CFL uniforms: an observation

[cmbuk]

argos wore the boat logo on the lids with the 83 jerseys last year v toronto..

[Mitch B]

The only truly "bad" looks in my opinion are Calgary, Ottawa, and Edmonton's road. And really only Calgary needs to blow things up.

I liked Calgary's look back in the Flutie era. I'd like to see them bring back a modernized version of that uniform.

[MJWalker45]

Whenever it's on and I get a chance I like to watch the CFL. It's fast-paced, fun, and fills a void before September.

That said, I don't think I could watch it full-time because of the ghastly uniforms. It seems like every team has sets with mismatched elements, bad templates, and just random designs that don't work.

I know there are a few CFL fans on here, and I just want to know how you put up with it.

Toronto and Hamilton have uniforms worth of the NFL's upper tier.

Toronto, really? That would be pretty awkward since they already use an NFL team's stripes exactly.

What do you mean? The Argos use five big stripes.

The Steelers use five, three and sometimes two big stripes, all on the same jersey depending on the cut.

They both use the same striping, it's just that certain Steeler player wear very little on their sleeve so it gets cut off. The Argos straight up took the Steeler's striping, there's no doubt about that.

The stripes are closer to Cleveland's than Pittsburgh. Look at the gaps between the stripes. If Nike put their logo in the middle stripes rather than above it could fit the whole stripe pattern in. Look at Iowa.

[Tygers09]

BC- decent but needs helmet stripes

Calgary- Ditch the black helmet, Go back to the red, white & silver team colors

Edmonton- Ditch the Dark Green Helmet

Winnipeg- St.Louis called.. they want you to stop imitating them...Who told them to wear those gold jerseys? Love how they went back to Gold helmet with white W

Saskatchewan- Bring back the wrap around stripes from the logos on the side of the helmet...actually would love them to go back the just green and white!

Hamilton- no change

Toronto- Bring back the helmet from the 80's, football with sails logo (does anyone have a pic they can post?), add helmet stripes

Ottawa- Not bad, ditch the red numbers on the black unis, go to white numbers

Montreal- No change

While the Cfl.ca has some video clips from old Grey Cups http://www.cfl.ca/video/index?sub_channel=1639, I didn't see any pics after a quick search.

Got these pics from the CFL Hall of Fame site http://www.cfhof.ca/museum/collection-gallery/,

and Jim Mullin's Blog: The Edmonton Eskimos Ruined my Childhood blog [ may be called The Krown Countdown U Blog now] - section on CFL classic uniforms.

http://jimmullinnow.blogspot.ca/2012/05/cfls-classic-16-uniforms-all-16-of-em.html?q=best+cfl+uniforms

He also has articles on what he thought were the worst ones, and his opinion of the Reebok ones when they came out.

Yes!! These uniforms were the Argos best IMHO...

[pianoknight]

The CFL might be less commercialized than the NFL, but the sponsor patches and needless advertisements on CFL jerseys clutter their look up way too much.

[M4One]

The CFL might be less commercialized than the NFL, but the sponsor patches and needless advertisements on CFL jerseys clutter their look up way too much.

The sponsor patches look ugly, but obviously there is a need for them otherwise they wouldn't be there. The CFL doesn't make billions of dollars in revenue each year and the CFL has teetered with extinction over the years with things having gotten better only the last few years, yet still plenty of concern.

As for the uniforms now, BC, Toronto, Montreal, Hamilton, Winnipeg, and Ottawa are fine. Saskatchewan should go back to their vintage uniforms they have been wearing on and off. Calgary needs to get rid of the black helmet and red bib look, and Edmonton needs to scrap their road uniorms and just stick with yellow helmet and pants.

[BigBubba]

The CFL might be less commercialized than the NFL, but the sponsor patches and needless advertisements on CFL jerseys clutter their look up way too much.

The ads are far from "needless".

[nuordr]

My take of the uniforms of the CFL:

Home:

1. BC Lions
2. Toronto Argonauts
3. Edmonton Eskimos
4. Calgary Stampeders
5. Hamilton Tiger-Cats
6. Saskatchewan Roughriders
7. Winnipeg Blue Bombers
8. Ottawa Redblacks
9. Montreal Alouettes

Away

1. BC Lions
2. Toronto Argonauts
3. Hamilton Tiger-Cats
4. Ottawa Redblacks
5. Winnipeg Blue Bombers
6. Saskatchewan Roughriders
7. Montreal Alouettes
8. Edmonton Eskimos
9. Calgary Stampeders

[Gothamite]

The CFL might be less commercialized than the NFL, but the sponsor patches and needless advertisements on CFL jerseys clutter their look up way too much.

The ads are far from "needless".

Without access to their books, I don't know that to be the case.

[greyraven8]

For those that have only seen the CFL in very recent or at least post Reebok times here are some of the teams earlier looks; not necessarily their best but I think at least some of their better ones.

WInnipeg

Hamilton

Edmonton & Montreal

Ottawa

Saskatchewan

Calgary

B.C.

Toronto

[Stampman]

Definitely when Reebok took over it ruined some great looks.

the Blue Bombers had great unis before then, and so did the Stamps.

The Stamps above would be late 60's/early 70's and is a great look.

They looked great in the 90's as well.

But I hate the black helmets, and how they don't match the reds.

they need stripes on their pants, and red numbers on their road unis.

I think most teams need an overhaul.

that said I can ignore it to watch the games--but I still comment on the unis.

[greyraven8]

As far as the current looks

Toronto, Hamilton, and Montreal all look good.

Only thing about Montreal I would change is having more contrast (different outlining ?) between the logo and the silver helmet so the logo stands out more - maybe some different colour arrangement so the logo is more easily visible on the silver helmet, or even a slight change in logo may be in order. Toronto could use to enlarge their helmet logo a bit. I'd prefer a yellow helmet for Hamilton but the black isn't bad.

Edmonton's home looks good. The white jersey on the other hand needs to scrap those sleeves.

Winnipeg - you've had better, you've had worse. I prefer you older pre-Reebok look with the lighter shade of blue, but the gold uniform is kind of interesting for a short term change. Not sure how much longer it will be until I'm sick of it.

Ottawa - for starters with a name like yours you'd think they would be more red. your buzzsaw logo needs more red and it doesn't need to be on the helmet the jersey and the pants. Put another logo or nothing at all on the pants.

B.C. is generally okay. The jersey needs some sort of striping or at least something added - too plain.

Calgary that black helmet looks ridiculous. Screw it - scrap the whole look and go back to what you were in the late 60s to mid 70s or at least lose the red shoulder yoke on the whites and the black underarm on the reds.

Saskatchewan what a mess - panels from hell and that white helmet to top it off. Either go back to something like your late 60s to late 70s look or even the later era of the uniforms from the 1987 grey cup with the wrap around 'S' on the helmet. Even if you went back to the drawing board and came up with something completely new, I'm sure it would likely be an improvement.

On a slightly unrelated note:

I wish there was some sort of complete online uniform database for the CFL like nhluniforms is for the NHL, dressed to the nines is for baseball and the gridiron database is for the NFL.

[seattlesonicsofsacramento]

For those that have only seen the CFL in very recent or at least post Reebok times here are some of the teams earlier looks; not necessarily their best but I think at least some of their better ones.

WInnipeg

Hamilton

Edmonton & Montreal

Ottawa

Saskatchewan

Calgary

B.C.

Toronto

I recognize a lot of these pics from that post on Jim Mullins's blog that was linked to earlier in this thread, and while I don't agree completely with his grading criteria and subsequent evaluations, I do think he (and you) picked out some good ones.

That Winnipeg look reminds me of Tulsa (and the London Monarchs) and even though it doesn't have any red like those other teams do, I still think it's a really great combination.

Hamilton's helmet stripe is probably the ugliest I've ever seen, and the pants are too plain (and see-through) but those jerseys unexpectedly work so well. I know it can't be done anymore with the lack of actual sleeves, but it's one of those rare cases where something is both unique and good-looking.

I really want to like Montreal's helmet and jersey, but the logo just looks too much like one for a corporation in say the aviation or oil industries.

Edmonton, Ottawa, Saskatchewan, and B.C. all have decent looks in those pics, I guess; they're just not doing anything special for me.

As much as the Michigan fan in me wants to hate those retro-Ohio State-esque Calgary uniforms, the color balance is great and they look really solid.

And as for those Toronto uniforms, I don't get all the love. Yall must be really nostalgic for that era.

[illwauk]

I'm really not understanding the love for those Argos uniforms either. If you ask me, they've never looked better than they do right now.

[joepro]

I was always partial to the Hamilton uniforms Danny McManus wore. The ones with the tiger striping around the sleeve. They always just seemed kind of clean. I think they were around the late 90's to early 00's if I recall correctly. I also love the BC Lions with the black uniforms and silver helmets. Maybe it's just because that was what I grew up with.

[joepro]

http://cdn.c.photoshelter.com/img-get/I00004wqnkzW9kwk/s/750/750/Danny-McManus-Hamilton-Tiger-Cats-2004-4.jpg

Here's a link to what I was talking about above.

[raysox]

The best part of this thread is the universal agreement that 3 or 4 teams in te CFL have good jerseys. Which is almost half the league, hahah.

[nuordr]

I'm really not understanding the love for those Argos uniforms either. If you ask me, they've never looked better than they do right now.

I agree as their current set is beautiful! I love their team colors and they use them well. This is probably why I love the colors of the Tennessee Titans.

[Jer15]

I love this conversation.

Personally, I think the CFL looks better than it has for years. Here's my 2 cents on the looks.

BC: A unique color scheme and no clutter from trying to have too many elements. I love it

Edmonton: I echo the sentiments of most. The home set is amazing, the away set is a cluster-f***. That white jersey is a mess. I actually don't even hate the green helmet but there is no need for it, ditch it.

Calgary: I'm one of the few that doesn't hate Calgary's look. Don't get me wrong it's not my favorite but it's not the end of the world. Dropping the "bib" really helped. I also like that they kept the pants very plain to contrast the busier look of the jersey. I guess the best way to put it is: relative to the last set these are better.

Saskatchewan: I HATE these. Nothing about the current uniform is any good. I miss the old helmet that had the logo wrapped around it or the throwback look that they had (as an alternate) before changing to these. Worst look in the league.

Winnipeg: While I really like the new "W" logo and the use of gold instead of white, I can't get past the stupid sleeves and pants. Why try to go with a more traditional look with the logo and helmet but when it comes to pants and jersey go the opposite way?

Hamilton: In my opinion the best look in the league. Very much a throwback look for the Ti-cats. Best look they have had in years. Maybe just add a single yellow stripe to the helmet.

Toronto: I love the current look. While I am nostalgic for the old "football ship" logo like most are on this thread I think this is a much better look. My one complaint (and it's minor) is the logo placement on the back of the jersey above the player's name. Just drop that.

Ottawa: It's the same damn uniform as Saskatchewan! Seriously HUGELY missed change to ass some kind of a plaid element. Very generic and boring. I hope these are gone in only a couple years time.

Montreal: They've always gone with this type of look. I don't love it but I completely understand why it's being used.

[BigBubba]

Might as well do my full analysis:

BC: Solid. Just add a helmet stripe, and you're good. You could get away with a black alternate, but please, avoid the monochrome.

Edmonton: Save for the dropshadow, the home look is great. The road, however is a hot mess. Three different striping patterns, green pants/helmet, side panels, black dropshadows...oof. They're so close to a top-three look, yet so far.

Calgary: I think I touched up on them already. Just revert back to this (http://cdn.c.photoshelter.com/img-get/I0000qrjiAEUdj.E/s/750/750/Lubo-Zizakovic-Calgary-Stampeders-1995-2.jpg), or something like it.

Saskatchewan: Weak, but not awful. The template is generic, the helmet needs a stripe (keep only the green one), and those side panels look AWFUL near the armpits. I can live with black as trim, but I wouldn't mind a return to all-green. This (http://cflfootball.files.wordpress.com/2010/07/saskatchewan-roughriders-celebrate.jpg) would be okay jersey-wise.

Winnipeg: I kinda like these. My only real gripe is the traditional logo clashing with the modern template (which isn't great - the sleeves are a bit odd - but I can live with it).

Hamilton: Fantastic. Other than the lack of a helmet stripe, my only complaint is how the leaping tiger appears five teams around the players' head and shoulders (both sides of the helmet, both sleeves, and underneath the back collar). Remove the sleeve logos and put the tiger hear underneath the back collar, and you're perfect.

Toronto: Great; all you need is a helmet stripe (preferably to match the pants) and a Cambridge blue outline in the numbers - the two things the 1980s throwbacks have on their current set (http://cfl.uploads.mrx.ca/tor/images/en/general/2013/09/crop_19737951428.jpg).

Ottawa: When an expansion team called the REDBLACKS promises a modern look, you can do a hell of a lot worse than what they wear. Still, there are some major flaws that need to be addressed. Add a helmet stripe - thick white with thin red outlines. Change the number font to something more legible, and make the numbers on the home jersey white with a red outline. Ditch the side panels, and put primarily red striping on the sleeves and pants. Oh, and ditch the monochrome - wear white pants at home and black on the road. Use only the white helmet as well.

Montréal: Unis are good, but that logo is a horrendous product of the 1990s. Draw up something less cartoony, and do something about the outlines - none on the roads, but two on the homes? Have blue numbers outlines in silver on the road, and white outlined in silver at home.

I had a CFL concept series going on (http://boards.sportslogos.net/topic/94775-cfl-concepts/) and I just remembered I still have some concepts in my computer that I never got around to posting. I'll pick that series back up soon.