Why does no team use earth tone colors?

[skip88 150]

Some teams use perhaps one of them, but why does no team use a palate of strictly earth tone colors? Would be unique 

 

 

 

[GFB 1,600]

Because no one wants to be drab.

[Gothamite 17,806]

Because the Padres’ owners are idiots. 

[andrewharrington 3,334]

Because everyone makes fun of the Browns’ color scheme, and ain’t nobody got time to deal with that caliber of ridicule. 

 

According to your graphic, the Wild and the U. of Miami also have an earth tone color scheme.

[CS85 7,932]

That's the colors of the field.  They want the product to stand out.

[Gothamite 17,806]

3 minutes ago, CS85 said:

That's the colors of the field.  They want the product to stand out.

 

And yet there are hockey fans clamoring for a return to white at home. 

[CS85 7,932]

10 minutes ago, Gothamite said:

 

And yet there are hockey fans clamoring for a return to white at home. 

 

As if hockey wasn't white enough already.

[AstroBull21 1,901]

If any team in the Big 4 is close to earthtones, its the Wild, but their red is a little vibrant

[Lafarge 1,647]

The Coyotes are pretty dang close.

 

 

[Ferdinand Cesarano 4,033]

40 minutes ago, GFB said:

Because no one wants to be drab.

 

Oh, plenty of teams want to be drab: Eagles, A's, Jets, Brewers, Rams, Bucs, Diamondbacks.  All of these teams switched away from vibrant shades to very drab earthy colours.  (All significant downgrades.)

 

 

25 minutes ago, Gothamite said:

Because the Padres’ owners are idiots

 

Right -- the one team for which brown is an indelible part of its identity refuses to embrace it.


Another team that looked great in an earthy tone was the Pirates from 1971 through 1976, a uniform that was used as a throwback a few years ago.

       

 

(It's funny that the colour that looks so bad on the Brewers looks so good on the Pirates.)

[Hat Boy 520]

Tufts University uses those brown and blue tones to (what I think) is good effect.

[PaleVermilion81 1,402]

Title should've been "Why on earth does no team use earth tone colors?". Missed opportunity here. Also, that is how I read it in my head the first time I saw this post.

[B-Rich 852]

The Hawaiians, WFL, 1974-75:

 

1978 Caribous of Colorado, NASL

 

[Ray Lankford 1,237]

1 hour ago, GFB said:

Because no one wants to be drab.

 

57 minutes ago, Gothamite said:

Because the Padres’ owners are idiots. 

Hmm.

[phutmasterflex 961]

Merch. Fans aren't gonna find earth tones attractive for their wear outside of sports games. 

[NYUNDERDOGS 205]

Maybe earth tone could work in blue or black, but I don't see any team using it soon.

[WSU151 6,096]

46 minutes ago, Ferdinand Cesarano said:

(It's funny that the colour that looks so bad on the Brewers looks so good on the Pirates.)

 

The Brewers wear mustard gold?

[Bucfan56 8,840]

The soccer team I work for uses brown, tan, and maroon. Our maroon has lightened up quite significantly since the first year of play, but I’ve always thought that was a relatively unique palette.  

 

[GFB 1,600]

51 minutes ago, Ferdinand Cesarano said:

Oh, plenty of teams want to be drab: Eagles, A's, Jets, Brewers, Rams, Bucs, Diamondbacks.  All of these teams switched away from vibrant shades to very drab earthy colours.  (All significant downgrades.)

1

 

I understand the point that you're trying to make, but darker shades of colors (like navy, maroon, and forest green) are not "earth tones." They still have the saturation of the vibrant shades, just with less lightness. 

 

 

Go look at the colors posted in the original post... the majority have a <50% saturation. The only truly saturated colors are in the orange/brown spectrum. 

 

Even in most of the examples being thrown out (Coyotes, Browns, Padres), they pair one earth tone with a vibrant color, which is a great base for a unique color scheme.  However, the original question was "Why does no team use ONLY earth tone colors?" and the answer is that earth tones are drab by nature. While that does have its benefits (earth tones work great if you're painting interior walls in your home because they aren't richly saturated), a palette of ONLY earth colors just doesn't work for pro teams:

 

 

[andrewharrington 3,334]

20 minutes ago, phutmasterflex said:

Merch. Fans aren't gonna find earth tones attractive for their wear outside of sports games. 

 

Are you familiar with the dad uniform?