Lions New Logo and Uniforms 2017

[Nemesis]

Having been at the unveiling, I can say that they look much better in person/live than they do in pictures  I'm excited to see if that translates to TV.  Like many, I'm not a fan of the wordmarks on the sleeves, but overall I think they hit a home run with this update.

 

The numbers on the Home Jersey are actually silver trimmed in the "dark steel grey" and not white as they sometimes appear in pictures.  Seeing them live, they can still look white at times depending on the angle, but they are definitely a light silver color with a slight sheen to them.

There is a picture posted by aawagner011  that shows this much better than previous pictures have. (Stafford Jersey)

[Sleeper66]

3 hours ago, tigerslionspistonshabs said:

 

I get paying tribute, but it's huge. Borderline distracting.

 

Agreed, but I have the feeling the WCF will barely register when it matters (watching the games).  

 

Also, while Ford had his (major) flaws as an owner, he wasn't Ted Stepien, and the Lions weren't just an entry on his tax returns. He was loyal to a fault, and his decision making was, uh, not great, but he was passionate about the Lions. 

 

He never found his Noll or Belichick, and the Lions (and their fans) suffered for it. I have 40+ years of mostly unpleasant memories to show for it.

 

But current and former players and coaches had great regard for the guy. Memorializing him is a bit tacky, but the idea that it's "pathetic" seems a bit much. 

[GFB]

1 hour ago, Sleeper66 said:

 

Agreed, but I have the feeling the WCF will barely register when it matters (watching the games).  

 

Also, while Ford had his (major) flaws as an owner, he wasn't Ted Stepien, and the Lions weren't just an entry on his tax returns. He was loyal to a fault, and his decision making was, uh, not great, but he was passionate about the Lions. 

 

He never found his Noll or Belichick, and the Lions (and their fans) suffered for it. I have 40+ years of mostly unpleasant memories to show for it.

 

But current and former players and coaches had great regard for the guy. Memorializing him is a bit tacky, but the idea that it's "pathetic" seems a bit much. 

He also moved the team out of Detroit to Pontiac for a couple decades. 

 

Honestly, the WCF patch is why I will never buy a Lions jersey. I really like these uniforms too... but since the unveiling, the WCF patch has left a sour taste in my mouth. I wouldn't buy a Tigers or Wings jersey with "Mr. I" patch, and he meant more to those franchises than Ford ever meant to the Lions.

 

The Lions have always been more important than WCF and they will continue to be long after William Clay is (rightfully) forgotten.  He's not worthy of being enshrined on the uniform permanently.

[lbj273]

10 minutes ago, GFB said:

He also moved the team out of Detroit to Pontiac for a couple decades. 

 

Honestly, the WCF patch is why I will never buy a Lions jersey. I really like these uniforms too... but since the unveiling, the WCF patch has left a sour taste in my mouth. I wouldn't buy a Tigers or Wings jersey with "Mr. I" patch, and he meant more to those franchises than Ford ever meant to the Lions.

 

The Lions have always been more important than WCF and they will continue to be long after William Clay is (rightfully) forgotten.  He's not worthy of being enshrined on the uniform permanently.

Solution: Buy 2 jerseys and swap the sleeve with the Lions word mark for the one with the WCF one

[Sleeper66]

1 hour ago, GFB said:

He also moved the team out of Detroit to Pontiac for a couple decades. 

 

Honestly, the WCF patch is why I will never buy a Lions jersey. I really like these uniforms too... but since the unveiling, the WCF patch has left a sour taste in my mouth. I wouldn't buy a Tigers or Wings jersey with "Mr. I" patch, and he meant more to those franchises than Ford ever meant to the Lions.

 

The Lions have always been more important than WCF and they will continue to be long after William Clay is (rightfully) forgotten.  He's not worthy of being enshrined on the uniform permanently.

 

Fair enough.

 

I have my own reason for not buying a Lions (or Wings, or Tigers) jersey-- I'm an adult.

[OnWis97]

I guess this will be an unpopular opinion, but to whatever degree it's OK for the Bears to use "GSH," it's OK for another team to do it.  I personally don't like it and I don't think an individual, regardless of who it is, should be permanently featured on a team's uniform.  That the Bears were first or have done it for a long time is neither here nor there.  So I'd rather the GSH and WCF come off.  But it's a tribute and the Bears don't get to corner the market on that.

[WSU151]

I wonder if they'd keep it on the jersey if his name had been William Thomas Ford.

[scraw28]

3 hours ago, WSU151 said:

I wonder if they'd keep it on the jersey if his name had been William Thomas Ford.

That would be awkward 

[Gothamite]

5 hours ago, OnWis97 said:

I guess this will be an unpopular opinion, but to whatever degree it's OK for the Bears to use "GSH," it's OK for another team to do it.  I personally don't like it and I don't think an individual, regardless of who it is, should be permanently featured on a team's uniform.  That the Bears were first or have done it for a long time is neither here nor there.  So I'd rather the GSH and WCF come off.  But it's a tribute and the Bears don't get to corner the market on that.

 

Halas at least founded the Bears.  And was instrumental in founding the league.  Ford just took over from somebody else, ran the team poorly for a long time, and refused to sell.  That's not the same thing at all.  

[panthers_2012]

1 hour ago, Gothamite said:

 

Halas at least founded the Bears.  And was instrumental in founding the league.  Ford just took over from somebody else, ran the team poorly for a long time, and refused to sell.  That's not the same thing at all.  

Agreed, but I always forget about them because it's not that noticeable. I have no problem honoring them, even if they want to extend the patch into the next season, but if it's on the uniform for more than a year or two, I don't like it. And that's my opinion and I respect the other members here that feel the opposite. 

[IceCap]

1 hour ago, Gothamite said:

Halas at least founded the Bears.  And was instrumental in founding the league.  Ford just took over from somebody else, ran the team poorly for a long time, and refused to sell.  That's not the same thing at all.  

Unpopular opinion I guess, but I don't take issue with any permanent memorials. 

I don't mind the Bears' GHS, the Chiefs' LH/AFL patch, the Raiders' "Al" sticker, or this WCF patch for the Lions. Hell, I didn't even mind the Browns' AL. 

 

If a team decides they want to honour an owner who passed? Who's to tell them they can't? There's no "litmus test" an owner needs to pass to be "eligible" to be memorialised on a uniform. 

So if a team makes the call that an owner gets the honour? Then the owner must have been important enough in the eyes of the team. And that's ultimately what should matter.

 

EDIT- And any sort of " test" is questionable too. 

Halas founded the Bears and was instrumental in building up the NFL. Ok. By that token Hunt's good to go for the Chiefs. 

What about Davis though? He didn't technically found the Raiders. And while he was THE most influential person associated with the team he was almost an anti-Halas in that he pissed off the league just because he could. 

 

So if we're going by the Hunt/Halas test? Surely Davis falls just short. Of course it "feels" silly to tell the Raiders they can't honour Al Davis like that because he's Al fricken Davis and they're the Raiders. 

 

And once we get into what "feels" right it all becomes subjective anyway.

[GFB]

I don't know Cap... if it's a situation where the fans are on clearly on board like Al Davis or Jerry Jones or Bob Kraft or someone of that ilk, then I can understand it. But for the majority of my life, most Lions fans I knew were begging William Clay Ford to sell the team so the team could be more successful. 

 

I mean, it's the Ford's team, so they can do whatever they want with it. However, there is a real likelihood that in 20 years WCF will be behind both Martha and Bill Jr in terms of best Lions acting ownership... then we'll have our worst owner immortalized on our uniforms.

[Gothamite]

It's worth noting that memorials don't necessarily indicate that the person meant anything to the team.  Only to the owner. 

 

Al Lerner is the perfect example.  What exactly did he do to warrant permanent inclusion on the Browns' uniforms?  Other than be the beloved father of the then-current owner?

 

 

[WavePunter]

46 minutes ago, Ice_Cap said:

Unpopular opinion I guess, but I don't take issue with any permanent memorials. 

I don't mind the Bears' GHS, the Chiefs' LH/AFL patch, the Raiders' "Al" sticker, or this WCF patch for the Lions. Hell, I didn't even mind the Browns' AL. 

 

If a team decides they want to honour an owner who passed? Who's to tell them they can't? There's no "litmus test" an owner needs to pass to be "eligible" to be memorialised on a uniform. 

So if a team makes the call that an owner gets the honour? Then the owner must have been important enough in the eyes of the team. And that's ultimately what should matter.

 

EDIT- And any sort of " test" is questionable too. 

Halas founded the Bears and was instrumental in building up the NFL. Ok. By that token Hunt's good to go for the Chiefs. 

What about Davis though? He didn't technically found the Raiders. And while he was THE most influential person associated with the team he was almost an anti-Halas in that he pissed off the league just because he could. 

 

So if we're going by the Hunt/Halas test? Surely Davis falls just short. Of course it "feels" silly to tell the Raiders they can't honour Al Davis like that because he's Al fricken Davis and they're the Raiders. 

 

And once we get into what "feels" right it all becomes subjective anyway.

Davis is also honoured differently than Halas and Hunt.. A small helmet decal (comparatively speaking) on the back of the helmet is much less offensive than the front of a jersey or smack-dab in the center of another design element (the latter being the more egregious of the two)

[IceCap]

Just now, WavePunter said:

Davis is also honoured differently than Halas and Hunt.. A small helmet decal (comparatively speaking) on the back of the helmet is much less offensive than the front of a jersey or smack-dab in the center of another design element (the latter being the more egregious of the two)

I guess, but I don't think I would mind if the Raiders had an "Al" patch. 

[WavePunter]

Just now, Ice_Cap said:

I guess, but I don't think I would mind if the Raiders had an "Al" patch. 

To be honest, speaking specifically in regards to the raiders, I probably wouldn't either.. It'd likely be a black shield, outlined in silver, with AL inside in white or silver.. It would be significantly less offensive than any of the other jersey memorials.. 

But the WCF takes the cake.. Not only is it a touch oversized, as well as being slapped over an actual standalone design element, but it also includes a similar-yet-clashing design element that bleeds beyond its aesthetic "boundaries".. It's a mess.. The previous version was miles better imo

[IceCap]

Oh don't get me wrong. The design of the WCF patch is subpar. It's too big and the outline is inconsistent with most of the rest of the uniform. 

 

I'm just saying I don't mind the idea of a WCF patch in and of itself.

[DCarp1231]

The only complaint, like many, I have about the uniforms is "LIONS" on one sleeve and "WCF" on the other. What was so hard about making the decision to have "LIONS" on both sleeves?

 

I'd have to say the new uniforms are my second favorite new Nike uniforms, behind the Vikings.

[Quillz]

Fine with the logo, although I actually would have preferred an outer Honolulu blue outline, instead of the silver. The uniforms are okay, too, but I would have preferred the logo in place of the wordmark. But overall, getting rid of black was the way to go.

[VikWings]

On 4/15/2017 at 9:48 AM, tigerslionspistonshabs said:

 

I get paying tribute, but it's huge. Borderline distracting.

 

They could have easily threw the Ford tribute on the inside of the collar "hanger effect" thing or at worst kept it as a chest patch instead sticking it over the sleeve stripe, which both muddles the stripe and creates the stupid asymmetry like the Bucs have. It's never good to take ideas from that disaster of a Bucs set.