Can’t repeat the past and just dropping it all again for the black, yellow, and salmon. The team can now wear black Skate as a regular third as a compromise to those fans and it will be a redesigned look to distinguish it from the old uniform.
IMO I thought they should go with classic Johnny Canuck as the regular 3rd after the great success of the Reverse Retro unis this year. Base the new 3rd of the RR. Which was basically a regular 3rd during first half of this season. Johnny Canuck logo fits with the team name, has tradition attached to it, but a new look for the NHL team.
It’s cool that Space Force is using a new patch material, but the article mentions that the reason Space Force is using a new material is because Space Force submitted for embroidery patch designs that were too finely detailed to embroider. Which is the definition of bad design.
Space Force
That photo of Northeastern hockey is from a women’s game vs Maine. The men did play UCONN, but the photo is not from that game.
The basic look of the Willie Nelson mural seems to be taken from this photo.
link
That explains the muscle shirt and shorts at least.
Great find!
The NASCAR-looking cap on the Willie Nelson cap is actually the logo for Brooke Rodd store (which can be seen on the right)
Great job on the Cards! The mascot in 1911 Wyoming Death Row baseball team is the Warden Felix Alston Sr son, Felix Vern Alston Jr.
So…not on death row then
The Jaguars’ pants looked like they bought a truckload of generic practice pants.
Thanks for referring to the alleged “jinx” alleged to exist with regard to the Cowboy’s blue jerseys, rather than calling it a “curse”. There is a difference, even though the author of the linked article lazily uses both terms interchangeably.
Jinx, curse… either one is a misspelling of the word “coincidence.”
Get over it already, Cowboys. You haven’t won jack in a quarter century while wearing white jerseys as much as possible.
Sigh, the NFL continues to sink. Not sure what’s worse, monos or the league’s latest insult to style: stripeless white pants and all-white socks. NFL keeps finding ways to hit rock bottom. Hate to see what’s next.
I hear ya. All of it is bad. Not to mention the players complete lack of regard for the word uniform. Everybody wearing different color socks, cut up socks, tights, t-shirts hanging out below the jerseys. It’s looking really, really amateurish. I wish they’d increase the fines 10 times over or better yet just not allow a player to take the field when wearing such discrepancies.
Kudos to the design of the Ducks’ Year of the Rabbit sweaters. But the key patterns on each insignia have swastikas. One of the starkest contrasts between Eastern and Western societies is the permissibility of the symbol misappropriated by the Nazi Party.
Correction: it’s Colorado School of Mines, not Denver.
Thanks Brooke. Now fixed.
Worried about that Texans makeover. The current set isn’t the greatest and is rather boring, but hearing the dude in charge of the makeover use the word swagger over and over tells me they’re heading in the direction of the disgusting Commanders garbage offering. Why can’t Nike just go away? They ruin everything.
Nike sucks to be sure but they don’t do it without the consent of the leagues and teams involved. Nike also does the uniforms for programs like Penn State and Alabama, who have the sense to say “don’t change what works here”.
I always thought the Texans had a pretty good look, one of the better modern designs.
Yeah, the ads on MLB uniforms: combined with the lockout, this announcement was enough to finally put me off watching baseball at all, and I have to say, I didn’t miss it at all.