Little Things that Bug You in Sports Uniforms

[Quillz]

On 6/18/2019 at 9:00 AM, DoctorOfGravity said:

It's a stupid ass name for one of the southernmost cities in all of Canada.

Also doesn't help they aren't even the northernmost team in the NBA. The Trail Blazers have them beat, and before that, both the Sonics and Grizzlies were farther north.

[Quillz]

21 hours ago, Ferdinand Cesarano said:

Actually, there should be no player names on any jersey. If every player on a team has a unique number, then names on the uniform are redundant.

I agree with this for the most part. However, I think an acceptable compromise is what the Red Sox and Giants do, in that they have NOB for their road jerseys. Of course, they also do NNOB properly, with larger and slightly higher numbers to balance things out. To me it's the best of both worlds.

[M4One]

17 hours ago, Quillz said:

Also doesn't help they aren't even the northernmost team in the NBA. The Trail Blazers have them beat, and before that, both the Sonics and Grizzlies were farther north.

 

I'm pretty sure the We The North is more of reference to being the only Canadian team in the NBA, being north of the border, and not actually saying we are the most northern city in the league.

[VikWings]

On 6/30/2019 at 9:39 PM, simtek34 said:

Nike wanted their logo on the front, but the NFL wouldn’t let them because it would compete with the Collar Logo, brand integrity, etc...

 

Instead it competes with the integrity of good design (ruining some sleeve stripes)

[Quillz]

14 hours ago, M4One said:

 

I'm pretty sure the We The North is more of reference to being the only Canadian team in the NBA, being north of the border, and not actually saying we are the most northern city in the league.

Yes I know, I was kidding. But I think it’s a dumb marketing angle regardless. Unless they plan to move to Alert. 

[OnWis97]

On 7/1/2019 at 12:14 AM, Quillz said:

Also doesn't help they aren't even the northernmost team in the NBA. The Trail Blazers have them beat, and before that, both the Sonics and Grizzlies were farther north.

I think the T-Wolves do, as well.

 

But it doesn't bother me because as I think it makes sense to say "Canada's" team without saying "Canada" at all.

[FCMacbeth]

On 6/9/2019 at 1:21 AM, Magic Dynasty said:

Nope. That kills the uniform for me. I really like the chevron design, and I think they should make it their primary design (with, you know, the TEAM AND CITY NAME AND NOT A VAGUE IDENTIFIER), but the shorts chevron is just awful. Since it would look terrible on both sides of the shorts, just remove it and have the claw logo on both sides. The chevron on the front is bold enough that you don’t need anything else.

 

To add to the topic, and slightly related, I hate when teams put wordmarks on the front that aren’t the city or team name. You’re not “Buzz City”, you’re the Charlotte Hornets. You’re not “North”, you’re the Toronto Raptors. Even nicknames like “Cavs” irk me, but I’ll let that slide.

I'm not a basketball fan to begin with, but if the wordmark not derived from the city or team name HAS SOMETHING to do with the city that they played in that's fine by my standards.

Just for the record, I wonder how the Raptors' city edition jersey would look if it said 'TORONTO' instead of 'NORTH'.

[FCMacbeth]

On 6/30/2019 at 3:51 PM, Ferdinand Cesarano said:

Actually, there should be no player names on any jersey. If every player on a team has a unique number, then names on the uniform are redundant.

 

Announcers and on-screen graphics keep the viewers informed about players' identities. And the crowds at the games can consult the scoreboard or the trusty scorecard. Thus player names on uniforms serve absolutely no useful purpose.

I'm more of a person who identifies the players by their name rather than their numbers. It's much easier with words at least for me.

[Quillz]

Here's something that bothers me:

 

I'm fine with #0, it's a perfectly valid number, but what's the deal with #00? It really bugs me. And I'm almost positive at one point I saw both #00 and #0 in play.

[Ferdinand Cesarano]

9 hours ago, Friedrich Stuart Macbeth said:

On 6/30/2019 at 3:51 AM, Ferdinand Cesarano said:

Actually, there should be no player names on any jersey. If every player on a team has a unique number, then names on the uniform are redundant.

 

Announcers and on-screen graphics keep the viewers informed about players' identities. And the crowds at the games can consult the scoreboard or the trusty scorecard. Thus player names on uniforms serve absolutely no useful purpose.

I'm more of a person who identifies the players by their name rather than their numbers. It's much easier with words at least for me.

 

A facility with numbers as such or with mathematics doesn't enter into it. Players' uniform numbers are just something you remember from exposure.  Growing up in a period when the Mets' uniforms (as well as those of the Yankees, of course) had no names, this came naturally. 

 

Also, football players' numbers are so big and prominent that remembering them is easy. I am sure that your mental picture of every football player whom you can think of contains his number.

 

I know that we're never going back to no names in the other sports. But the tradition lives on to some small extent in baseball, thanks mainly to the Yankees, and also to the Giants and Red Sox.

 

It was so sweet when the White Sox — who had been the first team to use player names — participated in this tradition upon the introduction of the current set. Anyone can see that those home uniforms look so much nicer with no names.

 

 

And of course the Cubs have no business wearing names at home.

 

 

Maybe someday these teams will follow the Giants' lead and will revive this more traditional and more dignified style.

[PrimalCookie]

8 hours ago, Quillz said:

Here's something that bothers me:

 

I'm fine with #0, it's a perfectly valid number, but what's the deal with #00? It really bugs me. And I'm almost positive at one point I saw both #00 and #0 in play.

The Trail Blazers had this last year.

Enes Kanter: 00

Damian Lillard: 0

[MCM0313]

1 hour ago, Magic Dynasty said:

The Trail Blazers had this last year.

Enes Kanter: 00

Damian Lillard: 0

That's so cool...never realized a 0 and a 00 had ever been teammates, or that it was even allowed.

[FALCON6]

13 hours ago, Quillz said:

Here's something that bothers me:

 

I'm fine with #0, it's a perfectly valid number, but what's the deal with #00? It really bugs me. And I'm almost positive at one point I saw both #00 and #0 in play.

I honestly think that #0 should be reserved for promotional purposes, like when a generic jersey needs to be shown, or a mascot (I know a lot of NBA mascots wear the number of the team's founding year) but that's just me. I hear ya loud and clear about #00 though. Might as well have a #1 and a #01.

[Ferdinand Cesarano]

5 hours ago, MCM0313 said:

That's so cool...never realized a 0 and a 00 had ever been teammates, or that it was even allowed.

 

The first time it happened was with the 1985 Blue Jays, for whom Al Oliver wore no. 0, and Cliff Johnson wore no. 00. That appears to be the only example from baseball. Meanwhile, it has happened several times in the NBA.

 

Paul Lukas wrote a Uni Watch post about this topic a couple of months ago.

[Hat Boy]

18 minutes ago, Ferdinand Cesarano said:

 

The first time it happened was with the 1985 Blue Jays, for whom Al Oliver wore no. 0, and Cliff Johnson wore no. 00.

I didn't know there was a 0 or a 00 in baseball.  That is still not baseball's craziest uni number:

 

 

[MCM0313]

1 hour ago, Hat Boy said:

I didn't know there was a 0 or a 00 in baseball.  That is still not baseball's craziest uni number:

 

 

That's a Padres shirt. I thought the bizarre 09 was only worn with the Marlins. Not doubting its authenticity. It's just so odd that it was ever allowed to be worn with one team, let alone two.

[IceCap]

On 6/18/2019 at 12:00 PM, DoctorOfGravity said:

Sorry, for the grump, just a bitter Toronto fan here sick of watching a team flush a local identity down the toilet for the sake of national branding. 

I'd agree with you if the pre-red-centric branding wasn't so dated. Like it or not? It reeked of 90s, even after they toned it down. Ideally I would want to see the Raptors in blue and white (the blue and white Western Conference ASG uniforms from a few years back that used the Raptors' fonts looked nice) but given that they've won a title as a red, white, and black team? That's likely what they're going to be wearing until the end of time, save for 90s throwback nights.

 

In retrospect? 2013-2014 was realistically the last time you could have justified a rebrand away from the red, white, and black and they didn't take it.

 

On 6/18/2019 at 12:00 PM, DoctorOfGravity said:

"The North." It's a stupid ass name for one of the southernmost cities in all of Canada.

First off, sorry people were having fun

Secondly, Toronto's still one of the northern-most markets in the NBA. No one's putting a NBA team in Quebec City or Edmonton.

Broadly though? The We the North thing was meant to be sort of a defiant thing. Like... "no one believes in us, because we're the lone Canadian team out, well let's embrace that."

Debate how stupid that is or not, but it worked as a marketing slogan. And like the red, white, and black look? It's likely not going anywhere after a championship. 

[sky1324]

On 7/7/2019 at 7:40 PM, Ice_Cap said:

I'd agree with you if the pre-red-centric branding wasn't so dated. Like it or not? It reeked of 90s, even after they toned it down. Ideally I would want to see the Raptors in blue and white (the blue and white Western Conference ASG uniforms from a few years back that used the Raptors' fonts looked nice) but given that they've won a title as a red, white, and black team? That's likely what they're going to be wearing until the end of time, save for 90s throwback nights.

 

In retrospect? 2013-2014 was realistically the last time you could have justified a rebrand away from the red, white, and black and they didn't take it.

 

First off, sorry people were having fun

Secondly, Toronto's still one of the northern-most markets in the NBA. No one's putting a NBA team in Quebec City or Edmonton.

Broadly though? The We the North thing was meant to be sort of a defiant thing. Like... "no one believes in us, because we're the lone Canadian team out, well let's embrace that."

Debate how stupid that is or not, but it worked as a marketing slogan. And like the red, white, and black look? It's likely not going anywhere after a championship. 

I think what the Raptors should do is reintroduce purple, but have it replace black as the dark color. Keep red as the primary color, keep your "We The North" stuff (but keep it off the uniform) and utilize the chevrons more (especially since Houston got rid of theirs). The Raptors have an excellent foundation, but I think a couple tweaks could make it perfect.

[IceCap]

7 minutes ago, QueenCitySwarm said:

I think what the Raptors should do is reintroduce purple, but have it replace black as the dark color. 

I don’t think that would work. Red and purple seems too garish. If you’re going to have those colours? You need black to tone the whole thing down a bit. 

And while the Vince Carter era look was an excellent toning down of the crazy 90s identity? It was still very much a 90s colour scheme that had grown dated by the time they made the switch to red, white, and black. 

 

I was on the “they should be a blue and white team” train for a while but after this past season? I don’t know how they could get away from the red-centric identity. 

Ideally I would like to see the Raptors embrace red and white as their primary colour scheme, with silver as the third colour and black as trim only. That would help separate them from the Rockets, Bulls, and Blazers. 

[sky1324]

13 minutes ago, Ice_Cap said:

I don’t think that would work. Red and purple seems too garish. If you’re going to have those colours? You need black to tone the whole thing down a bit. 

And while the Vince Carter era look was an excellent toning down of the crazy 90s identity? It was still very much a 90s colour scheme that had grown dated by the time they made the switch to red, white, and black. 

 

I was on the “they should be a blue and white team” train for a while but after this past season? I don’t know how they could get away from the red-centric identity. 

Ideally I would like to see the Raptors embrace red and white as their primary colour scheme, with silver as the third colour and black as trim only. That would help separate them from the Rockets, Bulls, and Blazers. 

Red and white is also an excellent option. I honestly really like their red "North" jerseys, so maybe keeping that general style is the best way to go. Of course, they'd need to actually put "Toronto" on the jerseys, but I really like the template they have. Going red/white would definitely be a way to keep the red-centric identity while staying unique.