By Phil Hecken
I’m back again with designer W. Ross Clites, who you will recall had a nifty idea to ‘reshuffle’ the NBA teams, names and divisions last weekend. To refresh your memory, you can check that article out here.
Today, Ross will show you his concepts and take you through his thought-process on how these “new” teams will come to be. Some of the descriptions are a bit text-heavy, so I will post the full write ups as links (which you can click to enlarge) as well as the “moving proposals,” while the “cliff notes” will be inline text.
I think you’ll really enjoy this, so lets get right into it:
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The Post-Stern Reshuffled NBA – Part II
By W. Ross Clites
And now, here are your “new” teams:
Charlotte Hornets:
New take on the iconic pinstripes of the Hornets era gone by. Something about the diagonal arrangement spoke to me; all the letters link up well in that classic New York Rangers-style. I never fully got the love affair with the honeycomb iconography that popped up when the team moved to New Orleans. These are not bees; the comb is not the most synonymous thing with the insect. I would argue “nest” is the number one answer, if asked “Family Feud” style. So, if you must display their living arrangements, show the outside of the house and not the inside (my two cents). Either way, give ol’ Hugo six legs — four arms/two legs. Am I the only one that remembers high school biology?
Design Bio/Proposal:
. . . . .
Los Angeles Kings:
I love the early ’70s “Kings” wordmark and the white letters on white uni seem to fit. Very weird putting Kobe Bryant — a “Laker” for life — in this mock-up, but he might as well go out as a king.
Design Bio/Proposal:
. . . . .
Memphis Blues:
I like all my work, but this one could be my personal fave. The “Blues” wordmark is bold, timeless, elegant (but not gaudy), and succinct. It comes directly from a reprinted cover of the famous song’s music sheet; a nice homage and a perfect fit.
Design Bio/Proposal:
. . . . .
Minnesota Lakers:
Kevin Love soon could be wearing a Lakers jersey, one way or the other. I would rather he stay in Minnesota to wear this set. I chose to show restraint on the green in the home uni, while prominently showcasing in the away version. This goes back to my OKC tweak and forging two distinct identities: fan-friendly home, and rough-riding, bad-guys on the road. Not sure that green has that same fierceness, but it does make for a unique look.
Design Bio/Proposal:
. . . . .
New Orleans Jazz:
“Jazz” spelled out in Mardi Gras colors… feels so right. This uni would destroy Pelicans gear in terms of team store sales numbers.
Design Bio/Proposal:
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Seattle Grizzlies:
The font that the current (and past) Toronto Blue Jays and Memphis Grizzlies use is my favorite to work with. This is especially true with the color palette of Seattle’s green and gold. I refer to the road jersey as the one with the “Twinkie font” — as the numbers and letters look like a section cut through the delicious snack.
Design Bio/Proposal:
. . . . .
Toronto Timberwolves:
Toronto is the fourth largest city in North America and a happening, sophisticated melting pot of many cultures. But to Americans watching the NBA, this team represents all of Canada. Thus, this team has to embody the entire Great White North and not just the cosmopolitan panache of Toronto. That is just my humble opinion, Canada. Creating an identity that is just a representation of the city misses a tremendous opportunity to brand all of the nation’s pro ball. The Huskies have the heritage, but the Wolves have the bright red and white of The Maple Leaf.
Design Bio/Proposal:
. . . . .
Utah Bobcats:
I brought back the mountains! And to really drive home the symbolic responsiveness to Utah’s geographical diversity, the yellow line that adorns the peaks on the front of the jersey carries through to the back, where it figuratively becomes the plains of the Salt Flats region. The players are like a walking relief map of the state.
Design Bio/Proposal:
. . . . .
Well, I hope you enjoyed my work and my long-winded explanations. I have been conditioned to have reasons for every single thing I have ever designed, so (even if it is just for my own personal validation) I must write out why a move like this should happen. “Because it looks cool” should not be good enough for you, either. As a Uni Watch community, question the rationale behind everything you come across on this site. Contrary to Nike’s belief that we are one step behind the design process — and can only idly react to what they force down our throats — I feel we have the power and responsibility to stop unfounded products, such as Oklahoma City’s alternate jersey
, from ever happening again. Make the designers defend their work as much as I have for you these past two days. I leave you with a compromise between my ridiculous ambition for 2014 and what we will most likely see.
Thank you.
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Well readers — there you have it. Tremendous effort and execution, Ross! OK, now it’s your turn. What say you?
Colorize This!
Occasionally, I will be featuring wonderful, high-quality black and white photographs that are just begging to be colorized.
Just three colorizers today, but it’s still an outstanding set. Here we go.
Click on each image to enlarge.
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We begin today with George Chilvers, who has not one, not two, but THREE colorizations for us this weekend:
An early starter for next time, Phil.
Not football as we know it, but rugby union, and with the British Lions team (a conglomerate of players from England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales) currently touring Australia we go back here to the very first Lions team there in 1888. A couple of uni-notable points – although the team now wear red jerseys, white shorts and navy socks with green tops – to encompass the colours of all the constituent teams, – then they stuck to red, white and blue. I have however gone against convention in this picture believing that I know better than the so-called experts. A few years ago a replica jersey was produced and you will see the hoops are from top down blue, red and white. However I believe this is a misreading of the tones (ie a belief that darkest must be blue, mid-tone is red) when we know from past discussions that because of the way film emulsions handled colour red is the darker tone, and blue came quite light. So I have stuck with that. Of note though is that one player seems to have the colours reversed, and in doing this picture I note that the sleeves vary in their patterns.
Many players wear caps, the majority being the cap from the tour — although a few seem to stick with their countries’ cap, and one chap at the back has a definitely lighter cap which I have taken to possibly be Cambridge University light blue. See as well the guy second from the left sitting on the ground who appears to be wearing a tie.
There is another noteworthy point about the picture though, which you may get a hint of by the black armbands and the gap in the centre of the picture. A short time before this picture was taken (a game against Queensland) the captain of the touring team, Bob Seddon, had gone sculling alone up the Hunter River in New South Wales, and was found drowned by a couple of his team mates some time later. The team in the picture left a memorial space for him in the team photograph. The current Lions team visited his grave as they began the tour.
George
. . .
Hi Phil,
Another one for you and the lovely Uni Watch readers, and this is a sport that doesn’t appear here often, or in fact maybe ever.
We are winged back to the days of the British Empire and the Indian Raj, to 1925 and the sport of polo. This is the winning team at the Open Polo Tournament in Bombay (now Mumbai), and HE The Governor’s Staff (Jack Robinson, Hugh Lucas, Claude Pert and Lakpat Singh) who beat the team from Bhopal by five goals to three in the final. I’m not sure if it’s just coincidence, or has some deeper significance, that one of the players’ trophies doesn’t appear to have a plinth. It must be said though that the winning trophy is a magnicent example.
Best wishes to all
George
. . .
Hello once again, Phil – for the third time this week.
Now before people think that colourising is quick and easy and that I am just churning them off the conveyor belt, the reality is that they take quite a while and I often have a few “on the go” at any time, as I start some, get a bit bored, think this one isn’t really going to work, or just can’t get round to finishing off the fiddly bits. So the ones I’ve sent this week are some I’ve finally got round to finishing off.
And number 3 is another sport under-represented at UW – rowing. And we go to the Emerald Isle (wake up at the back there, Connie) to Waterford Boat Club. Now the National Library of Ireland whose magnificent Flickr account is a source of brilliant photos dates this at 1915, but I think that’s too late and I would hazard a guess at about 20 years earlier – certainly Victorian era, I really enjoyed doing this one as there are so many lovely colourising elements: the trophies are magnificent, and I thought I’d make a couple gilt. The backdrops are superb. The rowers’ shoes are ordinary outdoor shoes – no Nike swoosh for them. And I really do hope that the guy two from the left standing wasn’t responsible for steering as with his eyes the boat would take some very odd directions.
I think that’s all for this week – I’ll see what else I have on the go that I can try to finish off.
George
. . .
Next is another colorizer-extraordinaire, Pete Woychick. Pete also had a couple of colorizations, sent to me in one tidy e-mail:
Hi Phil—
Both of these originals are from the Vintage Sports Pictures site (here and here). Many of us have no trouble “seeing” those images in color as-is, but I couldn’t resist.
QBs—Someone here recently said how good football jerseys look with sleeves, and this photo may be Exhibit A. The cleats of Brodie and Jurgensen have torn through the white paper backdrop. Wait, Sonny Jurgensen on the Eagles? Who knew? The Browns Milt Plum strikes me as a cross between Jim Parsons (“Dr Sheldon Cooper”) and Jimmy Fallon.
I later stumbled across another photo (this one in color … D’oh!) obviously from the same Life magazine photo session.
RB—Larry Brown ran for 101 yards and a TD and Sonny Jurgensen threw three TDs as Washington thumped the visiting Lions, 31–10 (October 11, 1970). This was a mild upset, as Detroit went on to finish 10–4 on the season, while Washington went just 6–8.
Cheers!
—Pete
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We close today with Paul Doherty, who colorized one of the reader-submitted Fathers Day photos (which had been sent in by John Adomatis):
Phil,
Here is a colorization of the great football player.
I guessed wildly at the colors.
Paul M. Doherty
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That’s it for today. Thanks as always to George, Pete and Paul. Lets keep those colorizations coming Uni Watchers!
Stirrup Fridays…
Because we love the stirrup here at Uni Watch, this section is devoted to those of us who sport the beautiful hose on Fridays — a trend popularized many years ago by Robert P. Marshall, III. For many of us, it’s become a bit of an obsession, but a harmless one — a reflection of our times. Where we once had Friday ties, which has been replaced by Casual Friday — we now have Stirrup Fridays. It’s an endearingly simple concept — no matter where you work (or even if you don’t) — break out a fresh pair of rups to compliment (or clash with) your Friday attire.
Just a small set for today, which might have something to do with the warm weather most of the States is experiencing these days — but the Revolution will not be deterred!
. . . . .
James Poisso:
Phil,
I really dig these custom colored stirrups Commrad Robert offered a few months back. Problem with cream stripes and not white is that a white sani stands out too much in contrast. Wearing black made for an intetesting look.
James Poisso
. . .
Ted Machnik:
Rob & Phil:
In honor of today’s Blackhawks’ victory parade, I’m wearing these socks at work. These colors don’t run..!!!
All the best,
Ted
. . .
Comrade Marshall:
Phil:
As I mentioned last week I have been helping a friend with a mural project here in Chicago. This week we formed the United Mural Workers of Chicago because we want two cervezas with our tortas at lunch. I am sure all will be happy to hear the UMWC won it’s fight for more beer on the job. But on Friday the union was faced with real adversity, and I had to call for a general strike because Señor Villa is unfair to stirrups. Strike! Strike!
RPM
. . .
Eric Travers:
Hi,
Here’s my son sporting the 59 rups at his Connie Mack game last night.
He looked great pitching with them on.
Eric
. . .
And that ends today’s look at Stirrup Friday — all of you who participate, send me your pics and a brief (~50 words) description of their relevance, and I’ll run ‘em here on Saturday (and sometimes Sunday too!). Be sure to visit Robert’s House of Hose for news on rups.
And now…here’s …
~~~~~~~~~~
Comrade Marshall’s Rupdate:
Comrades!
I put the Pilots/45s order in before I even offered it up here, but it looks like we didn’t get to finishing by Friday like I had hoped, and they give the factory workers the week of the 4th off, so it looks like they won’t get here until the week after Independence day. I would be frustrated, but how can I be when everyone is getting a nice vacation from the drudgery of knitting. So hopefully everyone that ordered last week is fine with the usual 3 week turnaround. Sorry, I tried.
As far as stirrup Friday goes, I am looking forward to some killer Independence day shots next weekend. Still, I know that a camera, and the right situation does not always come together, but hopefully it does for some, might even have to have multiple winners if need be. As for this weeks winner of the buy one get one free Stirrup Friday shot of the week, yesterday I had mural work, my typical Friday Post Office stirrup visit, fixing the site for the weekend, and of course umping Friday night until 12:30EST. So in order to not make our boy Phil wait for me to pick a winner, I am just going to let him give the who and why of this weeks winner, take it away Phil.
[Phil Here] Thanks Comrade. Seeing how the pickins were slim this week, I’d have to say that our own Comrade Marshall would take this week’s prize — but he’s obviously ineligible. So, since James Poisso, who is as dedicated to the revo as anyone has already been named a winner, I think we’ll split the offer to our two other revolutionaries — being they are from the Windy City ‘n all. I hope Robert isn’t too upset with me for the extension of the BOGO offer to both. –Cheers. And now back to RPM
Happy Independence Day to all next week, and keep up the fight for the right proper aesthetic for the country in the face of adverstiy.
As always…
From each according their stirrvp, to each according his strype.
That’s going to do it for this last Saturday in June. Big thanks (again) to Ross for his tremendous lede, and of course to the colorizers and stirrupers. I hope to have a full report on today’s Seattle/Chicago (Cubs) game during which both teams are throwing back, with the Cubs wearing one of my favorite uniforms, (and one which one of my first-ever posts on Uni Watch was about), with vertical placket lettering:
Your first look at the early 1900s uniforms for Turn Back the Clock Day on 6/29. Tix: http://t.co/Hx6Es8gxgO pic.twitter.com/20l5VNuEtm
— Seattle Mariners (@Mariners) June 7, 2013
If anyone is AT the game, could you please tweet or e-mail me any photos you may take? Those not at the game but watching it on TV — I’d love to have some screen shots. OK? OK!
I’ll catch you all tomorrow — have a great day.
Follow me on Twitter @PhilHecken
Peace.
One For The Road
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“Arguing that George Custer is being bobbleheaded in recognition of his Civil War service is a little like saying people remember Son of Sam for being a reliable mailman.”
–Cort McMurray
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