If you’ve ever wondered what the Giants’ road uniform would look like with a white helmet, the answer could apparently be found this morning outside the merchandise shop at the team’s training camp. That’s when and where reader Jonathan Boyce took the photo shown above.
Here’s a closer look at the helmet:
Now, do I think the Giants are about to announce a white alternate helmet? No, for at least four reasons:
- The Giants already have two helmet colors — primary blue and throwback blue — so they can’t add a third one. In theory, I suppose they could use the primary helmet for the throwback uni and just swap out the decals, which would then allow them to add a white alternate helmet, but they seemed very committed to the throwback shell when they launched the throwbacks last season (lots of talk about how they waited for the one-shell rule to be lifted so they could get the proper shade of blue, etc.), so I’d be very surprised to see them move away from it.
- Alternate helmets can be worn only with alternate uniforms, so the combo shown on the mannequin can’t be worn on the field.
- If you were planning to unveil a surprise announcement regarding a new helmet, you wouldn’t just stick the helmet on a mannequin in plain view beforehand.
- The Giants are definitely a Coke team, not a Pepsi team, so the white lid doesn’t make sense for them.
All of that said, it’s weird that they’d put that mannequin out there. I mean, I realize they probably sell white “fashion” helmets — many teams sell them, in fact — but it seems strange to put one on a fully uniformed mannequin. I’ve emailed Giants creative services director Doug Murphy (who I interviewed last year) to find out more and will update this post if/when I hear back from him.
Update: I heard back from Murphy, who confirmed that, as I expected, the team has no plans for a white alternate helmet.
(Big thanks to Jonathan Boyce for sharing the mannequin pics with us.)
No way does this happen, for all the reasons you just identified. Plus, the mannequin would be wearing solid *white* socks if this were some kind of CR gimmick.
As you point out, they already have a second blue shell, but more importantly, even if *this* were to happen, that would mean they’d need to jettison one of their other four uniforms:
1) Primary Blue/White
2) Road White/White
3) “Alternate/Designated CR” (fauxback) “GIANTS” white over white (which they wear with white socks, unfortunately).
4) Throwback (“Classic” in NFL Parlance)
link
The only way that white helmet makes an appearance is if they use it with either the “CR” (which they won’t because it’s a fauxback, not really a “color rush”), or the Throwback (“Classic), and we know that’s not happening.
So. Verdict: 100% agree with you. No way this sees the field.
Lifestyle-line of fashion helmets! jk
Who remembers how fast Coke went back to the “original recipe” and partnered with Ed McMahon just a few short months after releasing “New Coke” LOL I don’t care what they say. The recipe they went back to still doesn’t taste like the original I remember as a kid.
I’m friends with the co-owner of our local Coca Cola bottling works here in Mississippi (they no longer bottle Coke but serve as a distribution hub). He told me as soon as the “New Coke” hit the shelves people were calling him and were furious. :)
Ha!!!! Coke team :):):) I thought this was a commercial sport hell bent on hell. Haha ha!! Baltimore colts, St. Louis cardinals, Cleveland browns, etc. and you think, ha!!!! ha ha ha, your uniforms are untouchable?! Hassaaaa!!!! You go back to, what? 58 for relevance?!? Oooooh, old school, yeah, you are fucking untouchable. Haaaaaaaa!!!!
Am I alone in my like of the Giants road look? It doesn’t look ‘right’, but it sure looks good…one of those things that I can’t explain the appeal.
I’m with you 100% on this
I liked it better with the gray pants. Now I’m done with the stripes and would love for the old all white GIANTS roadies to be full time.
Adding to the ain’t-no-way-this-sees-the-field-convo: The jersey top looks like a variation of the original Elite 51 template, which was in full employment from 2012 to (I think???) 2016, with Vapor Untouchable 2 becoming the default template outside of Color Rush in 2017-2022 (can’t be bothered to look up whatever the new template with the Transformer’s face-looking vent at the point of the collar is called).
Furthermore, that helmet looks like one of the original Riddell Revo Speed helmets (no flex panel at the front) from the early-2010s, and with the exception of those who were grandfathered in earlier, I don’t think you can even legally use this helmet anymore.
It makes no sense for them to push this as a new alternate helmet, because why would they advertise this with an outdated jersey top AND a helmet that’s no longer up to code?
Not to mention how much people sweat over hype videos these days. Chucking this on a mannequin for all to perceive in broad daylight without all of the Pomp and Circumstance –while refreshing to an extent– seems anticlimactic.
I am 100% sure that mannequin was dressed the same way at camp last summer. Same exact uniform and helmet combination. I remember seeing it last summer, and saw it again today at camp, and couldn’t believe they had not changed it.
Can’t be something the Giants would be seriously considering for all the reasons you have listed Paul. Plus it doesn’t look good. The only blue in the whole uniform is just the NY on the helmet logo.
The Giants apparently used this mannequin before as stated above so this is just a training camp merch booth prop they are too lazy or careless about to change it to an actual Giants uniform.
I was at practice last week, and even took a picture of the mannequin with the intent of sending it to Paul. I did a quick Google search to make sure the white helmet was new and saw the white helmets were already on sale online. I even saw a few fans with them. My guess is a white helmet works better for autographs, and one of the main reasons fans attend practice is to get autographs.
Makes sense. I go with your observation!
Any reason Nike is still producing jerseys in this template? Even some of the new jerseys unveiled this year have this template.
It’s a replica jersey for fans, so it’s one of the cheaper fan jerseys while still having mesh to feel “jersey-like”
The “alternate helmets mus only be worn with alternate uniforms” rule is stupid and has led to things like the Saints wearing their black helmet with the jersey with the least black on it and the Lions pairing their new blue helmet with a set that has almost no other blue.
If the Giants wanted to pick a new alternate helmet though, white would be a good choice. It looks pretty good with the away jersey here, and could be used for some 1920s and 30s throwbacks.
I’m pretty sure I saw this design as part of a series of mini helmets, it uses the same white helmet with a grey facemask and red striper! “New York Giants Riddell Flat White Alternate Revolution Speed Mini Football Helmet”, is what the helmet is called.
Wouldn’t be surprised if the white helmet is sold as something for fans to compile autographs on more easily than they would on the standard blue helmet.
If you’ve ever wondered what the Giants’ road uniform would look like with a white helmet
Never ever.
My mind tends to wander a lot, and yet I’ve never gone down that path.
I could see the team putting it out there in case there’s overwhelming support for it from the fans. Glad to see there hasn’t been a massively positive response to it.
It’s training camp and many of the players sign autographs after practice. What would be a fantastic item to get signed? A white football helmet. I honestly think it’s as easy as that.