Buffalo Sabres Alt/ 2020 Royal Blue Discussion

[Fitzy0220]

20 hours ago, Ice_Cap said:

I think that, broadly speaking, each sport has its own aesthetic traditions. And every now and then you get trends that try to reinvent everything. Baseball had the pullover and colour revolution of the 70s and 80s, hockey and basketball both had the 90s with cartoonish logos, non-traditional colour schemes, and an emphasis on details, shades, and sublimation. Football's was subtler, but I would say the piping and panelling trend of the 2000s would count.

 

And in all cases things returned to the norm, the medium. So given that we're now twenty years out from the crazy stuff that we saw in the NHL? Yeah, I think a return to the traditional aesthetics of the game is natural. It happens in every sport anytime you have a massive trend that results in mass departure from the norm. The normal aesthetic traditions of the sport almost always re-assert themselves.

Baseball is perhaps the best example because of how widespread the pullover/elastic pants trend was, and how quickly everyone abandoned it for traditional button-down white at home/grey on the road identities once the fad burnt out. The 90s represented a less widespread equivalent for hockey, but so too were those excesses scaled back.

 

I think the time is about right for the 90s to have their time as part of the retro trend cycle. When the generation who grew up with those identities is starting to reach a point where their nostalgia and earning power is at a level where teams feel they can market to them. Why am I SO sure of this? Well it happened with the 80s generation, and the 70s generation, and the 60s generation. Nostalgia comes in waves, and soon we're going to be at the point where the 90s will centre stage. Again, it's already happening in the NBA. These things are not self-contained. They're part of a general pop culture shift that's always occurring.

 

My point, which you seem a bit offended by, is that the proponents of 90s identities are no longer the torchbearers of modern design preference. Again, we're as far away from the Lady Liberty Rangers sweater today as we were from a uniform from 1980 when I first began posting here in 2003. 90s stuff is officially retro.

I was a Celtics fan in the 80s! Bird, Parrish Dennis Johnson, McHale (hey gotta root for a fellow Mc). When is the Trend coming back of Basketball shorts actually looking like Basketball shorts as opposed to pantaloons?? LOL

[IceCap]

1 hour ago, Fitzy0220 said:

When is the Trend coming back of Basketball shorts actually looking like Basketball shorts as opposed to pantaloons?? LOL

Uniforms in general have been getting less baggy lately

[Morgan33]

On 8/22/2019 at 10:51 AM, SFGiants58 said:

It's a trend, one that the NHL will probably follow soon (since they often like to be late to fashion styles).
 

A lot of the reason why '90s nostalgia hasn't taken over is that teams that could do it are more inclined to either ignore the period or focus their brand elsewhere.

 

You've created this comprehensive list as to why teams can't look to their 90's branding for inspiration to prove that 90's nostalgia is the upcoming trend? 

 

I'll address a few teams that should absolutely mine their 90's branding for a better overall look
 

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Capitals: They just won a Cup in their modern set and management still loves that awful '70s design, so I doubt the Eagle/Capitol will return.

Any of the Bronze, Blue and Black jerseys would be a better alternate than the 70's design.  But they could do something really unique with the screaming eagle logo.  Maybe combine the bronze and blue with red to tie everything together.
 

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Hurricanes: What they're wearing is "close enough" in the eyes of ownership, which is both good and bad.

It'd be close enough if the road was a mirror version of the home.  As it stands though?  Their whole uniform set is a jumbled mess reminiscent of the pre-Adidas Minnesota Wild. The cup winning set should return with the updated hurricane-warning logo as a shoulder patch.

 

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Stars: Maybe a version of the initial Dallas uniforms or the All-Star design would be in the cards, but ownership seems satisfied with the current look/operating within it.

The 1993/94 jersey, with the lighter green, should come back as their full time alternate look.  It's too good not to.
 

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Oilers: Their branding strategy, while it restored navy, seems to regard the copper & red as a "mistake."

The perfect Oilers set would be the Gretzky look full time with the copper and red as an alternate.  The current Oilers branding strategy is an up and down disaster.
 

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Panthers: It would be a good branding decision to either do a straight throwback or tribute to the original sweater design, but I'm not sure their owners (who branded away from the original identity) are inclined towards it.

 

Something based off the original red home, with the updated leaping panther, would make a perfect alternate.  Hell, it'd make the perfect basis for their permanent look.  The current set doesn't even look like it belongs to the same team that made the final in 1996.
 

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Rangers: Lady Liberty could plausibly return, but it'd be on a simplified template.

Should absolutely return unchanged.  One of the best alternates ever made.
 

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Senators: Throwing back to the original sweaters would be a welcome change, but the franchise is such a mess that I doubt they capitalize on this potential.

The current logo on the 90's striping template would be the perfect compromise.  Unchanged 90's throwbacks, full time, would be an improvement as well.
 

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Penguins: While there are some of us who love Robo-Pen, most fans aren't all that thrilled about the prospect of it returning (AFAIK). The diagonal script or a gold version of one of the powder/navy jerseys would have a slightly better reception.

 

The so called Robo-Pen would be the perfect alternate logo for the team and could work well on a yellow jersey.  It keeps the basic concept of their classic logo but illustrates it in a more realistic manner.
 

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Sharks: The original teal sweater should return, as it did in 2016. While it might not have the "allure" of a black sweater, it's still a nostalgia-producing machine. The shark fin look has its fans and would likely be well-received, but I doubt there is as much interest in it.

The original striping configuration should return with the current logo
 

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Lightning: The circa-2004 design should have been the new third, but ownership seems keen in remaining the Maple Wings (and getting swept in the first round). 

 

The current jerseys are as uninspired as the team's first round performance last spring.  Bring back the original colours and template with the updated logo from 2007.