So Thursday has come and gone, and still no Color Rash teaser. Yet another reminder that any info sourced from “someone on Reddit” is highly suspect at best.
Meanwhile, some notes from last night’s NFL season opener:
• The Broncos did not wear a Super Bowl Champions patch. So the only teams to have done that for the season-opening game are still the Patriots (three times) and Saints. Am I the only one who finds it surprising that the league doesn’t have a consistent protocol for this? In an era where the default tendency is to have a patch (or at least a helmet decal) for just about anything, it seems like a minor miracle that they haven’t made the patch a standard thing.
• Broncos LB Brandon Marshall, who’d previously expressed support for former teammate Colin Kaepernick’s national anthem protest, took a knee during the anthem prior to the game.
• The Broncos have new championship banners (click to enlarge; photo courtesy of Ed Kendrick):
Click to enlarge
Friday Flashback: In light of the recent storyline regarding Tom Brady possibly removing the NFL logo decal from his helmet, my latest Friday Flashback piece on ESPN takes a look at the history of the NFL shield, and its assorted permutations, on players’ uniforms (including the Art Rooney memorial decal that the Eagles wore on the front of their helmets when playing the Steelers in 1988, as shown above). Check it out here.
T-Shirt Club reminder: In case you missed it last week, we’ve launched our latest Uni Watch T-Shirt Club design.
My creative partner on the T-Shirt Club project, Bryan Molloy, no longer works at Teespring, so we’re doing this shirt with his new employer, Represent, which operates almost exactly like Teespring does. From your standpoint, the customer experience should be virtually identical.
Now then: Our latest shirt is devoted to soccer. Here’s the design (for all of these images, you can click to enlarge):
We’re offering this design in four different shirt colors — maroon, black, dark green, and heather grey:
The shirt is available here. My thanks, as always, for your consideration.
The Ticker
By Paul
’Skins Watch: A baseball team in Canada has announced that it will no longer be called the Indians (from Kevin Machin). … It was great to see several Uni Watch readers yesterday at Baruch College in Manhattan, where I was part of a panel discussion on the use of Native American images in sports. The other four panelists, who were evenly split on both sides of the issue, included two attorneys (one of whom is also a professor) and two activists — in short, well-practiced oral communicators. They were all much more polished and charismatic than I was (seriously, it was a pleasure listening to them, even when I disagreed with some of them), but I think I had a few good moments of my own. The audience was attentive and engaged, and we even got about 85% of the way through the event before anyone invoked the term “politically correct,” which feels like a near-victory right there.
Baseball News: When the Pirates and Rangers played each other in the 1973 Hall of Fame Game (an annual exhibition game that took place in Cooperstown from 1940 through 2008), at least two of the Rangers wore Pirates batting helmets. Also, the player on the right, is actually Rangers first base coach Jackie Moore, who was permitted to play in the game (great find by Michael Clary). … Are the Dodgers going to wear “Los Doyers” jerseys? Could be (thanks, Phil). … A new soul food restaurant in Omaha has a Negro Leagues theme (from Chris Bisbee). … The Twins and Indians will both wear a memorial patch tonight for Jacob Wetterling, the Twin Cities kidnapping/murder victim whose body was found last week (from Mark Wilkes). … Best Blue Jays shirt ever (from Kevin Pedigo). … MLB will mark the 15th anniversary of Sept. 11 with, among other things, this commemorative cap patch. Further details here. … The Padres gave Big Papi a giant surfboard the other night (from Andy Huebner). … Colorado Congressional candidate Morgan Carroll’s campaign logo is very Rockies-inspired. … Reds C Ramón Cabrera’s bat knob decal features a caricature of himself (from Steven Crooker). … Fans are being invited to cast their votes for the Staten Island Yankees’ new team name. … Marlins P Andrew Cashner, who’s set to become a free agent, says he won’t re-sign with the team unless skipper Don Mattingly rescinds his ban on beards (thanks, Mike).
NFL News: KFC’s new ad campaign features a fictitious football team called the Kentucky Buckets, who, among other uni-notable aspects, wear vertically striped socks, Ã la the early Broncos. Additional info and video here (from @Needles56). … A new State Farm commercial shows an NFL locker room scene featuring players with three different forms of base-layer logo creep (from Cory Hoad). … Lots of last-minute uni number changes for the Ravens (from Andrew Cosentino). … I was name-checked in an odd way. For details, check out the next-to-last line on this Rams item (from Charlie Franz and Tommy Forrester).
College and High School Football News: Here’s a very short video on how South Carolina chooses what to wear (from Beau Franklin). … Ewww: A California teen contracted flesh-eating bacteria from a football helmet. … Stars/stripes helmets this Saturday for Sacred Heart. … Here are this weekend’s uniform combos for Louisville, Utah, FAU, Arizona State, Troy, Missouri, and UNC. … … Virginia Tech’s latest special teamer to wear No. 25 will be Sean Huelskamp (from Andrew Cosentino). … Minnesota’s sideline mascot, Goldy Gopher, will wear No. 11 this Saturday, instead of his customary No. 0, as part of the team’s salute to murder victim Jacob Wetterling. … Here’s a look at Yale football uniforms through the years (from @fauxrealism).
Hockey News:
New uniforms for the Bakersfield Condors (from @sethbakescake). … The Anaheim Ducks have released their third jersey schedule (from Kenny Saidah). … The Sharks have a new TV commercial that shows the team’s new and old jerseys side by side. … Speaking of the Sharks, they have a new red ale, called Chum (thanks, Mike). … Mike Fisher will be the latest Predator to wear the captain’s C. … New 25th-anniversary alternate jersey for the Mississippi RiverKings. … Great look at the 1976 Canada Cup program (from Chris Mizzoni).
Pro and College Basketball News: With the 2017 NBA All-Star Game having been moved from Charlotte to New Orleans due to North Carolina’s anti-LGBT law, the game now has a new logo. … The Wizards have a new stars/stripes military tribute uniform. Additional details, including the dates when the uni will be worn, here. … New court for Mississippi State (from James Carpenter).
Soccer News: “An Italian club has signed a new player who will wear No. 1 despite being an outfielder, which is rare,” says Denis Hurley. “On my blog, I’ve charted other notable examples of this.”
Grab Bag: While looking for something else, I came across this Wikipedia page that shows and describes two dozen different screw head designs, most of which I’d never seen before. So cool! I especially like the torq-set design, which looks like it’d be very satisfying to use. … This is pretty funny: Nobody agrees on the proper shade of Columbia blue (from Brian Cheung). … The big problem with urban bike share programs is that most participants don’t have helmets. So a college student has invented a recyclable, foldable helmet that could be sold in vending machines. … A recent NYC fashion show featured clothing made from garbagemen’s uniforms (from Tommy Turner).
Proofreading:
Tagging issues in the first graf.
“from1940 through 2008)” missing space
“Fans are being invited to cast their votes rescinds his ban on beards” Looks like tagging issues have combined at least two items.
All fixed.
Also interesting in that Pirates-Rangers game that both teams appear to be wearing their road uniforms. In going back through the HOF game galleries on that site, it appeared to be common that both teams wore their road uniforms in a given year’s game.
Great point. Here’s a famous shot (at least among Mets fans) of Aaron and Mays (who was then a Mets coach) wearing their respective road unis at the 1976 game:
link
Cool to see a sample of the distorted Mets script on Mays in that photo.
If both teams stopped in Cooperstown during road trips, it stands to reason that they’d both have road unis with them.
Paul-
I’m interested to read what was actually said at that panel you were involved in. Is there anywhere that has that info?
Thanks
I’m told video will be web-available in about a week.
Cool, thanks.
the Twins/Indians-Wetterling thing is interesting. Have any other teams done anything like that before?
I guess Boston Strong is similar
The KFC Bucket helmets are GENIUS.
Reminds me of this classic:
link
Actually reminded me of this at first glance:
link
I found it an odd word choice that they referred to your uniform rankings as judging their “stylishness” in that item about the displaced Rams fan. I don’t think you would use that word to describe what your work is about.
No, I wouldn’t. But eh, whatever — it’s just a line in a chart.
Interesting that in the Super Bowl, the Broncos chose to wear white jerseys, leading the Panthers to wear black, but in last night’s rematch, Denver went back to orange, putting the Panthers in white. (Although black vs. orange could have been nice.) In both games, Denver was the designated home team, with first choice up to them.
I think there’s a big difference between being the designated home team for a neutral-site game and actually playing at home. Denver has worn white at home only once in the last 32 years (and that was the “uniformgate” game in 2003, where they were forced to wear white).
I believe the Boncos wore white in the Super Bowl for supersticious reasons – they had lost every Super Bowl where they wore orange jerseys. They were 1-1 in white (and 1-0 in navy).
this is the case
My high school biology teacher loved the square-holed screws. He said there was zero slippage.
May be slightly prejudiced, being a Canadian, but I have a preference for the particular square-holed screw known as the Robertson:
link
Seems every public bathroom stall is constructed with the “one way” screws. I never really understood the need to prevent people from disassembling bathroom stalls. Was it a “thing” at some time??? ;^)
Don’t see the logic behind the double-hex screw. The closer the head polygon approaches a circle, the greater the incidence of slippage. Also, heads whose mirror-image are not identical (such as the torq-set) seem to invite the potential for creating tools with incorrect orientation. An unnecessary headache.
The biggest question is: Why do slotted screws still exist at all???
4 words for you:
Kentucky Buckets Helmet Buggy.
The Friday Flashback is up:
link
Great article! Actually, the last play without a neckline NFL shield was a Jeff Hostetler kneel down, proceeding Norwood no good.
Fans are being invited to cast their votes for the Staten Island Yankees’ new team name.
Hey! Staten Island Fairies isn’t even on the list!!
Wow, all those choices are truly awful. Pizza Rats? Seriously? Just go with Guidos and be done with it.
Nothing like changing a professional team’s name to celebrate a two-year-old meme.
Lost in the HB2 morass in North Carolina is the fact that Charlotte had a liberal LGBT law in place, before the state swept in with a strict law of their own. I’m concerned people have the impression the cruel initiative began in Charlotte.
Maybe I’m not that bright. Can someone explain this whole thing to me? Only people with a penis use a urinal. Urinals are only in men’s rooms. Everyone else uses a stall. Stalls have doors. Why do we need laws for this? I’m not even being facetious. It just makes no logical sense to me.
Good topic for a website other than Uni Watch. Not here, please. Thanks.
The Bills announced last night on Twitter that they were wearing all red versus the Jets for the color rash.
link
Red against white this time?
Jeez, those Kentucky Buckets helmets look like the top of the helmet and the skull was cut away to show exposed brains. Which considering that playing football does kinda turn your brain to fried chicken, is pretty appropriate.
How nice that David Ortiz was given such a lovely gift to commemorate the four games he’s played in San Diego during his career.
You’re killing me…I’ve got five bucks that says Big Papi never sets foot on that board.
It’ll end up on the wall of the Cask & Flagon.
You’d think that Don Mattingly, of all people, would have some lenience with rules involving facial hair.
link
I did not know that managers could still dictate something like facial hair. Seems like a player would file a grievance with their union.
The funny thing is, that Mr. Burns sideburns gag was actually produced BEFORE the famous kerfuffle about the length of Mattingly’s hair.
Managers can enforce it, but only with the backing of ownership. Employers have the right to insist on appearance standards for their employees.
I struggle to understand what Brandon Marshall not respecting the flag has to do with Uniforms.
1) Brandon Marshall is not doing anything, respectful or otherwise, regarding the flag. He is choosing to kneel during the national anthem.
2) Kneeling/sitting vs. standing is part of the visual aspect of the game, so I feel it fits under Uni Watch’s purview.
Hope that clears things up.
Thanks for your opinion Paul. I’ll humbly disagree with point 1. I agree with Point 2.
The US Flag Code has a list of conduct for the playing the national anthem that includes standing at attention, taking off your hat, facing the flag and putting your hand on your heart. (Military salutes. Veterans not in uniform may also salute.) Most players fail to do some of these things. Are they also showing disrespect for the flag?
Incidentally, in the section about respecting the flag, it says the flag is not to be held horizontally. When they have those monster flags across the field, how is this not a violation of the code?
The Flag Code (which, incidentally, also states that the flag should not be worn on an athletic uniform) is not law. If it were, it would be thrown out on First Amendment grounds in two seconds. It’s essentially a set of suggested etiquette guidelines.
No, the U.S. Flag Code is in fact a law. 4 U.S. Code § 8, to be precise. No violation of the Flag Code could be prosecuted by the federal government, due to the First Amendment, and any attempt to do so would certainly lead the Supreme Court to negate the law in its entirety due to the plain wording of the First Amendment – “Congress shall make no law …” not “Congress shall enforce no law …”. But that hasn’t happened, so the Flag Code remains a part of the federal law.
The effect being of course that compliance is voluntary. But so in practice is compliance with many laws and regulations.
Actually, compliance with ALL laws is voluntary. Example: I voluntarily choose not to commit murder. If I instead choose to commit murder, the law prohibiting that choice will be enforced and brought to bear against me.
But the Flag Code is unenforceable. While it may technically be law, it has no practical legal effect, and in fact is contrary to both the letter and spirit of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution. Or to put it another way, it is demonstrably un-American.
It is a set of suggested etiquette guidelines — no more, no less.
Kaepernick and Mashall have every right to take a knee during the national anthem. I’d fight to protect their right, even if I find them silly and ignorant. In the meantime, I’ll be exercising my right to not support the NFL in any way, financially or otherwise.
I didn’t say they didn’t have the right to do that. As one who did serve, I do believe they have every right to be disrespectful to the country/flag and I have every right to criticize them for it.
All I asked what how it was relevant to uniforms. Paul gave me a good answer I agree with in part and disagree with in part. I’ll now move on.
I agree with you, Tim. My comments weren’t directed at you. I was just chewin’ the fat, as it were.
Cool.
“disrespectful to the country/flag”
flag=/=country
Small quibble with the design of the soccer Uni Watch shirt. I imagine it is based on a 70’s or 80’s player’s uniform and I know typical striped tube socks were not cool. When I played back then you needed the kind with the fold over stripes.
See tweet from my Minnesota Kicks twitter account.
Check out @ace_ntsoelengoe’s Tweet: link
-Jimmy
You just gained a follower. Not a Kicks fan but a 70’s fan.
Never liked going to a Twins game following a Kicks game. Navigating through all those broken bottles of the nearly empty Met Stadium parking lot was a challenge.
Coming from a school (Univ of San Diego) which uses Columbia blue, I did a little research. Interesting to see the athletic department use the term “Columbia Blue” But the school’s web standards call that same blue “Torero Blue” (lue 84bce8 R=132; G=188; B=232)
link
link
Ah, the Tri-Wing and Torq-Set screws. Haven’t seen them since I worked on airplanes 20 years ago.
ed
Re the NY Fashion show: it’s Mugatu’s Derelichte campaign come to life!
The “Doyers” wordmark has been around for a while, based on the Mexican Spanish pronunciation of “Dodgers”. Frank McCourt, ex-owner of the Dodgers (“if you have nothing nice to say…”), trademarked “Los Doyers” back in 2010, after seeing so many in the L.A. Latino community buying “Los Doyers” t-shirts from independent vendors for $5-15 bucks a pop. McCourt trademarked it, and began selling the shirts for $30 a pop.
The very t-shirt design tweeted by Roben Farzad is seen link from 2011, and link from when the trademark change happened.
So, I guess the point is that maybe the NPR guy just discovered a five-year-old $30 shirt?
The NBA All-Star logo is okay, but not particularly exciting.
Still, I have to admit, seeing New Orleans get its third ASG in less than a decade is a bit eye-raising, when arenas like the United Center, TD Garden, Moda Center, and the Palace of Auburn Hills have all been open in the 20-30 year range, and yet none of those arenas have ever hosted an NBA All-Star Game. Meanwhile, the former Arco Arena and the Bradley Center are set to join the never-have, never-will club along with the likes of KeyArena, Portland’s Memorial Coliseum, Market Square Arena, and the Summit. (Though the Pacers and Rockets did at least host games at the Hoosier Dome and the Astrodome, respectively.)
Is the NBA ASG a big enough deal to fill those Enormo-Dome type venues? Just curious. I’m not a hoops fan so I don’t know.
Why not have the ASG at the brand new arena in Seattle where the Sonics play…
Oh wait…
In response the the best Blue Jays shirt ever link from the ticker, the big O beats them all.
Anyone else notice how much faster the site has loaded in the last 2 days as opposed to when they have the “click to continue reading” to go to another page? That seems to really slow it down.
For the record: The site has always performed fine for me, although I’m aware that some people have problems with it.
I did not mean to omit the “Click to continue reading” link the past few days — oversights on my part. (Sometimes I simply forget.) Now that you’ve brought it to my attention, I’ll add them (sorry). Beacuse of the length of our entries, our home page is simply way too long if the entries aren’t truncated.
Does anybody else find the quasi-trend of wearing a patch or special uniform to celebrate winning the title during the previous season a bit obnoxious? I’m glad the Broncos decided against it.