By Phil Hecken
There was lots of action on the College Football uniform front over the weekend, leading up to the start of the NCAAFB season in a mere few weeks. Webmaster John Ekdahl covered some of these a bit in yesterday’s post, but owing to the fact that readership is lower on the weekends than the weekdays, many of you may have missed them.
So lets begin: (click any photos on this page to enlarge)
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Texas Tech Red Raiders:
According to Tech, “The new innovation for Texas Tech’s jersey is the ‘Guns Up stripe’.” The multi-colored stripe on the shoulder mimics Texas Tech’s “iconic Guns Up gesture.” OK then. And just so you don’t forget, they’ve put that slogan across the pants leg, on the calf. It’s also on the back of the helmet and on the baselayer.
As far as the uniforms, it appears as though there is no red jersey or pants like they had in 2012, (and earlier) — something that seems a bit odd for a team with “Red” in their name.
The Red Raiders, as is common, put out a uniform reveal video (which is thankfully not soundtracked with Imagine Dragons’ Radioactive) but which does play up the “Guns” up (and even includes the sounds of a cocking gun and pistol shot at the end).
Compared to their past uniforms, I actually don’t mind these too much (assuming they stick to just one helmet and two different tops). The fonts are legible, and the “guns up” striping on the shoulders is unique without being too obnoxious. There is still plenty of red on the white jersey, and a decent amount on the striping. The black helmet has the classic “T/T” logo, and isn’t chrome or matte. The red stripe becomes white near the helmet base,” which isn’t a bad feature (although they could scrub the “Guns Up” writing from the helmet IMHO).
For Under Armour, this is not a bad reprisal of a uniform that had not won great praise in the past. If you haven’t seen enough already, there is a gallery with over 100 photos for you to take in.
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South Carolina Gamecocks:
Like the Red Raiders, the Gamecocks (also sponsored by Under Armour) appear to have only two sets of pants and jerseys (garnet and white — their official colors are garnet and black). According to UA, they sought to make this uniform set “something timeless that fits in with the power and tradition of SEC Football and linked specifically to South Carolina.” Also, like the Raiders, the Gamecocks had several sets of uniform combinations (and a couple special uniforms in the past that were um, different), preferring to start 2013 more simply.
These uniforms are definitely more “classic” than years past, although they do feature a tramp stamp. Special gloves say “Carolina Forever” when put together, and have “Carolina, Forever To Thee” on the front jersey flap. Socks will be garnet (with white/black striping) and the pants stripes truncate slightly before the base.
There doesn’t seem to be a video of the unveiling, but there is a slideshow, which you can see here:
As with Texas Tech, I believe these new uniforms are an improvement (and certainly a more “classic” look). The shoulder stripes are muted and certainly a departure from the past’s wide, oddly angled stripes. And while I don’t mind stripeless pants, I didn’t fancy the sorta striped britches sported in the past. And no references to firearms on the uniforms is always a plus.
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Tennessee Volunteers:
Not a real big reveal came from Tennessee this weekend, and the changes were pretty much expected, thanks to earlier video game leaks. Still, we did get our first look at the new uniforms, and we see that the typical adidas “treadmarks,” a ubiquitous feature this season, are present on the shoulders and the back of the jersey does have the state outline:
Nothing too extraordinary (again, that was to be expected) and other than the treadmarks, I like. Here’s a look at the full uni. You’ll note from those photos that there appears to be two different baselayers (an orange and a white), both of which feature the checkerboard pattern (which is a staple of the Tennessee endzone. There is supposedly a “faint checkerboard design” in the numbers of the road jerseys (which haven’t yet been revealed — or at least which I haven’t seen).
(Huge props to Jim Scroggs who tweeted those photos out to me and which obviously got picked up by College Spun).
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Nevada Wolf Pack:
The last of the “big” reveals is the Wolf Pack of Nevada, who as you can see, will have several new uniforms, and two helmets. The white helmet is new, while the blue helmet is a holdover from previous seasons. Nevada has never really had much of a consistent uniform identity over the past several years, so maybe these will have some staying power.
The addition of the gray uniform and white helmet will certainly provide the ‘pack with some different options:
There are now 3 different jerseys, two different pants (white and gray) and two helmets, providing a likelihood the Wolf Pack won’t have to wear any given combination twice (although it might get tricky if they have to wear the white jersey only on the road). Compared to past years sets, this is certainly an improvement, although it appears (in this photo) that the “1″ is thicker than the “2″ (is that on purpose, a mistake, or just a trick of the photo?) and I can’t say I’m a fan of the claw mark stripes on the pants. Still, a definite upgrade.
If you haven’t seen enough, there is a small photo gallery of uniforms out there.
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Nebraska Cornhuskers (special):
We’ve seen these alternate Nebraska uniforms before (they’ll wear them against UCLA on September 14), but this is the first time seeing them in the “light of day” as it were. If that photo isn’t big enough, here’s a real high def look. I’ll withhold comment (further) until I see them in action, but as they stand now, I’m not a fan. But the kids love black (and what’s with the pseudo-military font?), and I’m sure the players can’t wait, so maybe they’ll be a hit. (Big h/t to Warren Junium for the photo).
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I think that’s it for the new uni unveilings this past few days. If I missed any, my apologies.
Well readers…that was a lot to digest — what do YOU think?
Now THAT looks like a South Florida Team!
The NFL Hall of Fame Game was played yesterday, the first “official pre-season” game of the 2013 season, and we got our first looks at the Miami Dolphins new uniforms.
Their opponents, the Dallas Cowboys, looked the same (good) as always.
But it was those new helmets, pants and different-shade-of-aqua jerseys for the Dolphins that we wanted to see.
Lets take a look, shall we? (click on any photo to enlarge):
Looks pretty good, right? Yes, there is still some getting used to with the new helmet (with the new dolphin logo) and some of you don’t like the fatter helmet stripe (and corresponding matching stripe on the pants). The new fonts leave a little to be desired, as well. But chalk me up as a fan.
And one more, for good measure (and check out what looks like a mouthguard in QB Ryan Tannehill’s sock!):
I like the color, I don’t particularly dislike the new dolphin logo, the stripes may be fat, but they’re actual stripes, and I even like the new wordmark on the jerseys. My one complaint would be the new fonts, but compared to those of the Vikings and Jaguars, these are fine. Yes, it will take some time to get used to the new look, but from what I’ve seen so far, this one is a keeper.
More photos can be found here.
Los Tigres de Detroit
On Saturday evening, as part of the “¡Fiesta Tigres!” celebration, which honored the contributions of Hispanic and Latino players in baseball, the Tigers wore a special jersey with the word “Tigres” and each player’s individual number on the front of their jersey (they don’t normally wear a front uniform number).
Click the photos below to enlarge:
Aside from the script “Tigres” and the number on front, and the “headspoon” piping, the uniforms were identical to their normal home uniforms. Although it was odd to see the script “Tigres” on the front of their jerseys (we’ve grown so accustomed to their iconic Olde English “D”), this uniform actually bears a very strong resemblance to the one-year experiment the Tigers undertook in 1960, when they departed from their OE “D” and wore “Tigers” in script. The 1960 unis appeared to have a larger (and seemingly thinner) front uniform number:
As you’ll note, those 1960 uniforms also had front uniform numbers (and lack of placket striping). While it’s a very good looking uniform, clearly the one with the OE “D” is much more distinctive, so it’s easy to see why the Tigers (of 1961) went back to that look. And since Detroit has absolutely NO alternate uniforms, it will be curious to see what the fan reaction to these jerseys will be (and they won the game, beating the White Sox 3-0 behind the 16th win of the season for Max Scherzer). Several teams now include two “white” (or cream) home uniforms (Mets, Braves, Cardinals, Phillies, to name a few) that it’s possible this might be added next season. I’m hoping not, but they could do a lot worse.
What do you guys think?
Uni Watch News Ticker: Reader “fightingducksluh” (Joe) took a tour of White Sox stadium the other day and noticed: 1. Look at these stirrups; 2. all the logos the White Sox have used during their franchise history. (he thinks); and 3. Has any other stadium put up a sign where an important play has happened like in Chicago with “The Catch”? … Last week, Ethan Kassel sent me the poster at the Oakland Coliseum’s West Side Club that illustrated the evolution of the elephant logo. Well, check out what he found on the souvenir cups! … Check out the socks in the splash photo of this article on player/helmet safety (thanks to Tommy Turner). … Good spot from Mike Macksood, who noticed that on NFL.com they have a mistake NOB for one of the Bengals LB’s. His last name is Lamur, most certainly not “Lumar.” … And a good spot by Scott Nebel who the Vikings this year during training camp are wearing their ‘old’ style pants, as seen here being worn by Greg Jennings, which he thinks is odd because from 2006-2012 they sometimes wore ‘throwback’ style pants during training camp, as seen in this photo from either 2011 or 2012. … New Mexico basketball will be wearing special unis for their Australian tour Aug. 2-13, says Frank Mercogliano. Note the Southern Cross on the pants. … Our friends over at Lob Shots know the Uni Watch readers love logos…and love to make their own. They would love to throw them in the mix with this new logo contest they’re having (big thanks to Brady Phelps). … Nebraska had Fan Day Friday and it looks like incoming Freshman QB Johnny Stanton will have RNOB (h/t to David Westfall). … In a somewhat related story, the ‘Skins now have two RGIIIs, only Rex Grossman won’t be going RNOB … Interesting Coke display At Wal-Mart in Hurricane, WV. Supporting the Hurricane High Redskins (thanks to Coleman Mullins). … Here’s a pretty cool duct tape receipt holder made by the wife of Jeff Moddelmog a couple years ago. Explains Jeff, “I’m early 70′s Nuggets fan so we went original Nuggets logo.” … Here’s a great spot by SW Small — The New York Liberty misspelled Natalie Prahalis’ name on her jersey. So, they filled in the extra “a” so it would at least appear to spelled correctly. … This is very cool: Barcelona kit for Santos match to feature unique lettering created by artist with Down Syndrome (thanks to Tim Fry). … Weird story out of Nebraska – but after viewing the picture at the bottom, Jason Johnson thinks the person who made the decision to wear those jerseys should have been arrested. … Brian Crago was stuck in traffic in Chicago and noticed the SUV’s personalized license plate, “HAWKS N 6″, no doubt a nod to the 2010 Stanley Cup champs who clinched in six games. Since the Hawks won the Cup again this year, again in 6 games, the person had in stenciled letters “IN 6 2WICE” off to the side. … The A’s introduced their “Hall of Famer Run” on Aug 2 featuring characters of Rollie Fingers (wearing the A’s uni from 72-81), Rickey Henderson (uni from 83-86), and Dennis Eckersley (87-current uni). Henderson’s character however is wearing number 24 on the early 80s uni which he did not wear until rejoining the A’s in 1989. He wore number 35 for the A’s 1979-85 (big thanks to Rich Paloma. … Non-uni submission from Brinke: Looks like Caddy will get a new logo soon. … What’s the story behind this great old photograph? As UW uniform historian Terry Proctor explains, “A new website about the history of the Western Finger Lakes area that my family has lived in for over 200 years now has some high school sports information. My hometown of Hemlock won the girls sectional basketball championship in the 1930-31 season and the boys were the first team in the Rochester area to “three-peat” when they won the Class “C” sectionals in 1935, 1936 and 1937. The boys were 39-4 during their three-year run. Hemlock High School merged with Livonia Central School in 1958 and that’s where I attended from seventh grade through high school.” Terry explains that “the school colors were (sorry, Paul) Purple and Gold but were later changed to Royal & Gold.” As more information becomes available, Terry & co. will be adding it to the website. … Seems as though Jeremy Affeldt has some jersey number kerning issues going on. The 4 is centered under his name, and then the 1 got squeezed in there on the right, leaving the left side under the name wide open (nice spot by Ed Lafayette). … If you thought the Stillers were done with the Bumblebee throwbacks, you’d be wrong — they’ll break them out on November 17th (thanks, Brinke). … “Just wanted to send along this image from 2013 Topps Archives Baseball” says a reader who wishes to remain anonymous. “It’s a ‘Box-topper’ of Lou Brock. So much uni-goodness in this photo.” So much uni-goodness indeed, including both a soft and hard “pillbox” cap/helmet!… And speaking of baseball cards, did you know Paul Lukas is referenced on the back of one? How cool is that … Jerry Kulig grabbed this shot of Jonathan Ogden, with FullNOB. “I don’t remember the FNOB,” asks Jerry. “Was there another Ogden on the Ravens?” … Recently the Liverpool Football Club played the Melbourne Victory at the Melbourne Cricket Ground during their Australian pre-season tour. As this photo indicates, a huge Liverpool jersey was located next to the pitch (thanks to Graham Clayton). … A link to the Buffalo Bills online store shows the new collar isn’t the same one that EJ Manuel had on draft day, notes John Pascucci. “It has a thick, dark stripe on top (ala the outline on the numbers and shoulder stripes).” … Nice pickup by Mako Mameli at a recent Raiders practice: when the Raiders started training camp it was offense in white and defense in black. Then on July, 29 the offense took the practice field donning silver jerseys. Coach Allen said the silver jerseys were an award for outplaying the defense in a recent practice. Works both ways — defense gets silver jerseys when they outplay the offense, who have to wear black. … Good spot by first-time submitter Kenneth Curtis (welcome aboard!), who notes that NFL.com has the wrong helmet for the Miami Dolphins in its graphic for the HOF game. … Interesting observation as Auburn opened up preseason practice on Friday, 8/1. QB Nick Marshall’s (L) helmet label was misspelled as “Marshell” (nice spot by Brian Powers. … We’ve known since June that at least 5 NBA teams will wear short-sleeved jerseys as “alts” this year, but new news (at least to me) is that 20 NBA squads will wear a short-sleeve uniform at least once. In a related story, could the Lakers be one of those teams to get a short-sleeved alt? … Tom Klipsch was watching the International champions cup & noticed all the teams have to wear this Adidas Fly Emirates sponsored “basketball” jersey over the team shirt. Says Tom, “Apparently Even the Teams sponsored by both Adidas & Fly Emirates. Seems overly redundant. I have noticed this trend in International soccer lately. Players on the bench covered in Sponsor covered smocks.” … We also have a bunch of uniform news from Down Under (courtesy of Leo Strawn): The AFL’s Essendon Bombers are asking indigenous supporters to design a jumper for the 2014 season. The jumper will be worn during the annual “Dreamtime at the ‘G” match v. Richmond during the league’s indigenous round. (Richmond Tigers have worn a different indigenous design in that match each year for the 2011, 2012 and 2013 seasons. Adelaide (altering their jumper colors to reflect traditional aboriginal colors) and Fremantle wore new designs for ’13 indigenous round, and Port Adelaide wore a special indigenous design for the next round in 2013 (while playing in the Northern Territory), and earlier in the season St. Kilda wore a special Maori design jumper when they played a home match in round 5 in New Zealand.
It’s likely that many more AFL clubs will be wearing special indigenous jumpers for the indigenous round and other special matches in the future,” says Leo. … There is going “full stormtrooper”, and then there is going plain stormtrooper as the Nashville Sounds did on Saturday night (with thanks to Joe Sewash). … After revealing itty-bits of their uniforms for the past several weeks (months?) the Suns will finally reveal their new uniforms during a “Fashion Show” on August 15. I’m sure we’re all waiting with bated breath. … The College of Charleston has a new logo and branding (thanks to Britton Thomas). … Check out the on Saturday night’s Shark-a-rine giveaway (h/t R. Scott Rogers @rscottrogers). … The Tri-City Valley Cats busted out the high hose to try to “break the funk” (h/t to Sully @pal3327). More from Sully: Toledo Baseball History Weekend kicked off at the @MudHens with Jim Thorpe Bobblehead Night. … Alex Allen (@aallen65) lets us know there are New football jerseys for @hhseaglessports (I am not sure whether he’s talking about Heritage High School or Hobbs High School, both of whom are the Eagles — there could even be more — so my apologies!). … David Caruso found this video he thought we would enjoy. “The uniforms are nifty but to me the coolest parts of the video are the bags (which look like pillows compared to what the are now) and how awesome and stereotypically old-timey the announcer’s voice is,” says David. … And, finally (finally!) David Hutchinson sends two hockey mask bits: (1) Lehtonen’s latest…fun story, painted by an old teammate and the first mask for the new Dallas uniforms; and (2) Brodeur has a new mask that looks very similar to last year’s – but he has added his two bulldogs on it – names Stanley and Vezina! RIP Art.
And that, dear readers, brings us to a close on this fine first Monday in the month of August. Thanks to all the ticker contributors and twitter feeders. Couldn’t do this without you. Everyone have as good a summer Monday as you possibly can.
Follow me on Twitter @PhilHecken
Peace.
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“The Dolphin’s (sic) number font is obnoxious…individual numbers have straight edges one side and rounded on the other.”
–Steve Dodell
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