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By Paul Lukas, on October 18th, 2019 
Last week I mentioned that the Padres had invited me to the unveiling of their new brown uniforms on Nov. 9, and I asked if any editors would like to send me to San Diego so I could cover the event for them. I had a few nibbles, but nothing came of them. So today, instead of asking editors, I’m asking all of you: Wanna send me to San Diego?
That’s right — I’m asking you, the Uni Watch comm-uni-ty, if you’d like to cover my expenses so I can cover this unveiling.
I feel a little funny asking for this. But with the journalism industry continuing its death spiral, and with my having lost two jobs already this year (so far!), maybe crowd-funding is the best way to bankroll the next chapter of my career. I’m certainly willing to give it a try for this San Diego event.
So how much cash do I need? Here’s a rough budget:
• Round-trip airfare: $400ish*
• Hotel (two nights): $270**
• Cab to/from JFK: $110
• Local transportation in San Diego: $100
• Meals, incidentals: $100
TOTAL = $1080
*The airfares tend to change daily, so this number is approximate
**I could lower this number by staying only one night, but I want to spend an extra day in San Diego to lay the groundwork for some additional Uni Watch stories. Also, flying coast-to-coast on back-to-back days is exhausting, so I’d prefer to have a buffer day.
So here’s what I’m thinking:
• I want this to be a comm-uni-ty-based project. So for people who want to contribute to my travel fund, I’m setting a hard limit of $50 per person (and it’s fine to contribute less than that). Instead of having one or two sugar daddies shouldering most of the load, I’d rather spread the costs among a larger group of people, which I think will help make this feel more like a shared project that we all have a stake in.
• I have a plus-one for this event. So if I can raise enough cash to make the trip, I will raffle off my plus-one spot, and the raffle winner can join me at the unveiling. Seems like a good way to give back to the comm-uni-ty.
• If the donations fall short of the full amount, I’ll refund everyone’s donations and chalk it up to a failed experiment.
You probably have some questions. Allow me to anticipate some of them:
Are you so broke that you can’t afford a quick trip to San Diego?
No, I’m not broke. But I just lost my SI gig and can’t justify dropping a thousand bucks to write a blog entry. Moreover, journalists can’t be expected to just hop on a plane at their own expense every time there’s a story to cover. I was hoping a magazine or website would hire me for this one (in part so they’d pay my travel expenses and also so they’d pay me for the resulting article), but that didn’t work out, so here we are.
That’s quite a sense of entitlement you have, expecting your readers to pay your freight!
I don’t entirely disagree with this sentiment. Like I said, I feel a bit funny asking. But as I just explained, it’s neither personally nor professionally viable for me to do this on my own, and no publication has stepped up, so I’m asking you folks instead. I agree it’s a bit unorthodox, but I think it’s a worthwhile experiment.
The Padres invited you, so why not see if they’ll pay to fly you out?
Even if they wanted to do that (which I don’t think they do), I can’t accept that kind of freebie from the team whose event I’d be covering, because that would be a blatant conflict of interest. I know, I know — journalistic ethics are so inconvenient!
I can save you some money by letting you crash at my house in San Diego, so you won’t have to stay at a hotel!
I appreciate the offer, truly, but staying at someone’s house becomes a sort of social obligation. I’d have to be “on” all the time, have to make small talk, etc. I’d rather have some privacy, some space to decompress on my own, some time to sit down and work if I need to. Thanks for understanding.
Instead of donating cash, I’d consider donating frequent flier miles or hotel points. Can we do that?
Yes, we can talk about that. Contact me.
Generally speaking, I’m willing to help support the work that you do. But my resources are limited — is this trip really the best use of those resources? What exactly will I be getting if I help send you to San Diego?
Those are totally fair questions. A few thoughts:
• The unveiling is taking place on a Saturday. If I don’t go to cover it in person, Phil will write about it for his Sunday entry that weekend. But if you send me to San Diego, I will take over that Sunday’s lede and present a detailed review of the uniforms, the event, the scene, and so on.
• Honestly, it’s not often that I feel the need to attend an unveiling in person. I can usually do just as good a job (and so can Phil) by watching the live stream, looking at internet photos, and so on. But the Padres going back to brown feels like a big deal. Fans (including many people reading this) have been clamoring for it for ages. I feel like I should be there, and I’d like to think that you’d want me to be there too.
• I don’t think I’ve ever covered an unveiling event in person for the blog. In the past, I’ve always covered such things for ESPN or SI, so I had to do it in a way that made sense for those platforms. But covering an unveiling for the blog will give me the freedom to go into a bit more depth, maybe provide things I haven’t provided before (a video interview with a team official or a player, say), and so on. Basically, if you send me to this event, I’ll do my best to give you your money’s worth.
Of course, if you don’t care about the Padres (or about baseball, or about over-hyped unveiling events), you might not see a good reason to contribute. I can absolutely respect that point of view. I’m just askin’! The choice is ultimately up to you, and I’ll respect the comm-uni-ty’s wishes.
Will the raffle to be your plus-one be limited to people who contribute toward your expenses?
No, it will be open to anyone. For one thing, I can only do “No purchase required” raffles (anything else would be the equivalent of selling raffle tickets, which would mean I’d be promoting gambling, which would get me in trouble!). Also, I like the idea of making the plus-one available to anyone, regardless of financial means. I would prefer that only true Padres fans enter the raffle, because they’re the ones who should be at the unveiling, but of course there’s no way for me to enforce that rule, so the raffle will be open to all.
If you go to San Diego, will you have a Uni Watch party/gathering while you’re there?
If my schedule allows, yes. It would probably be on the evening of Sunday, Nov. 10.
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I think that’s everything. So! If you’d like to donate to the Uni Watch San Diego Unveiling Fund, please send your contributions via Venmo (use @Paul-Lukas-2 as the payee), Zelle (plukas64@gmail.com; please include your email address in the “Memo” field, in case I need to refund your contribution), Cash App (plukas64@gmail.com), or Apple Pay (email me to get the number). Remember, donations are capped at $50 per person. If we hit the funding target, I’ll post an update here in this paragraph, and I’ll run the plus-one raffle either next week or the week after.
Update: Barely two hours after I posted this morning’s entry, the goal has been already been met! No more donations, please. I’ll buy the plane ticket and book the hotel later today, and I’ll raffle off the plus-one either next week or the week after. THANK YOU for making this such a successful experiment!
(As an aside: While I’m not happy about having lost my job, it continues to look like I may have dodged a bullet leaving SI, at least judging by the latest devastating article about their new owners. What a shitshow.)
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ITEM! NBA Preview update: The NBA regular season tips off next Tuesday, which means it’s almost time for my annual NBA Season Preview. I’m happy to announce that it will appear on InsideHook, a men’s lifestyle site much like GQ or Esquire.
I’ve written for this type of publication before, but not in a Uni Watch capacity, so this is a different sort of venue for one of my season previews. As it happens, InsideHook did a nice profile of me back in May, so we were on each other’s radars. After the latest unpleasantness, they got in touch and proposed a partnership, and I’ve been impressed what I’ve seen and heard in our initial interactions. I’m also intrigued by the possibilities, since it could bring Uni Watch to whole new audience.
Anyway: Bottom line is that the NBA Preview will be out on Monday, whoop-whoop!
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ITEM! Cycling jersey redux: If you missed out on the Uni Watch Cycling Jersey, which we offered for a two-week window in late August (and which looks mighty sharp on the people who purchased it), you’re in luck — we’re taking another round of orders from now through Nov. 1.
Just like before, you can choose your number and NOB for a custom look. The finished product should be ready to ship in early December — just in time for the holidays.
Again, the cycling jersey is available here. You know what to do.
(My continued thanks to Nathan Haas of Adelph Wear for making this product possible.)
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Click to enlarge
“My son, it’s all left up to you”: What have we here? It’s a jacket owned by Seattle-based Uni Watch reader Jason Massman, with our chain-stitched logo on the front and a 20th-anniversary patch on the sleeve. He had them sewn on by a local dry cleaner and then Scotchguarded them himself to protect against the wet Seattle weather.
Even better, the patches are obscuring some corporate logo creep. The chest patch, says Jason, is covering an Amazon logo, while the sleeve patch is covering “a maker’s mark of undetermined origin.” Nice.
If you want to get a chain-stitched patch like the one on the chest of Jason’s jacket, here’s how to order one. As for the anniversary patch, I’ve finally run out of those — sold out!
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Press pin registry reminder: In case you missed it on Wednesday, I’ve created a spreadsheet registry for the Uni Watch press pins. The pins were produced in a numbered edition of 200, so the registry allows people to see who got which pin number, and also allows people to trade if they want (so if you’re a fan of a particular number, you can try to trade with the person who has that numbered pin).
For additional details, look here.
(Big thanks to those of you who’ve been entering your info on the registry page, which is filling in nicely).
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Being old is hard: My mother and her friend Marcia met while walking to first grade in 1930. They quickly became best friends and remained that way for nearly nine decades. When I was growing up, Marcia and her husband were a big presence in our family’s life — lots of dinners, weekends, etc. I didn’t always enjoy those times (it was hard being the only kid around a bunch of grown-ups, and Marcia and her husband didn’t have a TV, drank skim milk, etc. — like that), but I was always impressed by the special friendship between Mom and Marcia, and how far back it went.
For the past 20 years or so, Marcia has lived in Maine. She and Mom could no longer travel on their own, so in 2014 I drove Mom up to Maine so they could see each other for what we all realized would probably be the last time, although nobody said that out loud. It was a great visit. That’s Mom on the left and Marcia on the right in the photo shown above. They were both 90 years old at the time. In the years since, they’ve continued to talk on the phone at least once a week.
Yesterday Mom got a call from Marcia’s daughter, informing her that Marcia had passed away. It’s a big blow to Mom, who’s lost so many friends over the years. Oddly, it also feels like a blow to me — not because I was particularly close to Marcia myself, but because it feels like an omnipresent element in the culture of our family has been stripped away. R.I.P.
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The Ticker
By Anthony Matthew Emerson
Baseball News: The Washington Post’s score bug for last night’s ALCS game featured a very out-of-date Astros logo (from Joel Mendelson). … Also posted in the pro football section: the first renderings of how the Ballpark in Arlington will be reconfigured for XFL football have been released (from James Gilbert). … The CPL’s Savannah Bananas are having a public vote on which of three fan-designed uniforms the team will wear (from Jameson Adams and Kyle Dawson). … The Nashua Silver Knights of the FCBL have unveiled their 10th-season logo (from John Cerone).
Pro Football News: Broncos QB Joe Flacco didn’t have the NFL 100 patch on his jersey during last night’s game against Kansas City (from many, many readers). … Washington has been practicing in helmets with grey facemasks and no stripes, meaning they’ll be wearing throwbacks this weekend (from Stu Ellis, Jr.). … The Ravens have implied that they’ll wear all-white for Sunday’s game against the Seahawks (from Andrew Cosentino). … Also from Andrew: Recently acquired Ravens CB Marcus Peters will wear No. 30. … Cross-posted from the baseball section: The first renderings of how the Ballpark in Arlington will be reconfigured for XFL football have been released (from James Gilbert).
College and High School Football News: Both Duke and Virginia are replacing their regular helmet logos with the CFB150 logo for tomorrow’s game. Duke will also be going BFBS (thanks to Jamie and everyone else who sent this in). … Head coach James Franklin has explained why Penn State doesn’t wear white at home for their “whiteout” games: because the NCAA rules won’t allow it without a typically NCAA bureaucratic process (from William F. Yurasko). … Florida will go orange-white-white tomorrow. … Utah will go red-black-red tomorrow (from Aron LoCoco and @B_Kenny1). … Louisville is going red-red-white this weekend (from M. Brinston Berry). … UNLV is going red-white-black tomorrow. … New Mexico is going grey-white-white at Wyoming. … UNC is going mono-white (from James Gilbert and Andrew Cosentino). … Air Force will be wearing these awesome “C-17” unis tomorrow against Hawaii (from Kade Witten and Chad Lehman). … The following are also all from Chad: Rutgers is wearing their long-sleeved unis this weekend. … West Virginia is going white-white-grey. … White-red-white for Texas Tech. … Boise State is going blue-white-orange against BYU. … Northwestern is wearing their graphite, Gothic-lettered unis tonight. … South Carolina are wearing their throwback unis with standard helmet, so the helmet and pants stripes don’t match (from @willchitty4). … Even the jersey worn by Georgia’s mascot pooch, Uga, has a CFB150 patch (from @BoilerUniforms). … Grand Prairie, Texas, fallen officer AJ Castaneda will be honored by Arlington Martin High’s football team, for which Castaneda played. Arlington Martin will wear special uniforms and coaches will wear corresponding polos on the sidelines. The jerseys will be auctioned off to support Castaneda’s special-needs son’s education (from Chris Mycoskie).
Hockey News: Here’s a nice video of the United Center ice getting painted for the Blackhawks (from Jeff Wilk, who still calls it Chicago Stadium). … The AHL’s Stockton Heat has unveiled their new third sweater (from Jack Wade). … A Devils fan was spotted wearing a post-divorce NOB.
College Hoops News: New unis for Alabama men (from Austin Perry). … New unis for Northern Kentucky men (from Bill Mason). … New court for Washington State (from Brett Craycraft).
Soccer News: EFL Championship side Leeds United have unveiled their centenary shirt, and it’s a beauty (from Ed Żelaski). … The latest episode great design podcast 99 Percent Invisible has a detailed look at how FIFA’s backpass rule changed the face of soccer. … Tottenham Hotspur’s stadium has been illuminated pink for breast cancer awareness (thanks, Jamie). …
Grab Bag: NASA has unveiled the prototypes for the “next generation of spacesuit” (from Billy Theo and Chris Dougherty). … New uniforms for Italian men’s club volleyball team Modena Volley (from Jeremy Brahm).
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One last thing: I’m about to start working on my annual Uni Watch Holiday Gift Guide. If you know of a good uni- or logo-themed product or company — or if you produce such a product or run such a company yourself — please let me know. Thanks in advance, and have a great weekend. — Paul
By Jamie Rathjen, on October 17th, 2019 
[Editor’s Note: Today we have a guest entry from our own Jamie Rathjen, who’s going to delve into the topic of soccer officials’ patches. Enjoy. — PL]
By Jamie Rathjen
Soccer is played throughout the world, with each country developing its own peculiar habits and protocols. Case in point: the identifying patches worn by officials. The wide scope of officials’ patches represents an overlooked corner of the uni-verse, one primarily built on federation and confederation logos that are less frequently worn than team logos.
Before we start looking at individual countries, let’s start with this: Officials who are qualified to officiate games involving national teams or in continent-level club competitions wear a FIFA patch (shown above). Officials wearing the FIFA patch wear it all the time, even during domestic games, and generally in place of any national patch. To earn the FIFA patch, officials are nominated for FIFA’s list of international officials by their country and must pass fitness tests.
Now let’s look at country-specific patch treatments, beginning with the U.S. Officials who are members of the Professional Referees Organization, which supplies many officials for MLS, the USL, and the NWSL, wear the organization’s logo. Non-PRO officials wear a a U.S. Soccer officials’ patch. In the NWSL, officials wear a league logo patch — it perpetually looks like it’s about to fall off — but not in the other two leagues.
In major European leagues, officials primarily wear the crest of their country’s federation, instead of the logo of the league. Countries that follow this practice include Germany (shown below), Spain, Italy, the Netherlands, and Belgium.
But there are some countries where officials do wear the league’s logo on the chest, including Sweden (on the left in that picture, along with the logo of the referees’ association) and Australia (in both the A-League and W-League).
In England, an official can potentially wear two or even three different crests. In the Premier League, for example, the league logo is worn, as well as the FIFA patch, if applicable, for a double-patched look:
In competitions run by the English Football League, the EFL logo is worn instead, while officials in the FA Cup and Women’s Super League wear the Football Association crest:
Scotland is one of the few countries where referees wear a “Referee” label if they are not wearing the FIFA patch. Same goes for Japan — with the word “Referee” usually printed in English, interestingly. Switzerland labels referees in the country’s three major official languages — “Schiedsrichter” in German, “Arbitre” in French, and “Arbitro” in Italian — as well as in English.
Officials in almost every country that I looked at for this piece wear ads, primarily on the sleeve, but countries that go particularly overboard in this regard include Brazil and Mexico (shown below).
At international level, every official in matches involving national teams or in continent-level club competitions wears the FIFA patch. Confederation-specific patches are worn in South America, for example, but officials in Europe wear only the small UEFA “Respect” sleeve patch.
While ads aren’t generally worn when national teams are involved, for some reason they appeared at this summer’s Copa América, even though the competition’s regulations specifically prohibit ads. Does anyone know more about that?
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Press pin registry reminder: In case you missed it on Wednesday, I’ve created a spreadsheet registry for the Uni Watch press pins. Since they were produced in a numbered edition of 200 and sold out almost immediately, some people might want to trade for a specific numbered pin. So if you purchased one, you can enter your name, your email address or Twitter handle, and any notes or comments, including whether you’re willing to trade or sell your pin.
Here’s how it works:
• If you’ve purchased a pin and would like to enter it on this registry, go to the registry and enter your info on the line that corresponds to your pin’s number. (Be sure to use the number shown in the “Pin Number” column, not the spreadsheet’s line number column. Those two columns are consistently one number apart, so it’s an easy mistake to make — be careful!)
• If you’re a big fan of, say, the number 73 and see that the person who has pin No. 73 is willing to trade, go ahead and email that person and see if you can strike a deal. (Obviously, shipping arrangements, postage charges, and so on are up to the two traders — work it out amongst yourselves.)
• I suppose people who missed out on purchasing a pin could also use this registry as a way to buy one (“I’ll give you 20 bucks for pin No. 53!”). Personally, I find that notion less appealing — I’d rather encourage trading, not selling. But if it happens, so be it.
• Participation is completely voluntary. If you purchased a pin but would rather not enter your name on the spreadsheet, that’s fine.
• I realize there are privacy issues about sharing email addresses on publicly viewable documents. If you’re willing to enter your name but would rather not list your email address, that’s fine. (You may also want to consider creating a new email address just for this spreadsheet. It’s certainly easy enough with Gmail and many other services, and that way you won’t be giving away your primary address.) You can also enter your Twitter handle and let people DM you via Twitter.
• Obviously, this project will only work if everyone behaves and nobody fucks with the spreadsheet. So: Please behave and don’t fuck with the spreadsheet. Thanks.
Again, the spreadsheet registry is here. Enjoy.
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Membership update: It’s always interesting when a new uniform makes its on-field debut and then we immediately get a membership card request for it. That’s the case with Eric Juergens’s new card, which is based on throwbacks that Florida wore two weekends ago against Auburn.
Eric’s card is one of several that have been added to the membership card gallery, as we continue to work our way through all the orders that have resulted in the wake of the most recent unpleasantness.
Ordering a membership card is a good way to support Uni Watch (which, frankly, could use your support these days). And remember, a Uni Watch membership card entitles you to a 15% discount on any of the merchandise in our Teespring shop and our Naming Wrongs shop. (If you’re an existing member and would like to have the discount code, email me and I’ll hook you up.) As always, you can sign up for your own custom-designed card here, you can see all the cards we’ve designed so far here (more than 2,300 of them!), and you can see how we produce the cards here.
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The Ticker
By Alex Hider
Baseball News: The Nats might be 7-0 while wearing navy jerseys this postseason, but they’re also working against history — of the last eight teams to sweep an LCS, only one has gone on to win the World Series (from John Odell). … With Washington back in the World Series, it’s worth taking a trip down memory lane to the city’s last ballpark that hosted the Fall Classic (from @OlegKvasha). … At least one Nats fan took a creative approach to update his Bryce Harper jersey (from Josh Claywell). … Jason Snell wrote a piece about each network’s playoff graphics packages. … For a 1970 Cubs/Chisox charity game, the Cubs wore their home whites and the Sox donned their road greys — even though the game was played at Comiskey Park (from Bob Gassel).
NFL News: Rams numerology from Jakob Fox: “Jalen Ramsey is officially No. 20 for the Rams, Troy Hill is changing to the newly vacant 22. This will be Hill’s third number for the Rams — he started with 32, then changed to 20 this offseason, and now he will be 22. I assume Ramsey made a deal with him to get 20. Meanwhile, new Rams Austin Corbett and Kenny Young will be 63 and 41, respectively.” … In a related item, here’s a time-lapse video showing how a designer Photoshopped Ramsey into a Rams uni (from Jeff Perilman).
College Football News: Oklahoma will wear their crimson and cream alternates this weekend (from Sam McKinley). … Arizona will wear mid-’90s “Desert Swarm”-era throwback jerseys on Nov. 2 for their homecoming game (from Rocky De La Rosa). … Illinois will wear its GFGS alternates this weekend for homecoming. … Iowa State will wear red helmets and white jerseys and pants on Saturday (from Chad Lehman). … Uni shenanigans are afoot with Duke and Virginia. They’ll be unveiling the uniforms for their Saturday matchup tonight at 7pm ET.
Hockey News: Blues G Jordan Binnington’s new mask pays tribute to one of his favorite players from his childhood — former Leafs G Curtis Joseph (from Mike Chamernik). … A player for the Hillsborough High School (New Jersey) hockey team produced a uniform reveal video for his team (from Fred Versaci). … Last night’s Oilers/Flyers game featured a lot of orange (from Jake Yergs).
College Hoops News: Arizona State’s basketball arena has a new corporate name (from James Gilbert and @ThatRodneyGuy). … Here’s what Auburn will be wearing for the 2019-2020 season (from Clint Richardson). … New white and blue uniforms for Tulane. The green and black unis will be unchanged from last season.
Soccer News: Couple of notes from Ed Żelaski: Minneapolis City SC of the NPSL have new home and away jerseys. … New uniforms for Georgian club FC Dinamo Tbilisi, who switched from Adidas to Puma. … According to Denis Hurley, Bayer Leverkusen of the German Bundesliga alternated between red and black home kits between 2013 and 2016, using the previous year’s home as the new away in each case. That practice stopped briefly following a manufacturer switch, but the club is back to alternated red and black jerseys.
Grab Bag: Team Canada has new red and white uniform tops for the 2019 Mixed Curling Championships (from Wade Heidt). … German volleyball club United Volleys Frankfurt has new uniforms for the CEV Cup, the second-Tier European competition (from Ed Żelaski). … More volleyball from Ed: Ohio University is doing Pinktober on Friday.
By Paul Lukas, on October 16th, 2019 
For all images, click to enlarge
As you may recall, a certain sports publication recently pink-slipped a certain uniform columnist after employing him for only seven weeks. How fascinating, then, to see that this selfsame publication yesterday used its coveted cover spot as the platform for an NBA uniform unveiling. Seems like a situation where the erstwhile uniform columnist might have come in handy, no?
I have to admit, when I saw that happen yesterday, it was a bit of salt in the wound. Like, really? You give me the heave-ho and then do a uni reveal on your cover 12 days later? Ouch. Sent a note to my former boss (who’s now co-editor-in-chief), giving him a bit of shit about it. He basically said — I’m paraphrasing here — “Yeah, I know, I know. Wish we had you here to be part of the coverage.”
And it gets weirder. The Gothic chest lettering, which was reportedly done by an L.A. tattoo/graffiti artist named Mr. Cartoon, looks a lot like the masthead of The Los Angeles Times. Here’s a comparison — chest insignia on top, masthead on the bottom:
It’s not an exact match (the white trim/highlights don’t match up), but it’s mighty similar. Yes, I realize it’s probably meant to reference a certain video game logo, but come on — it’s clearly closer to the Times lettering.
So let’s review: A printed magazine — which is something most people no longer read — used its cover to showcase a new uniform whose chest insignia evokes the masthead of a printed newspaper — another thing people no longer read — and I wasn’t around to write about it for the magazine because I lost my job, a situation brought about in large part because people no longer pay to read magazines or newspapers.
Got it?
Meanwhile: Is this the first time a Big Four team has used a magazine cover as the mechanism for a uniform unveiling? (It’s almost certainly going to be the last time, because soon there will be no more magazines!) If you’re aware of any previous examples, please post them in today’s comments.
As for the design, it’s not bad, but it could be so much better. I like the chest mark, and it’s kinda refreshing to see an NBA alternate uni that’s white instead of colored. But the standard number font clashes badly with the insignia, and the splashes of color on the armholes and waistband logo feel out of place with the black/white theme.
This uniform will make its on-court debut on Nov. 22 and will be paired with a new alternate court design:
In addition, the Clippers’ primary court has been given a black-themed makeover, including a black version of their “LAC” logo — which makes it even odder than they used the red/blue version of that logo on the waistband of the new alternate uniform:
That concludes today’s episode of Irony in Media. Tune in tomorrow, when we’ll see an NFL team do a surprise uni unveiling on SportsCenter.
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ITEM! Press pin registry now open: People are starting to receive their 2019 Uni Watch Press Pins (which, in case you missed it, launched on Friday and sold out three days later). Since we did a limited edition of 200 pins, with each pin individually numbered on the back, a few people have expressed interest in possibly trading for specific numbers, or just knowing who got which number.
With that in mind, I’ve created a spreadsheet document where everyone who purchased a pin can enter their name, their email address, and any notes or comments. If you scroll down through the form, you’ll see that I’ve listed the pin I’ve been wearing (No. 195) and eight other pins that I’m currently saving for special occasions but am willing to trade if someone really wants or needs those numbers.
Now then:
• If you’ve purchased a pin and would like to enter it on this registry, feel free to do so. (Be sure to use number shown in the “Pin Number” column, not the spreadsheet’s line number column. Those two columns are consistently one number apart, so it’s an easy mistake to make — be careful!)
• If you’re a big fan of, say, the number 73 and see that the person who has pin No. 73 is willing to trade, go ahead and email that person and see if you can strike a deal. (Obviously, shipping arrangements, postage charges, and so on are up to the two traders — work it out amongst yourselves.)
• I suppose people who missed out on purchasing a pin could also use this registry as a way to buy one (“I’ll give you 20 bucks for pin No. 53!”). Personally, I find that notion less appealing — I’d rather encourage trading, not selling. But if it happens, so be it.
• Participation is completely voluntary. If you purchased a pin but would rather not enter your name on the spreadsheet, that’s fine.
• I realize there are privacy issues about sharing email addresses on publicly viewable documents. If you’re willing to enter your name but would rather not list your email address, that’s fine. (You may also want to consider creating a new email address just for this spreadsheet. It’s certainly easy enough with Gmail and many other services, and that way you won’t be giving away your primary address.)
• Obviously, this will only work if everyone behaves and nobody fucks with the spreadsheet. So: Please behave and don’t fuck with the spreadsheet. Thanks.
Again, the spreadsheet registry is here. Enjoy.
(My thanks to Wafflebored, who was the first to suggest this idea.)
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The Ticker
By Lloyd Alaban
Baseball News: Astros 2B Jose Altuve tore his pants stealing second base during the second inning of yesterday’s ALCS game (from Kary Klismet). … The Nationals are now 7-0 when wearing their navy blue tops this postseason. Think they’ll keep wearing that uniform throughout the World Series? … Speaking of the Nats, SS Trea Turner wore an NC State football helmet during last night’s champagne celebration. Turner went to college at NC State (from John Muir). … A cameraman at last night’s NLCS game wore a catcher’s helmet (from Ethan Hopkin). … Here are the uniforms for the Auckland Tuatara, the first New Zealand-based team in the Australian Baseball League (from Gareth Hooton).
Football News: Chiefs S Tyrann Mathieu wore a thigh pad embossed with a picture of a honey badger, his nickname, on Sunday (from @DrSoup_MD). … Per Titans Uni Tracker, the Titans are going light blue over navy this Sunday. … Here’s the Panthers Uni Tracker through week six. … The Broncos sent out a gameday experience survey for last Sunday’s game, and it included a question about the use of their navy blue alternate jerseys (from Zeke Perez Jr). … The Museum of Jerseys blog, which is usually about soccer, rugby (union), and Gaelic games, had a guest poster choose the top four NFL uniforms of all time (from our own Jamie Rathjen). … A Packers fan group has created a sober section at Lambeau Field, complete with their own stickers (from @KroenkeOut2019). … It looks like ESPN photoshopped new Rams CB Jalen Ramsey’s head onto former Rams CB Marcus Peters’s body (from Jakob Fox). … Also from Jakob: The Rams posted a photoshopped photo of Ramsey wearing the team’s throwback blue jersey with a missing TV number in the horn on the shoulder. They also commented that his number is TBD but Ramsey posted with a number 20 (currently used by CB Troy Hill). … One more from Jakob: The LA Kings of the NHL wore Chargers-themed warmup jerseys last night.
College Football News: Texas will wear throwbacks from their 1969 national championship season this weekend. Here’s a more detailed look (from Griffin Smith). … North Dakota State is going mono-green alternates this Saturday. It’s apparently the first time in NDSU history that they’ve worn that uni combo (from Ryan Workman). … The Navy equipment staff is in need of unit patches for its players to pick from for its Army-Navy game uniform (from Shawn Hairston). … The latest helmet collection from Blaise D’Sylva showcases FAU. … Cross-listed from the baseball section: Washington Nationals shortstop Trea Turner wore an NC State football helmet during the team’s champagne celebration after winning the National League championship. Turner went to college at NC State (from John Muir).
Hockey News: Predators Winter Classic fan gear has hit the shelves, even though the uniform for that game hasn’t yet been released (from Hudson Nuckolls). … Cross-listed from the football section: The Kings wore Los Angeles Chargers-themed warmup jerseyss last night (from Jakob Fox).
NBA News: A screenshot that reader Charlie Roush found from Heat SG Tyler Herro’s Instagram story pretty well confirms the long-rumored existence of blue Miami Vice uniforms. … Add Hong Kong to the list of places where people have burned LeBron James jerseys.
College Hoops News: New unis for Princeton men’s (from Nikhil Lal). … South Carolina men’s revealed their throwbacks (from Ross Mashburn and Andy Shain). … Florida State men’s has released their uniform breakdown for this season (from @VictoryCB). … New court for NC State men’s (from Chad Lehman). … The NCAA has released the 2020 Women’s Final Four logo (from Joey Harvey). … Here’s a breakdown of what each college basketball venue is named (from James Gilbert). … New court design for Washington State (from Jeff Peterson).
Soccer News: From Josh Hinton: Manchester City is ditching the purple for next season. … PSV Eindhoven is switching to Puma for the 2020-21 season. … AS Roma’s 2020-21 third shirt has leaked. … New info about Galatasaray’s second shirt for 2020-21. … West Ham United has released their esports home shirt. … Japan’s 2020-21 shirt has leaked. … As always, you can catch up on the latest kit news by checking out Josh’s Twitter feed.
Grab Bag: The Ole Miss track and field and cross-country teams are going Pinktober (from Greg Elkin). … NASA revealed new spacesuits yesterday. Astronauts will wear them in future missions to the moon and Mars (from multiple readers). … Not to be outdone, Under Armour and Virgin Galactic, Richard Branson’s space company (yes, that Virgin), are set to reveal new spacesuits today (from James Gilbert). … Here’s a breakdown of the lapel pins worn in last night’s Democratic presidential candidates’ debate. What, no Uni Watch pin?
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Raffle results: The three winners of the NHL/Carhartt cap raffle are Chris Ray, Peg Kelly, and Pete Mensching. Congrats to them, and thanks to all who entered.
Meanwhile: I’m heading back to the Puppy Bowl today, so I won’t be checking in much on the site. Play nice while I’m away. Thanks! — Paul
By Paul Lukas, on October 15th, 2019 
For all photos, click to enlarge
The Packers wore their Color Rash mono-whites last night. That made them the fourth NFL team to wear white jerseys, pants, and socks in Week Six (the others were the Eagles, Jets, and Saints). An additional team, the Jaguars, wore white pants with white socks:
There’s nothing new about NFL teams pairing white jerseys with white pants, of course. The new wrinkle here is the use of white socks. For many decades up until this season, NFL socks were required to be white from the shoe to mid-shin, and then either team-colored or team-patterned from mid-shin to the point where the sock met the pant cuff. But this year, the league changed the rule to allow for solid-colored socks (or “stockings,” as the league has always preferred to say). Not every team wearing white pants is going with solid-white hose — the Ravens, for example, wore white pants on Sunday but paired them with traditional black-topped hose — but many teams, including the Packers last night and those other four clubs on Sunday, are using white socks to take their mono-white look to another level.
I think this trend raises two important questions. First, what do we think of white pants with solid-white socks?
I’ve spent a good chunk of my career inveighing against the dreaded leotard effect. (I’m pretty sure I’m the one who came up with that term, in fact.) But I have to say, a white leotard/unitard doesn’t bother me nearly as much as, say, a red leotard or a navy leotard. Part of it, I think, is that a solid-white uniform doesn’t strike me so much as a superhero costume like a solid-colored uni does. I mean, how many superheroes wear all-white? I’m sure there are some, but I’m also pretty sure they’re in the minority.
To be clear, I’d much rather see white pants paired with contrasting socks. Personally, though — I realize many of you may feel differently — I don’t mind the lack of contrast nearly as much when it’s white on white. (Also, so far NFL teams haven’t started referring to their mono-white uniforms as “icy whites” or “stormtrooper,” or any of the other cringe-inducing terms that college teams tend to use. So there’s that.)
The second question I’d like to explore is this: What led to this trend of socks matching the pants (whether in white or any other color)? As I see it, there are several factors. One at a time:
1. Most players don’t wear traditional socks anymore. The sock rules have always been based on the premise of a one-piece over-the-calf sock that’s white toward the bottom and colored or striped/patterned on top. But more and more players have been wearing some combination of socks, tights, leg warmers, white athletic tape, and more. Take, for example, this photo of two 49ers players:
From a distance, it might look like they’re both wearing one-piece socks that are white on the bottom and colored on top. But as you can see, that description only applies to the player on the right. The guy on the left is wearing bunched-up white socks over red leggings. If you look again at this week’s mono-white players, you can see that some of them are simply wearing white leggings with low white socks.
Why do players do this? I think it has more to do with function than style. For starters, many athletes like the compression feel of tights and leggings (we see more and more of that in the NBA). And while socks can droop down or sag, you don’t have to worry about that with leggings, so leggings are lower-maintenance. Now that the NFL has changed the rules to allow solid-colored hosiery, that really opens to the door to leggings, of whatever color.
2. Many players don’t wear traditional pants, either. The old sock rules were based on the notion of the player wearing pants that were essentially like knickers — coming down a little below the knee — with the socks providing contrast to the pants. But as we’ve been seeing for years now — and again, you can see it in a lot of those photos I showed you earlier from Sunday’s action — more and more players are wearing their pants well above the knee. That means their socks have to extend above the knee as well. And while contrasting socks look great when they meet the pant cuff just over the calf, they look ridiculous when they extend above the knee. So the dreaded leotard look actually makes more sense if you’re going with super-short pants.
3. The Rash has spread. The use of solid-colored socks that match the color of the pants (white or otherwise) began with the Color Rash program in 2015. I’m sure that helped prime the pump for what we’re now seeing.
4. Players love sox-ual expression. The most “look at me” uni element is probably shoes. But socks are a close second, with players adding stripes, wearing stripes low instead of high, wearing non-team colors, and so on.
The combined effect of all this is that the old sock rules had become outdated, which helps explain why they changed the rules this season. The bigger question, given the basic truism that form follows function, is whether the basic pant/sock format itself has outlived its usefulness and needs to be replaced. For example, should NFL players be allowed to go bare-legged, like college players? Is it time for long pants that basically combine the pant and sock? Something else?
I’m not saying I want any of those things to happen (I like the traditional pant-with-contrasting-sock format). But it seems increasingly clear that the old format doesn’t meet the needs of today’s players. Perhaps something new is called for.
One final note about last night’s game: according to the Lions’ PR staff, last night was the first time ever — ever! — that the Lions wore blue at Lambeau Field.
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Collector’s Corner
By Brinke Guthrie
Starting off this week with this 1960s ad for the New Philishave Electric Speedshaver. (For men of action.) Hockey star “Boom Boom” Geoffrion of the Montreal Canadiens says it “gives me the fastest, smoothest shave…with no irritation.” Well, if BB says so, that’s good enough for me! Except for the fact I was not quite at shaving age when this ad was printed.
Now for the rest of this week’s picks:
• This is an “Official (kids) Baseball Jacket” for the St. Louis Cardinals, made back in the 1950s by a company called Richline.
• A classic 1970s Sears NFL Shop item here: this Dallas Cowboys bulletin board with a set of 24 helmet pushpins. I swear I never saw these, not once. Here’s the original 1975 Sears ad, when the cost was $4.66. The eBay seller wants considerably more than that!
• These binoculars from Tasco are called “NFL Team Sports Glass.” If I saw that product name, I’d think it was one of these beverage glasses.
• Speaking of glasses: This pair of 1970s Philadelphia Phillies glasses include a illustration of the then-new Veterans Stadium.
• Take a look at this 1960s New York Yankees poster. Terrific artwork, to be sure, but the blue used is more suited for the crosstown rival Mets, not the Yanks’ midnight navy.
• Here’s a 1970s Minnesota Vikings “Gift Bank” helmet. The helmet looks to be in perfect shape and comes in the original box. An officially licensed product, this one was from Pro Sports Marketing of Concord, Cal. Judging from the zip code on the box, their offices were just a few blocks from where I am now sitting.
• Another one for the Vikes: Never seen this before — a 1970s Vikings nightgown, in bright yellow with white sleeve stripes, and a helmet logo on the chest with accompanying “Vikings” text in their classic font.
• Unique-looking “ram’s horn” treatment on this 1970s L.A. Rams ski cap.
• We’ve got another Rams item here: This figure is called “Paint-A Li’l Pro .” You get paint (non-toxic), decals, brushes, and instructions. Bet you can’t paint just one!
• Nice throwback artwork on this late-1960s/early-1970s Miami Dolphins poster.
Got an item to include on Collector’s Corner? Send any submissions to uniwatchcollectorscorner@gmail.com.
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Click to enlarge
LAST CALL for the NHL/Carhartt raffle: In case you missed it yesterday, we’re raffling off NHL/Carhartt hats to three lucky readers. To enter, send an email with your shipping address and your choice of any hat from this page (be sure to keep scrolling down to see all of the options — the page will keep filling as you keep scrolling) to the raffle address by 8pm Eastern today. I’ll announce the winner tomorrow.
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Very cool membership update: Reader Jay Mazzone has no relation to the hook-handed Jay Mazzone who famously served as a batboy for the Orioles back in the 1960s (you can learn more about that Jay Mazzone here), but he decided he wanted his membership card to be based on his namesake’s batboy jersey. It’s one of the best card requests we’ve ever had — love it!
Jay’s card is one of several that have been added to the membership card gallery. Lots more designs will be added soon, as we’ve had a nice spike in enrollments since the latest unpleasantness.
Ordering a membership card is a good way to support Uni Watch (which, frankly, could use your support these days). And remember, a Uni Watch membership card entitles you to a 15% discount on any of the merchandise in our Teespring shop and our Naming Wrongs shop. (If you’re an existing member and would like to have the discount code, email me and I’ll hook you up.) As always, you can sign up for your own custom-designed card here, you can see all the cards we’ve designed so far here (more than 2,300 of them!), and you can see how we produce the cards here.
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The Ticker
By Alex Hider
Baseball News: The Arizona Fall League held its annual Fall Stars Game on Saturday. Greg Franklin notes that players usually wear the uniform of their MLB team along with their Fall League cap. But this year, the teams wore red- and sand-colored jerseys.
NFL News: Reader Mike Driscoll was served this Instagram ad for a Vikings jersey hoodie. But he notes that the numbers on the sweatshirt aren’t “nesting” like they are on the Vikes’ on-field jerseys. “The mistake in the ad is an improvement over the real-life object it is referencing,” Mike says. … From Sunday: Pope Francis used the hashtag #Saints in a tweet, bringing up a New Orleans Saints logo. No wonder the Saints wore all-white later that day (from Aaron Pinto).
College Football News: NCAA D-III school Linfield College went BFBS on Saturday — the first time they’ve ever worn an alternate jersey (from Travis McGuire). … The ACC Tracker has been updated through week 7. … The proposed tweak to Auburn’s “AU” logo isn’t happening after all (from many readers).
Hockey News: The Sens wore their alts — previously their Centennial uniforms — for the first time this season yesterday (from Nick Gratton). … North Dakota’s new Adidas sweaters look a bit different than last year’s set (from Ryan Qualley). … Couple of junior hockey notes from Wade Heidt: The OHL’s Hamilton Bulldogs wore crossover jerseys honoring the local Canadian football team, the Tiger-Cats, on Saturday, and the Battlefords North Stars of the SJHL unveiled new third jerseys over the weekend. … @DRustyCabbage spotted a Maple Leafs/Caps logo mashup. … The Devils had a Kids Day promotion yesterday. During pregame intros, the scoreboard featured kid-drawn pictures of the players (from our own Anthony Emerson). … The Blue Jackets put a photo of each player above the player’s locker nameplate (from Jerry Wolper).
College Hoops News: We have our first look at what St. Mary’s will be wearing this upcoming season (from @MJ_GoGaels). … The Wisconsin-River Falls women’s team got their team-issued shoes yesterday, which include player initials on the tongue and jersey number on the back (from @Starkman55). … New uniforms for Colorado State (from Benjamin Brune).
Soccer News: Cristiano Ronaldo has scored 370 goals while wearing a white jersey — nearly 200 more than while wearing any other jersey color (from Orson McFeathers). … New shirt advertiser for Hajduk Split’s second team (from Ed Zelaski).
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Signal flare: Attention reader Raymond Bergman — I received your membership payment yesterday (thank you!) but didn’t receive a follow-up note with the details of what you want for your card. When you get a chance, let me know. Thanks! — Paul
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