Athletics aesthetics doesn’t get much better-looking, or more fun, than yesterday’s NHL Winter Classic. The Penguins looked totally friggin’ awesome; the Sabres looked totally friggin’ awesome. You had just enough snow to be beautiful but not enough to ruin the game, you had hockey players wearing eye black, you had officials wearing those not-quite-ski-mask thingies, you had Buffalo goalie Ryan Miller wearing a Sabres sock turned into a toque (apparently by these guys), you had Sergei Gonchar wearing a little towel on the back of his right glove so he could wipe the snow off his visor (kudos to Sean Doherty for catching that one), and you had lots of people smiling (that’s Buffalo’s backup goalie, Joceclyn Thibault). Hell, you even had the gorgeous panorama of Buffalo, and let’s face it, how often are you gonna hear those words in the same sentence?
In short, the whole thing was a hoot. Okay, so the goalies didn’t wear plain brown pads after all, which was a mild letdown, but that’s the only bad thing I have to say about this event. Kudos to all involved, and let’s do it again as soon as possible.
Incidentally, we’ve now had hockey in the snow, football in the snow, and baseball in the snow all within the past nine months. All we need now is a snowy NBA game (which, at the very least, would probably lead to some high-sock action), an idea I offer to David Stern at no extra charge.
Latest Reason to Take the Gas Pipe: I have a friend who recently got a management job with Nike, and she’s been working at the big NikeTown store in Manhattan. She tells me that the sales associates who work the floor (there are about 50 of them) have an interesting ritual before the store opens each morning: They gather around and put their hands together in the center of the bunch, like a football team before a game. Then they chant — and I’m not making this up — “Just do it! Just do it! Just do it! SWOOSH!!” And they raise their arms while saying that last word.
And people wonder why we’re getting our asses kicked in the global economy.
Uni Watch News Ticker: This page has a great video clip of the Lakers talking about their short shorts prior to Sunday night’s game (big thanks to Ty Nowell). … And according to this story, the Lakers had to get the shorts made by a local supplier, because — get this — Adidas “did not have a physical pattern for them.” Good thing Adidas is, y’know, a big-time apparel manufacturer. … Just when you thought you’d seen everything: plaid basketball shorts. The team is the Buchan Bakers, a barnstorming squad from the 1950s. Details here (with thanks to, uh, someone whose e-mail I accidentally deleted — whoever you are, please get in touch so I can give you proper credit). … I love the Packers’ uniforms, but this is a bit much. … Too much information. … Matt Benz notes that one of the refs in Saturday’s Oilers/Wild game had thin white stripes on his pants. “He had no number on back of his jersey either,” writes Matt, “he must have had his bag misplaced by the airlines.” … Michael Romero notes that Chad Henne’s Capital One Bowl patch was coming loose yesterday (plus he sent along a screen grab of New Year’s Day’s best bowl uni). … Michael Rich notes that Fresno State appears to have merit decals in three different colors. Anyone know what their system is all about? … According to this page, Kentucky will have new football uniforms next season (with thanks to Derrick Jewell). … Interesting soccer note from Jeremy Brahm, who writes: ” Normally when a soccer team wins a cup or championship, they will have the trophy ceremony right after the match and the players will still be in uniform to accept their trophy or medal. But the Kashima Antlers did something a little odd on New Year’s Day, when they won the Emperor’s Cup in Japan. During the match, which they won, the Antlers wore their road grays; but for the trophy awarding, they wore their home uniform on top of their road shorts.” … Enough already with all the patches. … Uni Watch mascots Tucker and Caitlin’s new year’s resolution: more snuggling!
#1 by AJ Connelly on 01.02.08 8:22 am |
Re: Kashima Antlers swtiching jerseys for the trophy ceremony.
I’m certain Real Madrid did the same thing a few years ago, they played the European Cup final in their gorgeous black with gold road uniforms and then broke out the classic all-white home jerseys for the presentation. I’m sure it was them, but if it wasn’t then some team somewhere has certainly pulled the trick before.
#2 by Rick From Cedar Park, TX on 01.02.08 8:42 am |
Nike targetting Kentucky’s football unis? Say it isn’t so! First Oregon’s tire tracks, then Oregon State’s sports bras. What in God’s name could Swooshville have in store for my beloved Wildcats?
#3 by Denis Hurley on 01.02.08 8:44 am |
You’re correct AJ, but Barcelona did the same when they won the European Cup in 1992, putting on their red and blue striped shirts over the orange kit they had worn against Sampdoria
#4 by LI Phil on 01.02.08 8:45 am |
LI Phil said:
ok
#5 by ML on 01.02.08 8:53 am |
Not uni-related at all, but those are some of the cutest kitties evarrrrrr
#6 by Gabe on 01.02.08 9:05 am |
More info about the Buchnan Bakers here. The site is run by a guy named Bruce Kitts who’s apparently an expert about barnstorming-related info.
#7 by jeff on 01.02.08 9:05 am |
Actually, Dany Sabourin wore old school brown equipment for the outdoor game. Unfortunately for him, and us, the Pens decided to start Ty Conklin in goal.
#8 by Jason G. on 01.02.08 9:08 am |
Rick From Cedar Park, TX said:
The article said that they are probably going to get multiple color combinations. Last time I checked Kentucky only has 2 colors. I smell a black home jersey coming. I don’t particularly like our current jerseys, but I only see them getting worse with this revamp.
#9 by dm00n [Doug] on 01.02.08 9:17 am |
dm00n [Doug] said:
I noticed those USC cheerleader Rose Bowl sweaters during the game and thought the same thing. Throwback-y and classic.
#10 by Rick From Cedar Park, TX on 01.02.08 9:20 am |
Jason G. said:
Ooooo … maybe they should add some more color … how about Louisville Red or Florida orange. NO!! Better yet … Tennessee orange! Grrrrrrrrrrrrr.
#11 by Kim on 01.02.08 9:20 am |
dm00n [Doug] said:
Of course, they’re not exactly throwback-y if they’ve never changed away from those uniforms, they’re just classic.
#12 by Kek on 01.02.08 9:20 am |
I wanted to clarify something that I might have seen in the comments the past few days, not remembering the post exactly, but I think someone said something about the logo on Ty Conklin’s supercool mask had the skating penguin logo with the scarf.
That scarf wearing Penguin was the original logo, but it never actually made the sweater. Details can be found on this page: http://penguins.nhl....
#13 by kings33 on 01.02.08 9:22 am |
Uni Watch mascots Tucker and Caitlin’s new year’s resolution
I like how the calico seems to have gotten the long hosiery memo, but the gray cat with the white only going to his front paws’ “ankles” clearly doesn’t “Get It”.
#14 by Robb on 01.02.08 9:26 am |
The only good jersey Nike has made lately is the U of Georgia Black alternate. Hopefully they keep it around as an alternate
#15 by Brad on 01.02.08 9:26 am |
What’s the deal with Sidney Crosby’s little sock suspenders? I’ve never seen that before.
#16 by Craig on 01.02.08 9:27 am |
LI Phil said:
Nike could use more advertising like that. I have looked at that swoosh 12 times in the last 3 minutes…make it 13…ok I gotta go.
#17 by LI Phil on 01.02.08 9:27 am |
c dick pass
lets hope this is then end of the metallic monocrap cardinal red…if you’re going to wear the red, at least keep it matte
/just sayin
#18 by Stuby on 01.02.08 9:30 am |
Anyone know what Illinois QB Juice Williams’ real name is? He wears ‘I. Williams’ on his jersey so I’m assuming Juice isn’t his given name. Ichabod perhaps?
#19 by Jim on 01.02.08 9:32 am |
Brad said:
Its a garder belt, keeps socks up during play. Players either wear those, or have shorts that have Velcro on them to keep them up, which also has the cup sewn in too. I wear the shorts myself, I like my garders on women only…..
#20 by Pat on 01.02.08 9:34 am |
Isiah is his “real” name.
#21 by Mickel Yantz on 01.02.08 9:38 am |
Here’s an article about the Phiten necklaces that athletes are wearing to help healing time. The Phiten store in Seattle has a display of athlete autographs from those players who are also customers. http://seattlepi.nws...
#22 by ross on 01.02.08 9:38 am |
Stuby said:
i believe it’s Isaiah
#23 by James P. on 01.02.08 9:39 am |
I’m surprised there wasn’t anything about Hawaii’s silver helmets from last night’s butt whoopin’. UGA still looks odd in a black jersey…
#24 by Shaftman on 01.02.08 9:42 am |
LI Phil said:
I disagree, if you’re going to look like crap..do it with gusto.
On a separate note; I want to wish the people (and animals) of uniwatch a very happy and healthy new year.
#25 by Jeremy Brahm on 01.02.08 9:46 am |
Real Madrid with white tops and black shorts
#26 by Joe K on 01.02.08 9:46 am |
I have been in rural Iowa for the last few days without and internet connection, so please forgive if this has already been brought up.
As I was watching the Maryland Bowl game a few nights ago they showed the QB and his helmet. As the light hit is just right you could see white numbers on the white helmet. They were on the back left hand side. Same number as his Jersey, #10. I couldnt tell if anyone else had this same thing going on. Did anyone else see this? I was not able to find a pic on the web. Very interesting, Anyone know the story?
#27 by Stuby on 01.02.08 9:46 am |
James P. said:
Isn’t that their standard road helmet?
#28 by Scott on 01.02.08 9:48 am |
Why is it that Portis does not get reprimanded by the league for his ST tributes? For a league that is so freakin strict on uni violations, they seem to be giving Mr. Portis a pass every time he lifts up his shirt after a touchdown. I don’t get it.
#29 by James Craven on 01.02.08 9:48 am |
Does anyone remember when Southern California played in the Orange Bowl in 2003 that the song girls had sweaters with oranges on them?
No, get thine brains out of the gutter, there were chenille oranges on the sweaters where roses usually were.
#30 by Michael Romero on 01.02.08 9:54 am |
The best uni story involving Florida was that they made the throwback style unis permanent. Now, I’m assuming that the two color thing they had a couple of years back is no longer kosher with the NCAA gods (thankfully), but Nike sure could have messed them up with a bib, a sports bra, or some tire tracks.
#31 by Kevin on 01.02.08 9:54 am |
Forget about the Hawaii helmets what about those goofy looking pants they were wearing last night. The QB looked like he was ready for a dance recital. I think they actually looked worse then when the Ravens go the same leotard looking route.
#32 by Charles werme on 01.02.08 9:56 am |
Did anyone notice the logo creep on UGA’s jersery?
Didn’t know Nike made dog jerseys.
#33 by John on 01.02.08 9:58 am |
Stuby said:
It’s Ike.
#34 by DouginGA on 01.02.08 10:02 am |
Robb said:
Mark Richt has been quoted that you will see UGA in black one home game per year. I personally believe you will see it in Jacksonville next yoear for the WLOCP.
#35 by dw438 on 01.02.08 10:03 am |
“Incidentally, we’ve now had hockey in the snow, football in the snow, and baseball in the snow all within the past nine months. All we need now is a snowy NBA game (which, at the very least, would probably lead to some high-sock action), an idea I offer to David Stern at no extra charge.”
We’ve had a season-long NBA snow job here in NY from someone whose real name is Isiah Lord Thomas.
#36 by Brian on 01.02.08 10:03 am |
I was watching the Capital One Bowl and noticed that the NOB of Mario Manningham’s jersey seemed to have wider spacing than his teammates’ jerseys. Does anybody have a pic to verify this? Here is a pic from when UM played Notre Dame to compare to.
#37 by Brian on 01.02.08 10:04 am |
Link
http://media.scout.c...
#38 by Kek on 01.02.08 10:08 am |
James P. said:
I wasn’t crazy about the white pants from Hawaii but I did like the silver helmet.
It appeared that they duplicated the award stickers to the new helmet based on each player’s helmet and from what I remember them having on the other helmet. Is this a first as far as a team wearing an alternate helmet and transferring awards?
As to Fresno State, not sure what the three colors of bones signify, and a quick search of the school’s website shows nothing.
#39 by Rick on 01.02.08 10:08 am |
Denis Hurley said:
I remember one cup final where both teams already exchanged their shirts before the ceremony, which resulted in the winning team receiving the cup wearing their opponents shirts.
#40 by Rick on 01.02.08 10:08 am |
Denis Hurley said:
I remember one cup final where both teams already exchanged their shirts before the ceremony, which resulted in the winning team receiving the cup wearing their opponents’ shirts.
#41 by Matt Powers on 01.02.08 10:09 am |
I am very sad to bid adieu to the Nike-clad Michigan football uniforms! The three stripes will take over this coming year!
Let us pray that they not mangle their uniforms as they have with the likes of Louisville.
#42 by Matt Powers on 01.02.08 10:11 am |
By the way…the USC cheerleader outfit ranks above the Princessl Leia gold bikini for me!
#43 by Jeremy Brahm on 01.02.08 10:12 am |
USC Girls at the Orange Bowl
#44 by B Jackson on 01.02.08 10:19 am |
if you go to the USC Song Girl’s web-site (posting newbie and don’t know how to post the link) you’ll see that they are wearing red Asics shoes in their team photos and not Nike shoes they were wearing last night
#45 by Matt Powers on 01.02.08 10:25 am |
I always looks forward to the Big bowl games because Nike previews their gloves and cleats for the upcoming season. LSU has been wearing the new cleats, but so did some of the players from Florida and USC. I checked both school’s websites and the only good pic I found were numbers 5 and 18 in this gallery:
http://grfx.cstv.com...
#46 by Matt Powers on 01.02.08 10:26 am |
USC photo gallery didn’t allow the link…so go here instead:
http://usctrojans.cs...
#47 by Yoke on 01.02.08 10:28 am |
If anyone has video of the Wild game against the Oilers, they talk about the ref not having his gear, and using borrowed stuff. Not sure what part of the game though, sorry.
#48 by S. Menecola on 01.02.08 10:31 am |
Brad said:
That is called a garter belt. And yes most hockey players who don’t opt for the boxer(under-wear) style jock usually wear the cup and belt system. I know I do as it helps keep the socks pulled up. That hockey game was so beautiful to watch. I only watched it because of the jerseys
#49 by Mark Doescher on 01.02.08 10:32 am |
New Era has made a new line of caps called MLB Twisted that features a teams official logo transplanted on various other teams base hat-i.e. the Cardinals’ STL set on an Oakland or Pittsburgh official hat. Some of the hats are quite an upgrade-some loof suprisingly good (I personally love the Twins set to the Brewers’ hat scheme) while others (most notably the Brewers and Indians) are completely horrendous. Interesting to look at and think of the possibilities.
http://www.lids.com/...
#50 by Matt Powers on 01.02.08 10:32 am |
Hers’s the link to the Florida website…man do those Wolverine unis look good.
Some of the gators are wearing the new Apocalpyse by Nike, widely regarded as the best line of football cleats ever.
You can also see the strange pant stripe as well as the differences in helmets that UF uses: Revolution, VSR, Air Advantage, and the DNA.
http://www.gatorzone...
#51 by dm00n [Doug] on 01.02.08 10:33 am |
Kim said:
Ah, I don’t follow cheerleading, good for USC then.
#52 by BJ Lanier on 01.02.08 10:37 am |
Can you say WAAAAAY to many logos?
Under Armour All Star Game
#53 by LI Phil on 01.02.08 10:40 am |
Kevin said:
i was gonna post this last night, but im NOT a fan of colt brennan’s wearing these in lieu of socks, which definitely gives the impression of a unitard another view
i hope this was a colt decision, and not a nike decision…cold weather gear is fine in the cold, not a dome…are nike-clad legs better than sockless ones?
#54 by joe on 01.02.08 10:42 am |
Brad said:
typical hockey gear for keeping up your socks.
#55 by BrianC on 01.02.08 10:42 am |
The throwbacks were great, but the one thing they got wrong was the Buffalo socks. The originals had three sets of stripes, like Toronto (which I think was deliberate on the part of Punch Imlach).
When will the league realize that fans like REAL hockey uniforms, NOT something designed by a marketing committee?
#56 by James P. on 01.02.08 10:42 am |
Stuby said:
You’re correct. I had not noticed they started using road helmets…which they should use all the time. The silver looks 100% better than the dark green. You can see the helmet decals a hell of a lot better on the silver…
#57 by Hank on 01.02.08 10:46 am |
Just loved the Winter Classic. From the setting to the unis to the game.
It was mentioned during the broadcast that the Pens have petitioned the league to make their throwback blues their alternate jersey for next season.
#58 by Charlie on 01.02.08 10:50 am |
No mention of Arkansas’ monochrome look in the Cotton Bowl? I believe the announcers said it was the first time ever in school history for the red on red.
#59 by al on 01.02.08 10:54 am |
Several Georgia defenders do not buckle-up and why didn;t Hawaii wear the leg stripe?
#60 by James P. on 01.02.08 10:57 am |
Mark Doescher said:
I find it interestng that they didn’t go with “twists” relating to Division Rivals. I would love to see an Astros hat in Cards or Cubs colors. Seeing one in Braves colors is almost a nightmare for me. The other “twists” are just boaring. At least none have a Rockies purple scheme…
#61 by ThresherK on 01.02.08 11:00 am |
To my eyes, the Sabres look just like the Minnesota Vikings did in their throwbacks: So natural and right that I’d forgotten they’d switched to some other, lesser, kit in the meantime.
#62 by Tape on 01.02.08 11:00 am |
watching the Winter Classic was awesome. it would be hard to envision a better-looking game on all fronts… especially with the snow! the snow was amazing.
aside from the cheesy Edge rounded hemline, I thought the unis were top notch.
#63 by Bruce on 01.02.08 11:04 am |
Mark Doescher said:
I like the Twisted hats, its a good way to support your team if you aren’t in love with their cap style and like another team’s more. Although it will definitly confuse alot of people.
#64 by LI Phil on 01.02.08 11:05 am |
does anyone else think it’s appropos that these guys outfit these guys
#65 by Perry on 01.02.08 11:09 am |
On Christmas Day Fox Soccer Channel ran a marathon of old FA Cup Final games from England, several of which I recorded. Being an Arsenal fan, I was particularly interested in seeing two of the famous victories in their history, the 1971 final vs. Liverpool (Arsenal won 2-1 in a 30-minute extra period after the regulation 90 ended 0-0); and the 1979 final vs. Man United (Arsenal took a 2-0 lead to halftime, then in the last 5 minutes of the game ManU scored 2 to tie it before Arsenal scored the winner with seconds to go).
The basic look of the soccer uni hasn’t changed much since the 70s (although the look of the English league’s top-flight players has – they’re now bigger, stronger, and no longer all white). But I still did make some uni-related mental notes when I finally got around to watching my recordings the last couple of days:
• Uniform numbers were 1-11, and strictly by position – keeper #1, fullbacks #2-3, center forward #9, etc. Only one substitute was allowed and only one dressed, always wearing #12.
• For some reason, in the ’71 match Liverpool keeper Ray Clemence wore an un-numbered jersey. Otherwise, both keepers wore identical green jerseys; both also wore caps (we’d call them baseball caps; the Brit announcers called them golfing caps) when defending the goal facing the sun. Actually, you still occasionally see this today.
• No ads on the jerseys, nor any logos that I saw, except the team crests. One of the teams did have a big Adidas equipment bag strategically placed in front of their bench in the ’71 game.
• As I mentioned, players are bigger today, even in soccer. One bigger player in ’79 was referred to as “Arsenal’s 6-footer” – that would obviously not be a particular distinction today. The complete absence of black players was certainly striking. Just as they do today, the announcers bemoaned the shortage of English players on the pitch – but the non-Englishmen were all Irish and Scots! Now, of course, EPL players come from all over the world, and Arsenal (for one example) has only 2 English players, who seldom start. And black players from all nations abound.
• The most amazing thing – the ’71 game was played in exceptionally hot weather, and as the game went on more and more players rolled their socks down, discarding on the field the laces and pieces of tape that had been holding them up. They could easily do this because: almost nobody wore shin guards! I couldn’t believe it. Does anybody know when shin guards became common? I guess I’d thought they were a lot older than the 70s. (I also noticed a lot of players missing front teeth – they looked more like hockey players than soccer players.)
#66 by Matt Powers on 01.02.08 11:10 am |
Very enlightening, Strong Island Phil!
#67 by joe on 01.02.08 11:11 am |
From the other day.
(Rant ON) As a long-time play-by-play broadcaster, “duplicate numbers” oughtta be outlawed!!! As is, they’re only permissible in NCAA football; which leads to abominations like this! The “dupes” aren’t allowed on the field at the same time, which is why running back Jimmy Jackson and safety William Moore both get to wear #1!
Identical numbers have been on field at the same time. I have season Tickets to Northern Illinois. last year (2006) our backup QB at the time was number 19 and handed off to a 3rd string tailback number 19. That was quite impressive.
#68 by Rick From Cedar Park, TX on 01.02.08 11:13 am |
joe said:
And quite against the rules. Was there a penalty on the play? There certainly should have been.
#69 by Ryan B. on 01.02.08 11:19 am |
Mark Doescher said:
It really says something, doesn’t it, that my favorites in that cap line are all the various logos when placed on the green and gold caps of the Oakland A’s?
Happy New Year, UniWatchers.
#70 by Matthew H on 01.02.08 11:22 am |
http://www.usc.edu/s...
#71 by The Ol Goaler on 01.02.08 11:25 am |
Now that Reebok’s proved they can make real hockey uniforms, can we please get rid of the damn “Bettman bib” and return to real unis for my beloved ‘Note?
#72 by Mark on 01.02.08 11:27 am |
I noticed that in the disturbing picture of Crosby in his cup, the player standing up looks like he is wearing an elastic waistband on his pants. I looked back at the other pictures and it appears that the throwback pants are just a shell over there regular pants. In the picture of Jochen Hecht, you can see the horrible Sabres pants poking out underneath.
#73 by Kek on 01.02.08 11:30 am |
Rick From Cedar Park, TX said:
That NIU example is bad. The only possibility of dupe numbers would be special teams, but I don’t think the rules allow that either.
Fans of the ESPN Classic show Cheap Seats might remember the Sklar Brothers doing a show about an old rose bowl game and Washington had two players with the same number and they both scored. I think it was an RB on offense and a CB returning an INT on defense. They were like I thought that number was the other guy!
Personally, I don’t have a problem with this and I see it as a quirk of the college game. Sure they could all have eligible numbers with the relaxed code of college numbering, but why not let a guy pick a number he really wants? The majority of D1 players don’t go pro and this is the last meaningful football they’ll play.
The play-by-play rant is bunk. If common sense can’t tell you that John David Booty is a QB and Brian Cushing a LB, find a different line of work! I know all examples are not obvious as this one, but still. Rules state that the players must be one offense and one defense. Use different colored highlighters on your roster when you’re calling the game.
#74 by Stephen on 01.02.08 11:30 am |
Brian said:
No pic, but I did see the same thing. Seemed like his NOB had extra spacing…you can see it about a minute into this video, though….
~E~
#75 by Robb on 01.02.08 11:38 am |
BJ Lanier said:
Yeah, but at least the helmets are nice. I liked what UA did to Maryland’s uniforms and what they didnt do to Auburn, but after Texas Tech and South Carolina, I’m not too excited to see that game.
#76 by Jet on 01.02.08 11:38 am |
BrianC said:
Right on! Yes, both teams did look totally friggin’ awesome, but I did notice that small detail. Always liked those old Buffalo socks. Another minor irritation was the Sabres logo on the shoulders. That is another example of clutter for clutter’s sake. It’s not an integral part of the overall design; it looks more like an afterthought. And the old Buffalo jerseys didn’t have those shoulder patches.
-Jet
#77 by derek on 01.02.08 11:43 am |
The Ol Goaler said:
Umm just to let you know bettman doesnt create the uniforms, Reebok creates them and then the team has to approve them.
#78 by PhillyGuy on 01.02.08 11:49 am |
Interesting Uni photo. Here is a photo of Philadelphia Eagles’ Reno Mahe locker clean-out. You can see the black alternate jersey still in the polybag. The Eagles did not wear the third jerseys this season.
#79 by PhillyGuy on 01.02.08 11:49 am |
Interesting Uni photo. Here is a photo of Philadelphia Eagles’ Reno Mahe locker clean-out. You can see the black alternate jersey still in the polybag. The Eagles did not wear the third jerseys this season.
http://www.philadelp...
#80 by Ronnie Poore on 01.02.08 11:55 am |
al said:
my thoughts exactly re: Hawai’i. there’s is one of the few modern uni designs i really like. and that one leg garter stripe pattern is very cool. it looked like they borrowed some penn state pants for the game.
#81 by Ronnie Poore on 01.02.08 11:55 am |
al said:
my thoughts exactly re: Hawai’i. their’s is one of the few modern uni designs i really like. and that one leg garter stripe pattern is very cool. it looked like they borrowed some penn state pants for the game.
#82 by S Bennett on 01.02.08 11:56 am |
Denis Hurley said:
Here’s your proof.
It was also mentioned that players used to wear 1-11 on the pitch. Too true – tha’s why you’ll see an ad for a George Best video where you’ll see him wear numbers, 7, 11, 9 and 8 depending on where he lined up on the field. He’s often associated with the number 7 shirt, but it wasn’t his only number for United.
This only changed around 1992 when England’s top teams broke away to create the Premiership. That’s when squad numbers came into play. However, squad numbers were part and parcel of World Cup play for quite some time. Teams had different ways to determine who got what number; some went with seniority’s choice, others went with straight seniority (Scotland did this in the 92 European Cup. More caps = lower number). Others again, like Argentina in 78, went with alphabetical order. Holland tried this too, but Johan Cruyff insisted on his number 14. (and an interesting uni modification – mentioned here before - because he wasn’t an Adidas athlete.)
SB
#83 by College Kid on 01.02.08 12:04 pm |
Kek said:
Duplicate numbers are not allowed on special teams–happened to our team this year. Two guys who both wore #32, a WR and a LB, were both put on the kickoff coverage team towards the end of the season (lots of special teams changes for us, rarely had the same lineup every game for kicks). The first game after the new lineup was established, both players with #32 lined up for kick coverage…and we got away with it, simply because the refs missed it. At halftime the LB was given a #27 jersey, and he wore it for the remainder of the year.
#84 by S Bennett on 01.02.08 12:19 pm |
#85 by Jeff on 01.02.08 12:19 pm |
I have been in rural Iowa for the last few days without and internet connection, so please forgive if this has already been brought up.
As I was watching the Maryland Bowl game a few nights ago they showed the QB and his helmet. As the light hit is just right you could see white numbers on the white helmet. They were on the back left hand side. Same number as his Jersey, #10. I couldnt tell if anyone else had this same thing going on. Did anyone else see this? I was not able to find a pic on the web. Very interesting, Anyone know the story?
They have been doing that since changing the helmets in ‘02 or ‘03. Kinda dumb…they should just make numbers part of the helmet design.
#86 by Ian K on 01.02.08 12:21 pm |
At first glance watching the Michigan/Florida bowl game, I thought “I can’t believe UofM covered the swoosh with their bowl patch!” Upon further review, the swoosh is on the neckline, a little more understated. This gets a thumbs up from me, since there isn’t patch overload, as I mentioned last week about East Carolina:
http://d.yimg.com/us...
Anyone know what the patch is over the swoosh?
#87 by Teebz on 01.02.08 12:26 pm |
If anyone wants to check out the gallery of pictures from various sources (AP, Reuters, Paul’s blog, etc.) I have compiled of the Winter Classic, please click here.
Lots of glorious views of the game at various times as well.
#88 by KT on 01.02.08 12:32 pm |
Michael Romero said:
What?
Florida has been wearing blue in football since 1990. They wore orange from 1979 to 1989. The throwbacks they wore with white helmets against Alabama in 2006 (image) haven’t been repeated or made permanent. Unfortunately. They’re pretty sharp.
But when I was in school there, they wore these orange jerseys, but Steve Spurrier brought back the blue when he took over.
Except for some sleeve striping differences, the blues they wore in the 1996 championship season were the same as in the 2006 championship season and they’re the same ones they wore yesterday.
Or are you talking about basketball or some other sport?
#89 by Shane on 01.02.08 12:49 pm |
Ryan B. said:
some of them were cool i guess.
However what is wrong with the Mariners hat
They didn’t have the little design in the middle of the S
#90 by Brian on 01.02.08 12:50 pm |
Did anyone notice the Ref’s shoes in the Cotton Bowl. They appeared to be green. I know that the entire field was painted and a lot of green ended up everywear but I was catching green shoes for the Ref’s. Anyone else??????
#91 by Speedy Ed on 01.02.08 1:00 pm |
Speedy Ed said:
Except we’re NOT getting our asses kicked in the global economy. Stick to uniforms, about which you have knowledge.
#92 by Stuby on 01.02.08 1:08 pm |
However what is wrong with the Mariners hat
They didn’t have the little design in the middle of the S
That looks like an 80s version of the Mariners cap logo.
#93 by Stuby on 01.02.08 1:12 pm |
I wonder how many of these have been sold by the LIDS gang. Just wrong, man.
#94 by jason on 01.02.08 1:15 pm |
PhillyGuy said:
its really interesting since he even has that jersey, since he wore a different number last season (34?). He has only been wearing 25 since he was resigned after the greg lewis/jr reed punt returning debacle
#95 by KT on 01.02.08 1:19 pm |
Speaking of the Iggles, best use of a throwback jersey.
#96 by LI Phil on 01.02.08 1:19 pm |
Stuby said:
so wrong stoob, so wrong
#97 by Shane on 01.02.08 1:20 pm |
Stuby said:
Thanks for that
I’m pretty sure that is the correct hat
on that site they also have this Mariners logo
so it makes sense now
#98 by 9/9 on 01.02.08 1:33 pm |
Stuby said:
The one customer review on there is priceless.
#99 by Rick From Cedar Park, TX on 01.02.08 1:34 pm |
KT said:
Absolutely!!!
#100 by Stuby on 01.02.08 1:37 pm |
9/9 said:
Oh, the irony.
#101 by Brandon on 01.02.08 1:38 pm |
How awesome did the Sabres coaching staff look in those jackets? Talk about a great touch!
#102 by Shane on 01.02.08 1:40 pm |
good list here of Sports Illustrated’s top 10 ugliest college football unis.
Its good list, except I personally love the Notre Dame greens
Well the dark green as shown on the site not this
#103 by Mark Mayall on 01.02.08 2:12 pm |
A guy named Ryan Grote used to post on a track and field/running listserv I subscribe to, and he once worked at the Niketown in Portland in the mid-90s. He described having to do the exact same ritual and how it made his skin crawl. A Jersey boy, he returned east and opened a shoe store called runner’s pace. I may be wrong but I think he doesn’t carry nikes at all.
#104 by Will on 01.02.08 2:17 pm |
The University of Georgia’s athletics website has posted an article on how (in a basic sense) merit decals are awarded for the Dawgs’ football team.
Being Bone-a-Fide
#105 by Kek on 01.02.08 2:20 pm |
I wonder what some of your opinions on this are:
http://www.post-gaze...
I’m of course referring to the “Throwbacks could throw viewers off” blurb near the bottom of the story.
I get the point of trying to attract new hockey viewers but I think the throwbacks were an important part of this promotion. Sure, it was marketing in order to make more money (I saw so many of these jerseys at the Pens/Sabres game in Pittsburgh Saturday).
To a person not familiar with hockey, I thought NBC did a good job stating they were special uniforms, etc. I would think the excitement of the game and the players would be what would bring non-fans back, but on the other hand, the uniform is what we use to identify one team from another.
Any thoughts?
#106 by LI Phil on 01.02.08 2:21 pm |
Mark Mayall said:
here?
#107 by KT on 01.02.08 2:28 pm |
Kek said:
Do we think casual fans are going to be more confused if they see the Penguins and Sabres not wearing the same uniforms they wore yesterday or by the fact that they’ll be playing indoors the next time they see them?
#108 by dgc on 01.02.08 2:34 pm |
Kek said:
Do newbie NFL fans get thrown off when the Chargers wear the powder blues on national TV? Why would hockey newbies get confused? I think fans understand the concept of alternates and throwbacks.
#109 by RaoulDuke on 01.02.08 2:35 pm |
The Ol Goaler said:
Hear Hear.
Even though ours arent the worst of the bunch, theyre a definite downgrade from what we had.
#110 by KT on 01.02.08 2:46 pm |
dgc said:
And if it takes them more than about 10 seconds to figure it out or to grasp the concept when it’s explained to them, they’re of no use to us anyway.
#111 by LI Phil on 01.02.08 2:46 pm |
from the heritage game article on throwbacks:
LI Phil said:
is the motivation really to attract casual fans? and if so, are the uni’s going to make that much of a difference, one way or the other? so what if the’d never seen a blue penguin before…i bet sid the kid never did before this year…and now we’ll all have these wonderful memories…douchebag
LI Phil said:
no…and a first-time fan (WTF is that anyway, someone who’s never seen or heard of hockey???) isn’t going to care if the home team is wearing the buffaslug sweater either
LI Phil said:
you clearly don’t Get It, and neither will the ‘first time’ fan, so fuck ‘em, and let us enjoy the beautiful baby blues, jackass
LI Phil said:
until next season, when they become the third jersey, dipshit
#112 by Pat on 01.02.08 2:57 pm |
Shane said:
Wyoming on the list? Brown and gold are the most underrated sports uniform colors. I love the basketball unis too.
#113 by Justin B on 01.02.08 3:02 pm |
Pat said:
I wouldn’t say underrated. However, it is rare and they haven’t changed or “upgraded” to a different color scheme like many schools have.
#114 by Pat on 01.02.08 3:08 pm |
About the NHL throwback controversy. Personally, I have never been a hockey guy. Don’t watch it… ever. But, I do know about the uniforms and can recognize the jerseys when I see them.
But my point isn’t about the jerseys or whether they would confuse the average fan. My point is that this promotion and a lot of the other promotions that the NHL is doing seem to be and should be an attempt to get long time fans back into the game. Most casual sports fans won’t choose hockey over the Cotton Bowl or whatever bowl game was on ESPN at the same time. But, hockey fans who want to watch something special that doesn’t happen every day will.
The NHL has a lot of saving face to do post-lockout and post-uni-scandal. This seems like a good way to do so. Doing something that old school and hardcore hockey fans would enjoy. The NHL doesn’t need “new” fans, they need renewed fans if they want to save the sport.
I think that point was missed in this article.
#115 by Pat on 01.02.08 3:11 pm |
Justin B said:
Exactly. The article was saying they were ugly, and I disagree. I think that brown and gold look great, and that feeling is, more often than not, is the opposite of popular opinion about the scheme. That’s why they are underrated. Why should they “upgrade”? First, I don’t think it would be an upgrade, and second, don’t you think Brown says Wyoming and cowboy more than taking on some generic blue and red color scheme?
#116 by teamcinnamon on 01.02.08 3:18 pm |
I totally loved the game yesterday – I just wish they would’ve put more research into how to prepare the ice so they wouldn’t have had to deal with the constant stoppages and repairs, but I guess that goes without saying. Hopefully they make it an annual event.
Flyers vs. Penguins from Happy Valley in 2009, perhaps?
#117 by Justin B on 01.02.08 3:18 pm |
Pat said:
Oh, I agree with you. I like the brown. It is unique and they haven’t changed because of fashion trends.
#118 by Paul Lukas on 01.02.08 3:31 pm |
Someone who’s having trouble posting just forwarded this to me:
in response to comment 68:
against the rules, but it occurred multiple times on the same drive. it was against Indians State 9-23-06. This is a link to the NIU message board discussing it: http://www.ncaabbs.c...“
#119 by PhillyGUy on 01.02.08 3:32 pm |
Interesting Uni photo. Here is a photo of Philadelphia Eagles’ Reno Mahe locker clean-out. You can see the black alternate jersey still in the polybag. The Eagles did not wear the third jerseys this season.
http://www.philadelp...
its really interesting since he even has that jersey, since he wore a different number last season (34?). He has only been wearing 25 since he was resigned after the greg lewis/jr reed punt returning debacle
No shit, Sherlock. My point is that the entire TEAM did not wear the black/third jerseys this year (although it seems the players were issued the jersey).
#120 by LI Phil on 01.02.08 3:34 pm |
LI Phil said:
funny you should say that…this morning a co-worker and i were discussing the game, and he mentioned “rangers and isles at shea”…which should be available anytime after september 28th
i thought rangers-devils @ meadowlands might be better
#121 by Leah on 01.02.08 3:36 pm |
jeff said:
Pic here of Sabourin’s pads…
[
#122 by dm00n [Doug] on 01.02.08 3:37 pm |
No unis involved as far as I can tell, but this is pretty awesome.
#123 by Jordan on 01.02.08 3:43 pm |
Matt Powers said:
if you want to look at all of the new nike cleats and golves go here starting at page 33
#124 by Jordan on 01.02.08 3:46 pm |
PhillyGUy said:
NFL only allows one alternate jersey a year and the Eagles wore those yellow/baby blue throwbacks earlier this year
#125 by warren thompson on 01.02.08 3:51 pm |
Pat said:
Brown and gold can look good, especially if the gold is metallic and shiny, not mustard yellow.
What did SI find objectionable about Delaware’s uniforms? Maybe that the helmet blue doesn’t match jersey blue?
#126 by Shane on 01.02.08 3:56 pm |
LI Phil said:
I think if there is another outdoor game,
Which there should be.
They should use original six teams.
So maybe Chicago vs. Detroit at Soldier Field
Wrigley would be kinda weird but awesome at the same time.
Or even Comerica park in Detroit
Chicago could wear these
And detroit in .these
I think it would be great!
#127 by Nicole on 01.02.08 4:08 pm |
Brian said:
I also noticed this. Manningham was sitting next to Mike Hart on the bench. Hart’s name was nice and centered about his letters and Manningham’s name went from shoulder to shoulder. My boyfriend said it make it look like his name was 88Manningham88.
#128 by concealed78 on 01.02.08 4:12 pm |
That ritual at Niketown is sick. Absolutely repulsively SICK! I would refuse to do that.
Employee: “Come on and join in the Swoosh salute!”
me: “Nike has no soul.”
#129 by Pat on 01.02.08 4:15 pm |
concealed78 said:
Dude, get over it. I actually think it’s kind of funny. What’s “repulsively sick” about it? I guarantee you that none of them take it all that seriously. Christ.
#130 by Justin B on 01.02.08 4:17 pm |
Pat said:
If no one took it seriously, then why would any of them do it? Would someone want to do that as a joke everyday?
#131 by TOG on 01.02.08 4:18 pm |
Today’s blog should have been an exclusive topic only…with postings only waxing poetically on how fuckin’ AWESOME the whole Winter Classic was. The unis, the weather, the total fuckin’ PACKAGE…
Hey NFL, NBA and MLB can you imagine learning a lesson from the NHL…well better start… Huge kudos to Gary Bettman for actually doing this right. MEGA KUDOS GARY!!!
Hey REEBOK, it’s okay to look back to look forward… really it is…look what happened, you went to the Syl Apps Jr., Greg Polis, Gil Perrault, Rick Martin time machine and nailed it!!!
Yesterday, maybe, maybe, just maybe the team outfitting world learned a lesson, it’s fuckin OK to be creative…in a good way…not an Oregon or Cincinnati Bengals creative way,…
#132 by Moose on 01.02.08 4:19 pm |
Pat said:
I agree 100%. Wyoming’s colors are great. They aren’t traditional by any means– that’s what makes them great. There new basketball unis are nice!
#133 by LI Phil on 01.02.08 4:20 pm |
concealed78 said:
employee: “you can pick up your final check at personnel next tuesday”
do you also refuse to ask the customer if he’d like fries with his happy meal
#134 by KT on 01.02.08 4:22 pm |
Lots of anger in this thread today.
Guess the holiday season really is over.
#135 by Moose on 01.02.08 4:23 pm |
LI Phil said:
Clearly, Blackhawks – Red Wings at Soldier field would not only be the greatest, but the greatest looking, outdoor game possible.
#136 by TOG on 01.02.08 4:23 pm |
That ritual at Niketown is sick. Absolutely repulsively SICK! I would refuse to do that.
Employee: “Come on and join in the Swoosh salute!”
me: “Nike has no soul.”
employee: “you can pick up your final check at personnel next tuesday”
do you also refuse to ask the customer if he’d like fries with his happy meal
Nike Sales Staff are on commission. They will stalk you if you pick up a shirt or jacket on your own…
Disgusting sales practices, but heck they have shoes being made for 9 year olds so is this any surprise???
#137 by Moose on 01.02.08 4:24 pm |
Shane said:
Uh….i think Chicago and Detroit should stick to their already-awesome untampered with designs!
#138 by LI Phil on 01.02.08 4:26 pm |
LI Phil said:
for or BY
#139 by Pat on 01.02.08 4:27 pm |
Justin B said:
Why not? If it’s a bunch of dumb high school or college students working there (which I would imagine) I can definitely see them doing that. At my summer job throughout college and a few years after that we had stupid handshakes and other things we did just because it was funny and made the days go by faster.
To start off every day we would do the handshake, which did involve a stupid chant and you know what, it was hilarious to us every day when we did it.
Get a sense of humor is all I’m saying really. This isn’t like building a golden idol of Phil Knight or the swoosh or something. It’s just a dumb little habit.
#140 by EljayK004 on 01.02.08 4:38 pm |
I’d love to see a Wings v. Hawks matchup out doors, but I’d say Wings-Leafs would be better, in my book.
After seeing those baby blues the Pens wore I have to wonder why the heck you would switch from those gorgeous unis to the black and yellow (and yes, I know the real reason…) which are hideous in my mind.
On to football, hopefully with adidas coming to Michigan, they will get rid of that stupid yellow stripe on the whites. Without those stripes, they are the best uniform in college, to me anyways.
I have to say, those of us in Michigan are spoiled with gorgeous unis. Wings, Tigers, and UofM are classics, the ‘Stones, Lions and Michigan State do nothing to embarrass us either, except fot those ugly black alts the Lions break out once a year.
#141 by Justin B on 01.02.08 4:39 pm |
Pat said:
A sense of humor is one thing, bowing to a corporation is another
#142 by todd krevanchi on 01.02.08 4:49 pm |
Pat said:
nike, like many other major corporations has a very intense corporate culture.
whether you are an employee at the campus in beaverton, at any of the overseas locations, the regional offices in the united states or an employee at niketown, the nike belief and way of life is very serious and is not joked around about.
if you find it to be a joke, then you are probably not working there in the first place. so i can tell you that most of them do take it quite seriously.
#143 by emd2k3 on 01.02.08 4:52 pm |
Moose said:
Oregon State should definitely replace Syracuse on that list. I don’t mind Wyoming’s colors, but the uni design isn’t great.
#144 by Paul Lukas on 01.02.08 4:54 pm |
todd krevanchi said:
When a company starts equating its business with a “belief and way of life,” and when the employees buy into that bullshit — whether the company is Nike, Apple, McDonald’s, or whatever — you’re thisclose to religion/cult/Jonestown territory.
#145 by KT on 01.02.08 4:58 pm |
Moose said:
If it was the old Soldier Field, yeah.
But you can’t see the collonades from inside SF anymore. It’s just a big ol’ glass and steel thing. No better or worse than anything else, I guess.
Plus, clear, cold winter days in Chicago aren’t that prevalent. They’re mostly just generally crappy and windy and the wind alone is probably enough to put the kibosh on it.
Bill Wirtz wouldn’t have considered it. John McDonough, I’m sure, would consider it. But Chicago weather just sucks ass in the winter – and not in a good way.
#146 by warren thompson on 01.02.08 5:01 pm |
Shane said:
An outdoor game featuring the Blackhawks and the Redwings in rugby-striped throwback jerseys would be very nice. (In fact, it would be even nicer if these two clubs would permanently revert to these jerseys.)
#147 by KT on 01.02.08 5:03 pm |
The Blackhawks at Wrigley would be outstanding. Maybe McDonough could make that happen.
#148 by adam on 01.02.08 5:13 pm |
Devils/Rangers at the Meadowlands would be brilliant, especially if the Devils showed up like this
#149 by bigjayderry on 01.02.08 5:14 pm |
How about Hockey in the Desert next?
Maybe something like LA Kings Vs Phoenix Coyotes
in old Sun Devil Stadium?
The ice couldn’t be much worse than say Florida or Dallas in May…
#150 by Jeff on 01.02.08 5:23 pm |
TOG said:
after the Winter Classic… the NHL will be back to the old crappy NHL…best hockey year was the strike year
#151 by concealed78 on 01.02.08 5:27 pm |
Justin B said:
That’s my point exactly. Paling around is one thing, worshiping the brand is another.
#152 by KT on 01.02.08 5:28 pm |
bigjayderry said:
Rarely gets that cold here, but it does get dry enough, obviously.
Coyotes have enough trouble in the building they’re in, where they CAN make ice.
And, just for fun, here’s what Soldier Field might look like set up for next year’s Winter Classic.
#153 by LI Phil on 01.02.08 5:34 pm |
Paul Lukas said:
before ray kroc purchased and franchised a certain restaurant, founding brothers mcdonald had but three simple philosophies/beliefs:
1) don’t steal shit
2) get high on your time, not mine
3) the secret ingredient in the special sauce is manjuice
then the corporate-types came and screwed it up for the rest of us with all their ‘customer comes first’ shit
#154 by anonymous on 01.02.08 5:36 pm |
I work at the Niketown in San Francisco, and I can tell you, none of the sales staff gives a shit about the chant. The managers tell us do it, we do it so we don’t get in trouble. I don’t see what the big deal is.
And TOG, we are not paid on commission (at my store at least).
#155 by Paul Lukas on 01.02.08 5:40 pm |
anonymous said:
The government decided to force everyone to take a loyalty oath, and I can tell you, none of the people gave a shit about it. The government told them to do it, so they did it so they didn’t get in trouble. None of them saw what the big deal was.
#156 by S Bennett on 01.02.08 5:42 pm |
Shane said:
except it would be difficult as hell to read names and numbers from the further viewing distance.
SB
#157 by anonymous on 01.02.08 5:45 pm |
Paul Lukas said:
The pledge of allegiance?
#158 by Joseph on 01.02.08 5:45 pm |
Paul Lukas said:
I’m sure just an unintentional typo, but someone would probably play the political correctness card on “Indians State”
#159 by Paul Lukas on 01.02.08 5:47 pm |
anonymous said:
Optional. Courts have ruled that nobody is required to recite it, including schoolchildren.
#160 by Beats in Buffalo on 01.02.08 6:22 pm |
Does anyone have any info confirming that the NHL will go back to third jerseys next season, I know I have heard rumors of it but nothing confirmed. Also I remember hearing from Dary Reiger (Sabres GM) when the Sabres introduced the vintage jersey they wore last year that the new RBK Edge style will be the original crossed swords and buffalo design in the current dark blue any info on that? I know Paul hears a lot of info like this in advance that he can’t share yet but if anyone has any info they can share.
P.S. I was at the so called “Winter Classic” (it was known as the Ice Bowl here in Buffalo dispite what the N.H.L. said) and it was a great experince besides the loss, the uniforms, the pagentry of it all it was a nice celebreation of the N.H.L. and Buffalo. I hope the N.H.L. does the event again it was deffinatly something to experience.
#161 by LI Phil on 01.02.08 6:33 pm |
todd krevanchi said:
how shall we fill people with blind faith in the correctness of a doctrine, if we ourselves spread uncertainty and doubt by constant changes in its outward structure?
#162 by KT on 01.02.08 6:43 pm |
First they put a logo on the sleeve. And I didn’t speak up because my jersey had no sleeves.
Then they put a wordmark on the front of the jersey. And I didn’t speak up because it was too high on the collar for me to see when I had the jersey on.
And then they put a commemorative patch on the right shoulder. And I didn’t speak up because I’m partially blind in my right eye anyway.
And then…I died and there was no place to put my number in a black circle patch.
#163 by Jesus on 01.02.08 7:08 pm |
AJ Connelly said:
Actually its quite common in Soccer. FCBarcelona has done it at least twice when winning important European Cups (Most notably in their 1992 European Champions Cup win in London)
http://www.webdelcul...
#164 by Michael Emody on 01.02.08 8:02 pm |
Paul Lukas said:
At Whole Foods, they serve organic cool-aid to the employees if they don’t believe…
#165 by JJC on 01.02.08 8:12 pm |
Did anyone catch/have a photo the white baseball cap a couple of the Hawaii players were wearing? It was all white and looked like it had an outline of the islands in green. Pretty sweet. Too bad they didn’t really play well.
#166 by LI Phil on 01.02.08 8:21 pm |
oops
#167 by Stevo on 01.02.08 8:22 pm |
Jeff said:
I agree, the compressed schedule of the 1995 season, combined with the in-conference only competition, provided the perfect amount of drama.
#168 by Justin H. on 01.02.08 8:49 pm |
I gotta say, with adidas creeping on UM next year, my one hope is that they get different pants for their away uniforms. NOTHING looks beeter than the UM home unis, but as a UM season ticket holder, I just wanna see white pants/white jersey or navy pants/white jersey. With a two-toned helmet it just doesnt look right. I know the ‘classic’ lovers that rant here will go nuts, but why not give it a try?
#169 by todd krevanchi on 01.02.08 8:58 pm |
if anyone here has an “in” at fox sports, can you please call them up and tell them they need to increase the volume on the talent mic’s and decrease the volume on the field and crowd mic’s.
its like im actually working hard just to hear what vasgersian, haden and donohue are saying…
plus i really could go without hearing “boomer sooner” every 2 seconds….
#170 by Stevo on 01.02.08 9:01 pm |
todd krevanchi said:
Try to find the radio broadcast, it sounds wonderful.
#171 by Sam P. on 01.02.08 9:13 pm |
Speaking of Real Madrid and uni-changes… I noticed last year that they did a uni change in a unique way for their La Liga title celebration. They were already at home, and played under one sponsor… but halfway through their celebration changed to special 30th title kits and their new sponsor on front.
In Game, with BENQ:
http://www.realmadri...
post game, with BWIN (wait til Becks gets to the team for the “Campeones 30″ kits)
http://www.youtube.c...
#172 by Peter on 01.02.08 9:21 pm |
Dave Hodge on TSN gave a thumbs down to the vintage sweaters. He followed the same line of thinking about the casual fan not identifying with it. I disagree although it did remind me that once upon a time I viewed the Sabres’ logo/colours/sweaters as lame. Back before the black, silver and red days (when they still played at the Aud) I was not a fan of Buffalo’s gear. I should mention that I was about 16 or so when they changed to the black so I was just a punk kid at the time. As I pointed out yesterday and was confirmed by a number of other people sometimes we venerate the ugliest things once nostalgia has a chance to kick in. Having said that, LOVED everything about yesterdays game including the uniforms.
#173 by brandon on 01.02.08 9:31 pm |
two things:
1. did anyone realize at the beginning of the winter classic they sang the Canadian national anthem followed by God Bless America and not the Star Spangled Banner…What’s up with that? As a fan of Ronan Tynan’s voice and 7th inning stretch at Yankee Stadium, I was a little disappointed they didn’t sing the National Anthem.
2. Is it just me or are the WV shoulder patches on west virginia maroon for a VT tribute (It looks real noticeable on Pat White.) Maybe it is just the blue/yellow on white color combo throwing me off, but I noticed it earlier in the year also…is there a story behind this or are my eyes playing tricks on me?
I don’t have a picture, but just go to the fiesta bowl and tell me what ya think!!
Happy new year!
#174 by LI Phil on 01.02.08 9:33 pm |
have we had any dingle berry sitings tonight?
UWV should have gone with the white pants instead of this
#175 by LI Phil on 01.02.08 9:39 pm |
WVU*
sorry, tired
#176 by biggie on 01.02.08 9:40 pm |
The government decided to force everyone to take a loyalty oath, and I can tell you, none of the people gave a shit about it. The government told them to do it, so they did it so they didn’t get in trouble. None of them saw what the big deal was.
New US citizens are sworn in. Isn’t that a loyalty oath?
#177 by Stevo on 01.02.08 9:42 pm |
brandon said:
I think God Bless America is a better pairing for Oh, Canada than the Star Spangled Banner, it just happens that the nation has adopted the Banner as our National Anthem. Now that I think of it, are there any other countries with a National Anthem written about a battle? Most of the ones I know of are of the “I love my country, and always will” variety.
#178 by biggie on 01.02.08 9:45 pm |
Paul Lukas said:
New US citizens are sworn in. Isn’t that a loyalty oath?
#179 by Stevo on 01.02.08 9:48 pm |
Paul Lukas said:
McCarthyism?
#180 by Jeffer on 01.02.08 9:48 pm |
Pat White the QB for West Virginia’s playing with a big opening in the seat of his pants!
#181 by LI Phil on 01.02.08 9:51 pm |
Stevo said:
top of my head, yeah
la marseillaise, deutschland uber alles, il canto degli italiani…
there’s prolly dozens more, but those are all either about war or inspired by it
#182 by Stevo on 01.02.08 9:52 pm |
Jeffer said:
As long as we don’t see his 92 93’s ;)
#183 by JoeH214 on 01.02.08 9:53 pm |
Stevo said:
This is a misconception quoted by Star Spangled Banner haters. Check out the lyrics to the French anthem:
“Let’s go children of the fatherland,
The day of glory has arrived!
Against us tyranny’s
Bloody flag is raised! (repeat)
In the countryside, do you hear
The roaring of these fierce soldiers?
They come right to our arms
To slit the throats of our sons, our friends!
Refrain
Grab your weapons, citizens!
Form your batallions!
Let us march! Let us march!
May impure blood
Water our fields!”
Not exactly the “I love my country” variety.
#184 by Stevo on 01.02.08 9:55 pm |
LI Phil said:
That’s what I get for speaking without knowing the actual words. I guess I thought the Italian anthem was too happy to be about fighting.
#185 by LI Phil on 01.02.08 9:56 pm |
Stevo said:
good one stevo
#186 by Paul Lukas on 01.02.08 9:56 pm |
biggie said:
If you really think working at NikeTown is in any way akin to achieving U.S. citizenship, we’re all a lot worse off than I thought.
#187 by brandon on 01.02.08 9:59 pm |
Not exactly the “I love my country” variety.
I’d have to agree!
That is a pretty intense anthem!
I like both the star spangeled banner and God Bless America. i just think its amusing when some people get mad about ‘one nation, under God’ in the pledge but then would not be mad if God Bless America were our new national anthem.
Either way, it was just odd to not hear the anthem before a sporting event…a pretty big sporting event if you ask me. (in the hockey community)
#188 by Paul Lukas on 01.02.08 10:02 pm |
brandon said:
Actually, most people who have a problem with the former also would also have a major problem wiht the latter.
#189 by LI Phil on 01.02.08 10:03 pm |
Paul Lukas said:
use emotion for the many and reserve reason for the few
#190 by Casey (Davis, CA) on 01.02.08 10:04 pm |
TOG said:
I don’t know if you actually watched the game or not, but it was the most difficult hockey game I have ever watched. The constant delays to fix the ice and the moorings for the nets was intolerable. On top of that, there were constant delays to scrape the snow on the ice. Lastly, there were more delays in the 3rd period and in overtime so the teams could switch ends.
What’s worse is that they didn’t even bother scraping the center of the ice off for the shootout. They only scraped in front of the goals. This is boggling, seeing they always scrape the center of the ice for every indoor game. Fuck it, why go halfway?
As an avid hockey fan, I can’t sit around for over 3 hours to watch a relatively meaningless regular season game. The game had absolutely no flow and there was barely any of the speed or intensity that typical games have…all of the delays killed any ounce there might have been.
What I love about hockey is that there aren’t hordes of bullshit timeouts, delays, and stoppages that basketball and football have. There are no visits to pitching mounds and constant pitching changes that baseball has.
The uniforms were great, with the exception the Pittsburgh’s blue was a little too Smurf-like
#191 by Stevo on 01.02.08 10:06 pm |
Casey (Davis, CA) said:
What do you call the TV timeouts after the 15, 10, and 5 minute marks of each period?
#192 by brandon on 01.02.08 10:11 pm |
i just think its amusing when some people get mad about ‘one nation, under God’ in the pledge but then would not be mad if God Bless America were our new national anthem.
Actually, most people who have a problem with the former also would also have a major problem wiht the latter.
i agree, i can only imagine the controversy if that ever did pass!
*anyone agree with me on my 2 question? see post #173*
#193 by Paul Lukas on 01.02.08 10:12 pm |
Casey (Davis, CA) said:
But you can sit around for the usual 2-1/2 hours?
I know what you mean about the delays — I felt bad for all the people in attendance, who were about three miles from the rink, getting snowed on, etc. The delays must’ve really sucked for them. Watching on TV, though, the delays just seemed like another atypical but acceptable anomaly in this one unique game. And I thought the announcers actually filled the downtime reasonably well.
You could argue that the whole thing felt more like an exhibition (in the most literal sense of the term) than a “real” game — I understand that. But I was too busy enjoying the uniforms, the snow, and the fun of the moment to worry about any of that.
#194 by Casey (Davis, CA) on 01.02.08 10:14 pm |
Stevo said:
Unlike other sports, these “timeouts” in which necessary advertising occur, do not cause a stoppage in play. The advertising comes after a typical stoppage of play. 3 sets of TV commercials per 20 minutes of play is quite acceptable in my book.
#195 by todd krevanchi on 01.02.08 10:14 pm |
Paul Lukas said:
i dont think anyone is thinking that working for nike is akin u.s. citizenship. i do think that people are still trying to figure out what exactly you are speaking of in this statement.
The government decided to force everyone to take a loyalty oath, and I can tell you, none of the people gave a shit about it. The government told them to do it, so they did it so they didn’t get in trouble. None of them saw what the big deal was.
#196 by Mike on 01.02.08 10:14 pm |
Sam P. said:
BENQ went out of business halfway through the La Liga season and Real switched to BWIN for this season hence the switching of jerseys.
#197 by KT on 01.02.08 10:15 pm |
Stevo said:
Yeah. There’s that little detail.
#198 by Stevo on 01.02.08 10:17 pm |
Casey (Davis, CA) said:
How is that different from the TV timeouts in Basketball or Football? It’s not like Dick Bavetta suddenly blows his whistle at the 8 minute mark and says “OK, stop everything, ESPN needs to pay the bills!”
#199 by LI Phil on 01.02.08 10:18 pm |
Paul Lukas said:
of course paul…and the founding fathers wanted to make sure we kept god the hell OUT of all politics and currency and so on and so forth
‘in god we trust’…added later…’on nation under god’ in the pledge…not part of the orig either
it truly amazes me that our youth (and others too) are so ignorant of our history and our past
check this shit out
ah well…it is always more difficult to fight against faith than against knowledge
#200 by Paul Lukas on 01.02.08 10:20 pm |
KT said:
What he was getting at, I think, is that’The Star Spangled Banner’ was written 1814 but wasn’t adopted as the national anthem until over a century later, in 1931.
Although the anthem is routinely played at sporting events today, that wasn’t always the case. Here’s something I wrote back in 2001:
Paul Lukas said:
#201 by KT on 01.02.08 10:21 pm |
Casey (Davis, CA) said:
And yet you…tolerated it. Apparently.
Based on the numbers they got, I’m guessing the NHL wishes all of its games so were intolerable.
As a one-off annual freak show, it’s fine. And I doubt very seriously we run the risk of running off people who don’t see the Penguins’ baby blues the next time they watch a hockey game (which, in the case of most of those people, will be….never, and you know it). Some people just like to predict the end of the fucking world because negative commentary sells better than positive commentary.
The Winter Classic was fine. It was fun. Everybody survived. The NHL now goes back to its position of barely registering on most people’s radars.
#202 by Pretty Boy Paulie on 01.02.08 10:24 pm |
KT said:
AGREED! Wow…you’d think Nike said they hated Blacks and Gays. Be cool…
#203 by Denis on 01.02.08 10:25 pm |
I was at the Winter Classic and I did wear my baby blue Pens jersey…But in my opinion the most underrated uni feature of the day was how some Penguin players took off their visors and wore no mask because of the snow.
I know Letang and Kennedy did it for sure. I wonder if they will continue to go with no visor/
#204 by Paul Lukas on 01.02.08 10:26 pm |
todd krevanchi said:
Go back to comment 155 and look at the quoted bit, and then my bit.
#205 by LI Phil on 01.02.08 10:27 pm |
LI Phil said:
looks like vatech colors in certain photos…but i think it’s just light playing tricks…and WVU is a large east conference school
#206 by LI Phil on 01.02.08 10:27 pm |
LI Phil said:
looks like vatech colors in certain photos…but i think it’s just light playing tricks…and WVU is a large east conference school
#207 by KT on 01.02.08 10:27 pm |
Paul Lukas said:
No, I know that. What I read that as was “this is better, but the country decided that this other song is the official national anthem, and WTF do they know anyway?” as if the fact that it WAS adopted as our official national anthem is trivial.
God Bless America, quite frankly, is a nice sentiment, I guess, but a crap national anthem. It’s NOT our national anthem.
But there’s no law that says you HAVE to sing or play the actual, official national anthem before a sporting contest – as you note, it kind of was adopted in the aftermath of World War I and it’s now a tradition that has stuck. So you can do what you want.
But I feel shortchanged when I don’t hear the Star Spangled Banner before a game (let me tell you – hearing it, with everybody in one section of the stadium singing it – and meaning it before a World Cup match is something you have to experience once in your life). I don’t care about all the apocryphal and trivial crap about how it came about, the tune we stole from someone else, or whatever. It sums up what our country’s spirit is about better than just Kate Smith singing about what a nice place you have here.
But that’s just me. YMMV.
#208 by jon on 01.02.08 10:28 pm |
for one, the loyalty oath thing is about nazi germany.
for two why the fuck should god bless america and not canada or russia or iran? why not god bless the world? what happened to love thy neighbor? or is it love thy white american born citizen neighbor?
fuck nike, fuck the pledge. you can swear allegiance to a flag all you want, but i could give a shit about a tattered piece of cloth.
why don’t we stick to uniform things and not government. i for one think that something was up with hawaii wearing all white pants. no stripes, no logos, nothing. they looked thin as hell too. almost like there was a mix up or something and they had to run out and get some new pants.
#209 by LI Phil on 01.02.08 10:32 pm |
jon said:
it is not truth that matters, but victory…make the lie big, make it simple, keep saying it, and eventually they will believe it
#210 by Stevo on 01.02.08 10:32 pm |
KT said:
Actually, what I said is that God Bless America makes a better pairing with Oh, Canada, because of the similar themes, but that the Star Spangled Banner is used more often because it was adopted as the National Anthem. I think they’re both equally good as examples of musical chest puffing, which is really what a National Anthem is in the end.
#211 by Casey (Davis, CA) on 01.02.08 10:33 pm |
Stevo said:
The timeouts for advertising that disrupt the game are guised as intermissions between the first/second quarter and third/fourth quarter. It’s unnecessary to cut NBA and NFL games into quarters.
In the NHL, the intermissions between periods are necessary so that the ice can be re-surfaced.
#212 by Mike on 01.02.08 10:34 pm |
Sabres and Pens should wear their throwbacks full time. Dump the new Reebok designs! Uniwatch forgot to mention the Sabres coaching staff led by Lindy Ruff and their sweet matching, old school Sabres varsity jackets.
#213 by Stevo on 01.02.08 10:38 pm |
Casey (Davis, CA) said:
There are exactly 2 minutes of commercials between quarters of a football or basketball game on the radio, maybe 2.5 on TV. It’s not like the teams go back to the locker rooms every time.
#214 by BA on 01.02.08 10:39 pm |
LI Phil said:
I noticed the same thing…you beat me to it!
#215 by Paul Lukas on 01.02.08 10:40 pm |
Casey (Davis, CA) said:
Now, wait a minute. I could be wrong here, but I’m pretty damn sure that NFL and NBA games were divided into quarters well before the advent of television.
Or were they? Anyone..?
#216 by LI Phil on 01.02.08 10:44 pm |
there were sports before einstein invented the tv?
#217 by Franco on 01.02.08 10:44 pm |
Dingle-Berry sighting at the Fiesta Bowl. The announcers even commented on it.
#218 by Denis on 01.02.08 10:45 pm |
Letang
http://sports.yahoo....
http://sports.yahoo....
#219 by brandon on 01.02.08 10:46 pm |
anyone agree with me on my 2 question? see post #173*
looks like vatech colors in certain photos…but i think it’s just light playing tricks…and WVU is a large east conference school
I noticed the same thing…you beat me to it!
Thanks! I know that WVU and VaTech are different conferences but being only about 3.5-4 hours apart, i didn’t know if they still had ties since VaTech used to be in the Big East.
*It must be the light. If it isn’t the light, someone in the equipment dept. didn’t do too hot of a job putting them on becuase it looks like some athletes have them and others dont. like i said earlier, i noticed it throughout the season so i still dont know which way to go with this.
#220 by KT on 01.02.08 10:49 pm |
Paul Lukas said:
[McMahon]You…are CORRECT, sir![/McMahon]
Well before the advent of radio, even (in the case of football).
It IS true that hockey used to be a game of halves, but they made it into thirds because of the ice resurfacing issues.
But someone decided way back when that they’d take a break between the first and second and third and fourth quarters in those sports. I don’t know how long those breaks were before the media took over, but there were breaks.
#221 by Pretty Boy Paulie on 01.02.08 10:49 pm |
Justin H. said:
I guess they can introduce an Alternate uniform…I won’t have a problem with that. I know the “classic Lovers” will have a HUGE problem! They shouldn’t get rid of that iconic uniform though (Winged Helmet, Solid navy jersey, yellow numerals & solid yellow pants.)
#222 by Andrew on 01.02.08 10:50 pm |
Unlike other sports, these “timeouts” in which necessary advertising occur, do not cause a stoppage in play. The advertising comes after a typical stoppage of play. 3 sets of TV commercials per 20 minutes of play is quite acceptable in my book.
The concept of “necessary advertising” seems fishy. Also, let me echo the other fellows in saying that people seem more than a little on edge today.
#223 by LI Phil on 01.02.08 10:52 pm |
“quit” “make me”
#224 by Stevo on 01.02.08 10:53 pm |
Paul Lukas said:
This page on nba.com doesn’t specifically mention when quarters started, but it does reference rules based on the playing of 4 quarters starting in 1953, so I would assume that they’ve always been a part of the pro game.
#225 by Kek on 01.02.08 10:53 pm |
Paul Lukas said:
Give me a freakin’ break. I worked at Wal-Mart and we did the chant (Gimme a “W”, etc) and it was nothing but a light-hearted ice-breaker to focus everyone’s attention at the task at hand.
It’s foolish to equate something like that or having a “belief or way of life” to cult-like status. Every company I have worked for has had a certain “way of doing things”. Every business has a belief system. Surely you’ve read about Google and the way they manage projects.
I’m not being smart, I’m simply asking the question: have you ever worked for a large corporation? Brand focus, mission and vision statements, etc are tools compaines of all sizes use to promote their company goals.
I feel like the person that made the comment about your comment on the global economy: stick to your expertise, uniforms.
#226 by Casey (Davis, CA) on 01.02.08 10:56 pm |
Speaking of hockey uniforms, the World Junior U-20 Tournament is under way in the Czech Republic. Most teams seem to be wearing their “standard” uniforms, with the exception of Switzerland.
USA and Finland Pictures
USA and Russia (take note of the goal judge in the 3rd picture wearing the zebra stripes and the advertising on the referee’s abdomen)
USA and the aforementioned Swiss
USA vs Borat
Canada vs Finland, Denmark, Sweden, Slovakia, and Czech Republic
Canada’s two-tone helmets are unique. The beautiful Swedish uniforms are ruined by the damn advertising on the sleeves. I wonder what Slovakia is wearing on their left chest?
#227 by Paul Lukas on 01.02.08 10:58 pm |
Kek said:
Yes — the Dutch media conglomerate VNU (now Neilson), for five-plus years. Thankfully, they didn’t make us chant “Gimme a V…” every morning. And if they had, you can bet I would’ve been out the door.
And thanks for the career advice, but I know (and have written) about plenty of things besides uniforms. I also know that there’s something really creepy about making your employees chant your corporate slogan every day.
#228 by Pretty Boy Paulie on 01.02.08 10:58 pm |
Yeah this whole “God Bless America” rant is really getting out of hand. Can we get back to uniform critiquing?…and as for many of you Nike bashing. Another thing that some people are really taking personally, yikes!
#229 by TommyDs on 01.02.08 10:58 pm |
I don’t think I need to quote the Nike store discussion, as it’s beginning to reach almost a Mitchell Report proportion (like this post, sorry)… But I can sort of relate to the Nike employee situation. I work at Dick’s Sporting Goods, one of the largest stores of the chain, each and every morning we are reminded and encouraged to repeat nemonic (sp?) devices such as SWEET (Socks With Each and Every Transaction) and FACE (Friendly Available Customer Service and Enthusiasm). I know it’s diffrent than a chant, but to me, it fits into the same category of stupid corporate gimmicks for thier employees. I agree with the previous statement that employees don’t really take it seriously and do it to avoid getting yelled at. I can imagine employees using blatent over exageration to turn it into more of joke than anything. I know that many people who visit this site aren’t crazy about Nike (personally, I like thier products and, for the most part, thier marketing, but to each his own) but the idea that they are building a cult like ritual amongst their employees is simply rediculous. It’s something cheesy and quirky that helps co-workers loosen up, and perhaps one could argue, work together more cohesively.
#230 by Casey (Davis, CA) on 01.02.08 11:02 pm |
Anyone know why NCAA basketball doesn’t play quarters and the NBA does?
#231 by Sammy on 01.02.08 11:03 pm |
I want to know if anyone heard any reports about the fan experience for the outdoor game. I can’t imagine that the nosebleed-seat view was too good. How can you see the puck?
I was thinking about other places this could be done to include the Detroit Red Wings, and I came up with Comerica Park, where you could run the rink from third to first base, use the existing behind the plate camera and announcer booths, and set up bleachers in the outfield. You wouldn’t get 70,000, but I can imagine 40-50k coming. Also, I think UM-MSU should reconsider putting the Cold War game out in the Big House, and really set a record for fans at a hockey game.
#232 by KT on 01.02.08 11:03 pm |
Casey (Davis, CA) said:
They have to varnish the hardwood more often in the pro game with its 48 minutes rather than the college 40.
#233 by Stevo on 01.02.08 11:03 pm |
Paul Lukas said:
Not to stir the pot more than already has been done, but what’s the difference between NikeTown workers chanting “Just Do It” and football or basketball players saying “Team” or “Defense” when breaking a sideline huddle? Aren’t players essentially employees chanting their “Corporate Slogan”?
#234 by Stevo on 01.02.08 11:06 pm |
Casey (Davis, CA) said:
The original rules of basketball, as set by the Good Dr Naismith, state the following:
“The time shall be two, fifteen minute halfs with a five minute break in between.”
So it was the NBA who chose, for whatever reason, to diverge from the norm to go to Quarters.
#235 by LI Phil on 01.02.08 11:06 pm |
dude wrote a fucking book fer chrissakes
/pwn3d
#236 by Sam on 01.02.08 11:07 pm |
the pens backup goalie actually did have brown pads!
#237 by Sammy on 01.02.08 11:10 pm |
Andrew said:
Don’t forget that NHL playoff hockey goes the full overtime period without commercials. Plus, I’ve always thought that the breaks in a hockey game were less annoying than the TV breaks in a football game (TD-break-kickoff-break-possession-break-timeout-break, often) or the constant stoppages of a baseball game. But, as I was switching between the outdoor game and the Cap1 Bowl, I did notice that the hockey game was particularly slow, with the ice scraping and everything.
#238 by brandon on 01.02.08 11:13 pm |
anyone agree with me on my 2 question? see post #173*
looks like vatech colors in certain photos…but i think it’s just light playing tricks…and WVU is a large east conference school
I noticed the same thing…you beat me to it!
That is maroon!! I don’t care what anyone says!! hahaha. I think i am convinced that it is maroon!
*If anything, maybe the reason why we are having questions about it is because maybe only one of the WV patches are maroon and the other one is blue?!
But they just zoomed in on Noel Devine and that is maroon!
#239 by joe on 01.02.08 11:13 pm |
right, they just happened to make football 4 quarters *before* tv, knowing that one day it would be useful for commercials.
#240 by Stevo on 01.02.08 11:14 pm |
Sammy said:
Most of the time football and basketball games go through OT without commercial breaks, save the short :30 when a team calls Time Out, or maybe a break in between OT’s in college football.
#241 by Broker75 on 01.02.08 11:21 pm |
LI Phil said:
Blues and Blackhawks at Soldier Field
#242 by LI Phil on 01.02.08 11:24 pm |
shit we could have done without in tonight’s game
#243 by todd krevanchi on 01.02.08 11:26 pm |
when i first stated that nike has a definite corporate culture, i had no intentions of creating this discussion which has gone way off topic.
i merely wanted to get through the point that in all the books ive read about nike, it was written that there is a true team spirit. in fact it seemed to me that the spirit employees have towards the company and the passion they have for their jobs was self initiated.
yes, nike provides a unique bonus structure for employees who, say, ride a bike to work vs. driving a car, use a part of their lunch hour for fitness and exercise and other types of activities which promote health and wellness, but its not like they are requiring employees to adopt a religion type belief system.
#244 by Paul Lukas on 01.02.08 11:29 pm |
todd krevanchi said:
Just wanna say, for those who think I can’t say anything good about Nike: I think those are very progressive policies (well, except maybe for the lunch part) and I wish more companies would adopt them.
But making your employees chant the corporate slogan every morning is still creepy.
#245 by Stevo on 01.02.08 11:30 pm |
teamcinnamon said:
The NHL had their Ice Guru on the job for that game, so it’s not like they put some part-timer from Manitoba in charge. The crew kept working on the same patch of ice, which was a place they knew ahead of time would be a problem.
#246 by Stevo on 01.02.08 11:33 pm |
LI Phil said:
I just wanted you to know that, by pointing out a photo of Toby Keith at the Fiesta Bowl cheering on his favorite team, you have filled me in on the fact that Toby Keith was in attendance, which is kinda counterproductive to the reason for your post.
#247 by LI Phil on 01.02.08 11:34 pm |
LI Phil said:
oh yeah…and this too
#248 by Ian on 01.02.08 11:41 pm |
Noticed that WVU has “Big East” on the bumpers on their helmets. I’ve been hoping for a closeup on Bradford or something to see what OU has going on up there, but the announcers are more into slurping Pat White than his counterpart, it seems…
#249 by Bill T. on 01.02.08 11:42 pm |
Both the Pens and Sabres looked awesome.
But… Didn’t the Penguins’ shorts have a triangular stripe on the sides back in the day?
#250 by Stevo on 01.02.08 11:42 pm |
I have no problem with stuff like this, cause hell hath no fury like a university scorned.
#251 by LI Phil on 01.02.08 11:43 pm |
brandon said:
look at this pic
now tell me what color that patch is
#252 by Bill T. on 01.02.08 11:47 pm |
Bill T. said:
Nevermind.
#253 by LI Phil on 01.02.08 11:58 pm |
Ian said:
it simply says ‘oklahoma’ (not a great shot i know)
what’s more pleasing however, is the almost complete lack of patches and shit on the jerseys
#254 by Reed Spiller on 01.03.08 12:05 am |
in the first link of the site, it looks like Jochen Hect is wearing two pairs of shorts/pads. The ones underneath appear to be the Sabres’ regular shorts, as seen here.
#255 by LI Phil on 01.03.08 12:11 am |
LI Phil said:
ok…having watched enough of this game, and seeing the *scrubs* almost pure white jerseys…my theory is that the more “washed” (washed out?) jersey a player has, the more faded his numerals appear and the more “maroon” his WV patch appears
#256 by Pretty Boy Paulie on 01.03.08 12:35 am |
Paul Lukas said:
I think the whole morning chant could just be the store rules or associate ritual. I work for the Sports Authority and one of their stores here in Chicago does that same thing….but they don’t say Nike motto’s or slogans. Before the store opens every associate gathers in a circle at the front of the store. They begin clapping slowly, it then progresses and gets louder and faster. It ends with a loud “SPORTS AUTHORITY” cheer. It’s enforced by the store manager to promote team work. It’s MIGHTY corny if you ask me.
#257 by Dan on 01.03.08 12:37 am |
Shane said:
Here here! I would love to see an outdoor game in Hockeytown. Chicago would be a good opponent as would Toronto. Lets get it done for next year.
#258 by LI Phil on 01.03.08 12:50 am |
LI Phil said:
that makes me feel much better…the day of individual happiness has passed
#259 by steve on 01.03.08 12:50 am |
anyone else watching the fiesta bowl notice some “accidental” advertising especially in the gatorade dept?
#260 by brandon on 01.03.08 12:53 am |
anyone agree with me on my 2 question? see post #173*
looks like vatech colors in certain photos…but i think it’s just light playing tricks…and WVU is a large east conference school
I noticed the same thing…you beat me to it!
That is maroon!! I don’t care what anyone says!! hahaha. I think i am convinced that it is maroon!
*If anything, maybe the reason why we are having questions about it is because maybe only one of the WV patches are maroon and the other one is blue?!
But they just zoomed in on Noel Devine and that is maroon!
look at this pic
now tell me what color that patch is
ok…having watched enough of this game, and seeing the *scrubs* almost pure white jerseys…my theory is that the more “washed” (washed out?) jersey a player has, the more faded his numerals appear and the more “maroon” his WV patch appears
Good point. I think it is safe to say that it is not a tribute?or are we all still on the fence about this
#261 by Dan on 01.03.08 12:54 am |
Did anyone notice theat during the Michigan/Florida bowl game that Tebow’s “W” on his nameplate looked different that the rest of his last name? My wife noticed it and I agreed. Great job Wolverines for winning one for Lloyd Carr.
#262 by LI Phil on 01.03.08 12:55 am |
steve said:
no
#263 by James on 01.03.08 12:59 am |
Tonight #45 for UNC still didn’t have a nameplate. I’ll email a sportswriter for the Tarheels on that later to see what teh deal is.
#264 by LI Phil on 01.03.08 1:01 am |
LI Phil said:
who’s on the fence (besides you)?
it’s NOT a tribute…it never was a tribute…it never will be a tribute
#265 by Kek on 01.03.08 1:05 am |
Paul Lukas said:
I meant no disrespect, just pointing out an alternative opinion (although I know that’s not always welcomed in here!!!) I asked about prior work experience becaue I’ve worked for nothing but large compaines and I wouldn’t have had much employment history if I had left a company every time they came up with some corny game, chant, slogan, acroynm, etc to promote something.
I am very aware you have written on other topics, but this, however, is a blog based on the “obsessive study of athletics aesthetics”. I feel sometime you use it as a soapbox to blast Nike for the sake of blasting Nike.
Nothing in the paragraph titled “Latest Reason to Take the Gas Pipe” has anything to do uniforms per se, just an opportunity for you to get in some snarky commentary about your least favorite company (or so it seems).
I know the normal dittoheads will come back with “it’s your blog and you can do whatever the fuck you want” and yes that’s true but you lose credibility when the blog says it’s one things, but at times delievers something very different.
#266 by LI Phil on 01.03.08 1:08 am |
LI Phil said:
paul forgot to put the [sarcasm] [/sarcasm] tags around that one
#267 by Nick on 01.03.08 1:21 am |
I worked for a large Japanese brokerage firm in the 90’s. We got the morning cheer/calisthenic down pat. Started doing it on our own. Used to crack everyone up. We even had other people in other firms believing it was “required”.
#268 by Paul Lukas on 01.03.08 1:38 am |
Kek said:
What I think about Nike’s approach to branding (and make no mistake, making your employees chant the corporate slogan is all about branding) will always be germane to Uni Watch, because I feel Nike is the worst thing that has ever happened to sports design. I don’t “blast Nike for the sake of blasting Nike”; I critique them because I think it’s important for people to understand how insidious they are. If you don’t agree, that’s fine — dissenting voices are welcome here, and we can agree to disagree. But I’ll keep expressing my opinions all the same — not because “it’s my blog and I can say whatever I want,” but because expressing my opinion on these matters is why I created Uni Watch to begin with.
#269 by Azul Army on 01.03.08 1:42 am |
Today, this blog has officially jumped the shark…
In case you are wondering, the shark is wearing a baggy purple jersey with a swoosh on the chest, three stripes down each arm and is pledging allegiance to the flag…
Are we REALLY comparing Nike to Nazi Germany?
#270 by LI Phil on 01.03.08 1:58 am |
LI Phil said:
oh look…it’s in lavender
#271 by Big L on 01.03.08 2:22 am |
Let’s all call it a night, get some rest and await Thursday’s post. Seemed like everyone was on edge today.
Good night
#272 by James Craven on 01.03.08 4:28 am |
I see a bad moon a-risin’!
#273 by Kek on 01.03.08 7:23 am |
Paul Lukas said:
OK, I’ll respectfully agree to disagree with you on this one. If I ran a “Pizza-Watch” blog to discuss what company made the best pizza, had the best toppings, crust, etc and then I wrote a paragraph blasting Dominos because they made their delivery drivers say some sort of cheer before they hit the road, people would probably be like “what’s that have to do with anything”
#274 by KT on 01.03.08 11:23 am |
And those people would be free to then…say..seek out another blog that gave them more of what they wanted to read and hear, wouldn’t they?
Free markets and all.
#275 by LV on 01.04.08 11:53 am |
Just an explanation on the ice bowl anthem business:
Buffalo always has the Canadian anthem sung at home games, because many of the Sabres’ fans are Canadian (given the proximity of Buffalo to Canada).
“God Bless America” is Ronan Tynan’s signature song, and apparently he sings it fairly regularly at Sabres games. Probably this could have been made known as he was announced just for clarity’s sake. Personally I prefer “America the Beautiful” to both GBA and the anthem. To each his own.
#276 by Chris L. on 01.04.08 5:34 pm |
Late chime-in, but geez – y’all are crazy with this Nike=corporate evil shtick. It’s been said above, but every company selling every product in the world – tampons to tallboys – tries to sell an image. “If you are person-type X, then you need to buy our product-type Y.” People want to be perceived as having something that is better than the other guy’s something. People also are are creatures of habit. Marketing departments around the world exploit all of that and call it “brand-loyalty.” Asking your employees to do some stupid chant or ritual to get into a mind-set consistent with the image the company is trying to sell is simply good business. Nike is in the business of health and fitness. I’m with ya on the logo-creep, but I’m not sure I agree that having employees chant/use a mnemonic to remind them of the lifestyle/product being sold is invidious. Maybe it’s a question of degree, and maybe I’m not as closely involved with the apparel and sports equipment world as others to see it, but the Nazi comparison? Sheesh. If employees don’t like the chant, or simply think it’s “creepy,” they can either do it to get along, or quit. If the citizen in the Nazi example doesn’t like the oath, they can say it, or they can get shot. Big difference. But that’s why, for things that really matter (no offense anyone), we have civil liberties and people who thankfully work very hard to protect them. (Did I just type that? My free-market/trickle-down/buy-one-get-one-free voter ID card is shriveling in my wallet).
Back on-message, the Winter Classic was indeed “friggin’ awesome.” Even though I am a born-n-raised Pens fan (and had on my old CCM baby blue – purchased in honor of Battleship Kelly – much to the derision of those in my household who don’t “get it”™), kudos to Buffalo for hosting an incredible event. Lindy Ruff put it best: the atmosphere was “incredible,” and “to hell with the cynics.”
FWIW, pant shells are pretty standard in hockey. In fact, a couple guys on my beer league team wear girdles and shells instead of regular hockey pants (a/k/a “breezers” for Paul). For non-hockey-types, regular hockey pants have the pads sewn right in or otherwise installed right to the material itself. A girdle is just mesh (yeah, one guy still has his Cooperall mesh girdle from high school) or lycra with the pads and cup sewn in, and you slip the nylon shell right over. It’s good for kids who play on a school team and a rink or local association team and have to change colors. From this article (a little more that halfway down), the Pens just ordered throwback color shells to wear over their regular pants. In fact, in the “troubling” Crosby shot, you can see hanging over his right shoulder his black rbk pants with the blue shell already over them. Finally, Briere photo notwithstanding, I seem to recall that the Pens did, in fact, have a taper to the pant stripes at some point prior to the ’80 “City of Champions” switch. I can’t find the picture right now, but I remember seeing it and thinking that the shape of the stripe on the Pens’ new “edge” era pants is a nice homage to that taper, and still somehow blends with the side panels on the jersey.
And really finally, to Big L and Craven: Thank you. Thank you. God bless (If I can say that here) HDTV. Talk about fine line definition and fill-rate.
Go Pens!
#277 by Chris L. on 01.04.08 5:35 pm |
Oops. I thought I did the link right – here’s the article.
#278 by Southend James on 01.05.08 11:22 am |
Back to the brown and gold stuff, Tottenham Hotspur’s away kit last season was brown and gold. Most people here in the UK hated it, but I thought it was really smart
#279 by Southend James on 01.05.08 11:43 am |
And on the football (soccer) teams changing their kits front, my own team Southend United had a really lame one in 2006. We won the League One title, sealing the championship at home. However, we had to wear our away kit because the week before, when we had sealed promotion, the players had thrown their home shirts in to the crowd by way of celebration and the club had none left in stock for the following.
So one of the finest days in our history and we weren’t even wearing the right shirt. Typical!