Good Humpday morning Uni Watchers. I hope everyone had a good Tuesday.
As we continue with Uni Watch’s Paris Olympics uniform coverage, we have another deep-dive today from reader Aidan Hofstedt, who will be bringing us a review of the Men’s Handball uniforms for the Games. Aidan will also have a report on the Women’s Handball uniforms later. Enjoy! Here’s Aidan…
A Uni Watch Look at the Paris Olympic Games Handball Uniforms
by Aidan Hofstedt
Handball is an indoor sport where two teams of 7 players attempt to pass and throw a ball into the other team’s goal, and it is most popular in Europe. Like many team sports that did not originate in the US, a uniform is called a “kit.” Shirts have a team logo over the heart and a manufacturer logo on the other side of the chest, with a small number on the front and a large number on the back. (NOBs are the same color as the numbers unless otherwise noted.) Goalkeepers are the only players allowed in the goal area, and are consequently marked by a different kit color.
In non-Olympic competition, kits are plastered with ads. However, due to Olympic sponsorship regulations, there are (thankfully) no ads present at the Games.
Group A
Croatia
The two-time gold medalists are outfitted by Joma, and their kits make use of the nation’s signature checkerboard pattern. The primary white kit has a red checkered pattern on the left shoulder, while a sublimated wavy checkerboard is present throughout the shirt. Red sleeves and red numbers round out the shirt, though royal blue NOBs look somewhat out of place. The kit is paired with red shorts. The secondary kit is the reverse, flipping red and white. NOBs are also white, and the kit is worn with white shorts.
Germany
The Germans, Olympic champions in 1936, wear kits manufactured by Puma. The home kit is all-white with a black collar and sleeve cuffs. A wavy pinstripe pattern is found on the front of the shirt, with red stripes on the right and yellow stripes on the left in a way meant to evoke the German flag. The stripes are broken up by a horizontal bolt pattern. Both the stripes and the bolt are more visible on the away, which is a black version of the home. Numbers on the home kit are black, while away numbers are white.
Japan
The only Asian team in the competition, Japan’s kits are made by Hummel. They primarily wear an all-navy outfit with red and gold accents on the sleeves and shoulders. The kit contains a sublimated design across the front, and numbers are gold. On the road, they wear an all-white kit with the same trim and sublimated design from the home kit, though it is easier to see at a distance. The away kit has red numbers.
Slovenia
The Slovenes, outfitted by Joma, use a color scheme not found on the nation’s flag. A primarily royal blue team, Slovenia also uses copious amounts of bright green in their identity. Their blue home kits have green side panels and a white mountain pattern on the hem; the mountains are also found on the sides of the shorts. (The mountains represent Mount Triglav, which is found on Slovenia’s coat of arms.) The away kit is a blue-sleeved white version of the home. It retains the green side panels, but the mountains are now blue. Numbers are white on the home and blue on the away, while both shirts are paired with same-color shorts.
Spain
The bronze medalists from 2020 wear Joma kits, mainly a red kit with navy and yellow trim. A diagonal section of navy is found on the bottom left of the shirt, with a thin tri-stripe in the colors of the Spanish flag (red-yellow-red) near the top of the section. A similar area appears on the right sleeve, albeit smaller. Numbers are yellow, and the shirt is paired with navy shorts. The away kit is white with a visible sublimated pattern (which also appears on the other kits, just less visible). The blue sections that appear on the red kit are lightened. Black numbers and white shorts complete the kit. Their third kit is an all-black version of the other two, though the kit is solid black rather than having a section of blue. However, the flag-colored stripe remains. Numbers on the third kit are white.
Sweden
The Swedes, four-time silver medalists who have never been able to get over the hump, are outfitted by Craft, a Swedish sportswear company. Their primary kit is yellow, with two prominent diagonal lines framing the navy blue front number. The stripes are two-tone blue with a thin white stripe and stretch from the sleeves before cutting off at chest height. (A small yellow triangle is made from the stripeless part of the sleeve.) The shirt is paired with navy shorts. The away kit is navy blue with the same stripe pattern as the home, though the navy stripe is replaced with yellow. Yellow numbers and navy shorts round out the kit. Their women’s team (which will be covered in a separate article) has also worn a white third kit in the style of the first two; the men have yet to wear it in Paris.
Group B
Argentina
The Americas’ only representatives wear kits made by Go Seven. The first-choice kit features the classic Argentine sky blue and white stripes – with the blue stripes having a thin gold outline – and black numbers. The shirt is paired with black shorts. On the road, they wear a solid white kit with sky blue numbers and the same black shorts as the home. Despite the lack of contrast between those two kits, the Argentines were eliminated from the group stage without needing a third kit.
Denmark
The two-time defending world champions and 2020 silver medalists wear Puma kits. Their primary kit is red with a sublimated diagonal cross pattern, reminiscent of the Danish flag. White numbers complete the shirt, and it is paired with white shorts. Like most teams, the Danes wear the inverse on the road (white over red). Also of note is that this tournament is the last for three-time IHF World Player of the Year Mikkel Hansen (pictured in the away kit), known for his distinctive long hair and headband.
Egypt
The African representatives, fourth-place finishers in 2020, wear kits manufactured by Puma. The red home kit appears mostly plain, but the front holds a sublimated pattern of thin diagonal stripes. The shirt has white numbers and is paired with black shorts with white vertical piping. Their change kit is all-white with the same sublimated pattern as the first, though it is less visible than similar patterns on other teams’ light-colored kits. The shirt has black numbers and is paired with plain white shorts. An all-black third kit is the reverse of the away, having white numbers and black shorts.
France
The hosts and defending gold medalists are outfitted by Adidas, whose three-stripe does not appear on the kits during the Olympics because of sponsorship regulations. Their first-choice kit is royal blue with a white horizontal stripe and sublimated triangle design on the front. Numbers are white, and the shorts are royal blue. The away kit is the inverse of the home with navy blue numbers and plain white shorts. The French also wear a light pink third kit in the same style as the home and away, though white numbers are hard to see from a distance and the team logo is practically invisible.
Hungary
Hungary, who has finished fourth in over half the Olympics where it has participated, also wears Adidas kits. Their primary kit features a plain red base with white numbers. On their non-Olympic kits (with sponsors), the home kit also has white side panels; the side panels are not present at the Games because their only purpose is to house Adidas stripes. The kit is worn with red shorts. Their white away kit is the inverse of the home. That shirt has red numbers and is paired with white shorts. Hungary also has an all-green third kit with a sublimated design of checkers and thin horizontal lines. Like the home, that kit has white numbers.
Norway
Two-time world finalists who lost in the quarterfinals in Tokyo, the Norwegians wear Hummel kits. Their primary kit is red with navy blue side panels and white numbers. The shorts, which do not include the side panels, are red despite the team’s past preference for navy blue shorts. Navy shorts do, however, appear with their away kit, which is white with red side panels and numbers.
Thanks Aidan! Great breakdown of the Men’s Handball uniforms! Looking forward to your review of the Women’s unis.
Readers? What say you?
Team Handball is one of those sports that you’d look at and think “This is a sport that Americans should just be dominant at”. But like a lot of other sports you could put into that category, you have to remind yourself that there’s no money in it, and likely never will be – at least as far as the US is concerned. There are professional men’s and women’s leagues around Europe – you’d be surprised how many soccer clubs also have professional handball teams – but even then, it’s not like the best players on the best teams in the biggest leagues are making that much money. The highest paid handball player in the world is Nikola Karabatić, who plays for Paris Saint-Germain when not playing for the French national side, allegedly makes 1.8mn Euros a season (USD$1.97mn), but most pros of either gender make little more than about 30k/year.
I have this same thought every Olympics. I wish someone would convince college basketball players to switch over, because it’s hard not to imagine we couldn’t win gold in 8 years.
I played it in college. My UW membership card is my goalie jersey from college. In 1996, we made a huge push to field a competitive team and everyone said the same thing. The biggest thing keep the US from being a handball power is lack of exposure and lack of knowledge. One tournament every 4 years where we don’t qualify isn’t enough. Look how long it has taken us to be decent in soccer, another game the world plays but we didn’t because we didn’t invent it. Meanwhile, we think our football is the best thing in the world, but few people outside the US really care about it, and the costs of equipment, lack of continuous action, bizarre rules and broad set of necessary specialized skills are all obstacles to the rest of the world.
If there is one thing I know about many Americans, they tend to embrace mass appeal (insert Gang Starr song now). It’s ironical that our country was founded on this rugged independent spirit, and yet, “we the people” have so little of it.
I watched a women’s Team Handball game last night. One of the things I noted was the NOBs for Germany.
They are YUGE. I mean, bigger than when MLB teams first started using them. I seem to remember the White Sox used an enormous font on the back, and Cleveland and Detroit weren’t that far behind in terms of the size.
And what tops it off is the fact that the country name is also on the back, below the number!
I don’t know what specific game it is, but that Oilers vs. Canucks matchup looks amazing.
Of course, that is the Canucks RR commonly known as the “Sprite Can” jersey. The one uniforms the Canucks had that was never worn in front of a live crowd in the arena. Worn in games with no fans in the arena due to pandemic restrictions.
One of the few RR vs RR games. Another great RR vs RR game involving the Canucks was against San Jose.
link
GTGFTS
12 August 2014
Anthony Rizzo draws a first inning walk off Wily Peralta.
Cubs manufacture single runs in the 2nd, 4th, and 6th innings to give Kyle Hendricks the 3-0 win in front of 28,819 at the Friendly Confines over 2:22.
GTGFTU – 2/25/2021 Oilers 3 Canucks 0 in Vancouver. Both in Reverse Retro as mentioned above. Arguably the Oilers’ least popular RR, too much orange?
Lotta red teams here. I’d say Croatia does it best. I also like Spain other than the third, France (I do like the third, but the numbers should be legible), and Norway. The mountains on the Slovenia kit make the players look like they have big bellies.
I love watching handball every four years, as it’s a fast and exciting game with some but not too much contact and rough play, and limited to a pretty contained area. One thing I’ve noticed about the unis is that some of the teams — specifically Germany, but also as we see above, the Croatian men — have enourmous NOBs. They’re obviously not taking their cues from MLB.
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My first exposure to handball was in college, when I needed a PE class for my undergraduate. The United States could be dominant if they could find players who would bring in their skills from other sports. A team made up point guards, shortstops, free safeties and wide receivers could make a difference.