ESPN Uni Watch Ranks the Best Dressed Cities

[IceCap]

The only thing more interesting than Paul Lukas' articles? Watching people lose their minds over his articles.

wait. . . his articles are interesting?

Here's the thing. Paul Lucas isn't the problem. A lot of people who hate him and just slam the guy every time he posts something think he's the problem, but he's not the problem. This hobby of ours? It's subjective. Toss around as much designer lingo as you want. The fact is that, with the exception of extreme cases, there's nothing measurable that makes a uniform or logo pleasant to someone and bad to someone else. Paul Lucas is just a guy posting his personal opinions. Everyone who disagrees with him then starts ranting, as if he's in the wrong for doing so.

Except it's all subjective. Take Paul Lucas down. Put someone with different taste in his place. The same thing would happen. That person would post his or her opinions and people who disagree would rant about it. Maybe the people ranting would change, but big picture? It's the same exact situation.

It all comes back to subjectivity. It's all based on personal taste. Someone's going to be "the" uniform expert, and there will be people who disagree and make it known every time they post a list like this. It just happens to be Paul Lucas, so he bares the brunt of the hate. If it were Brandon Moore? The same thing would be happening.

Do I agree with Paul's list? No. I've never agreed with his stance on purple and I think his rankings and ratings are a bit inconsistent. Or at least unclear. That being said? It's not my list. It's his, and he's entitled to his opinion. He just so happens to have a large audience.

[tigerslionspistonshabs]

Yea, solid look from the Penguins is all I needed to see to make this list completely irrelevant.

[OnWis97]

I think many of us are missing the most important point here and that point is: who cares?

It's fun to talk about this stuff but it's not worth getting upset about.

My list would be different and it would not give/take points away for nice stadiums/arenas. But this is not something to be outraged about.

[joshey]

Wow. Mets a 6? Nyc behind Pittsburgh? Paul Lucas go home, you're drunk.

[C-Squared]

The Bears unis might be the most overrated in all of sports... consistency is moot when unspectacular. The navy blue/burnt orange combo has always looks sunbleached and uninspired.

[jp1409]

The Bears unis might be the most overrated in all of sports... consistency is moot when unspectacular. The navy blue/burnt orange combo has always looks sunbleached and uninspired.

I hate the Bears as much as anyone but even I must admit they are looking seriously awesome.

[jp1409]

Wow. Mets a 6? Nyc behind Pittsburgh? Paul Lucas go home, you're drunk.

Mets a 6? From Lucas? I thought he still had his boner ever since they dropped the black...

[frosty06306]

Does anyone really think Chicago isn't #1? Putting them at 3 is laughable.

[The_Admiral]

It's a list for "best-dressed" but then this happens:

UNI WATCH SCORE: Saints: 5, Pelicans: 4, Intangibles:Minus points for the Superdome (-2). UNI: 3.5

How does that even apply?

Superdome lighting makes the Saints look worse than they should, I guess? Same as how the Jones Dome drops the Rams' uniforms from bad to despair in fabric form.

[Morgan33]

Dallas Stars: 6.0

Pittsburgh Penguins: 6.5

Enough said.

Elsewhere we have the St Louis Blues, who are easily one of the top 5 dressed teams in the league, with the same score as the Penguins... I realize uniforms are subjective but I have not heard one person on these boards ever defend what the Penguins are currently wearing, let alone say they liked it. Some things are just universally bad, and we have every right to call him out for not pointing that out.

[Word02]

Boston deserves to be #1. Then again, as you didn't already tell, I'm pretty biased. Celtics Red Sox and Bruins are classics. Only pats bring them down

[Josh.0]

I think the Bay Area is actually the best. Does Lukas get paid for this?

The thing I like about Lukas is that legitmately critiques the logos/uniforms/etc. compared to some of the joke articles on FanSided, Bleacher Report, etc. that list their preferences on a whim and not much thought.

[Gothamite]

Wow. Mets a 6? Nyc behind Pittsburgh? Paul Lucas go home, you're drunk.

Mets a 6? From Lucas? I thought he still had his boner ever since they dropped the black...

I haven't read it, but I'm presuming that the awful camo alternates bring down the average.

[Cujo]

Giving the Phoenix Suns a 7 -- all credibility is lost.

[BadSeed84]

Yea if the Mets just had their pinstripes, grays and only one blue Jersey, and only had one cap, then they probably would be pretty high.

[El Scorcho]

Chicago #3, eh? this is why i can't take Lukas seriously.

You didn't exactly articulate the reason for your disagreement, but then again it's just easier to rip PL.

FWIW, I'd probably put Chicago at #1, but 3 is reasonable.

What's there to articulate?

He's given the Blackhawks, who absolutely dominate NHL best dressed lists every time they are run by anyone, a 7/10.

Under his rating system, the New England Patriots are a better looking sports franchise than the Chicago Blackhawks.

Nobody who is being serious for even a second could genuinely claim to believe that.

The Bulls at 6.5 is also way out of line with how he ranks other teams.

The ability to use words like adults and explain disagreements rather than "can't take xxx seriously" is paramount to debates like this.

You or anyone else is welcome to come up with your own subjective rating system and rank teams any way you see fit, and then allow people to slam you for your opinions. All you're really doing here is stating your opinions and claiming that they are more valid than someone else's.

While I get that this hobby is subjective, giving the Patriots a higher score than the Blackhawks is about as far as subjectivity can be stretched before you're just taking the piss.

[BrandMooreArt]

The only thing more interesting than Paul Lukas' articles? Watching people lose their minds over his articles.

wait. . . his articles are interesting?

Here's the thing. Paul Lucas isn't the problem. A lot of people who hate him and just slam the guy every time he posts something think he's the problem, but he's not the problem. This hobby of ours? It's subjective. Toss around as much designer lingo as you want. The fact is that, with the exception of extreme cases, there's nothing measurable that makes a uniform or logo pleasant to someone and bad to someone else. Paul Lucas is just a guy posting his personal opinions. Everyone who disagrees with him then starts ranting, as if he's in the wrong for doing so.

Except it's all subjective. Take Paul Lucas down. Put someone with different taste in his place. The same thing would happen. That person would post his or her opinions and people who disagree would rant about it. Maybe the people ranting would change, but big picture? It's the same exact situation.

It all comes back to subjectivity. It's all based on personal taste. Someone's going to "the" uniform expert, and there will be people who disagree and make it known every time they post a list like this. It just happens to be Paul Lucas, so he bares the brunt of the hate. If it were Brandon Moore? The same thing would be happening.

Do I agree with Paul's list? No. I've never agreed with his stance on purple and I think his rankings and ratings are a bit inconsistent. Or at least unclear. That being said? It's not my list. It's his, and he's entitled to his opinion. He just so happens to have a large audience.

i don't think Paul himself is a "problem", but i don't think his "hate" has as much to do with his opinion, as it does with his taste and his work. in whatever way it matters, my professional design opinion is he has poor taste and his work is lazy. it would be one thing for Paul to write and express his opinions with some thought, but his work is quickly and lazily thrown together with glaring holes that, as you can see from this short thread, get readers to question what the heck he is even doing and what is it's purpose? the deadlines of articles may be short due to ESPN, i'm not sure how that works, but that is no excuse for poor work. that excuse certainly doesn't fly around here with design, but moreover, his taste is always present.

and what to you is "designer lingo" is not a bunch of BS we (other designers and i) try to throw at you to confuse and irritate you or persuade you into believing something that is a stretch at best (save that for marketing press releases which actually do it.); it's often not all that subjective either. when i write with thought and purpose (as oppossed to the 1 liners i occasionally throw out), i try to communicate to even the laymen (the audience majority here) how it is that design is created and understood, therefore, hopefully, giving an insight as to why a design is good, why it works, or why is does not. that takes subjectivity out of it; design is never about "what looks good". design is the science and strategy of art. that is the foundation on which designers (any you can name that frequent here) build and evolve their own taste; design to us is not just about what looks pretty. good designers don't dislike something just because of the way it looks, there is reason to the "Designer lingo"

Paul doesn't do this, he communicates through 1 or 2 sentences that is built on chaos, a lack of design knowledge, and bad aesthetic taste. for those that can see through it, we often jest. some people might actually believe Paul is the most horrible thing on the internet, but i just see a nerd (i mean that in the most flattering way possible) with bad taste, little design knowledge and for that i kid. my god man, if there is anything i want you to understand, it's that my negative, snarky comments (few and far between) always are based on a bit of humor. don't take me so seriously that you think his article ruined my day; i just don't have any admiration for the work. i know what it's like to not have many if anyone agree with my own opinions; it's often how i learn something new and change them. but my approach to writing about design and my experience with it, at the risk of sounding like a complete douche, does not make Paul's taste and opinion equal to them. ("one's ignorance is not equal to one's knowledge")

truth is i think purple is probably the 2nd worst color for a sports team made up of grown men, but i don't rule it out of the spectrum completely. i think what grinds people about that is he makes a stand on his taste, his rules, and applies them to his critiques. the first thing you have to be able to do as a critic is admit something is good even if you don't like it. Paul can't do that and many people see his opinions as unjust because, well they're just not fair.

[IceCap]

my professional design opinion is he has poor taste and his work is lazy.

And that is a problem. You assume your opinion is worth more because you're a professional.

Now that DOES hold true for a variety of topics. You know more then most about how the process works. How the client-designer relationship can evolve. You're well versed in branding, as well as colour and design theory.

Taste, though? No. Sorry. Taste IS subjective. You seem to be under the impression that your training gives your opinion more weight then others. Fact is? You're just like the rest of us. You like what you like because you like it. You have a greater degree of perception. That much is true. You're able to perhaps understand where a designer was coming from with a particular logo or uniform, and that might give you appreciation for it that the rest lack. And that opinion isn't invalid. It's a well-informed, thoughtful opinion.

It's just that it's no more "correct" then the opinion of someone who looks at the same logo or uniform and decides he just doesn't like it.

[JPDesign]

I think both Ice and Brandon are right here, in a way.

Yeah, it's just one person's opinion, you're right about that Ice. (Usually) don't agree with his opinion, but it's his.

I think I have a similar problem with it, which is what Brandon pointed out, is that he's positioned himself as a sort of authority on the matter, yet his articles do nothing but push his own taste and agenda.

His derogatory naming of "innovations" (nikelace, sweatbox, etc.) are nothing if not unprofessional. He often straddles the line between being a journalist, and trying to be Bill Simmons.

[IceCap]

I think I have a similar problem with it, which is what Brandon pointed out, is that he's positioned himself as a sort of authority on the matter, yet his articles do nothing but push his own taste and agenda.

His derogatory naming of "innovations" (nikelace, sweatbox, etc.) are nothing if not unprofessional. He often straddles the line between being a journalist, and trying to be Bill Simmons.

As I said, Paul's not the problem. Someone was going to be "the" uniform expert. It just so happened to be Paul.

As for being an authority? Again, this entire hobby is subjective. Anyone put in his position would be pushing their own "taste and agenda," whether they meant to or not. Paul's taste and opinion is no more right or wrong then Brandon's. Or yours. Or mine. He's just the guy who won the lotto for largest soapbox.

I could understand getting mad if there were an actual science to this stuff and Lucas was just an uninformed schmuck who talked out of his That science doesn't exist though. Not really. We're all schmucks talking out of our es.

As for the derogatory naming? I don't mind them. The terms "Nikelace" and "sweatbox" both fit, as far as I'm concerned. That's an opinion though. A hypothetical UniWatch writer who chose to praise Nike's new template wouldn't be any more "correct." He'd just have a different take.

Paul doesn't do this, he communicates through 1 or 2 sentences...

It's almost like he's a writer for a very popular website and might have a word count to keep in mind