Lions New Logo and Uniforms 2017

[Sleeper66]

10 minutes ago, Ice_Cap said:

Well we all saw how that turned out...

 

There are plenty of Pistons fans who love that logo/uniform set, though I'm not one of them. And there'll be plenty of Lions fans who love whatever Nike conjures up.

 

I'm already starting the five-year clock in the assumption that they'll screw it up, then come to their senses... eventually.

[oldschoolvikings]

27 minutes ago, Sleeper66 said:

 

I'm already starting the five-year clock in the assumption that they'll screw it up, then come to their senses... eventually.

 

The Lions do have a tendency to switch things up more often than most NFL teams.  In 2003, they went from this;

 

 

To this;

 

Then, in 2009, they went to this;

 

 

And after 7 seasons in that, they're changing again.  That will make it four uniforms in 15 years.  Is there any other NFL team that can compete with that?  Maybe Jacksonville?

[Sleeper66]

Well, "switch things up" is one way to put it. I've always considered it "flailing." This is a franchise that's never been able to decide if it's traditional or cutting edge, and has tried (since the Millen BFBS) to split the difference.

 

They're a little similar to the Vikings in that regard. When the Vikes did their "upgrade" in '06 they were trying really hard to be modern. Luckily for their fans they figured it out the next time around (mostly). 

 

The Bears and Packers know who the hell they are. The Lions define themselves by focus groups and fads. I so wish I could quit them....

[VikWings]

11 hours ago, oldschoolvikings said:

 

The Lions do have a tendency to switch things up more often than most NFL teams.  In 2003, they went from this;

 

 

To this;

 

Then, in 2009, they went to this;

 

 

And after 7 seasons in that, they're changing again.  That will make it four uniforms in 15 years.  Is there any other NFL team that can compete with that?  Maybe Jacksonville?

 

And the downgraded each time.

 

I honestly don't mind the Millen era black trimmed ones. Sure the black was BFBS but it was still a good looking uniform. (I even liked the black alt, don't shoot me)

 

The 2009 update was just dumb and pointless with the change to that hideous number font.

[oldschoolvikings]

51 minutes ago, VikWings said:

 

And the downgraded each time.

 

I honestly don't mind the Millen era black trimmed ones. Sure the black was BFBS but it was still a good looking uniform. (I even liked the black alt, don't shoot me)

 

The 2009 update was just dumb and pointless with the change to that hideous number font.

 

To me the '09 update was a classic lateral move.  I thought the black was incorporated much more successfully in the stripe patterns, but I disliked the number font and that silly skinny helmet stripe.

[BJ Sands]

I guess I'm one of the few who really liked the Lions' most recent set.

 

Though I'm on record liking the supposed direction of the new uniforms, one thing does concern me. I'm betting there will be chrome facemasks to go with shiny silver helmets. That's fine, but will clash with the matte gray on the jerseys and pants because Nike claims it can't do gloss with the current templates.

[WSU151]

I'm pretty sure a common post upon uniform reveal will be "They should have gone with blue facemasks."  Leave shiny chrome to college teams.

[oldschoolvikings]

12 minutes ago, BJ Sands said:

Though I'm on record liking the supposed direction of the new uniforms, one thing does concern me. I'm betting there will be chrome facemasks to go with shiny silver helmets. That's fine, but will clash with the matte gray on the jerseys and pants because Nike claims it can't do gloss with the current templates.

 

My guess is if they bring in a chrome mask, they'll also incorporate some chrome (or at least, chrome-like) features in other parts of the uniform.  They've been using reflective materials for trim in a few college designs for a while now.  Also on the new alarm clock numbers they gave to the Buccaneers;

 

 

I'll bring this up again... on that teaser image they the added a few bright lens flairs, the kind you'd photoshop onto the chrome in an ad for a car, if you were trying to show off how reflective it is.  Could mean nothing, or... 

[Yippy]

13 hours ago, Sleeper66 said:

Well, "switch things up" is one way to put it. I've always considered it "flailing." This is a franchise that's never been able to decide if it's traditional or cutting edge, and has tried (since the Millen BFBS) to split the difference.

 

They're a little similar to the Vikings in that regard. When the Vikes did their "upgrade" in '06 they were trying really hard to be modern. Luckily for their fans they figured it out the next time around (mostly). 

 

The Bears and Packers know who the hell they are. The Lions define themselves by focus groups and fads. I so wish I could quit them....

Perfectly articulated

 

The Lions should/could have a wildly popular jersey that would fly off the racks and be especially popular with the adult fans by going 100% traditional

 

My take on the Lions going traditional:

• toning down the Honolulu blue to their more original shade
• simplifying the color scheme (no black, chrome, nike nonsense)
• block numbers and traditional striping pattern

 

OR be wildy popular with the kids and "trendsters" by going 100% modern

 

My take on the lions going modern:

• "Nike-fying" their Honolulu blue
• going all out with chrome facemasks, trim, outlines
• keeping black in their color scheme
• adding some type of "effect" on the numbers and/or fabric, lion's fur immediately comes to mind
• heck, even changing the helmet color to black, Honolulu blue, or chrome
• ditching their sleeve stripes more a more contemporary pattern

 

My point is they are at an identity crossroads, and trying to appeal to both generations will continue to leave their uniforms in the middle of the pack

 

 

 

 

[PaleVermilion81]

Minus the number font, I actually thought the most recent Lions' uniform was one of the best in the league. I never understood the obsession with the old Lions' set without the black. It just seems dull and dated. The 2009 updates were perfect with how they used black as a secondary color as it it added some color contrast, and the stripe pattern of black-white-blue-white-black was solid and had balance.  From a design standpoint it was great. 

[GFB]

No one has actually seen the uniforms at this point, so if you've already picked your stance on these soon-to-be uniforms based on a highly edited and damaged poster, you need to calm down.  I'm not thrilled about the sleeve wordmark (it's dumb, but it's not something you're going to be able to see from the TV cam) or what looks like white numbers on a silver uniform (should be blue), but I would happily trade that for the removal of black, silver masks, and a better number font... As long as they dodge the "wordmark on the pants" bullet, these uniforms should be an upgrade.   

[BJ Sands]

1 hour ago, GFB said:

No one has actually seen the uniforms at this point, so if you've already picked your stance on these soon-to-be uniforms based on a highly edited and damaged poster, you need to calm down.  I'm not thrilled about the sleeve wordmark (it's dumb, but it's not something you're going to be able to see from the TV cam) or what looks like white numbers on a silver uniform (should be blue), but I would happily trade that for the removal of black, silver masks, and a better number font... As long as they dodge the "wordmark on the pants" bullet, these uniforms should be an upgrade.   

That's what we do here.

[oldschoolvikings]

Exactly.  I don't plan on calming down... I have a reputation to uphold.

[IceCap]

15 hours ago, Sleeper66 said:

 

There are plenty of Pistons fans who love that logo/uniform set, though I'm not one of them. And there'll be plenty of Lions fans who love whatever Nike conjures up.

Well sure. You'll get a few contrarians who profess love for that horsepower Pistons set, but Hey. They represent a down period sandwiched beteeen two championships both won in their traditional red, white, and blue. 

It was trendy garbage that rightfully was discarded when it was.

Will that apply to the new Lions uniform? Who knows. I haven't seen enough to form an opinion. 

 

Though I will say that dropping the goofy number font and the black are two positive developments.

[Sleeper66]

1 hour ago, GFB said:

No one has actually seen the uniforms at this point, so if you've already picked your stance on these soon-to-be uniforms based on a highly edited and damaged poster, you need to calm down.

 

Out of the question.

 

That said, the "wordmark on sleeve" move blows, but nothing I'm "seeing" in the new set reeks like this:

 

 

Those horrific sleeve stripes were really underrated in terms of their awfulness. No rhyme, no reason, no thanks.

[SSmith48]

Honestly, I don't often have problems with "Nike-Speak" as long as the details are logical and coherent with the rest of the uniform. Take the chromed/silver facemasks for example: I felt like they were going with a grey or silver facemask, and the chromed-out look, which is no doubt inspired by the old motor industry of Detroit, looks like it will flow well into the rest of the uniform. I still have my doubts, but *almost* anything they go with should be better than their current mess.

[Sec19Row53]

1 minute ago, SSmith48 said:

Honestly, I don't often have problems with "Nike-Speak" as long as the details are logical and coherent with the rest of the uniform. Take the chromed/silver facemasks for example: I felt like they were going with a grey or silver facemask, and the chromed-out look, which is no doubt inspired by the old motor industry of Detroit, and it looks like it will flow well into the uniform. I still have my doubts, but *almost* anything they go with should be better than their current mess.

Understood - but when Nike-speak leads to such doozies as 'The jaguars helmet fades from black to gold to indicate the jaguar springing from the shadows as it hunts' when the REVERSE is what those colors depict in real life (black ought to be behind as it leaves the shadows) shows that they create Nike-speak after the fact without regard to the crap they foist on their uniforms.

[IceCap]

47 minutes ago, SSmith48 said:

I felt like they were going with a grey or silver facemask, and the chromed-out look, which is no doubt inspired by the old motor industry of Detroit...

...just like the Bucs' chrome mask was inspired by the old motor industry of Tampa?

 

Nike-speak is just what it sounds like. Corporate platitudes and buzzwords meant to shill trends. 

[Milkman14]

27 minutes ago, Ice_Cap said:

...just like the Bucs' chrome mask was inspired by the old motor industry of Tampa?

 

Nike-speak is just what it sounds like. Corporate platitudes and buzzwords meant to shill trends. 

I feel like Nike is the modern day boy who cried wolf.  We have so many examples were the explanation is obviously an afterthought that even if their explanation is genuine I have a tough time believing it.

[IceCap]

Just now, Milkman14 said:

I feel like Nike is the modern day boy who cried wolf.  We have so many examples were the explanation is obviously an afterthought that even if their explanation is genuine I have a tough time believing it.

Sometimes there's a deeper meaning to things. The Mets' blue and orange colour scheme comes to mind. There's a reason for that outside of aesthetics.

 

Cases like that are a minority though. Often team names, colours, and uniform elements are chosen for reasons that just boil down to the aesthetic preferences of the manufacturer and club. 

Not everything has a deeper meaning, and Nike-speak's (which isn't limited to Nike) attempt to assign meaning just makes everyone involved look foolish. 

 

A great case would be the Maple Leafs' new logo. All they had to say was "we wanted to go with the old logo, but it was a bit rough so we cleaned it up." 

Instead Reebok and the team tried to give meaning to every vein and point in the leaf and just ended up looking foolish.