Monday Morning Uni Watch
My friends, yesterday marked the end of an era. For the first time this season, every member of the San Diego Chargers was wearing an American flag helmet decal.
Or at least I assume that was the case. One thing I know for sure is that LaDainian Tomlinson was wearing one. No surprise there, since he’d also worn the flag decal for San Diego’s two previous games. The big news is that Chris Chambers, who’d been flag-free for the past new weeks, was properly flag-accessorized yesterday, marking the first time this year that Tomlinson and Chambers were both wearing the decal. As for the other fifty-some players on the Chargers’ roster, I’m gonna take it on faith that they were all flag-clad. If anyone knows otherwise, speak up.
In other NFL notes from yesterday:
• Chad Johnson dusted off his orange chinstrap.
• The Jets retired Curtis Martin’s number.
• Hard to know what looked worse in the Jets/Steelers game: the Jets or the slacks-clad officials.
• The officials in the Bears/Seahawks game were wearing the cold-weather slacks too, as you can barely see here.
• Radically distinct sock stylings here. Here, too.
• That’s a right purty game right there.
• There, too.
• Several readers reported that Roy Williams of the Cowboys had a yellow dot on the back of his helmet, similar to the green dot that the QBs wear. No photo yet. If we can get visual confirmation, I’ll ask the team for an explanation.
• I’ve said it before and I’ll keep on saying it: This is the league’s most underrated design, and a classic in the making.
Uni Watch Calendar: Lots of opportunities for gatherings and such over the next few weeks. Here’s the breakdown:
• November 27th: I’m going to be in Austin, Texas. Is there any Uni Watch readership to speak of in that town? If so, any such readers should get in touch. If the response is large enough, I’ll set up a gathering for that evening.
• December 6th: Marc Spears of the Boston Globe and I will be guests of a media seminar class at Boston University. I’ll convene a Uni Watch party at 8:30 that evening at Boston Beer Works, which is right across from Fenway Park. Meanwhile, if anyone wants to attend the seminar class, which begins at 6:30, the professor tells me he can probably accommodate a few extra people. If you’re interested, get in touch and I’ll fill you in.
• December 10th: The completely wonderful City Reliquary, of which I am a proud card-carrying member, will be holding its annual benefit gala at the Automotive High School Auditorium, and I’m one of the two featured speakers this year. I’ll be doing a Power Point presentation on some topic or other (might be uni-related or might not — haven’t decided yet), but the real attraction is the other speaker: Lawrence Weschler, author of such crucial must-reads as Mr. Wilson’s Cabinet of Wonder and Boggs. In other words, I’m like some puny little indie band opening for the Rolling Stones. The evening will feature lots of additional stuff, including a short documentary film, a live samba band, and dinner at Bamonte’s (one of Brooklyn’s oldest and best red-sauce Italian restaurants). Full details here.
Uni Watch News Ticker: I’m a week late with this, but it’s still pretty funny (with thanks to Jeremy Brahm and Timothy Sheehan). … Speaking of the intersection of fan and uniform, David Soline sent along this. … Reprinted from Friday’s comments: Really interesting article here about Cal’s recent throwbacks. … Chris Mycoskie notes that Louisiana-Lafayette’s women’s hoops team has some, uh, innovative uniforms. … Photo archivist David Eskinazi has come up with something interesting: a 1911 photo of the Wichita Falls Irish Lads. “I found it very unusual that they chose to have EVERYTHING spelled out on their jerseys — team nickname, city, and state,” he writes. “Quite odd, especially for a pro team.” … Good catch by Andrew White, who notes that UNC’s walk-on players were all photographed wearing the same jersey, as seen here, here, and here. … Here’s our first look at the Indians’ new throwback alternate uni. Additional views here. … The CBA’s Albany Patroons had to play in practice uniforms on Friday night because their new unis weren’t ready yet. … Really great two-minute audio slideshow here about the Indiana equipment staff prepping the helmets for last Saturday’s throwback game. … And speaking of that game, there’s a good photo gallery here. … Brazil has a new soccer kit. Note that the five stars, representing the team’s five World Cup championships, are shown not only on the chest but also on the socks. Details here and here. … Matthew Strauss noticed something odd: According to SI.com, this photo was taken during a Cowboys/Redskins game in Dallas. But the ’Skins are wearing white, so was Dallas wearing blue at home? The turf looks artificial, which would seem to support the notion that the game was played at Texas Stadium, not at RFK. Can anyone shed more light on this? … Lots of solid-red action on the gridiron on Saturday, as Minnesota and FSU went monochromatic. … Casey Hart reports that Harvard’s nordic skiing team uniforms feature a map of the Harvard area. … Speaking of Harvard, someone on the Chris Creamer board spotted Crimson head football coach Tim Murphy wearing an NFLL pullover on Saturday. … Interesting critique of presidential campaign logos here. … Reprinted from yesterday’s comments: I went to a European advertising conference and a hockey game broke out. … USF is switching to Under Armour. … I’ve listed lots of uniform typos in my recent ESPN columns. But Matt Lindner found something you don’t often see: a typo on a replica jersey. … Latest analysis of the NHL jersey debacle here (with thanks to Doug Mooney, who also reports that South Georgia Tech’s men’s and women’s hoops teams wore a “W” patch on Saturday in remembrance of instructor Willy Mathis). … New sleeveless unis for the American men’s volleyball team (as reported by Jeremy Brahm). … Two soccer notes from Jeremy as well: new uniforms for Germany, and quite the flamboyant ball during the U.S. vs. South Africa friendly match.
264 comments November 19th, 2007
