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And the winner is…

mlb jersey contest winner hed

By Phil Hecken

*Drumroll please* Now, the moment you’ve all been waiting for. Or at least, some of you: the “Design-A-Baseball Jersey Contest” winner. The voting in the contest was incredibly close, and that truly speaks to the quality of all the designs. There were a total of 3,721 votes cast, and a single solitary vote separated the first and second place finisher. So, without further ado:

Congratulations Mike (and Brandi) Duncan!

To refresh, here’s one more look at the full submission. And here’s how the Duncans described the jersey:

Our goal was to create a clean and simple retro upgrade for the Mariners. We reinstate the blue/gold color scheme, but use the darker blue they currently feature. The stripes on the sleeves and socks reference the original Pilots uniform. And, of course, the trident is back!

Thanks!
Mike and Brandi Duncan

And now, a few words from Alain Nana-Sinkham, the proprietor of Classic Old School, which will be making the winner’s jersey:

Thanks to the Uni Watch community for so many great designs, and all of the feedback in comments about the jersey concepts. This is not only a passionate community, but a very creative one, too.

And just as we did for the football contest, we’re happy to offer any of the designers a 20% discount on a custom order, for turning their vision unto reality, or any other project for that matter.

I was telling Paul how Uni Watch is the perfect place for Classic Old School to tell its story, and I hope you think of us for any uni-related project you consider in the future. Thanks again!

Indeed, and again, a big thanks to Classic Old School and Alain for making the prize available. Also a big thanks to James Huening for setting up the poll. Here’s James:

What a barnburner! The poll was set to close on Thursday at 2 pm Eastern time. I was checking the results throughout the day and it was neck and neck between the top two finishers all day.

When I checked in after the poll had closed, it was a tie so I opened the poll back up for another hour. When that hour was up, the final tally was 453 votes for Duncan and 452 for Hass. Clearly, these were two worthy designs.

Full results can be found here.

On another note, perhaps a truly “special” consolation prize can go to Robert Marshall, who collected less than 1% of the votes. That’s right, he got 0.91% of the votes (zero-point-nine-one). Maybe he should rethink his “don’t vote for/promote yourself” policy

If my design had made the list of finalists, you can bet that not only would I have voted for myself, I’d have called my friends and neighbors and told them to vote for me. Hell, I’d, have made my kids tell their friends to vote for me, put flyers under windshield wipers in the parking lots at the malls, taken out ads in the local papers, church bulletins, bowling alley scoresheets, whatever.

Congratulations, Mike Duncan. Wear that jersey proudly as you’re cheering on Ichiro and the boys.

And thank you James. Well, there you have it. Although his design was bested by a single vote we still need to recognize the tremendous submission by Mike Hass. Equally excellent.

Finally, my sincere thanks to all who participated and took the time to really showcase some amazing talent. Out of the 94 submissions, I’d say at least a half dozen should be on the major league diamonds today. And many of the designs certainly represented an “out of the box” thinking which seems to be sorely lacking in baseball design currently.

~~~~~~~~~~

ducktracker

Trackin’ the Ducks

UW #1 Seahawks Fan Michael Princip has been tracking the Oregon Ducks and all of their 2,456 possible uniform combinations this season. He’ll be updating it after each game.

You fine folks will recall last year’s Duck Tracker, with all those cool graphics and extras was a regular feature during the college football season. Well, Mike’s back with his 2010 Duck Tracker, and it promises to be bigger and better than ever. Here’s the top dog duck to explain:

~~~

Looking forward to the 2010 Oregon Ducks season and all of those wick wick wacky uniform combinations. As far as what’s new, well looks like the much anticipated ‘carbon’ helmets will finally make their debut, albeit an aqua print type application and not actually made of carbon fiber. In any case, hope they end up using the silver ‘O’, as seen in a 2009 presser, and not the other pics I’ve seen with the yellow ‘O’. Also, looking forward to seeing another throwback, and throwback mod hybrid, as seen in week 4 against Cal, and the Civil War game respectively.

I hope to add some new stuff to the Ducktracker this season, switch things up a little and keep it fun. Not sure exactly what I’m going to do yet, however I have a feeling it will involve their helmets. heh heh

Here then, is your 2010 Duck Tracker

~~~

Thanks again for bringing us the Duck Tracker. Last evening, after an initial scare, and a bit of lightning, the Ducks kicked the quack out of the Vols (as a 12 point road favorite, no less) down in Rocky Top. The Webfoots didn’t quite do the storm trooper look, but Team Nike did go white over white versus the Creamsickles, and it was a nice looking matchup. Will that game make Jim’s “5 & 1”? See below.

~~~~~~~~~~

all sport uni tweaks

Yesterday we got back on schedule with the Uni Tweaks portion of the weekend posts. We’ve got a bunch built up, so there are three more for today. If you have a tweak, change or concept for any sport, send them my way. OK? OK! Here’s what’s on tap for today.

~~~

Starting off the show is Mike Andrews, who has a whole set of Cleveland Indians tweaks:

Phil,

I’m a big Indians fan and have really liked most aspects of the team’s uniform sets during the Jacobs Field era (silver trim and the sleeveless look excluded). However, there’s always room for improvement and my favorite team seemed an appropriate place to start for my first attempt at tweaking a uniform.

I had a couple of basic principles that really guided the design of this set. I wanted to go for a fauxback look that was at once classic and modern. So I drew a lot of inspiration from previous Cleveland uniform elements without duplicating them directly (hopefully).

HOME ”“ I really like the current cream alt, but I think it would be a tad too bland as an everyday home set. For my home jersey, I kept the current Indians script, but kept it to a one-color outline and treated it like the 1950’s script by removing the flourish/underline. There’s also some historical precedent for the sock with the team having used the two-stripe look a lot in the past. For the hat, I used the look of the current block C alternate cap, but opted for a plain script I on dark navy (which I should mention is the shade of blue I envisioned on the entire set). The one outside element I added is the collar and cuff outline and the pant stripe, all inspired by the Giants’ unis.

ROAD ”“ Most of what I said for the home jersey applies here, but I kept Chief Wahoo as the road cap because I couldn’t really justify using the script I or block C when neither element was found elsewhere on this jersey. I opted to make the red-billed version the away hat to mix things up a bit.

HOME ALTERNATE ”“ For a significant portion of its history, the Cleveland franchise wore a variety of jerseys with a C on the left chest. I thought the perfect alternate fauxback look would be to use the block C from the current home alternate cap on the jersey. After all, the logo has only been around for a couple of and has a very old-school feel to it. Since I flipped the home jersey to cream, making the alternate white seemed natural. It’s topped off with an all-blue Wahoo hat.

ROAD ALTERNATE ”“ When I started the design, I told myself I’d avoid the softball top. But, I have a confession: I LOVE the Indians’ blue jersey (and have since they started wearing it in 1994). So, I updated it to match the rest of the set and kept it in the rotation as the road alternate. As a new touch, I added a script I (outlined in white) cap with a red bill.

HOME ALTERNATE #2 ”“ The Indians now wear their blue top at home on Tuesdays, and once I broke down and made the softball top, I decided to keep that trend alive by piecing it together with the white pants and red-billed I hat for the final look in the set.

Thanks for enduring my long-winded explanations and giving me a venue to show off my work.

Mike Andrews

~~~

Next up is Jon Stepping, with a quick shot at the ‘skins:

An idea to simplify the Redskins logo and switch to maroon facemasks.

~~~

Moving along, we have Matt Donnelly, who has some interesting new duds for the Miami Marlins, circa 2012.

The Florida Marlins will cease to exist after the next season. With a new stadium finishing up, they will switch to the city name instead of the state name. So, it seemed like a good idea to modify their uniforms.

I came up with three options, each of which can be extrapolated into a full home/road/alternate set. The unifying characteristic for all three is the Marlin “M” logo that hasn’t been used much by the team. I made this the cap logo.

HOME: I went with an art-deco font for a South Beach-like approach. I also included the cap logo as a stirrup logo.

ROAD: I tried for a more traditional name/number font, but with a script city name.

ALTERNATE: I kept the black look they wore during the 2003 playoff run, and used the logo as the basis for the city name.

~~~

Thanks everyone! That will do it for this round of tweaks, concepts and revisions. Keep them coming, and I’ll keep showing them.

~~~~~~~~~~

vilk 5 & 1 b

5 & 1

Right on cue, Jim Vilk is here to regale us with his top 5 best, and one worst, uniforms for the college football season. In my next to last August post, Jim broke out a quick Division 2 (pffft) list.

But now the real football is being played, so here’s Senor Vilk with today’s 5 & 1:

~~~

5. Georgia Southern/Navy: I think more teams should have helmet numbers.

4. Louisiana Tech/Texas A&M: For those of you who don’t like school names on jerseys, today’s list just
isn’t for you.

3. Iowa State/Iowa: The Cyclones don’t look like USC, they look better than USC.

2. Penn State/Alabama I flipped for this classic matchup, too (the score, on the other hand…not so much).

1. Ole Miss/Tulane: Note to Tulane: Keep those white helmets!

Can’t call it the “non-winner,” since Eastern Kentucky didn’t look bad, but a dishonorable mention to Louisville: Not questioning the sentiment behind it, but they took an already bad logo (cardinals don’t have teeth) and made it a real flustercluck with the stars and stripes.

Now…the Worst Uni Matchup of the day: Presbyterian/Clemson: Separately they’re not bad (yeah, even Presby’s Nevada-ish template, which I like), but together…yikes.

~~~

I’m disappointed in you Jim. Bama/PSU @ #2? Yeah, it’s only like the greatest uni matchup of the year. And no love for Duck U? Well, I can see that. Jim will be back next weekend where I’ll probably disagree with his top selection once again.

~~~~~~~~~~

Let’s put a bow on this one boys and girls. Are you ready for some football? I know I am. Here’s hoping for a great first weekend in the league “where they play for pay.”

Couple uni notes: The New York Football Giants will be opening up their new stadium today. So of course that means a new patch. Gosh, I hope they can read it in the “cheap” seats. And a possible uni change — Douggie Keklak tips us wise (scroll down) to a possibility of the Washington team breaking out the yellow gold pants today. Not sure I place that much creedence in that, but it’ll be a nice surprise if it happens.

Everyone have a great Sunday.

~~~

Well, the world’s coming to an end apparently. I agree completely with everything Phil’s said today. — THE Jeff, 11 September, 2010

 
  
 
Comments (217)

    Word out of Alabama is that after honoring Bear Bryant’s hat this year with houndstooth embossed numbers the team with honor Gene Stallings tweed jacket in 2011 and Nick Saban’s jean shorts in 2012.

    That Giants patch sucks. The only place that might look good would be on a jacket. As a jersey patch… wtf were they thinking?

    Good call on the Louisville helmets. No matter your thoughts on its appropriateness, no one can say it respects the flag to make it into something so Godawful.

    Oh, and go Browns! The first step on the way to being a good team is winning the ones you’re supposed to.

    Louisville wore the helmet flag back in the early 70s (a Corso gimmick). And they did honor the 1970 Pasadena Bowl team Saturday. Past meets present?

    First, congrats to Duncan on winning the contest. However, I’ll just say I’m more than a bit surprised. I honestly thought that it was a three way race between the Brewers, Cubs (with colored placket), and Cardinals (with red piping).

    Anyone have a list of the Division 1 college football teams that do wear numbers on their helmets in place of a logo? I see Holy Cross does…

    I just skimmed through all of the current helmets on The Helmet Project, and it looks like Alabama & Holy Cross are the only 2, thankfully.

    If I were to suggest any uni change for Penn State it would ONLY be for them to put numbers back on the helmets.
    link

    I love the plain white helmet, too, so perhaps someone else can do it. Say, Louisville? Navy?

    Unfortunately, Georgia Southern (I-AA) also has helmet numbers (as shown in the 5&1 list). I think it looks/is stupid. They should be looking to promote the school with a link on the helmet, not individualize everyone with their own number.

    While people could probably name Alabama by looking at their helmet, I don’t know think any casual fan could name Georgia Southern by looking at their link.

    Under Armour also has its logo on the field directly behind homeplate at the York Revolution’s baseball stadium. It seemed sort of tacky, especially since many teams use that spot to put their own logo.

    I know a lot of people here get pretty geeked for MLB’s Opening Day. This is the day where I know how you feel.
    Croquet season begins today.
    To top things off, we have new homemade mallets.

    Those Clemson pants are horrible….looking at them gives me a headache…..GO GIANTS!

    Going to a Panthers bar here in Charlotte in my Giants gear…should I wear my standard Eli, classic LT or just arrived yesterday via FedEx Victor Cruz?

    It pains me to say this as a Clemson alum, but as soon as tuned into the game yesterday, I knew then and there we would be the worst uni matchup of the day and would be featured on Uni Watch today :(

    what~ever ben jye, as long as they keep the bells and whistles off, clemson always looks good, even with purple britches. while their all orange has been my favourite(as long as the pants have stripes) since homer jordan led them, i say own that your school colours are orange and purple. double directional sisters of the vilker dropped the ball there, not the tigers.

    Hey, rpm, if things stay the way they are the OSU/Mighigan game looks like it’ll be a dandy this year. And, of course, it’s SO good that TOSU will be wearing those Pro Combat that revere tradition n’ all. (eyeroll)

    (When we get to see the helmet hat with “stickers” added, btw?)

    —Ricko

    ricko~
    what i am preparing for the THE~scUM game is beyond ridiculous, but i assure you it will be grand. i am about 60.91% finished with 50.91% of the project

    i will also be wearing a scUM jersey that day in protest to what THE wears on the field. but i hope to also have helmethat debut the third weekend of november as well. if i went out in public, i would beat me up.

    by the way, both teams will loose to somebody before that game. THE will lose one of their trap games to indiana(before wisconsin) or penn state(before iowa). but since they don’t play football in indiana, i guess that leaves penn state. i also would not put it past them to loose to either wisconsin or iowa. did you see that “offense” yesterday? i watched the replay of the game after work, they did not sustain a drive all day, they were opportunistic. until they BEAT somebody, i am not convinced. as for the scUM, since again they don’t play football in indiana, the game before sparty can’t be a trap, but sparty can be right before they host iowa. and just like THE playing iowa before the game, the scUM play sconsin. so they could both be coming off losses. i just want the rose bowl on the line for the game, and it would be even better if both teams could go with a win. that being said, maybe if that schmuck richrod has a bad year, they can sack him and bring in harbaugh, and that would be a great hire to breathe some life into that program. THAT would make the game mean something going into the future.

    Almost forgot, I assume he’s from Kentucky or southern Ohio, but I think it’s kind of funny in an unintentional bad pun way that the player with that awful looking Louisville helmet is named Canady.

    If anyone else is in central Virginia, I’m gonna be at the BW3 in North Roanoke today to watch the slate.

    Congrats Duncan…can’t believe it came down to ONE VOTE!

    Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to go have a serious talk with my wife (who was going to vote for me but forgot), and my coworker (who laughed at me for entering a design contest and then voted for Lange).

    I was going to say we all should send a dollar to Alain to pay for your jersey being made, but your wife and co-worker can get you one for Christmas instead. ;)

    Congrats on the close race, and congrats to the Duncans as well!

    Mike H, I can’t believe this came down to a single vote! I loved your design and if there is a collection plate being started out there to make sure your design gets made, I will gladly donate.

    “I’m disappointed in you Jim. Bama/PSU @ #2? Yeah, it’s only like the greatest uni matchup of the year. And no love for Duck U?”

    I give them credit for using actual school colors, but Oregon’s uni isn’t all it’s quacked up to be. Until they change that number font I can’t in good conscience put them in the Top 5.

    As for my Nitttany Lions, it was a close call, but I put them at #2 because they and ‘Bama have basically the same good template. Ole Miss and Tulane have two separate good templates, so they got the nod.

    And for those who wonder where UM and ND are, I refer you to yesterday’s comments:
    …………….
    TJB | September 11, 2010 at 3:52 pm |
    “The “ND” shoulder patches the Irish are wearing need navy blue as the inside color, not gold. The white and gold all kinda run together.”

    Jim Vilk:
    I agree.
    link
    That, and the the extra jersey piping on Michigan, will probably keep this game out of tomorrow’s Top 5 list.
    ……………..

    Mike Andrews,
    Your uni tweaks of the Indians are beautiful! You should submit those to the indians beacuse it would be a definite upgrade and i would love to seee them on the field. great job!!!

    I like it too. The one caveat I have is the sleeve trim. With the Chief Wahoo patch and the collar trim, the trim on the sleeves crowds the top of the uniform. Thin, one color piping would work better and no cuffs would be best.

    i have a feeling i don’t want to see any uni watchers in a basketball jersey, let’s make it a design a snuggie.

    “In my next to last August post, Jim broke out a quick Division 2 (pffft) list.
    But now the real football is being played”

    Keep dissing my D-2 and I’ll conveniently forget to give Cornell some uni love when they start playing…

    Just for that, here’s some D-2 action between Saint Anselm (love those helmets) and Bryant:
    link

    Gannon at Shippensburg:
    link

    I’ll spare you a whole 5&1…but only ’cause I’m heading out the door. ;)

    wonder why the Skins aren’t wearing white today to mess with Dallas as always. The Cowboys will go the whole regular season w/o wearing blue. Good karma for the Super Bowl.

    congratulations duncans!

    tough one haas, i feel for you, one lousy vote. but great job, and a great design.

    whaaaat~ever effplus, i guess i need to hit the uni~design weight room, but until then, i am happy to set the new mendoza line for uni~design futility. 0.91! 0.91! 0.91! what a great number to be associated with.

    I dont wanna keep bringing up the NIKE thing but watching yesterday’s games, I couldn’t help but feel like on the whole, they get it right……

    Lets ignore the pro combat uniforms for a minute and think of some of the classic, iconic uniforms that NIKE doesnt eff with:

    Ohio State, USC, Alabama, Penn State, Florida (I’m sure you could think of more)

    Then think about the uni’s from other companies that are just lame, lifeless, faceless unis… bumper stickers and such.

    I mean with the exception of Oregon and the special one-time use unis, I think NIKE has the right idea about keeping good things good

    Anyone agree? disagree?

    i have a feeling the athletic departments of those schools have more to do with that then nike. and that goes for any company that produces the uniforms for a “classic look” school. you can mess with traditional bottom feeders like maryland, orgegon, and indiana, and have AD’s give an okay. but not michigan, usc, and alabama. let’s not give too much credit to nike, AD’s don’t want to be castrated.

    Exactly. The uniforms you mention aren’t examples of Nike getting it right; they’re examples of the schools resisting Nike’s attempts to get it wrong.

    I think that you guys who run this page as a forum to bitch and moan forget that if it wasn’t for Nike, Adidas, etc. you would have nothing to talk about and be without this job. So, just get over it already. Not everyone wants to go back to the old days. Why shouldn’t Nike try to make things modern?

    >I think that you guys who run this page as a forum
    >to bitch and moan forget that if it wasn’t for Nike,
    > Adidas, etc. you would have nothing to talk about
    >and be without this job.

    This is roughly the funniest thing anyone has ever said in the history of ever. Ever.

    What about places like Rutgers or Army? Neither really had a definitive “look” but in recent years have had classic, no frills looks that are slowly becoming definitive.

    Main point was lack of bumper stickers in most of their designs…. although I guess im ignoring NIKE’s obsession with piping… annoying, annoying piping

    Whether it’s from insistence from the athletic departments, restraint from the fellas at Nike, or most likely a combination of both, I would agree that the best looking teams wear the Swoosh.

    It looks to me like perhaps Nike has a deal that says we’re free to mess with your uni if you decide to redesign your regular set. But, if you say “stay the same” that’s what we’ll do.

    Ref: Penn State, Alabama, LSU, Auburn, Ohio State, USC and others.

    —Ricko

    I agree with that Ricko.

    And even in the case of USC, Nike tweaked the uni’s in ’02 and added the shoulder stripes. For a guy in his 20’s like myself, this has become what you think of when you think of the USC uni

    What I like is that they seem to have a sense of what makes some teams iconic.

    The whole thought here came to me watching Rutgers v. FIU last night. Classy unis v. a design set that was just too…much (?)

    “There’s no ‘there’ there” — comes to mind…

    USC’s going back to the “cresents” was a return to a style they’d worn through the ’60s, including O.J.’s time there.

    For those of us a bit older, the shift to NW stripes (Pat Haden-Charlie White days) was ween they went away from from what WAS iconic for them for awhile.

    So we’re kind of saying the same thing. It sounds like if a school says, “No” Nike will listen. Just that enough of them don’t say “No” apparently, letting Nike tell them what looks good.

    —Ricko

    Where does this idea come from that it is Nike that is messing with the uniform design? COntrary to what seems to be a prevaling belief, they don’t just strongarm teams into changing uniforms. Teams are given choices to what they choose to wear, they DO have a voice in what uniforms they will be buying from Nike. Nike has a catalog that the teams choose out of. There is not a multitude of uniform options available, so yes some teams will be wearing the same templates.

    Did anyone see Mike Leach’s under-armour shirt yesterday. He was doing play-by-play in some game and wore a shirt that could have been a jacket with the under-armour logo over the top pocket. He wore a tie with it.

    Anyone else think Notre Dame might have some sort of marketing deal with Douglas shoulder pads? All 3 QBs were wearing sleeveless jerseys with their pads hanging out.

    Here is a contradiction that I was not aware. Adidas founders were the first to ever sponsor an African-American athlete. They sponsored Jesse Ownes in the Berlin Olympics, which really pissed off Hitler….then they turn around and join the Nazi party, even rumored to be a part of the SS….

    Then after an argument one brother goes found and founds PUMA…interesting part of sports history I was not aware of…

    Ok off to the sports bar….Go Giants!

    Yeah, Adi Dassler started Adidas, hence the name- Horst Dassler started Puma. Both companies were based in the same small German town. No Nike back then, either!

    Right about now..PL’ss head is exploding over that Giants patch. Can’t wait for tomorrow’s tirade..er, column.

    The Giants patch is WAY too big. They could have accomplished the same effect on a much smaller basis like the Jets patch they will wear tomorrow night. Wondering if the Eagles are wearing the nice 50th anniversary logo as a patch today, the logo created for merchandise to celebrate the 1960 title over Green Bay when they play the Packers in the kelly green throwbacks?

    Was watching CBS pre-game show. Had the 3 Vikings that went to Mississippi to get Favre to “beg” the CBS guys to come back for the season. Players were wearing their practice jerseys with Verizon patch. Jared Allen, however, had his taped over (he wore white practice jersey, other two in purple). Does he have a sponsorship/spokesperson agreement with another company (like AT&T)? Anyone in MN area seen him do this before?

    No mention of James Madison yesterday?
    Old Gold helmets, black jerseys, purple pants.

    Wasn’t exactly ugly, just…really odd.

    (Ever wonder if the Uni gods are getting back at Va Tech for wearing another school’s colors in their opener?)

    —Ricko

    Ever wonder if the Uni gods are getting back at Va Tech for wearing another school’s colors in their opener?

    i think it’s just that VT sucks

    Love that Tom Coughlin and other coaches are wearing the FDNY caps… always thought that was the classiest of tributes done by the various teams in the area

    Anyone see NY RedBulls game yesterday? The team wore simple black armbands. Loved this idea. Also a nice moment after Thierry Henry (A Frenchman) scored… he took his armband off, placed it on the ground, gather the team around and pointed towards the sky

    Legitimate class on a day where most teams missed the point

    Giants patch has a little dig at the Jets too. As NYers may know, there was a battle over who would get the first “official” game in the new stadium. Giants won in a secret coin flip, pissing off the Jets (wanted an open flip). So, as I see it, putting “the first game,” as opposed to something like “inaugural season” or something else benign, is a deliberate dig.

    Ten AM here, the early game is the Panthers @ Giants. Doubleheader in the PM, Niners and Cowboys backtoback.

    I CAN’T MAKE OUT WHAT THAT GIANTS PATCH SAYS CAUSE IT’S TOO SMALL. CAN SOMEONE POST A SS?

    I’m getting Lions/Bears and Patriots/Bengals as the early pair here in MSP.

    Bears in white at home with Navy pants.
    Admittedly I don’t pay precise attention to such things, but seems like it’s been a while since Bears wore white at home.

    —Ricko

    Giants patch as pictured in this Uni Watch article says “9-12-10
    New Meadowlands Stadium – The First game.”

    2 things I like, watching Panthers-Giants.

    I like that the Giants still use the old GIANTS wordmark even though it’s not the primary logo anymore; unusual to see that. (I know it’s been that way for years, but still…)

    I like that the Panthers are still wearing their original uniforms, whereas their contemporaries, the Jaguars, have changed theirs at least twice (depending on what counts as a change…)

    ricko said:

    Hey, rpm, if things stay the way they are the OSU/Mighigan game looks like it’ll be a dandy this year. And, of course, it’s SO good that TOSU will be wearing those Pro Combat that revere tradition n’ all. (eyeroll)

    (When we get to see the helmet hat with “stickers” added, btw?)

    –Ricko

    does anyone else find nike’s imagery in their ad extremely disturbing, if not downright offensive?

    It puts the “hype” in hyperbole. Insensitive and short-sighted on their part. That level of self-importance offends me.

    SB

    According to the link, it says it’s a tribute to the 1942 championship OSU team which supposedly had many future members of the military. I’m not saying it’s a great image to use, but I guess there is some reason for it.

    i know exactly why nike is doing it…and guess what, in 1942 EVERY SCHOOL IN THE COUNTRY had draftees and enlistees in the armed forces

    you can justify ANY USE OF IMAGERY, but that doesn’t make it right

    i could, for example, say a rape victim “deserved” it “because she dressed like a prostitute”

    football is not war, it’s not combat — it’s not even close…to invoke images of the brave men and women who laid down their lives to protect what is now ostensibly nike’s freedom to publish this garbage is just reprehensible

    college football is NOT a video game, and it’s sure as hell NOT real combat

    i’ll defend nike’s right to try to sell merchandise till the day i die, but that doesn’t make their marketing campaign any less distasteful or repugnant

    “Thanks for going off to war so I can stay home and play football and call myself a warrior. I really appreciate it.”

    —Ricko

    I am not offended by it. I guess you can look into it and say it is over the top. True the war era teams had many fight for our country though.

    But Ohio State is one of the Nike schools they use for these uniforms and they won the 1942 National Championship. If Army was a Nike school and they had the Cadets honor the 1944 National Champions and used that imagery would that be ok?

    Bottom line I knew after last years Ohio State Nike unis that it was not going to be a one time thing.

    I now wonder when Nike starts letting 10 teams change each year.

    nike has already screwed with army’s unis

    you raise a good point, however, about if nike used “that imagery” to invoke the 1944 team…the point is, they did not

    many of today’s army players may indeed be going off to war and fighting for our country’s freedoms — how many of the buckeyes will?

    i don’t have a problem with nike producing a pseudo-throwback uni (in fact, it’s one of their better ones); i just don’t like their constant equation of the college game with real, actual combat…they’re preying upon a very valuable demographic (what i like to call the “madden generation”) because they know that all this dress-up-like-a-‘warrior’ nonsense sells; and if the uniforms are so great (37% lighter and all that other jingoistic crap), shouldn’t the teams ALL be wearing the uniforms ALL the time? wouldn’t THE osu be at a decided disadvantage everytime they’re dressed in their traditional uniforms?

    as key likes to say, “come on man”

    don’t believe the hype

    Oh I understand the points made. I guess I am not as offended by it as some are.

    As a long time Buckeye fan I know Woody Hayes was a historian and a military historian. I have seen Archie Griffin tell about a former player speak about the Michigan game.

    “Michigan week he had one of the players come in and he talked with us and ah he really spoke of how terrible Michigan was, and how bad they were, and how they’d do things to to try to get an advantage and the whole works, and he had us believing that Michigan was the worst team that you could possibly ever ah want to play against, and he had you feeling like you wanted to kill them. And I remember the end of his talk, at the end of his talk as I looked around that room, I saw tears coming out of ah my teammates’ eyes because they were getting so fired up. And I remember the end of his talk he said you know, “this is not a game, this is war.” And when we went out of that room for practice we had a very spirited practice.”

    link

    I remember the end of his talk he said you know, “this is not a game, this is war.”

    larry, there is a HUGE difference between a motivational speech by a coach in a locker room before a big game and an entire marketing campaign designed to sell a product using inappropriate images

    And how did Woody end up? A crazy old coot apparently attempting to clothesline a Clemson linebacker.

    Then again, his idol, George Patton, once slapped an enlisted man, so I suppose it was predictable that Hayes would go out in similar fashion. One of those self-fulfilling prophesies.

    Woody’s priorities and points of view, I think, always were a little out of whack. He never understood where the line was, the one that ought not be crossed.

    Often there is a telling niavete about those who are living in a world of their own creation.

    This is, remember, the guy who wouldn’t let his players go to Playboy photoshoots, so there never were any Buckeyes on the magazine’s preseason All-America teams.

    Uh-huh, right, Woody, protect those innocent football players back in the ’60s who didn’t know anything about sex (or whatever nonsense you were thinking).

    —Ricko

    Actually it was not Woody Hayes that said “This is not a game this is War.” That was a former player talking to the team

    come on larry. yes, it would be just as offensive if west point used combat images to sell their non-combat product that put football on par with actual combat. if anything it would be MORE offensive. this is a bit off topic, but my marine father in law’s(for lack of a better term) head almost exploded when he saw the cadets in camo, because well, they are not serving yet for one, and have not earned the right. and two, the whole you don’t wear camo except in a war zone. i almost saw him rip some guys nuts off when he walked up to a guy in a marine hat and asked him when and where he served, when the response was “i didn’t, i support the troops” he turned as red as a tomato, and told the guy he was disrespectful as he walked away. i think it might have something to do with all the hippies in fatigues when he ended his two vietnam tours, but either way, people take that shit seriously for good reason. once again, football is not war, football is a game. if THE wants to throw back to the 42 team fine, but don’t give me this war shit, it. is. offensive.

    apparently it was not clear that the non-combat product nike would be selling would be their football team’s jerseys.

    Again I understand the points and I do remember Army wearing that uniform. I for one do like military history and try to learn as much as I can about it. Far from an expert of course. I love Roman Army history. When boys are little they play Army or as me and my cousins did after seeing Spartacus as kids “train” to be gladiators.

    Chuck Csuri was the former Buckeye who introduced those Buckeye uniforms.He was in WW2 and fought in the Battle of the Bulge. He seemed honored they were honoring him and the 1942 Buckeyes.

    I do not know what he thinks of the imagery used though.

    And yes everybody knows football is a game and not war.
    I have no idea how many more 1942 jerseys Nike will sell because they used war imagery in that shot. I really doubt the sales would incrase by that much because of people only wanting to buy them if they used war imagery.

    I did not buy last years Buckeye alternate because it was nothing at all like the 1954 uniforms. I would be more inclined to buy this years because I have always loved those stylized numbers from the 1940’s and because this years uniform is fairly close to the actual 1942 era.

    I may not buy it but I will think about it. I had the 1942 style numbers printed for me on a red long sleeve tshirt and I tweaked the numbers to be more accurate.

    Some here are obviously very offended by this. I was not. Heck unless you know where to find that image not many people even see it.

    Yes I love movies about gladiators or shows about the Roman army or Roman empire. I like the Roman army more than gladiators but I like both.

    Tonight at 8pm the Smithsonian channel is going to have the Roman Invasion of Britain. I did not see that before and have my dvr set.

    And I do not want to get political here but the needless invasion and occupation of Iraq offended me.The loss of thousands of Americans and the cost of spending close to a trillion dollars offends me. Nike using a few war planes in an image or war images are not even close to a war of choice. Or staying in Afghanistan now.

    Again I can not tell you or anybody to not get offended by anything. we are all different here and have different opinions.

    Like I said how many kids that would not have bought that 1942 Ohio State nike until they saw war images in that one picture????

    sorry, just back from work

    larry, if you are still here, i have nothing against the uni really except the under shirt, and i too like the number font, i just don’t like how it is marketed, and think it is disgusting. i also hate that they are wearing it for michigan, and they will look like georgia in gray socks, but those last two points are just me, and my aesthetic, and less a value judgement.

    Again I understand your point of view Robert. By the way are you able to make those early 1919 era socks that Ohio State wore when Chic Harley was playing.

    The Buckeye wore them from about 1910-1928
    I assume red socks with 2 gray stripes.

    link

    I will be heading to bed but will try and remember to check after work tomorrow.

    The Bears honored the Blackhawks at the opener today, and commit a link with Brian Campbell.

    Worse than the Lions scoring a TD off a Cutler turnover? Well, at least we expected the turnover.

    Word is spreading like wild around DC, gold pants hanging in Redskins locker room for tonight (with burgundy jerseys). Source, beat reporter for Snyder owned ESPN 980

    link

    That certainly might explain why they didn’t opt to wear white at home against the Cowboys, huh.

    —Ricko

    Congrats to the Duncans today.

    Nice to see the Ducktracker too. And always enjoy JimVilks top 5 games. I do not always agree with Jim on them but nice to see his take.

    That new Redskins logo reminds me more of the UND Fighting Sioux logo.
    UND used to use the Blackhawks logo and the new logo seems a more streamlined version.
    Kinda the same with this Redskins interpretation.

    Also, don’t you hate that the TEAM SPIRIT font (Marlins Jersey) won’t let you loop the underline. I have tried to use it before and it just annoys me.

    That Redskins tweak looks a lot better than their current logo, in my opinion. Great job.

    As for the Marlins tweak, the art deco font is creative, but I still think it’s a downgrade of their current gem of a logo/uniform. I like that this guy kept the teal and black though.

    I think that’s the first time Clemson has worn that combination, making them 9 for 9 in possible combos (and joining the Pirates in ugly infamy).

    As for the winner of the baseball jersey contest — nice job. I was going to suggest that the Padres go with navy blue and gold, pairing a color from each of their World Series years and honoring the branch of the military service so prevalent in my former duty station city of San Diego.

    Gotta disagree with you on both points. Some of the Pirates combos looked fine, and the Padres should return to the brown and gold color scheme they adopted prior to the blue.

    Something that’s getting as old as the Gatorade Coach Dump and the Pie in the Face During Post-game Baseball Interviews…
    The “Superman” vault into the endzone at the end of a long play.

    Enough already. Show some capability for individual thought.

    —Ricko

    Hey Ricko, do they openalize you for unsportsmanlike conduct (taunting) if you dive unchallenged into the end zone this year?

    14-13 Lions, and Matthew Stafford’s right arm wrapped in a tight sling against his body.

    Gotta be a depressing image for Lions fans.

    —Ricko

    Why are so many teams wearing white at home today? The Patriots, Titans and Bucs are among those I have spotted so far.

    If I had to guess, I’d say it’s the notion that they’re cooler on what could be warm (or even hot) early-season day games.

    —Ricko

    Texans, also indoors, wearing white.

    The day the 49ers wear white at home in the modern era, is the day the white at home trend jumps the shark.

    I’d guess it’s to sell more jerseys. Fans might be inclined not to buy the white jerseys if the teams don’t wear them at home at least once during the season.

    Even though that idiot preacher in Gainsville, Florida cancelled his Koran burning, some idiot just burned pages from a Koran on September 11th at the World Trade Center. What a loser. His own ego means more to him than good relations with the Muslim people of the world.

    And don’t those 1960 Eagles throwbacks look great.
    Nice to see a bright kelly green instead of forest green, which is, well, sort of everywhere in football these days.

    —Ricko

    They’re fine, though I don’t mind the darker green the Eagles normally wear. What I think is cool is the old logo at midfield.

    I was just thinking the same thing! I was watching the game and came here just to post that thought and see I wasn’t the only one.

    Unfortunately, it is not a permanent change:

    link

    I suppose I’ll get shit for saying this, but it’s kind of fun because that particular Eagles was rarely, if ever, shown live in color (or at before my parents bought a color TV). So it does have a bit of the feeling of color being added to an old telecast.

    Now, see, if someone wasn’t around when most of us watched NFL games in black and white they won’t know what I’m talking about…which means they really aren’t qualified to call me an idiot (that’s pretty much what someone did when I made a similar observation a year ago while watching and NE and Denver in their 1960 throwbacks).

    —Ricko

    My parents house is about halfway between NYC and Philly (in New Jersey) and I can still remember my father climbing the roof to “point” the antenna at Philadelphia on days when the Giants and Eagles played at different times (and we could only watch the Jets).

    DirecTV’s Sunday Ticket is pretty expensive, but it’s worth the price if you consider the alternative was trying to survive a cold, slippery December roof-climbing.

    Man, biggest surprise of the day has to be how terrific these kelly green Eagles unis look. I didn’t realize how dull their new dark green is. Even the plain silver wings on the hats look sharp.

    I didn’t think I’d win & I didn’t, but it was still fun to participate and finish in the Top 5.

    Eagles throwbacks look great….but I am disapointed they have white pants. The grey/silver pants woulda been better.

    Both teams look great. Love the Eagles silver wings on the helmets. Wish the Pack would bring back the striped socks. Would look so much better than the all green.

    Fans attending today Redskins/Cowboys tilt are now tweeting that several ‘Skins have come out to the field with gold pants! It looks like it’s going to happen.

    The Eagles’ sideline gear has the old Reebok wordmark instead of the vector. Logo creep or no, that’s pretty good commitment to the throwback. I’d even say it was cool if they had that on the jerseys instead of the vector.

    Briefly:
    – Eagles unis look great against my Pack – but why the different font on the sleeves?
    – Redskins gold pants tonight…I may become a fan.
    – Hass got completely jobbed.

    — Eagles unis look great against my Pack — but why the different font on the sleeves?

    Because that’s what they wore in 1960 (1956-1963, to be precise)

    I know Texas Tech has worn white helmets before. But that did not even look like Texas Tech on that clip. With all that white. White jerseys white pants and white helmets.

    Yeah. I think it would have looked better if they’d saved it for next week at home against Texas. White helmets/black shirts/white pants would look reeeeeal nice.

    “For those who care, here’s a shot of Redskins players rocking the gold pants.”

    I say rock on.

    Youngstown State wore white pants with red jerseys yesterday. I am glad they maybe have gotten away from the red and black they have worn for a while.

    The pants were solid white though. Maybe a stripe would look better.

    Has this been noted before? Aaron Rodgers’ helmet stripe us definitely a sticker but doesn’t seem like anyone else’s is.

    Donald Driver was also wearing a different jersey, or at least a modified one, than the rest of the team. The color stripe don’t go all the way around, and the NFL shield is in a different place
    link

    Well aware of the the ugly-stretchy crap Paul, but, Drivers jersey does no appear to have the typical cut of those hideous things.
    It appears to have a normal full yoke instead of the small shoulder top panels. Plus, I noticed the neck cut while watching the game, and the jersey material looked normal.
    link

    Gee, wonder why December 7 wasn’t declared “Where Do I Enlist Day?”

    “Patriot Day” is a participation trophy. From the name of it, it honors everyone who felt patriotic on 9/11/01 (cuz, y’know, we wouldn’t want to honor anyone special who was heroic that day; better to not have anyone feel left out).

    Let me add to the praise for the Iggles and their beautiful Kelly green throwbacks – that’s how you’re supposed to look, Philly!

    And now, I’m going to kick back and watch the best uni matchup of the NFL weekend thanks to those glorious gold pants.

    Funny how a Seattle jersey won for both the football and baseball contests!

    Also, the Seahawks went with the monochrome today, not the navy pants with the “Seahawk blue” jerseys.

    The Redskins unis look beautiful! After the 49ers, best unis in the NFL! The socks are wonderful! Best socks in the NFL!

    Speaking of such things…Packers could have used similar socks today (but in forest instead of burgundy, of course) to really complete the 1960 look. Well, okay, they’d have had to lose the “G” on the helmets, too.

    But it would have been a nice little extra perk to see both teams in old style striped socks.

    —Ricko

    pants are outstanding (not a huge fan of the gold, tho) but the stripes are PERFECT … they just need to go back to this full time

    also, the socks are tremendous…so much better than the solid burgundy

    Doubt they’d go back to that helmet, seeing as the “lance” has pretty much become associated with Florida State in the past, what, 35 years or so?

    —Ricko

    i think part of why im not liking the skins trou is they’re shiny

    make those in matte finish and we have a winner

    I know everybody is going ga-ga over the ‘Skins gold pants, but I gotta say, that Texas Tech helmet was pretty nice. link Looks like Tuberville is getting that Auburn look going. Give him another season and the Red Raiders are going to look pretty sharp.

    No…. you’re looking at it all wrong Ricko – the Red in their name doesn’t describe the team – it references what it is that they raid.

    A Fridge Raider raids the refrigerator – a Red Raider must raid things that are red. So… old barns and little corvettes.

    Hmmm…’tis true, ’tis true.

    A tub thumber doesn’t have to be tubby.
    Just has to thump tubs.

    —Ricko

    What about things that are red but don’t have red in the name?

    Orangutans
    Communists
    States that trend Republican
    Veronica Lake

    During Leach’s last few years there was precious little red in those uniforms. Lots and lots of black. There’s actually more red in that white look than last year.

    Yes, because more red would be a very good move against the University of New Mexico Lobos who were clad in monochrome red.

    Thought of this because I’m watching Skins on 13-inch TV in my home studio/office, and the “shiny” of the gold pants doesn’t show up much…

    Interesting point made on TV this a.m. with regard to the fact that NFL TV ratings are way up, but ticket sales are trending down, and the blackout rule is threatening to kick in again from time to time:
    “You can buy a decent HD TV for less than the cost of two prime tickets to a Giants game.”

    —Ricko

    Haven’t been to a NFL game in years, but I wonder if a contributing factor to the declining attendance are the constant interruptions. Too many plays are reviewed via instant replay, and along with the other stoppages in play, must take away from the experience at the stadium. At home, you can get up and do something productive and come back to the couch.

    Fantasy football, too. Which teams win or lose isn’t nearly as important to a lot of people these days as how their fantasy team does. That means going to an actual game becomes less and less of a big deal.

    —Ricko

    I’m going to have to go with the ridiculous ticket prices and the total pain-in-the-ass element of actually attending a football game today. Plus, you basically miss every other 1PM and 4PM games because of travel.

    For less the price of season tickets, you can get an outstanding HDTV and the NFL package. Also, you have access to your own fridge and bathroom.

    Going to one game a year is enough of a novelty for me at this point.

    Did anyone notice Brandon Jackson’s TV numbers was on a separate white piece of stitching??

    The Eagles will burn those throwbacks because they lost in them, last time they lost to Packers at home were in those duds in 1962. If you like certain 3rd/retro jerseys, root that the team wins in them.

    Funny that Florida State is suing a high school over it’s use of the spear logo when they ripped it off from the Redskins…

    Oh, my, no, the Florida State spearhead and feathers are quite different—modeled after Seminole lances—so it isn’t the same thing at all.
    (eyeroll)

    —Ricko

    Kurt, I think the Eagles will retain these over the gawd-awful BFBS thirds and break them out annually for the next few years.

    Like the skins gold pamts, but have to agree with above comment … Against the coboys they are supposed to wear white and make Dallas wear their blue jerseys and silver pants.

    Al, what’s the big deal about the Redskins wearing the burdgundy against Dallas? The Redskins never wore white at home under George Allen, and that’s when the Cowboys-Redskins rivlary became truly a rivalry. It was only because of Joe Gibbs did the white jerseys become a big deal for the Redskins.

    Tonight personally reminds me of two big Cowboys-Redskins MNF games at RFK: 1973, when Ken Houston tackled Walt Garrison six inches short of the goal line on the final play of the game to preserve a 14-7 Redskins victory, and 1978, when President Carter attended the game and the Redskins won 9-5.

    Joe Pisarcik played for the GIANTS. The Miracle of the Meadowlands was against the EAGLES. Get it straight.

    Football started today, U.S.A. wins a FIBA World Championship for the first time since 1994, Redskins look like a real football team for the first time in years, and Justin Beaver dropped his drumstick at the VMAs. This is turning out to be a pretty damn good Sunday. =)

    How can the Mariners design POSSIBLY be the best?

    It’s copy-and-paste retroism, contains no new ideas whatsoever. Furthermore, it’s well known that the upside-trident is a curse.

    I’d like to see a design that isn’t inspired by the worst era of baseball uniforms.

    More praise for the Eagles’ throwbacks (a major upgrade over the midnight green) and the Redskins’ gold pants.

    On my last visit to Portland Oregon I was amazed at the number of people with tattoos. I mentioned it to a waitress and she explained that since the city didn’t have an athletic team to cheer for the spent their time comparing tattoos.

    While we’re talking pants,

    Are the Cowboys wearing their rumoured new less-green more-silver pants tonight? Looks like it to me but it’s hard to judge accurately.

    They look light blue in that light, and frankly, pathetic. Just go with silver that matches the silver helmet for crap’s sake.

    1.) I am surprised that uni won.

    2.) Eagles’ kelly green unis are absolutely amazing, same with the midfield logo and sideline shirts. I like their current uniforms, but these are incredible.

    3.) I’m also in love with the Redskins burgundy with yellow pants. They need to stick with this look for the rest of the Shanahan era. Go with the Joe Gibbs look on the road, this one at home.

    Can someone explain why it’s “gutsy” to kick a field goal when you’re well within range and playing too short a field to punt the ball without only gaining ten yards of field position?

    I thought Dallas was going to have another miracle win there. Thank the Lord for that holding call. Hail to the Redskins!!

    Feels good to have voted for the design by one vote! Every vote really does count, I guess. Hats off to the superb Brewers uniform as well. Great stuff!

    I’d go so far as to say there should be two winners due to the closeness of the vote–Mike should be the National League winner and the Duncans should be the American League winner.

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