Hello! I recently invited readers to submit questions to me about uniforms, about Uni Watch, about me, or about anything else. Let’s get right to it, beginning with…
If you combine a great-looking uniform with an athlete who wears that uniform perfectly, who do you think was the best-looking player in each of the four major American pro sports leagues? — Max Weintraub
Tough question! For me, this has a lot to do with the athlete’s physical presence, posture, proportions, and so on. A great uniform looks better on some bodies than on others.
Let’s start with baseball. I’ve long considered this photo of Lou Brock to be the platonic ideal of a great MLB uniform being worn really well:
Everything about that is Perfection, including the fabric, the base-layer sleeves, Brock’s physique — magnificent!
Turning to the NFL: Despite being a lifelong Cowboys hater, I’ve always liked their white-at-home uniform and grew up thinking that Roger Staubach looked like he was straight out of central casting. This shot captures his on-field magnificence nicely:
For the NHL, I’m gonna go with Mark Messier in the Rangers’ white uniform:
For the NBA, I’m going to cheat a little by choosing a player from the ABA — Dr. J as a New York Net, back when team-colored socks were still part of a basketball uniform:
Have you ever given much thought to teams that have, seemingly intentionally, made their navy blue so dark that it appears to be black? The Yankees are the first team that comes to mind. Seems strange to want that effect. — Rupert ChopChop
Agreed. When I was a kid, I actually thought the Yankees’ color was black, and it still often looks black to me in photos and on TV. Ditto for the Bears. And just a few weeks ago, in the first of my two posts about mismatched sleeve and waistband striping, I referred to Cleveland having black stripes, and then a reader pointed out that they were probably dark navy.
It does seem odd to choose a team color that’s hard to reproduce accurately in various media formats. On the other hand, since so many people think black looks cool or intimidating or whatever, maybe these teams are happy to have it both ways. They get to have their specific shade of dark navy, but they also get mistaken for wearing badass black, or something like that.
As a fan of road trips and stopping in little towns along the way, any current plans for a trip? I enjoyed you tracking your travels and some of the off-the-beaten-path places you stopped at. — Tyler Kulasza
A lot of readers have told me that the travelogues were among their favorite things about Uni Watch. It’s really gratifying to know that so many of you enjoyed my documentation of those trips.
I’ve been traveling a bit less in recent years, although I’m hoping to change that in 2027. But I’ll be honest: Those travelogues were a ton of work and, more importantly, they sometimes took me out of the moment. Like, I was so busy trying to document what I was doing that I sometimes wasn’t fully experiencing what I was doing.
I’m not saying I’ll never publish another travelogue, but I’m probably going to be more thoughtful and judicious about it, just so I can be fully present during my travels.
You used to post stories about your travels and cooking escapades (I still kick myself for not saving your Irish cream recipe). Do you plan to include such content either here on Uni Watch or on Inconspicuous Consumption? Also, do you still plan to take off the month of August, as you did in years past? — Bryant Robinson
Travel: See above.
Cooking: I’m a bit less inclined these days to document everything in my life. Part of it, as I explained in the response to the previous question, is that I want to remain fully present in my various pursuits. And part of it, frankly, is that I’m trying to carve out a bit more privacy and personal space at this phase of my life and career. Like everyone else, I want a good work/life balance, which can be particularly tricky when your work and your life are so intertwined to begin with. So even though I still do a lot of things that I could write about, I want to write less often and maintain some boundaries.
That doesn’t mean I’ll never write about travel or cooking again, but those will likely be much more occasional things, not semi-regular things. I’d say they will also most likely appear on Inconspicuous Consumption, not on Uni Watch (although I’ll mention them and link to them from here).
As for August: Since I now publish at a more leisurely pace, and with no set schedule (and with no more pro or college football season previews to write), I no longer feel the need to take August off.
Again, I really appreciate that so many readers enjoy hearing about my various activities. I hate disappointing you (seriously!), but I hope you can understand my reasons for dialing back a bit on that type of content. I’m always happy to share the Irish cream recipe, however:
2 cups Irish whiskey (such as Jameson, Bushmills, or Tullamore Dew)
2 cups heavy cream
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1 tablespoon chocolate syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon instant coffee dissolved in 2 tablespoons hot water
¼ teaspoon almond extract
Combine all ingredients in a large pitcher or container and enjoy!
Which U.S. city with at least three pro teams has the best set of team uniforms? — Mike Raymer
Of the cities that have pro teams in all four major pro sports leagues (MLB, NFL, NHL, NBA), which one do think has the best set of main uniforms? Disregard alternates, special combinations, etc. — Gerry Kaminski
Obviously, these questions depend heavily on how you define a team being “in” particular city (for example, the New York Giants and Jets play in New Jersey). But if we go by the cities on this list, which shows all the metro areas with at least one team in each of the Big Four leagues, I’d say the winner is Philadelphia. The Phillies, Eagles, Sixers, and Flyers all have very solid-looking primary uniforms.
If we instead look at cities that are represented in just three of the Big Four, I’d choose Pittsburgh, which has the Pirates, Steelers, and Penguins.
In short: Pennsylvania is a very good-looking state for pro sports!