We rarely cover anything NASCAR-related at Uni Watch, but Matt Kenseth won both races this weekend and has won two Nextel Cup races in a row, so let’s give him some props…
i’ve always wanted to claim the first post. not a big nascar fan…but talladega nights was funny, and the nascar outfits they wore looked pretty accurate.
Reggie Bush wasn’t allowed to wear number 5 for Saints because it isn’t a running back number, but Julian Peterson of the Seahawks is wearing number 44 as a linebacker. He was wearing it saturday night against the Chargers. What’s up with that?
The number rules aren’t enforced in the preseason due to the larger number of players.
Presumably the league and its marketing arm, realizing that Bush jerseys would be produced in large quantities compares to Julian Peterson jerseys, wanted to get Bush’s number arranged well in advance.
A further example of the lax preseason number rules:
In 1989 (I think), Vikings offensive lineman Dave Huffman was a regular contributor to a Twin Cities morning radio show on 92 KQRS. As a publicity stunt (I believe Dave himself actually referred to it as a “tribute”), Dave – who had alrady been in the league for 10 years wearing #72 – changed his number for one preseason game to #92, which is not a permissible number for an offensive lineman (sorry, I haven’t been able to locate a pic for this yet).
linebackers may wear a number in the 40’s when all the 50’s have been exhausted… its the same with the 90’s as well… I believe….
Peterson wore 98 with the 49ers. That’s Grant Wistrom’s number with the Seahawks now.
If I’m not mistaken, in the event that all 50s and 90s are taken, linebackers can wear a number in the 60s. Check out the Seahawks’ roster. All of the numbers in the 50s, 60s and the 90s are in fact currently being used.
What exactly is inbounds in uni watch land discussing NASCAR? Is a car paint scheme considered a uniform? We could have a mile-long discussion every week if that is the case, since someone usually running a special scheme every week. Or is the limit the firesuits and helmets that the team wears?
What exactly is inbounds in uni watch land discussing NASCAR? Is a car paint scheme considered a uniform? We could have a mile-long discussion every week if that is the case, since someone usually running a special scheme every week. Or is the limit the firesuits and helmets that the team wears?
I think Uni-watch should avoid NASCAR like the plague. If the obsession against logo creep is real, then NASCAR is even worse than this.
Jessie Armstead was another 90’s number linebacker. He wore #98 for the Giants, and the Redskins. If I remember correctly, his reason for wearing #98 was that he knew that the number would be availible on most teams, so even if he got traded, he wouldn’t ever have to change his number.
Using my girlfriend’s digital camera, I was able to get some interesting shots of the Mets game last night. DVR helped. I just opened a flickr account, so I don’t even know if these links will work properly.
Maybe Carlos Beltran should start wearing one of those cool flo unis because he sweats a lot.
as long as JP doesnt wear his hair like the BOZ did, I think he will be ok
Mike from Queens said:
Mike Miller said:
What exactly is inbounds in uni watch land discussing NASCAR? Is a car paint scheme considered a uniform? We could have a mile-long discussion every week if that is the case, since someone usually running a special scheme every week. Or is the limit the firesuits and helmets that the team wears?
I think Uni-watch should avoid NASCAR like the plague. If the obsession against logo creep is real, then NASCAR is even worse than this.
As a huge NASCAR fan, I love the fact that we are atleast saying the word on here. But yes, it is the worst bit of logo creep, either in visual or when in audio, for a sport in the world. But they have to have all those logos, most people can’t afford to go big time racin without that money. that’s why i like to listen to the race on the radio more than anything.
Oh, one other thing, two questions about the FIBA tourny.
First, is that the USA BAsketball Logo on LeBron’s headband, or is it a Chuck Taylor All-Stars Logo?
Second, is Lebron the only one who has the American flag on his basketball shoes? I know we have talked about all the baseball players with flags on their shoes and gloves, but is this a first?
Andruw Jones only has eye black under his left eye today. I don’t know if he started the game like that, but he had it under one eye during his AB in the 4th
I have nothing to say about NASCAR, but for my first post on this blog I do have several uni-observations from over the weekend:
1. I don’t like colored alternate baseball jerseys in general, but I wish MLB would impose a rule forbidding both the home and away teams from wearing them in the same game. It usually looks terrible (last night’s A’s-Rangers game for the latest example). The home team should pick what jersey it’s going to wear and if they pick color, then the road team must wear gray. If the home team picks white, then the road team can wear their colored jerseys.
2. The Buffalo Bills wore their trhowbacks again, reminding us all again how ugly the current outfits are.
3. I liked the St. Louis Rams’ white pants with white jerseys.
4. Even by soccer jersey standards, Chivas USA’s blue (or is it black?) and red striped jerseys with the gold numerals is both ugly and unreadable.
I don’t like colored alternate baseball jerseys in general, but I wish MLB would impose a rule forbidding both the home and away teams from wearing them in the same game. It usually looks terrible (last night’s A’s-Rangers game for the latest example). The home team should pick what jersey it’s going to wear and if they pick color, then the road team must wear gray. If the home team picks white, then the road team can wear their colored jerseys.
I’ve been saying the same thing for years. Unfortunately, nobody’s been listening.
The Sox and Twins are both wearing dark jerseys today. I doubt it has anything to do with Cool Base jerseys, too. It’s only about 75 degrees today here in Chicago. The situation could have been avoided if only the White Sox would have worn their 1906 throwbacks that were supposed to be their Sunday alternate unis this year. They’ve worn them twice.
I wouldn’t classify NASCAR sponsorships as Logo Creep. It’s advertising space that defrays the cost of an expensive sport. Every team is essentially an indepedent contractor and the winnings simply don’t cover the costs.
Plus, those ads have always been there, and are a part of the sport. This isn’t the same as a reebok logo showing up on the pristine Green Bay jerseys. NASCAR generates cash at every level through advertising space. This isn’t the NFL getting more cash by putting a small logo on the jerseys, this is teams staying in business by putting a giant DuPont or Miller Lite logo on the hood.
I wouldn’t classify NASCAR sponsorships as Logo Creep. It’s advertising space that defrays the cost of an expensive sport. Every team is essentially an indepedent contractor and the winnings simply don’t cover the costs.
Plus, those ads have always been there, and are a part of the sport. This isn’t the same as a reebok logo showing up on the pristine Green Bay jerseys. NASCAR generates cash at every level through advertising space. This isn’t the NFL getting more cash by putting a small logo on the jerseys, this is teams staying in business by putting a giant DuPont or Miller Lite logo on the hood.
Dang you, you beat me to it. I guess that I’ll just say that I agree with you.
I can’t find any pictures, but last Thursday, Jason Marquis (Cardinals) wore his socks high in his loss against the Mets. I believe they were actual stirrups.
Also, I’ve noticed that Albert Pujols is wearing his uniform pants differently. It appears that he’s no longer tucking his pants into his shoes. The last week, he’s had them draped over the outside.
Although I know there’s not really much you can say about NASCAR that’s uniform-related, thank you for mentioning something about it. I’ve been reading the column for about 2 years and I think this is the first time I’ve seen NASCAR involved.
I’m not sure if my eyes deceived me, but did Ben Roethlisberger have a logo on his wristbands (looked like the NFL logo) blacked out? Just wondering if anyone else saw it.
By the way, did you hear he was in a motorcycle accident?
Andruw Jones only has eye black under his left eye today. I don’t know if he started the game like that, but he had it under one eye during his AB in the 4th
I’ve noticed him doing this for the past few day games. i dont know if he does it on purpose, or if he sweats a lot on the right side and strip comes off every time.
So long as we are talking auto racing, I want to point out that the flag affixed to thethe starboard side of Danica Patrick’s car should be inverted, with the blue field leading as if it were on a flagpole mounted on the vehicle.
So long as we are talking auto racing, I want to point out that the flag affixed to thethe starboard side of Danica Patrick’s car should be inverted, with the blue field leading as if it were on a flagpole mounted on the vehicle.
absolutely… good call on that one. Have you been saving that observation for the appropriate time? If so this was probably as close as you were ever going to get.
Buckeye Mike said:
Oh, one other thing, two questions about the FIBA tourny.
First, is that the USA BAsketball Logo on LeBron’s headband, or is it a Chuck Taylor All-Stars Logo?
Second, is Lebron the only one who has the American flag on his basketball shoes? I know we have talked about all the baseball players with flags on their shoes and gloves, but is this a first?
It looks like the USA Basketball Star (secondary logo). It would be very strange for LeBron to were a converse logo when he is a Nike Endorser and the Uniforms for USA b-ball are made by Nike. However, converse IS owned by Nike now so who knows. Of course they are run as seperate entities like Adidas and Reebok.
A month or two ago, Michael Schumacher’s Ferrari overalls departed from their standard Marlboro red-and-white to add some yellow highlights. It was not an improvement, and they’re back to normal (I’ll ignore the immorality of tobacco promotion in sport).
I’m sure everyone in Uniwatchland is just thrilled to have not only NASCAR, but Formula 1, brought up. Sorry. I won’t do it again.
I wouldn’t classify NASCAR sponsorships as Logo Creep. It’s advertising space that defrays the cost of an expensive sport. Every team is essentially an indepedent contractor and the winnings simply don’t cover the costs.
Plus, those ads have always been there, and are a part of the sport. This isn’t the same as a reebok logo showing up on the pristine Green Bay jerseys. NASCAR generates cash at every level through advertising space. This isn’t the NFL getting more cash by putting a small logo on the jerseys, this is teams staying in business by putting a giant DuPont or Miller Lite logo on the hood.
Your Green Bay point basically means that any uniform created in the last 10 years could then have logo creep all over it because it’s not
“pristine” or classic. I don’t think anyone here could defend the uniforms of a fledgling American hockey league whose uniforms looked like this, just to cover expenses. In the Uni-watch world, that’s simply not cool (so I’ve surmised), no matter how long the ads ahev been there.
Full disclosure: though this may not be the place to start the argument, NASCAR routinely gets about 4-6 miles to the gallon. In a 500 mile race, that’s about 100 gallons of fuel PER CAR! With 40 cars per race, that’s 4,000 gallons of fuel in a few hours. Plus, they’ve been using leaded gasoline for God knows how long. They only switched to unleaded recently. So for the last however many years, as the sport’s uppermost level, NASCAR has been wasting fuel at incredible proportions and polluting the environment to boot. And this is just NASCAR, not to mention all the other auto-racing circuits. Given our recent gasoline issues, I find it very hard to defend ANYTHING about a sport where people make left turns for 500 miles at five mpg. At it’s very least, the sport is irresponsible.
And to top it all off, this is one of the ugliest things I’ve ever seen.
I think you’ve misunderstood my Green Bay reference. Any uniform with a logo on it would be logo creep, and its not cool. My point, is that NASCAR is an exception to that rule. Most of these guys worked their way up from the small local tracks where the burger place down the street gave them a bit of money and made the race possible. Its an institutional thing, and its been that way forever. The tracks get the ticket revenues, and from that they award winnings. If you’re a mid-level driver, you can’t cover costs without sponsorships and the great people at NAPA who really make great parts for every truck and car. (Michael Waltrip, I’m looking at you).
Logo creep is offensive because they take things we love, our teams uniforms, and put a sign of a corporation on it. Suddenly future Super Bowl MVP Jake Delhomme is advertising for Reebok. NASCAR is different. The sport would litterally not exist without the sponsorships. As much as some of you may hate it, the logos are the uniforms. Thats jus t the culture and the tradition. Richard Petty is Mr. STP. Junior is the reason I drink Bud. Jeff Gordon is why I avoid DuPont products. NASCAR isn’t the same as the other sports, but it isn’t supposed to be.
When it comes to gas, Congress did a study and found that NASCAR’s use of gas was literally less than a drop in the bucket. That includes all practice and testing. Leaded Fuel, yeah thats probably not the best thing in the world, but its not like there is a race in every neighborhood every week. In reality, the frequency is pretty limited on the grand scheme of things.
I have nothing to say about NASCAR, but for my first post on this blog I do have several uni-observations from over the weekend:
1. I don’t like colored alternate baseball jerseys in general, but I wish MLB would impose a rule forbidding both the home and away teams from wearing them in the same game. It usually looks terrible (last night’s A’s-Rangers game for the latest example). The home team should pick what jersey it’s going to wear and if they pick color, then the road team must wear gray. If the home team picks white, then the road team can wear their colored jerseys.
2. The Buffalo Bills wore their trhowbacks again, reminding us all again how ugly the current outfits are.
3. I liked the St. Louis Rams’ white pants with white jerseys.
4. Even by soccer jersey standards, Chivas USA’s blue (or is it black?) and red striped jerseys with the gold numerals is both ugly and unreadable.
Re: your number 1, the worst offense I’ve seen of two teams wearing alternate jerseys was a Royals-Rangers game I went to this year. Both teams wore blue, and from my seats it was hard to tell who was who. It’s not like it was unavoidable, since the Royals have 4 jerseys to choose from (I don’t know how many the Rangers have). But I’d estimate they’ve worn their blue ones for easily 60-70% of their games this year.
I wouldn’t classify NASCAR sponsorships as Logo Creep. It’s advertising space that defrays the cost of an expensive sport. Every team is essentially an indepedent contractor and the winnings simply don’t cover the costs.
Plus, those ads have always been there, and are a part of the sport. This isn’t the same as a reebok logo showing up on the pristine Green Bay jerseys. NASCAR generates cash at every level through advertising space. This isn’t the NFL getting more cash by putting a small logo on the jerseys, this is teams staying in business by putting a giant DuPont or Miller Lite logo on the hood.
Amen. Plus, it’s not like Nike, Reebok or Under Armour logos are anywhere to be found … well, not yet, anyway.
Seriously, I am thrilled to see NASCAR get a mention here, though I’d understand if it didn’t become a regular conversation topic. Say, if we do get around to mentioning cool car schemes, though, how about this:
4000 gallons? It seems like a lot until you consider that everyone in the crowd got there somehow. Let’s say everyone in Bristol last night carpooled 5 to a Prius, and lived an average of 100 miles away. Even then, 160,000 people in 32,000 cars would use 128,000 gallons of gas (assuming 50 mpg average). I think you’ll agree the real life figure is many times greater.
Be it NASCAR, football (where the teams generally travel on their own chartered airliners) or another sport, the energy use by the crowd is going to dwarf that that goes into producing the main event (direct or indirect).
ANYWAY, to veer into livery-watch for a second, I’d say the days of professional race cars with a classic nice looking paint scheme has passed. It did exist at some point. The group 44 cars are one notable example. The Gulf sponsored cars always had a great looks as well. Even the early NASCAR cars were painted with an eye for aesthetics, even if they were rolling billboards.
Unfortunately, unless a huge sponsor that cares enough about aesthetics to avoid the many little sponsor decals that clutter up a car, I don’t think we’ll see that day again in a major racing series. Supposedly Marlboro will do this with Ferrari in F1 should tobacco advertising be banned, and just have them paint the cars red. I guess we’ll see if that happens, since tobacco sponsorship in motorsport is going the way of the dodo.
Logo creep is offensive because they take things we love, our teams uniforms, and put a sign of a corporation on it. Suddenly future Super Bowl MVP Jake Delhomme is advertising for Reebok. NASCAR is different. The sport would litterally not exist without the sponsorships. As much as some of you may hate it, the logos are the uniforms. Thats just the culture and the tradition. Richard Petty is Mr. STP. Junior is the reason I drink Bud. Jeff Gordon is why I avoid DuPont products.
What’s more offensive? Taking things that you love and making it corporate, or loving a billion dollar corporation based on what car their name is on? And, again, the issue here is Uni-watch and logo creep. I just think that embracing NASCAR would throw a wrench in the spokes of every argument Paul has made against logo creep. (I would never pretend to speak for him, but again, I’m just saying what I’ve gleaned from reading his column for at least a year now.) For Uni-watch fans to rally against the .05% of a baseball uniform that has a manufacturer’s logo on it, and then turn around and support NASCAR and its corporate advertising running amok seems like one of the biggest hypocrasies I could imagine. If Paul is trying to expand his fan base by including NASCAR, I don’t blame him. There are millions of NASCAR fans out there. It’s a southern phenomenon I’ll never understand—-just like Conservatism and Republicans. I just don’t think NASCAR fits within whatever loose or imaginary logo creep guidelines Uni-watch has established. I hope Paul addresses this in the coming week, and I can’t stress more that I DO NOT pretend to speak for him and his own views on this. He’s the creator of this space and has the final say on everything Uni-watch, whether or not I agree with him.
Duncan said:
When it comes to gas, Congress did a study and found that NASCAR’s use of gas was literally less than a drop in the bucket. That includes all practice and testing. Leaded Fuel, yeah thats probably not the best thing in the world, but its not like there is a race in every neighborhood every week. In reality, the frequency is pretty limited on the grand scheme of things.
I poked around a bit, and could not find this study or any mention of it online. If you could post it here, I’d love to read it.
I think complaining about logos on NASCAR cars is sort of like complaining about billboards on the walls of baseball stadiums. It’s been a part of the sport since the early days, and it will never go away. There’s no logo CREEP here, as the logos have always been there.
That said, talking about NASCAR is about as interesting as talking about baseball stadium advertising to me, so I’ll stop now.
Without suggesting that it should be done here, I actually do think it would be interesting to talk about the different paint schemes that NASCAR teams use. Forgetting the “corporate” aspect for a moment, it’s been my experience that NASCAR fans discuss the different paint schemes much like fans of any other major sport would discuss uniform details. A particular driver’s primary sponsor, car paint scheme, and number are as ingrained in that driver as his name – especially for the most popular. Those who collect the diecast models are also susceptible to marketing ploys we’re all familiar with. Every car has a “regular” paint scheme but each team will use a one or several “special” paint schemes for certain races which is exactly like a team who wears their “alternate” uniforms or “third jerseys” or “throwbacks.” Again, I’m not saying there should be NASCAR discussion on here but if Paul was to try it using the cars’ paint schemes, I will venture to guess that there would be plenty of participation. Just my two cents.
I’m not sure if my eyes deceived me, but did Ben Roethlisberger have a logo on his wristbands (looked like the NFL logo) blacked out? Just wondering if anyone else saw it.
By the way, did you hear he was in a motorcycle accident?
Yes, Ben like many other NFL QB’s use a Neumann brand “wrist coach” play calling wristband.
Neumann is not an authorized NFL partner so they have to black out the logo. The only real question is why doesn’t NFL equipment (read Reebok) make one of these, it would be just one more great place for the NFL to place their already unavoidable logo.
I just think that embracing NASCAR would throw a wrench in the spokes of every argument Paul has made against logo creep. … If Paul is trying to expand his fan base by including NASCAR, I don’t blame him. … I just don’t think NASCAR fits within whatever loose or imaginary logo creep guidelines Uni-watch has established.
Coupla things here:
(1) I didn’t try to “expand” anything. The weekend open-discussion pages have been initiated by Uni Watch webmaster John Ekdahl, not by me (as you can see by looking at the fine-print “posted by” notation at the base of today’s very short entry), so he’s the one who chose the photo. Haven’t spoken with him since getting back from Wisconsin (more on that tomorrow), so I don’t know if HE was trying to “expand” the audience. I suspect he was just trying to sneak in some coverage of a sport he likes.
(2) I don’t cover Nascar because I know and care very little about it. Much like soccer, it just ain’t my bag. But as for as logo creep goes, you’re all missing the point: Logo creep for individual sports is way different than for team sports. If I’m a Mets fan, the only logo I should see on the team’s uniform is the Mets logo, because the bond between fan and team should never be tampered with. Keeping that bond pure is how we’re able to keep rooting for the team even as the different players come and go. But if I’m a Richard Petty fan (or Roy Jones Jr., or Rafael Nadal, or Phil Mickelson, or any other non-team athlete), that’s different — I’m not rooting for a team, I’m just rooting for an individual. And if that individual wants to plaster his gear with product sponsorships, I don’t really have such a problem with that. I mean, I wish they wouldn’t do it, but it’s not the same thing as putting ads on a team uni. I can discuss this in greater detail, but I think everyone understands the points I’m making here, yes?
A month or two ago, Michael Schumacher’s Ferrari overalls departed from their standard Marlboro red-and-white to add some yellow highlights.
I looked for a photo but couldn’t find one, but did anyone else think that the white patch on the lower back of the Ferrari driver suit looked a bit too much like a thong? Who approved that?
Paul Tracy’s prerace get-up in Montreal was pretty neat, too.
Also, I live in the Seattle-area, and while I was enjoying my dinner at a local eatery a guy walked in with what looked to be a brand-spankin’ new Bristol Motor Speedway baseball jersey. It was black-and-yellow with a 36 on the back. I asked him if he had gone to Bristol for the race, and he had, and I wondered aloud what the “36″ was all about, since there is no car #36 and the track is well over 36 years old. It turned out there was a little degree symbol there as well, as the turns at Bristol are banked 36 degrees.
Well said, Sir.
I think I speak for a large part of this community when I say ‘Paul, you are not allowed to leave this blog at any time !’ It is clear to me that we cannot be left unattended. Like romper room, if you will.
& one other thing: If we’re going to start discussing non sports like professional left– turning, when’s the professional wrestling thread start?
I, for one, would definitely welcome an occasional NASCAR drop in here once in a while. For the record, I do consider ther car paint schemes to be a “uniform” of sorts. They’re how you identify the drivers out there on the track. I’d say that makes them a uniform.
I looked for a photo but couldn’t find one, but did anyone else think that the white patch on the lower back of the Ferrari driver suit looked a bit too much like a thong? Who approved that?
I saw that too. What was interesting to me is that Massa’s suit had that weird white patch while Schumacher’s did not.
is it just me or does anyone else see a difference between what we have referred to as logo creep and a sponsorship?
when i see a reebok logo on an nfl jersey, majestic on an mlb jersey, or any other logo on any other jersey, i recognize that to be the logo of the jersey manufacturer. so, a cardinals jersey has the team logo, and the uniform maker’s logo.
whereas in nascar, the national guard/subway didnt “make” greg biffle’s car, neither did 3m, travelodge, mac tools, etc. they sponsor his car.
More motorsport stuff: Why can’t people have simple helmet designs anymore? Gone are the days of the Hill’s black and white oar helmets, and even Hakkinen’s blue stripe helmet. Instead, we have atrocities like Tiago Monterio’s helmet, and Alex Wurz’s helmet. There are some good ones out there, like Schumacher’s all red helmet, but they all suffer from too much complexity.
The series is sponsered by Nextel. There are 2 drivers that are sponsered by rival companies, Jeff Burton and Ryan Newman. (Cingular and Alltel) Well, all drivers are required to wear a Nextel patch on the upper right of their racing suit, but Jeff Burton and Ryan Newman use black thread to display the Nextel patch which covers it up more so than other drivers. Here’s a picture of Jeff Burton’s blacked out Nextel logo http://i.a.cnn.net/n...
#1 by Scott W on 08.27.06 3:28 am |
i’ve always wanted to claim the first post. not a big nascar fan…but talladega nights was funny, and the nascar outfits they wore looked pretty accurate.
#2 by Big John on 08.27.06 5:37 am |
Reggie Bush wasn’t allowed to wear number 5 for Saints because it isn’t a running back number, but Julian Peterson of the Seahawks is wearing number 44 as a linebacker. He was wearing it saturday night against the Chargers. What’s up with that?
#44?
#3 by nybatt on 08.27.06 7:43 am |
linebackers may wear a number in the 40’s when all the 50’s have been exhausted… its the same with the 90’s as well… I believe….
#4 by Mark in Shiga on 08.27.06 8:10 am |
The number rules aren’t enforced in the preseason due to the larger number of players.
Presumably the league and its marketing arm, realizing that Bush jerseys would be produced in large quantities compares to Julian Peterson jerseys, wanted to get Bush’s number arranged well in advance.
#5 by Natron on 08.27.06 9:03 am |
A further example of the lax preseason number rules:
In 1989 (I think), Vikings offensive lineman Dave Huffman was a regular contributor to a Twin Cities morning radio show on 92 KQRS. As a publicity stunt (I believe Dave himself actually referred to it as a “tribute”), Dave – who had alrady been in the league for 10 years wearing #72 – changed his number for one preseason game to #92, which is not a permissible number for an offensive lineman (sorry, I haven’t been able to locate a pic for this yet).
#6 by JTH on 08.27.06 10:43 am |
nybatt said:
Peterson wore 98 with the 49ers. That’s Grant Wistrom’s number with the Seahawks now.
If I’m not mistaken, in the event that all 50s and 90s are taken, linebackers can wear a number in the 60s. Check out the Seahawks’ roster. All of the numbers in the 50s, 60s and the 90s are in fact currently being used.
#7 by Chris Doran on 08.27.06 11:08 am |
http://sportsillustr...
Ah, another player who wanted to wear 44 for the Seahawks…
#8 by Matt on 08.27.06 11:36 am |
at the Bills camp they had so many offensive lineman that there were 2 number 76 and same thing with a couple other numbers…
#9 by JTH on 08.27.06 12:04 pm |
Chris Doran said:
Ha!
I guess Peterson’s not superstitious. Given the fact that Bosworth did, albeit briefly, wear number 44, that number and Seattle linebackers might be a bad karmic combination.
#10 by Mike Miller on 08.27.06 12:32 pm |
What exactly is inbounds in uni watch land discussing NASCAR? Is a car paint scheme considered a uniform? We could have a mile-long discussion every week if that is the case, since someone usually running a special scheme every week. Or is the limit the firesuits and helmets that the team wears?
#11 by Mike from Queens on 08.27.06 1:15 pm |
Mike Miller said:
I think Uni-watch should avoid NASCAR like the plague. If the obsession against logo creep is real, then NASCAR is even worse than this.
#12 by Bryan S on 08.27.06 1:27 pm |
Jessie Armstead was another 90’s number linebacker. He wore #98 for the Giants, and the Redskins. If I remember correctly, his reason for wearing #98 was that he knew that the number would be availible on most teams, so even if he got traded, he wouldn’t ever have to change his number.
#13 by Mike from Queens on 08.27.06 1:29 pm |
Using my girlfriend’s digital camera, I was able to get some interesting shots of the Mets game last night. DVR helped. I just opened a flickr account, so I don’t even know if these links will work properly.
Maybe Carlos Beltran should start wearing one of those cool flo unis because he sweats a lot.
Matt Smith apparently has joined Todd Jones’ fraternity.
A-Rod’s high socks… with an Under Armor logo? Definitely not cool in MLB guidelines, so that’s probably why he wasn’t wearing them during the game.
#14 by Chris Doran on 08.27.06 1:30 pm |
JTH said:
I do recall Boz wearing 44 in the pre-season, but NFL number rules were stricter then, and he was forced to go to 55 for the real games.
Sadly, the man is most remembered for this game more than anything in his career.
#15 by matt dub on 08.27.06 1:51 pm |
I’m surprised Nike had nothing to say about A-Rod’s socks. I would think wearing Under Armor would be against his Nike deal.
#16 by Buckeye Mike on 08.27.06 1:59 pm |
JTH said:
as long as JP doesnt wear his hair like the BOZ did, I think he will be ok
Mike from Queens said:
As a huge NASCAR fan, I love the fact that we are atleast saying the word on here. But yes, it is the worst bit of logo creep, either in visual or when in audio, for a sport in the world. But they have to have all those logos, most people can’t afford to go big time racin without that money. that’s why i like to listen to the race on the radio more than anything.
#17 by Buckeye Mike on 08.27.06 2:07 pm |
Oh, one other thing, two questions about the FIBA tourny.
First, is that the USA BAsketball Logo on LeBron’s headband, or is it a Chuck Taylor All-Stars Logo?
Second, is Lebron the only one who has the American flag on his basketball shoes? I know we have talked about all the baseball players with flags on their shoes and gloves, but is this a first?
Bron Bron
baseball
#18 by Jorge on 08.27.06 2:12 pm |
WOO HOO WOO HOO!!!!!!
WOO HOO
WOO HOO
WOO HOO
WOO HOO
WOO HOO
WOO HOO
WOO HOO
WOO HOO
#19 by Brian A on 08.27.06 2:42 pm |
Andruw Jones only has eye black under his left eye today. I don’t know if he started the game like that, but he had it under one eye during his AB in the 4th
#20 by Terry Mark on 08.27.06 3:32 pm |
I have nothing to say about NASCAR, but for my first post on this blog I do have several uni-observations from over the weekend:
1. I don’t like colored alternate baseball jerseys in general, but I wish MLB would impose a rule forbidding both the home and away teams from wearing them in the same game. It usually looks terrible (last night’s A’s-Rangers game for the latest example). The home team should pick what jersey it’s going to wear and if they pick color, then the road team must wear gray. If the home team picks white, then the road team can wear their colored jerseys.
2. The Buffalo Bills wore their trhowbacks again, reminding us all again how ugly the current outfits are.
3. I liked the St. Louis Rams’ white pants with white jerseys.
4. Even by soccer jersey standards, Chivas USA’s blue (or is it black?) and red striped jerseys with the gold numerals is both ugly and unreadable.
#21 by JTH on 08.27.06 4:18 pm |
Mike from Queens said:
He’s got nothing on Freddie Garcia.
Terry Mark said:
I’ve been saying the same thing for years. Unfortunately, nobody’s been listening.
The Sox and Twins are both wearing dark jerseys today. I doubt it has anything to do with Cool Base jerseys, too. It’s only about 75 degrees today here in Chicago. The situation could have been avoided if only the White Sox would have worn their 1906 throwbacks that were supposed to be their Sunday alternate unis this year. They’ve worn them twice.
#22 by Duncan on 08.27.06 4:28 pm |
I wouldn’t classify NASCAR sponsorships as Logo Creep. It’s advertising space that defrays the cost of an expensive sport. Every team is essentially an indepedent contractor and the winnings simply don’t cover the costs.
Plus, those ads have always been there, and are a part of the sport. This isn’t the same as a reebok logo showing up on the pristine Green Bay jerseys. NASCAR generates cash at every level through advertising space. This isn’t the NFL getting more cash by putting a small logo on the jerseys, this is teams staying in business by putting a giant DuPont or Miller Lite logo on the hood.
#23 by Robert Eden on 08.27.06 4:42 pm |
Duncan said:
Dang you, you beat me to it. I guess that I’ll just say that I agree with you.
#24 by Chuck Ryals on 08.27.06 5:31 pm |
Tennessee Titans wore blue on blue last night= HIDEOUS! The Twins blue road tops are equally bad IMHO….
#25 by JTH on 08.27.06 5:33 pm |
Chuck Ryals said:
Especially with those atrocious gray pinstriped pants.
#26 by Steve on 08.27.06 5:39 pm |
I can’t find any pictures, but last Thursday, Jason Marquis (Cardinals) wore his socks high in his loss against the Mets. I believe they were actual stirrups.
Also, I’ve noticed that Albert Pujols is wearing his uniform pants differently. It appears that he’s no longer tucking his pants into his shoes. The last week, he’s had them draped over the outside.
August 13th
August 22nd
#27 by Steve Prudente on 08.27.06 6:14 pm |
Although I know there’s not really much you can say about NASCAR that’s uniform-related, thank you for mentioning something about it. I’ve been reading the column for about 2 years and I think this is the first time I’ve seen NASCAR involved.
#28 by Ryan Real on 08.27.06 7:11 pm |
I’m not sure if my eyes deceived me, but did Ben Roethlisberger have a logo on his wristbands (looked like the NFL logo) blacked out? Just wondering if anyone else saw it.
By the way, did you hear he was in a motorcycle accident?
#29 by Josh W on 08.27.06 7:47 pm |
Brian A said:
I’ve noticed him doing this for the past few day games. i dont know if he does it on purpose, or if he sweats a lot on the right side and strip comes off every time.
#30 by Mediocre Joe on 08.27.06 7:58 pm |
So long as we are talking auto racing, I want to point out that the flag affixed to thethe starboard side of Danica Patrick’s car should be inverted, with the blue field leading as if it were on a flagpole mounted on the vehicle.
#31 by anthony on 08.27.06 8:25 pm |
Mediocre Joe said:
absolutely… good call on that one. Have you been saving that observation for the appropriate time? If so this was probably as close as you were ever going to get.
Buckeye Mike said:
It looks like the USA Basketball Star (secondary logo). It would be very strange for LeBron to were a converse logo when he is a Nike Endorser and the Uniforms for USA b-ball are made by Nike. However, converse IS owned by Nike now so who knows. Of course they are run as seperate entities like Adidas and Reebok.
#32 by Richard on 08.27.06 8:42 pm |
A month or two ago, Michael Schumacher’s Ferrari overalls departed from their standard Marlboro red-and-white to add some yellow highlights. It was not an improvement, and they’re back to normal (I’ll ignore the immorality of tobacco promotion in sport).
I’m sure everyone in Uniwatchland is just thrilled to have not only NASCAR, but Formula 1, brought up. Sorry. I won’t do it again.
#33 by Mike from Queens on 08.27.06 8:43 pm |
Duncan said:
Your Green Bay point basically means that any uniform created in the last 10 years could then have logo creep all over it because it’s not
“pristine” or classic. I don’t think anyone here could defend the uniforms of a fledgling American hockey league whose uniforms looked like this, just to cover expenses. In the Uni-watch world, that’s simply not cool (so I’ve surmised), no matter how long the ads ahev been there.
Full disclosure: though this may not be the place to start the argument, NASCAR routinely gets about 4-6 miles to the gallon. In a 500 mile race, that’s about 100 gallons of fuel PER CAR! With 40 cars per race, that’s 4,000 gallons of fuel in a few hours. Plus, they’ve been using leaded gasoline for God knows how long. They only switched to unleaded recently. So for the last however many years, as the sport’s uppermost level, NASCAR has been wasting fuel at incredible proportions and polluting the environment to boot. And this is just NASCAR, not to mention all the other auto-racing circuits. Given our recent gasoline issues, I find it very hard to defend ANYTHING about a sport where people make left turns for 500 miles at five mpg. At it’s very least, the sport is irresponsible.
And to top it all off, this is one of the ugliest things I’ve ever seen.
#34 by jeremy on 08.27.06 8:49 pm |
I agree wholeheartedly with Mike from Queens.
#35 by Duncan on 08.27.06 9:02 pm |
I think you’ve misunderstood my Green Bay reference. Any uniform with a logo on it would be logo creep, and its not cool. My point, is that NASCAR is an exception to that rule. Most of these guys worked their way up from the small local tracks where the burger place down the street gave them a bit of money and made the race possible. Its an institutional thing, and its been that way forever. The tracks get the ticket revenues, and from that they award winnings. If you’re a mid-level driver, you can’t cover costs without sponsorships and the great people at NAPA who really make great parts for every truck and car. (Michael Waltrip, I’m looking at you).
Logo creep is offensive because they take things we love, our teams uniforms, and put a sign of a corporation on it. Suddenly future Super Bowl MVP Jake Delhomme is advertising for Reebok. NASCAR is different. The sport would litterally not exist without the sponsorships. As much as some of you may hate it, the logos are the uniforms. Thats jus t the culture and the tradition. Richard Petty is Mr. STP. Junior is the reason I drink Bud. Jeff Gordon is why I avoid DuPont products. NASCAR isn’t the same as the other sports, but it isn’t supposed to be.
When it comes to gas, Congress did a study and found that NASCAR’s use of gas was literally less than a drop in the bucket. That includes all practice and testing. Leaded Fuel, yeah thats probably not the best thing in the world, but its not like there is a race in every neighborhood every week. In reality, the frequency is pretty limited on the grand scheme of things.
#36 by Andy on 08.27.06 10:04 pm |
Terry Mark said:
Re: your number 1, the worst offense I’ve seen of two teams wearing alternate jerseys was a Royals-Rangers game I went to this year. Both teams wore blue, and from my seats it was hard to tell who was who. It’s not like it was unavoidable, since the Royals have 4 jerseys to choose from (I don’t know how many the Rangers have). But I’d estimate they’ve worn their blue ones for easily 60-70% of their games this year.
#37 by nico on 08.27.06 10:13 pm |
Well said Mike from Queens, professional left turning ain’t even a real sport!
#38 by Andy on 08.27.06 10:17 pm |
Duncan said:
Amen. Plus, it’s not like Nike, Reebok or Under Armour logos are anywhere to be found … well, not yet, anyway.
Seriously, I am thrilled to see NASCAR get a mention here, though I’d understand if it didn’t become a regular conversation topic. Say, if we do get around to mentioning cool car schemes, though, how about this:
Dale Jr.’s tribute car
#39 by MattP on 08.27.06 10:21 pm |
Mike:
4000 gallons? It seems like a lot until you consider that everyone in the crowd got there somehow. Let’s say everyone in Bristol last night carpooled 5 to a Prius, and lived an average of 100 miles away. Even then, 160,000 people in 32,000 cars would use 128,000 gallons of gas (assuming 50 mpg average). I think you’ll agree the real life figure is many times greater.
Be it NASCAR, football (where the teams generally travel on their own chartered airliners) or another sport, the energy use by the crowd is going to dwarf that that goes into producing the main event (direct or indirect).
ANYWAY, to veer into livery-watch for a second, I’d say the days of professional race cars with a classic nice looking paint scheme has passed. It did exist at some point. The group 44 cars are one notable example. The Gulf sponsored cars always had a great looks as well. Even the early NASCAR cars were painted with an eye for aesthetics, even if they were rolling billboards.
Unfortunately, unless a huge sponsor that cares enough about aesthetics to avoid the many little sponsor decals that clutter up a car, I don’t think we’ll see that day again in a major racing series. Supposedly Marlboro will do this with Ferrari in F1 should tobacco advertising be banned, and just have them paint the cars red. I guess we’ll see if that happens, since tobacco sponsorship in motorsport is going the way of the dodo.
#40 by Mike from Queens on 08.27.06 10:21 pm |
Duncan said:
What’s more offensive? Taking things that you love and making it corporate, or loving a billion dollar corporation based on what car their name is on? And, again, the issue here is Uni-watch and logo creep. I just think that embracing NASCAR would throw a wrench in the spokes of every argument Paul has made against logo creep. (I would never pretend to speak for him, but again, I’m just saying what I’ve gleaned from reading his column for at least a year now.) For Uni-watch fans to rally against the .05% of a baseball uniform that has a manufacturer’s logo on it, and then turn around and support NASCAR and its corporate advertising running amok seems like one of the biggest hypocrasies I could imagine. If Paul is trying to expand his fan base by including NASCAR, I don’t blame him. There are millions of NASCAR fans out there. It’s a southern phenomenon I’ll never understand—-just like Conservatism and Republicans. I just don’t think NASCAR fits within whatever loose or imaginary logo creep guidelines Uni-watch has established. I hope Paul addresses this in the coming week, and I can’t stress more that I DO NOT pretend to speak for him and his own views on this. He’s the creator of this space and has the final say on everything Uni-watch, whether or not I agree with him.
Duncan said:
I poked around a bit, and could not find this study or any mention of it online. If you could post it here, I’d love to read it.
#41 by Dave from the Cape on 08.27.06 10:36 pm |
I think complaining about logos on NASCAR cars is sort of like complaining about billboards on the walls of baseball stadiums. It’s been a part of the sport since the early days, and it will never go away. There’s no logo CREEP here, as the logos have always been there.
That said, talking about NASCAR is about as interesting as talking about baseball stadium advertising to me, so I’ll stop now.
#42 by Cesar on 08.27.06 11:02 pm |
Without suggesting that it should be done here, I actually do think it would be interesting to talk about the different paint schemes that NASCAR teams use. Forgetting the “corporate” aspect for a moment, it’s been my experience that NASCAR fans discuss the different paint schemes much like fans of any other major sport would discuss uniform details. A particular driver’s primary sponsor, car paint scheme, and number are as ingrained in that driver as his name – especially for the most popular. Those who collect the diecast models are also susceptible to marketing ploys we’re all familiar with. Every car has a “regular” paint scheme but each team will use a one or several “special” paint schemes for certain races which is exactly like a team who wears their “alternate” uniforms or “third jerseys” or “throwbacks.” Again, I’m not saying there should be NASCAR discussion on here but if Paul was to try it using the cars’ paint schemes, I will venture to guess that there would be plenty of participation. Just my two cents.
#43 by Nolan on 08.27.06 11:11 pm |
Ryan Real said:
Yes, Ben like many other NFL QB’s use a Neumann brand “wrist coach” play calling wristband.
Neumann is not an authorized NFL partner so they have to black out the logo. The only real question is why doesn’t NFL equipment (read Reebok) make one of these, it would be just one more great place for the NFL to place their already unavoidable logo.
#44 by Shoop on 08.27.06 11:48 pm |
BEST. TOPIC. EVER.
If for no other reason than to have this year’s CHAMP pictured on the main page. :)
#45 by Paul Lukas on 08.28.06 12:13 am |
Mike from Queens said:
Coupla things here:
(1) I didn’t try to “expand” anything. The weekend open-discussion pages have been initiated by Uni Watch webmaster John Ekdahl, not by me (as you can see by looking at the fine-print “posted by” notation at the base of today’s very short entry), so he’s the one who chose the photo. Haven’t spoken with him since getting back from Wisconsin (more on that tomorrow), so I don’t know if HE was trying to “expand” the audience. I suspect he was just trying to sneak in some coverage of a sport he likes.
(2) I don’t cover Nascar because I know and care very little about it. Much like soccer, it just ain’t my bag. But as for as logo creep goes, you’re all missing the point: Logo creep for individual sports is way different than for team sports. If I’m a Mets fan, the only logo I should see on the team’s uniform is the Mets logo, because the bond between fan and team should never be tampered with. Keeping that bond pure is how we’re able to keep rooting for the team even as the different players come and go. But if I’m a Richard Petty fan (or Roy Jones Jr., or Rafael Nadal, or Phil Mickelson, or any other non-team athlete), that’s different — I’m not rooting for a team, I’m just rooting for an individual. And if that individual wants to plaster his gear with product sponsorships, I don’t really have such a problem with that. I mean, I wish they wouldn’t do it, but it’s not the same thing as putting ads on a team uni. I can discuss this in greater detail, but I think everyone understands the points I’m making here, yes?
#46 by JJD on 08.28.06 9:27 am |
Richard said:
I looked for a photo but couldn’t find one, but did anyone else think that the white patch on the lower back of the Ferrari driver suit looked a bit too much like a thong? Who approved that?
Paul Tracy’s prerace get-up in Montreal was pretty neat, too.
Also, I live in the Seattle-area, and while I was enjoying my dinner at a local eatery a guy walked in with what looked to be a brand-spankin’ new Bristol Motor Speedway baseball jersey. It was black-and-yellow with a 36 on the back. I asked him if he had gone to Bristol for the race, and he had, and I wondered aloud what the “36″ was all about, since there is no car #36 and the track is well over 36 years old. It turned out there was a little degree symbol there as well, as the turns at Bristol are banked 36 degrees.
#47 by a arauz on 08.28.06 9:40 am |
Well said, Sir.
I think I speak for a large part of this community when I say ‘Paul, you are not allowed to leave this blog at any time !’ It is clear to me that we cannot be left unattended. Like romper room, if you will.
& one other thing: If we’re going to start discussing non sports like professional left– turning, when’s the professional wrestling thread start?
#48 by Ryan on 08.28.06 9:41 am |
I, for one, would definitely welcome an occasional NASCAR drop in here once in a while. For the record, I do consider ther car paint schemes to be a “uniform” of sorts. They’re how you identify the drivers out there on the track. I’d say that makes them a uniform.
#49 by MattP on 08.28.06 9:44 am |
JJD said:
I saw that too. What was interesting to me is that Massa’s suit had that weird white patch while Schumacher’s did not.
#50 by todd krevanchi (krvanch) on 08.28.06 9:46 am |
is it just me or does anyone else see a difference between what we have referred to as logo creep and a sponsorship?
when i see a reebok logo on an nfl jersey, majestic on an mlb jersey, or any other logo on any other jersey, i recognize that to be the logo of the jersey manufacturer. so, a cardinals jersey has the team logo, and the uniform maker’s logo.
whereas in nascar, the national guard/subway didnt “make” greg biffle’s car, neither did 3m, travelodge, mac tools, etc. they sponsor his car.
#51 by Sam Heddle on 08.28.06 11:21 am |
More motorsport stuff: Why can’t people have simple helmet designs anymore? Gone are the days of the Hill’s black and white oar helmets, and even Hakkinen’s blue stripe helmet. Instead, we have atrocities like Tiago Monterio’s helmet, and Alex Wurz’s helmet. There are some good ones out there, like Schumacher’s all red helmet, but they all suffer from too much complexity.
#52 by Chad on 08.28.06 12:06 pm |
One nascar related uni note…
The series is sponsered by Nextel. There are 2 drivers that are sponsered by rival companies, Jeff Burton and Ryan Newman. (Cingular and Alltel) Well, all drivers are required to wear a Nextel patch on the upper right of their racing suit, but Jeff Burton and Ryan Newman use black thread to display the Nextel patch which covers it up more so than other drivers. Here’s a picture of Jeff Burton’s blacked out Nextel logo http://i.a.cnn.net/n...
And a suit with a not blacked out nextel logo
http://i.a.cnn.net/n...
#53 by Barry Braun on 08.29.06 3:13 am |
If anyone would be interested in a NASCAR paint schemes / driver suit blog I may be willing to give it a shot. Any writer interest?
#54 by Duncan on 08.29.06 8:01 pm |
i’d love that