SSmith48

As much as I would usually hate this idea, screw it, do it for the memories. Orange here, orange there, orange everywhere. It is the Orange Bowl after all.

This is weird: the Defenders have 2 pairs of red pants, one with stripes for the home uniform, and one without stripe for the away. Not sure why they went with this instead of a pair of white pants. Just very redundant.

Ok there's a lot to unpack here... First, I don't think I'm disappointed, but rather think that these missed the mark. The general idea is in the right place: give teams uniforms that think outside the box and look unique (it is the XFL after all), and have each team receive a signature color. They did a good job with this, and each team has a recognizable look because of it. That's not the issue I'm having. What I do have a problem with is I think they went too gimmicky, almost to their own detriment. Many of the teams with strong signature looks originally (DC, St. Louis, Houston, etc.) didn't need to be changed much, but their look got thrown in a blender and completely changed. Many of the teams suffer because of it. It's all too "in your face" and not practical enough in some cases. I like some of the elements and ideas, just not the way they implement them. Also, of course they decided to do the unveiling with action movie trailer-style videos with way too many cuts and close ups, paired with terrible lighting. I never understood this trend. This is a football uniform, not a blockbuster feature film. San Antonio: The helmet doesn't remind me of a bull, and to be honest, if was shown this with no prior knowledge, I wouldn't know what it was trying to represent. I like the matte gray finish though. The yellow road uniform is the better set of the two; the contrasting caps look better than the over-the-sleeve stripe when paired with the collar pattern. Color scheme is nice. The gradient numbers on the home didn't need to be there. Vegas: The most inoffensive set of the league. I'm whelmed here. Nothing I particularly like or hate about this set. Orlando: Not a fan of this set at all. The home jersey is disgustingly garish, the road lacks any color in contrast. Makes it look like they didn't know what color scheme they wanted to go with. Only redeeming piece here is the helmet, which is actually quite nice. Overall, it's a massive downgrade. The OG Guardians set was my favorite from the 2020 season. St. Louis: Another downgrade all around. Needs more navy IMO. The original set had really nice color balance, this one just doesn't feel right, can't put my finger on exactly why though. Silver helmet with wings is not bad at all, especially with the metallic logo, but the blue shell with the full logo from 2020 was spectacular. Seattle: Orange is a weird choice for a team named the SEA Dragons. Despite that, I think this is one of the better sets from this iteration. It's just the orange feels off and if you're going to roll with that at home, there needs to be some on the away jersey. Arlington: Another set that confuses me. I love that they promoted light blue to the primary color, and I like the inline numbers, but the color composition is all off. The helmet was light blue/black/white, and home jersey is light blue/black/red, and the away jersey is white/light blue/red. making all the elements together feel unbalanced. The sleeve stripes could also use another thin stripe of another color, they feel very plain and blocky in their current form. Houston: Not a fan of this one at all. The original Roughnecks brand looked unique, especially with silver. This just looks like if the Texans decided to play in Arena Football with the Navy/Red/White color scheme, gaudy Texas flag helmet with mismatched logo/number on each side, the gradient numbers, and the contrasting yoke that looks like they just colored it in on Microsoft paint. They just tried to cover too much ground here. Doesn't quite fit the look of a "Roughneck" too me, it's too polished. DC: This one is ok. The camo and gradient number inline are a bit overkill IMO, but the sleeve stripes and relative simplicity is nice. Would have preferred a red helmet or facemask here though. As much as the 2020 uniforms were hit and miss, they worked better than these do overall because they were, for the most part, practical. I expect some of these will grow on me, but I'm just not feeling these looks for now. Check back in with me after a couple weeks of play I guess.

Teasers have been released... and hoo boy tomorrow might be interesting. Looks like the images were altered with a monochrome filter. Looks like some very unique graphics and/or designs are on deck. Also, these seem to confirm that Under Armour will be the league's uniform brand, as the fabric looks like the Armourgrid technology that they use. Given UA's ties to Dwayne Johnson, I'm not surprised, he has his own collection with them. EDIT: Actually did some more digging, and it's definitely Under Armour. Looks like some UA gear has leaked out within the last few days.

Probably not, as that would by a department-wide change. They wouldn't ditch a contract just cause of one sport. I wouldn't be surprised to see some new uniforms at least by next year though. Coach Prime will push for them, plus a wealth of unique combos throughout the year.

Wyoming with some glorious threads tonight in the Dembo-era throwbacks. Also, Nebraska has some new uniforms this season, a home, road, and alternate so far. I like them, a definite upgrade from the templated looks from the last few seasons. I absolutely adore that Nebraska script on the reds. The alternate uniform is white, but features subtle cream pinstripes made of the shorts pattern from the other sets.

The gradient isn't bad for a one off, and in this case, it serves a purpose. Nike and Under Armour always do a nice job for Army/Navy. They may not always be the most practical look, but the amount of thought that goes into each look without it being overdone is nice. Each uniform has a clear purpose and inspiration and doesn't try to push too many gimmicks in to do it.

I think it's a step in the right direction. There's a lot of apprehension, but I don't think we could have gotten a better hire at this point, everyone else we were considering either doesn't fit the culture the athletic program wants to install or did not perform well as the season went on. I remain cautiously optimistic, but as long as Husker fans don't get their expectations up too much, I think Rhule will get us back on track, given his track record of rebuilding programs. Keeping Mickey Joseph would help even more, his recruiting has been solid so far. I don't think Nebraska will be championship contenders for many years, especially with Big Ten divisions being scrapped, but I would be content with consistent bowl game appearances for now. We can't get impatient, because that is what got us in the position we are in now.

It seems the Broncos' problems ran far deeper than a head coach and quarterback. Sure, the choices for each turned out to be egregiously bad, but George Paton's gambles are looking worse and worse each week, and the mountain of severe injuries piling up over the last 5 years is evident of an awful training staff. I was convinced we would be at least playoff contenders this year, so it's beyond embarrassing to see the team become the one of the worst in the NFL, if not the absolute bottom of the barrel. The new ownership will need to man up and completely reset the organization. Sure, we are probably stuck with Wilson in the long run, but we can't possibly get much worse than this, heck I can't even bear to watch them. The team is tearing itself apart, as is evidenced by the constant bickering and arguing between the players. For a team who won a Super Bowl only less than a decade ago, the consistent decline is shocking and downright pathetic. Not surprised Dan Snyder cut corners on this, as he does with everything. Probably trying to milk the Commanders for all they are worth before he's forced to sell.

I'll take one more swing

Black Friday always reminds me that, taking away the fact that the Hawkeyes' uniforms are straight Steelers rip-offs, the Nebraska-Iowa game is one of the most underrated uniform matchups between the beautiful color contrast and no-nonsense, classic designs.

Dude was so cocky for being wrong, it was almost entertaining. No other explanation except he was trolling. And no, he doesn't get brownie points for claiming the Broncos are going with blue pants. That's something anyone could have said and been right about, not to mention no official claim from the Broncos themselves. At least the Bengals helmet saga will live on in infamy on this board.

When the Bengals unveiled their new uniforms last year, I was pretty convinced that the away jersey/set was custom made for the white tiger helmet whenever it would be introduced. I was a little disappointed to see the just brought back the old Color Rush. I think the newer set looks a lot sleeker, whether it be because its simpler, or the font fits a bit better, or whatever that reason is. I'm just not 100% sold on that Color Rush set when the current all white would do the same thing, but better. I mean, this: Looks better overall IMO than this:

I'll join.

The Hound's brand looks nice. Green and light blue together isn't used enough in sports, so it's nice to see that color scheme make an appearance here. As for the Giltinis and Gilgronis, I don't really watch rugby, but seeing those names told me all I needed to know about how well those franchises were run. You can't tell me the owner took these teams seriously, naming them after a combination of his last name and a cocktail. That's way too weird, even for minor league baseball, and they have Rumble Ponies and Vibes in their lineup. Good riddance.

I'm going to look at this as an upgrade across the board. The previous branding was feeling a bit generic (minus the powder blue), and while this is a simplification, I think they carried over enough character to have it not totally corporatized and made plenty of changes that don't feel overthought or hypermarketed. The single-color numbers/lettering is going to take some getting used to, but with the amount of navy and red teams in the MLB, it allows for the Twins to stand out. The MLB as a whole has done pretty good with new uniforms and brands for the most part since Nike took over. There's been some misses, but I'm putting the Twins in the hit column for now.

I think the yellow accents are a bit much (white would have looked better) but I’m pleasantly surprised. Glad to see they are embracing the red-pink color.

The fact that we are at the point where we are cutting color options in favor of digital ads is shameful. The NBA opened up the door an inch with the introduction of jersey ads, and now they’ve let advertisers run roughshod over the entire league because of it, on the courts, on the jerseys, everywhere. It’s a growing trend elsewhere, but the NBA has welcomed it across the board more so than other leagues. The NBA has embraced the consumer becoming the product, that’s pretty startling. Sad thing is all this advertising will become more common across all sports. NHL is falling to it, the MLB is starting to. Only a matter of time before the NFL introduces digital ads on the field if they haven’t already.

Round 2! I'll take a crack!

Rapids released a teaser of "a new era" to be revealed tomorrow. New shirt sponsor perhaps? Hard to believe something larger, there hasn't been any solid leaks or rumors, at least to my knowledge. Guess we will see what happens. EDIT: It's definitely a shirt sponsor. UCHealth has a giveaway website up showing the sponsor, and as far as I can tell, it's legit. Looks like they jumped the gun here. According to the website, the initial deal will run from 2023 to 2029. UCHealth and the Colorado Rapids - Enter to Win a Rapids Jersey

Got polls on social media too. New uniforms are coming, there’s not doubt about that now. Just have to wait and see what unfolds. It’s a bit refreshing seeing the fans consulted on this. I know they were waiting to sell the team to start the process. Let’s just hope they take some fan input into account, and don’t pull a Rams/Commanders and overdesign everything.

Refuses to color inside the lines, yet the design is contained within a box on the front of the jersey. Don't think they really conveyed what they were trying to say there.

I have a couple of ideas: -Color replication may be more than effort than what it's worth, although considering how many colors Nike has that are similar, I think this is unlikely. -The other possibility I can think of is that the cream blends into the wood court too much, resulting in visibility issues. I think this is more likely, and I can see where they are coming from with this. It does sort of blend in, especially at the right angle and lighting (TV): It's unfortunate, but I think the situation is similar to what Serie A did with green uniforms. Since there are digital ads now, the cream color blending with the court so much would disrupt that. I think that's why he tiptoed around the issue. It sucks, but it's what this is all heading towards.

This set of City uniforms is pretty meh across the board. None of these really scream instant classic or memorable except for San Antonio, Detroit, Washington, and maybe Portland. What this release does excel at is delusional Nike-speak. Just take a look at some of the lines from the Nike website: -Atlanta's uniform being 3 years away from the previous Peachtree set, the same amount of time it takes for a peach tree to grow. -The Nuggets' jocktag logo, which has been around for a number of years, being over-dissected. This isn't anything new, no need to act like it is. -Side gradient on the Warriors' uniform representing the diversity of the Bay Area. -The Lakers' uniform representing a literal "blank canvas". What is the point then? Seems like an excuse to give a reason behind a rather plain white, purple, and black uniform. -The Timberwolves' font being representative of an "iconic building in the Minneapolis skyline". What building? -The entire Magic set being vaguely defined, save for a mention of "metal armor". I have no idea what the inspiration behind the uniform is that connects to the city, beside something Disney? -Uni Watch broke it down well, but the entire Kings uniform is marketed with a false sense of fans with "unmatched passion" keeping the team in Sacramento, when it was the Board of Directors. The team is also near constantly in the bottom of attendance each year (no offense to any current Kings fans). -The Thunder wordmark across the chest "unifies the state". It's a wordmark, it's supposed to be there, no need to overmarket it. There are some other examples, but that list is long enough already. But it's marketing like this that convinces me that Nike is trying too hard with what's becoming an increasingly confined premise in the City theme. Half of these descriptions were so hard to read through, almost as if they were reaching for buzz words to sound credible, but in the end it all sounds like utter nonsense. The City program needs to end or be re-evaluated, it's clear that ideas for the program are running out or becoming overmarketed. It's a shame, because some of these sets aren't bad either, but I just don't care as much about new uniforms in the NBA as I used to.

White over navy again for the Broncos this week. Another “lucky combo” in the NFL this season.