NFL Changes 2015

[Sykotyk]

No, that wasn't his primary issue and yes, I'm aware of the issue with sleeves. But that has nothing to do with the Dolphins cramming in (or keeping) blue and minimalizing orange to the point that you barely see it. He likes that the Dolphins are wearing less orange. Modern uniform templates don't preclude use of orange.

Considering his post I quoted (and the other users response), it was. Sleekness of the uniform and that it 'makes sense' is paramount both on and off the field. That it plays into being able to wear it out in public and not looking like an arena team, or an Oregon Ducks day-glo jersey would be a plus to most fans.

If you had to ask, which jersey do fans of the Broncos like wearing: orange or blue, they'd probably say blue. On the field, they'd probably say orange. Browns fans, for instance, generally like the white at home and brown to wear as fans. That doesn't take away from the argument that the design of the uniforms isn't bad. Especially given the part I quoted. He primarily cared that the uniform he is wearing matches what the players are actually wearing. And that it's simple. Overly done uniforms tend not to be favorites. Look at the Steelers bumblebee uniform. Not many fans are going to wear a pee-soaked prison uniform around town. Whether they're going for style points or not.

That is unequivocally false. During one of the years Mike Holmgren was running the front office, he got the bright idea to have the team wear white at home for the full season, thinking it would be a nice homage to the franchise's glory days. But, as with so many other things the Browns have done, fan reaction was overwhelmingly negative. The experiment was dropped after one season.

Well, being a Browns fan and season ticket holder, I like the whites at home EXCEPT for the divisional games. I don't like seeing the Steelers wear their home uniforms in Cleveland. From what I gathered of people around me, whites are okay. Orange is a non-starter. Brown is okay, but not preferable. The reason whites were derided was because the team stunk. And, just like this upcoming change, fans really don't care, they just want to win. It comes off that the team is trying to pull a fast one and give fans something to care about (new uniforms, etc) instead of win. Though I don't feel that way, to a lot of people it comes off that the team has their priorities wrong (we know it's different parts of the FO that handle the football side and the marketing side).

That's why this recent change was cataclysmic. Most fans I know wanted something OTHER than the helmet for merchandise. What did we get? UPDATED helmet for the merchandise. What fans didn't seem to want was 'revolutionary' changes to the uniforms. What are we going to get? Revolutionary changes to the uniforms.

I know the team is hoping to boost jersey sales with new uniforms... however, the fact that people will spring for a new uniform of a particular player to replace their old uniform of the same player (or to replace their one and only jersey to keep up with the team), doesn't go away from the fact that the new uniforms will not be wearable.

Nike's uniform design team isn't the same as their marketing team. What looks good on the field may look horrible on a fan wearing it around town. Which is the problem. It seems those two sides don't talk to one another.

[Lights Out]

Instead of overthinking designs and making them overly bland in order to make them translate easier to replica jerseys, why can't they just shorten the sleeves on the replicas a little bit to more closely emulate the game-worn jerseys? I'm not saying they need to put cap sleeves on the replicas, but something like the jersey cut that Rivers wears would be just fine for retail and would reduce a lot of the design inconsistencies between replicas and game-worns.

[sportstar1212]

Instead of overthinking designs and making them overly bland in order to make them translate easier to replica jerseys, why can't they just shorten the sleeves on the replicas a little bit to more closely emulate the game-worn jerseys? I'm not saying they need to put cap sleeves on the replicas, but something like the jersey cut that Rivers wears would be just fine for retail and would reduce a lot of the design inconsistencies between replicas and game-worns.

I agree. The sleeves on replica jerseys are obnoxiously long.

[2001mark]

Just played some of the SB blu ray... one of the Sound FX features, first 2 bits are Falcons guys laughing at the Bucs jerseys & Ravens guys laughing at the Jaguars helmets.

I can't even make that up.

[ConcreteCharlie]

Just played some of the SB blu ray... one of the Sound FX features, first 2 bits are Falcons guys laughing at the Bucs jerseys & Ravens guys laughing at the Jaguars helmets.

I can't even make that up.

Where can I find those clips?

[2001mark]

Just played some of the SB blu ray... one of the Sound FX features, first 2 bits are Falcons guys laughing at the Bucs jerseys & Ravens guys laughing at the Jaguars helmets.

I can't even make that up.

Where can I find those clips?

Well, the SB blu ray has several 3+ minute Studio FX 'chapters' among the rest of the disc's special features chapters.

I think that chapter was Sounds of the Year 'Follies'. (they've replaced the name Studio FX with the term Sounds of the Year for this blu)

[chakfu]

Instead of overthinking designs and making them overly bland in order to make them translate easier to replica jerseys, why can't they just shorten the sleeves on the replicas a little bit to more closely emulate the game-worn jerseys? I'm not saying they need to put cap sleeves on the replicas, but something like the jersey cut that Rivers wears would be just fine for retail and would reduce a lot of the design inconsistencies between replicas and game-worns.

That's ironic because I always suspect that the overly complicated templates are for merchandising purposes to make bootlegging more difficult. An old Browns jersey, plain brown with some simple stripes is easy to replicated. It's so generic someone could even argue that it wouldn't even be subject to copyright.

Meanwhile the Walmart replicas with the shoulder logos and such, or the NBA replicas with absurd wide shoudlers...I suspect they intentionally make the replicas terrible in order to 'force' people to get more expensive authentics. People would happily buy a more cheaply made / cheaper material replica if it's the correct design and looks likethe real thing. So they cripple it. (The real radioinactive man doesn't wear a smock with his picture on the front!)

Basically I doubt that making replica jerseys better is their motivation for anything.

[ltjets21]

With sun life stadium getting renovated with a canopy roof in 2016 is there a chance the dolphins start wearing teal at home?

[BBTV]

Instead of overthinking designs and making them overly bland in order to make them translate easier to replica jerseys, why can't they just shorten the sleeves on the replicas a little bit to more closely emulate the game-worn jerseys? I'm not saying they need to put cap sleeves on the replicas, but something like the jersey cut that Rivers wears would be just fine for retail and would reduce a lot of the design inconsistencies between replicas and game-worns.

That's ironic because I always suspect that the overly complicated templates are for merchandising purposes to make bootlegging more difficult. An old Browns jersey, plain brown with some simple stripes is easy to replicated. It's so generic someone could even argue that it wouldn't even be subject to copyright.

Meanwhile the Walmart replicas with the shoulder logos and such, or the NBA replicas with absurd wide shoudlers...I suspect they intentionally make the replicas terrible in order to 'force' people to get more expensive authentics. People would happily buy a more cheaply made / cheaper material replica if it's the correct design and looks likethe real thing. So they cripple it. (The real radioinactive man doesn't wear a smock with his picture on the front!)

Basically I doubt that making replica jerseys better is their motivation for anything.

Re: Browns - not sure if the design/stripes is subject to copyright in and of itself (trademark is probably another story) , but putting the word "Browns" under the collar without license has to violate something.

I figure that's why teams like the steelers and jets who had no other copyrightable marks on their uniforms added the logo patches. Could be mistaken though.

[orangefaniniowa]

With sun life stadium getting renovated with a canopy roof in 2016 is there a chance the dolphins start wearing teal at home?

If it was a retractable roof or a dome then yes there is a chance. But since it is only half a roof and not fully enclosed, I highly doubt that!!

[oldschoolvikings]

Anyone saying "I'm a Vikings fan, but I hope they put out a black hat because I can't wear a purple hat. That's garish!" deserves to be kicked in the testicles, in my opinion. They like the Vikings, or at least the concept of a team called "Vikings", but in rejecting the way the team has always looked, they're rejecting the team. They don't want to represent the team. It's supposed to represent the team. The Dolphins' colors have been aqua and orange for over 50 years. There's a huge difference between doing something awful like orange sleeves with giant orange drop shadows, and *not* throwing in an intrusive blue outline and reducing orange to the point where it's barely visible. I'm not saying the Dolphins need to look like clowns, but what they wear now isn't cutting it.

If you're going to a football game or going to a bar to watch a game, you can wear any loud or obnoxious jersey and nobody would give you a second look. You're supporting the team, and that's how the team dresses. For people who want to take it a step further and wear their gear throughout the week, to the grocery store or taking their kids to the zoo, it's the same thing. They're representing the team. When they got dressed, they chose to represent the team rather than trying to look well-dressed or otherwise presentable. And it's fine that they did so, but it's also ridiculous when some of said fans think it's beneath them to wear the appropriate team colors. Honestly, "I'm going to a football game and wearing a $150 t-shirt, drinking beer and sitting between shirtless 300 pounders with their chests painted, but egads I can't be caught dead in orange!" Kick that guy square in the balls. It's dumb. They aren't impressing people no matter what color jersey they wear. I'm not doubting some of those people exist. I know they do. But it's just a crazy line of thought and I don't think it represents a significant portion of any fanbase.

This thread got noticeably more interesting once TheOldRoman began advocating booting people in the hackysack.

[bobt]

With sun life stadium getting renovated with a canopy roof in 2016 is there a chance the dolphins start wearing teal at home?

Since the canopy will cover only the stands, and not the field of play or the sidelines, it's highly doubtful. The Dolphins want to make the fans more comfortable, not the players. They want to keep the advantage of very hot conditions on the field, and making the opposition wear the dark jerseys.

[Teal]

I wonder if Miami will unveil their new alternates around draft time.

[dennisbergan]

The Dolphins want to make the fans more comfortable, not the players. They want to keep the advantage of very hot conditions on the field, and making the opposition wear the dark jerseys

.

Even though with all uniforms now being "cool based", that "dark versus light" argument is pure bullcrap. There is literally no advantage to wearing white jerseys at home all year. Its a made-up excuse and a bogus one at that. And if were that big a factor, the Dolphins wouldn't be a .500 team at home for the past decade. It plays no difference. The Dolphins should wear teal at home because they look better and its boring to wear all white 13 or 14 out of 16 games a year.

[AgentColon2]

I'd argue that they should wear Aqua.

Yeah I know the Pantone color is same as teal but they'll always be Aqua to me.

[ConcreteCharlie]

The Florida sun is gonna give their games some of the wacky shadows that Texas stadium used to have

[Jt0323]

They should show it off when they give Suh his new uni

[Artmanc3po]

The Dolphins want to make the fans more comfortable, not the players. They want to keep the advantage of very hot conditions on the field, and making the opposition wear the dark jerseys

.

Even though with all uniforms now being "cool based", that "dark versus light" argument is pure bullcrap. There is literally no advantage to wearing white jerseys at home all year. Its a made-up excuse and a bogus one at that. And if were that big a factor, the Dolphins wouldn't be a .500 team at home for the past decade. It plays no difference. The Dolphins should wear teal at home because they look better and its boring to wear all white 13 or 14 out of 16 games a year.

Perhaps psychological advantage over opponents, if anything. "Oh, man, these dark jerseys are sooo hot out here."

[oldschoolvikings]

The Florida sun is gonna give their games some of the wacky shadows that Texas stadium used to have

That game wasn't in Texas (Cowboys wearing dark).

[Sykotyk]

The Dolphins want to make the fans more comfortable, not the players. They want to keep the advantage of very hot conditions on the field, and making the opposition wear the dark jerseys

.

Even though with all uniforms now being "cool based", that "dark versus light" argument is pure bullcrap. There is literally no advantage to wearing white jerseys at home all year. Its a made-up excuse and a bogus one at that. And if were that big a factor, the Dolphins wouldn't be a .500 team at home for the past decade. It plays no difference. The Dolphins should wear teal at home because they look better and its boring to wear all white 13 or 14 out of 16 games a year.

If you were under the impression that wearing white at home would greatly improve a team to be 'above .500', then you seem to have misjudged its benefit Still, if it can make you feel a little cooler during a game and your opponents a little sweatier, more tired, etc, then maybe on a play or two you'll get an edge. For all you know, maybe the Dolphins would be a .200 team without wearing white and .400 was the improvement. Never know.