Lights Out

I also liked that look for the Flyers, and I agree that an orange version would have been nice as well. The sleeve stripes were almost wing-like. A while back, I made a concept to that effect. I also think the Islanders nailed it with their Edge 1.0 look and every change they've made since then has been a downgrade. The orange sleeves popped, especially on the road whites. And as much as people complain about phantom yokes, I think they were used to great effect here. The front numbers were unnecessary, and the shoulder patches should have been on both sides, but beyond those minor details, this was a fine look. Unlike most of the early Edge experiments, this could have been worn in any era without raising an eyebrow.

I always did like the teal jersey (black numbers and all) and the white jersey. The other two, I could take or leave.

Maybe he didn't want them to do this while he was still alive.

Even knowing the history, it still has to be said: UCLA wants their uniforms back.

They didn't put 3 stripes on every jersey, sure, but they still made sure to put their stamp on every single jersey with those ridiculous-looking collars.

"We tried nothing and we're all out of ideas."

Not sure how unpopular this opinion really is. IMO, those uniforms were the only redeemable aspect of the Padres' navy era.

I'm not sure we can really judge what Nike would do with the NHL from their college hockey uniforms. They use a completely different template in college basketball compared to the NBA. That could also end up being the case with hockey.

Can't say I've noticed this so-called freakout, just people pointing out that there were a ton of issues with Adidas, so Adidas walking away the NHL isn't the end of the world. Again, we have no idea who's getting the contract yet, so all the doomposting about Nike "projectile vomiting" all over the NHL is very premature.

Kind of weird that they're just not acknowledging the Minneapolis era even though they still claim those championships.

Bone was never going to work because it's not an appealing color. It's just dark enough to clash with their bright shades of blue and gold, but still way too light to work as a grey jersey. It really does look like they forgot to wash their road whites. It will always boggle my mind that a team wanted to look unsanitary and gross.

While I'm not sold on all-black for the Mets, or most other teams for that matter, I honestly do think the Pirates somehow made it work back in the day. The "bumblebee" combo also looked nice.

Most of Reebok's messes were already cleaned up before Adidas took over. The ones that weren't - Arizona, Calgary, and Ottawa come to mind - still kept their Edge looks well into the Adidas era before eventually switching to throwbacks full-time (so nothing that required any effort on Adidas' part, since those uniforms were already designed decades ago). Adidas then went on to make their own messes and also downgrade uniforms that were already perfectly fine, like how they oversimplified Nashville's stripes for no reason, removed the Devils' hem stripes, and swapped out the Canes' logo for their wannabe-Rangers wordmark on the road. IMO, the one mess that Adidas deserves credit for cleaning up is Colorado, and even then, they pretty much just went back to their old uniforms, so again, it's not like Adidas really had to do much. On the other hand, I do have to give props to Adidas for somehow making shiny gold sweaters work for Vegas (which makes it even more baffling how badly they screwed up with Georgia Tech). My biggest worry is that the next manufacturer will either ditch those entirely or butcher them.

Thank you! I don't kiss the ass of any corporation, but it's just a fact that Adidas is responsible for way worse stuff over the years than Nike. Look no further than the dumpster fire uniforms they recently revealed for Georgia Tech football. Even in the NHL, it was Adidas, not Nike, who was responsible for those ugly navy Oilers sweaters they just got rid of, and the half-assed "stealth pattern" Sharks thirds, and the Justin Bieber Leafs jerseys, etc. It was Adidas, not Nike, who screwed up something as simple as jersey collars, causing several teams to adopt the same "toilet seat necklace" look that was despised in football when Nike did it with the Pro Combat template. The idea that Adidas' departure is going to be some huge loss for the NHL's aesthetics is puzzling and seemingly backed by nothing other than people's kneejerk negative response to Nike - who, by the way, might not even end up getting the contract for all we know.

Thank goodness Adidas' stupid-looking collars will be gone soon.

The new helmets are an improvement for sure, but I wouldn't go that far. They're still pretty bland. Overall, I still don't think they look better than Clemson, FSU, UNC, VT, or (unpopular opinion) NC State. If Miami ever fixed their stripes, they would move ahead too. I think Virginia had the basis for a nice identity with the uniforms their basketball team wore for their national title and they should have just copied that in every other sport.

No? They modified the logo after the lawsuit to make it look less like Iowa's. They've worn the new version on their helmets as recently as 2020 (against North Alabama). As far as I can tell, the tiny cramped double-decker wordmark has stuck around out of some misguided sense of "tradition" after being in use since 1990, not due to legal issues.

I'll go further and say that their best helmets had an actual logo, not a tiny cramped wordmark that's illegible from a distance.

I guess USF is just never going to come to their senses and wear gold helmets/pants again. Then again, if Georgia Tech's new look is any indication, Adidas would probably screw it up.

Hmm... it's all technically well-designed, but there's really nothing separating it from the million other sports networks who all use the same modern flat aesthetic.

That's just not true. The original Hornets were a huge deal, routinely leading the league in attendance and selling tons of merchandise, despite being a treadmill team in a mid-tier market... until word got out on what the owner was doing. George Shinn permanently damaged the NBA in Charlotte by being such a slimeball. The league also gave Charlotte the Cleveland deal upfront specifically to avoid the PR fiasco that the NFL had with the Browns' relocation, so it's a bit unfair to blame the city for not reacting so strongly when the NBA made sure they didn't have to.

FIU's brand is just so dull and uninspiring, especially for a school in Miami. It's like the Wish.com version of Pitt. Their continued blandness reflects the apathy that's gotten them stuck in CUSA hell when they arguably could have made the same leap that UCF did if they had real leadership. At least when Raja Bell and Carlos Arroyo were playing there, they had something resembling a brand of their own, as over-the-top '90s as it was. Their baseball team also used to have its own look instead of ripping off the Padres.

They couldn't at least try to match the helmets like the Rams did?

That shade of gold on the pants is so far off the mark, it's distracting. Adidas just sucks, period. They can't do modern or traditional looks right. There desperately needs to be more than three (really more like two with UA's issues) brands in this space.

I didn't think it could get worse than the Jazz's new look, but here we are. The Cavs didn't even try. I liked their outgoing uniforms more than most, but surely everyone has to admit they're at least a billion times better than this glorified practice gear.