ESPN Uni Watch Ranks the Best Dressed Cities

[bosrs1]

I think there's a difference between having an opinion, which we all do, and then adequately defending said opinion, which PL usually leaves something to be desired for me.

He's done a lot for this niche interest and he's good when all he has to do is collect and report uniform news, but the articles when he has to back up his statements with reasoning are usually a swing and a miss for me. I don't even disagree with a lot of his opinions I just wish he was better at explaining his reasoning.

Yeah reading his articles usually is like reading something posted on this board. And that's not a knock on any of us. We're fans with opinions. But he's now a paid journalist for the biggest sports site/company in the US. But his opinions come across as nothing more than ones like our own. And in some cases even less well reasoned. But then again he fits in with ESPN's content these days. They're heavy into ranking random crap these days with flimsy rationale behind it just to generate desperately needed content.

[IceCap]

Yes, design is subjective. But that doesn't mean that my assessment of Lukas as a columnist should be thrown out the window because of that. I don't dislike him because I disagree with him; I dislike him because he's bad at critiquing design.

Take someone like Armin Vit, who reviews branding projects over at Brand New. I don't always agree with his assessments, but everything he writes is thoughtful and well-versed. He looks at every design in an objective manner and outlines his justifications well. Lukas does the opposite of that.

This is much better explained than my more vitriolic and hyperbolic point. Paul, while I appreciate his contributions and exposure he has created, was kind of a right guy at the right place at the right time. I wish it was someone with actual design acumen would have been that guy, personally. But as a designer, that could certainly be me being slightly bourgeois.

I'd say so. I mean if you follow that line of thinking to its logical conclusion? Most of us should just stop posting. We're not designers either! Hell, let's go one further and bar journalists from covering a sport if they've never played it themselves.

[tigerslionspistonshabs]

I don't understand why he's using his likeness of the team's stadiums as some form of ranking criteria. You're ranking the uniforms, not whether or not they play on real turf or under a dome or have more than 20 urinals in the men's bathroom.

[cajunaggie08]

I don't understand why he's using his likeness of the team's stadiums as some form of ranking criteria. You're ranking the uniforms, not whether or not they play on real turf or under a dome or have more than 20 urinals in the men's bathroom.

That's how Lukas works. He always finds a way to interject his opinion on something inconsequential to the main topic into the subject at hand.

[The_Admiral]

Why can't you count the stadium against the Rams' uniforms? They know the team plays in a dark depressing dome and nevertheless designed uniforms that look bad in that setting. That represents a failure of design.

[Gothamite]

You have to count the stadium against the Rams, for that very reason.

[WSU151]

Why can't you count the stadium against the Rams' uniforms? They know the team plays in a dark depressing dome and nevertheless designed uniforms that look bad in that setting. That represents a failure of design.

So for the 50%+ of the games when they don't play in the dome, or at night, they're still penalized?

You have to count the stadium against the Rams, for that very reason.

Not really. Those navy uniforms wouldn't be much better in an open-air stadium. And the thing is, the navy helmet is noted as the best helmet in the NFL, so the dark color has little factor.

If the Rams helmet is a 10 (best), then essentially, to get to an overall score of 4.5 before stadium intangibles, the jersey and the pants would have to be a 1 or a couple decimals higher, assuming helmet-jersey-pants are equally weighted.

[BBTV]

For Pittsburgh, I think his comments on the stadium and bridges are relevant because it shows that the uniforms tie in to the city so much, which could be used to bolster their rankings. As for the EJD, IDK - the way it's written it's kind of irrelevant - and the Rams uniforms have been dull in any light ever since they dropped the gold pants. Bring back the gold pants and it's a great uniform (even if still a little dark.)

I'm surprised nobody has pointed out how poor the renderings are. I think every single city has at least one, and in some cases three uniforms with glaring errors.

[Shadojoker]

I think he just went for shock&awe without putting too much thinking to it...that or he was recruited by the Slim Thug of Boston..

[ScubaSteve]

For what it's worth, Lukas responded to a few of the more common complaints in a uni-watch post:

http://www.uni-watch.com/2015/08/20/cubs-tigers-throwback-to-1945/

• “You rated the Patriots too high.”First, there was a glitch yesterday that affected the Power Rankings page. For the first few hours that the piece was up, the scores for the Boston teams were wrong — they were all listed as 8. The proper scores, which we eventually inserted once we discovered the error, are Red Sox (8), Patriots (7.5), Celtics (8.5), and Bruins (9.5). Most of the objections to the Pats’ score came in while it was mistakenly listed as 8, which I agree is too high. But I think 7.5 is just right. It’s true that the Pats would look better without the side panels. Aside from that, though, I think they’re a good-looking team (especially on the road, where the have striped socks). Is their current design as good as the Pat Patriot-era design? No, but it’s still a solid design, at least to me.

• “You rated the Blackhawks too low [7 out of 10].” As I’ve explained many times over the years, I’m not a fan of the Blackhawks’ red uniform, which I think is too loud.

• “You should have included MLS kits.” As I explained in yesterday’s post, I didn’t include MLS kits because they change too often, most of them feature big ads that keep me from taking them seriously, and I’m ill-equipped to assess soccer kits anyway.

• “You should have deducted points for the Oakland Coliseum.” Actually, I considered adding a point for the Raiders playing on a baseball infield for the early part of the season — I love that look. In the end, though, I decided it was too minor an issue for something that only affects one or two home games.

• “You’re nuts! Everyone knows [whatever].” Lots of people took me to task for going against popular opinion. As I tried to explain to such people, it’s not a critic’s job to worry about what is or isn’t popular. As some of you may recall, we explored that topic in greater detail about a year and a half ago.

All in all, a fun project. Thanks to all who took the time to check it out.

LMFAO I love it when he poses these questions and then essentially argues back....to himself. I know it's a summation of the feedback he receives, but it sounds like the ramblings of a crazy person.

Just to chime in, I appreciate what the guy does and I read his stuff. But I do agree that I hate when he acts as the "authority" both of design and morals (a Redskins update like every day? Get over yourself, man). He just comes off as a snob. But again, it's his blog and he can do what he wants.

[BJ Sands]

The Pats are such a mess on the road.

Silver helmets when the color is scarce everywhere else, creating a seriously unbalanced look. One of the (many) failings of the whole set is how silver is so prominent at home but minor on the roads.

Back to the roads, the number outline is ugly. The side panels are worse and don't even line up with the striping on the navy pants.

And those socks, which he says he loves, are brutal because the three stripes don't align with anything in their entire set.

But he likes striped socks so the Pats' set is better than the Blackhawks... which has distinctive striping.

[daniel75]

Stupid list compiled by one man's opinion.

[SplashBoogie]

I don't even know why I bother looking at a Lukas article...he's like the FOX News of uniform commentating.

[Gothamite]

I don't even know why I bother looking at a Lukas article...he's like the FOX News of uniform commentating.

Nah, at least Lukas is honest.

You don't have to like his opinion, but it is actually his opinion.