Patriots Unveil New Uniforms

[WSU151 9,762]

2 minutes ago, dont care said:

Back then the NFL and sports as a whole didn’t have nearly as much merchandizing now. A team could change over an offseason, or even every other year like the pats did in the early 90’s until the got to the sublimated stripes and huge Elvis set.

 

Yeah from 1992-1995, the Patriots wore four different sets. 

[jws008 239]

And an answer:

https://www.boston.com/sports/new-england-patriots/2020/03/26/patriots-logo-flying-elvis

 

The relevant paragraphs:

 

"Orthwein is best remembered for trying and failing to relocate the Patriots to his native St. Louis, but he made two changes with lasting impact: Hiring Bill Parcells, and installing the logo today immortalized in countless tattoos and, most notably, on six Super Bowl banners. An advertising executive and longtime board member at Anheuser Busch, Orthwein didn’t much worry about making waves as he took over the NFL’s worst franchise, which he promised from the start he planned to quickly flip after he stabilized the business.

 

 

After going 2-14 in 1992, New England’s fourth straight losing season and sixth straight missing the playoffs, January 1993 brought a flurry of activity. Coach Dick MacPherson was fired, news leaked that Orthwein was seeking bids to sell the team for the $110 million he’d put into it, and Parcells left his job at NBC to turn the Patriots into an on-field winner. Though unknown at the time, his introductory presser was largely the last gasp of Pat Patriot.

 

A week later, the first story broke that “the team had started talks with NFL Properties about changing its logo.” Not even two months later, it was done, approved by the NFL in the second week of March and leaked by the Globe to the world on March 26."

[Jojopeligreeno 299]

One thing I thought was a cool touch but I think they switched after one season was the pant stripes that mirrored the Elvis head from blue to red. 

[AgentColon2 2,516]

Correct. Only one season.

[Claystation360 687]

1 hour ago, jws008 said:

And an answer:

https://www.boston.com/sports/new-england-patriots/2020/03/26/patriots-logo-flying-elvis

 

The relevant paragraphs:

 

"Orthwein is best remembered for trying and failing to relocate the Patriots to his native St. Louis, but he made two changes with lasting impact: Hiring Bill Parcells, and installing the logo today immortalized in countless tattoos and, most notably, on six Super Bowl banners. An advertising executive and longtime board member at Anheuser Busch, Orthwein didn’t much worry about making waves as he took over the NFL’s worst franchise, which he promised from the start he planned to quickly flip after he stabilized the business.

 

 

After going 2-14 in 1992, New England’s fourth straight losing season and sixth straight missing the playoffs, January 1993 brought a flurry of activity. Coach Dick MacPherson was fired, news leaked that Orthwein was seeking bids to sell the team for the $110 million he’d put into it, and Parcells left his job at NBC to turn the Patriots into an on-field winner. Though unknown at the time, his introductory presser was largely the last gasp of Pat Patriot.

 

A week later, the first story broke that “the team had started talks with NFL Properties about changing its logo.” Not even two months later, it was done, approved by the NFL in the second week of March and leaked by the Globe to the world on March 26."

That's getting the job done, ( even if it had to be fixed a few times along the way.) 

[CLEstones 628]

3 hours ago, Quillz said:

Then make up whatever narrative you want.

 

2 hours ago, Sport said:

 

A team called the Patriots having American flag imagery in their logo is a reach?

 

What do you think that's supposed to be then? 

 

 

3 hours ago, dont care said:

It’s not a reach, there was a prototype logo that the flying Elvis was based on that was a man in tricorn hat with a flag waving behind him. They combined to 2 and made it more abstract.

 

https://www.sportslogos.net/logos/view/ya8qoagwzweacwl1431mhfsef/New_England_Patriots/1978/Unused_Logo

 

Oh I didn't mean to question the responses.  I just meant the design of it seems like a reach.  

[Brian in Boston 2,687]

3 hours ago, the admiral said:

Wasn't the switch to blue a Bill Parcells move, the way the Jets' redesign was?

No, James Busch Orthwein made the call on the Patriots' switch to blue as their primary color, as well as the new logo.

First, though never publicly stated at the time of Victor Kiam's sale of the team, it was commonly understood that James Busch Orthwein and the NFL brass felt that a distinct line of demarcation needed to be drawn between the Kiam and Orthwein eras of New England Patriots football. Not only had Kiam's tenure seen the team fashion a dismal record on the field, but the franchise had been plunged into a sexual harassment incident that saw Lisa Olson - at the time, a Boston Herald reporter - file a lawsuit against Kiam, Pats' GM Patrick Sullivan, the team's media relations director, and several players. As a result, Orthwein and the league wanted to put Kiam's stewardship of the Pats in the rearview mirror as swiftly and completely as possible. A retooling of the Patriots' logo and uniforms was  one way to distance the team from association with memories of Kiam. 

Further, as Dan Shaughnessy related in an August 2013 piece in the Boston Globe, Parcells told him: 

"I would have retained the Patriots uniform that we had when I was there in 1980 [as an assistant under Ron Erhadt] if it was up to me. But all that change was already in place by the time I got there."   

Finally, let's just look at the timeline of events: Orthwein closed on the purchase of the New England Patriots from Kiam in May of 1992. Parcells was named as the Pats' head coach on January 21, 1993. The Patriots' new uniforms and the "Flying Elvis" logo were introduced on March 31, 1993. 

Orthwein's purchase of the Pats occurred too late in the year to allow for a change of the team's uniforms and logo in time for the 1992 NFL season. That said, if Orthwein and the NFL had committed to updating the Pats' look within a few weeks of said purchase, there was the possibility that - under an expedited schedule - something could be done in time for the 1993 season. 

By contrast, there's no way that graphic designers and apparel manufacturers would have turned around a brand new logo and uniform design for a major professional sports franchise in the 41-day span between Parcels' hiring by the Patriots and the date of the press conference introducing the new look. 
 

[Bruhammydude 707]

2 hours ago, jws008 said:

A week later, the first story broke that “the team had started talks with NFL Properties about changing its logo.” Not even two months later, it was done, approved by the NFL in the second week of March and leaked by the Globe to the world on March 26."

Happy anniversary!

[Cujo 4,792]

What the Patriots will do

 

What I *want* the Patriots to do

[WSU151 9,762]

35 minutes ago, Cujo said:

What the Patriots will do

 

What I *want* the Patriots to do

 

That second photo is pretty awful. 

[upperV03 7,593]

8 minutes ago, WSU151 said:

 

That second photo is pretty awful. 

I’d say that’s being pretty kind. It’s more like a complete cluster:censored: if you ask me.

[Brass 3,459]

No matter what type of uniform change we see from the Patriots, this beauty will forever be my white whale of sports merchandise.

 

[bootscallahan 172]

On 3/25/2020 at 7:23 AM, DNAsports said:

I hope the Patriots realized how much the away socks sucked and didn’t tie into the uniform at all.

 

I disagree. The world needs more striped socks.

[DNAsports 5,790]

Just now, bootscallahan said:

 

I disagree. The world needs more striped socks.

What I’m saying is, THOSE striped socks don’t fit in with the rest of the uniform. However I do agree striped socks are a plus to most uniforms.

[Cujo 4,792]

2 hours ago, WSU151 said:

That second photo is pretty awful. 

 

[joekono 853]

15 hours ago, BringBackTheVet said:

 

That would be like crew of the Enterprise dressing up in Cardassian battle uniforms.

You must be a big Elvis fan.

[dont care 6,568]

1 hour ago, joekono said:

You must be a big Elvis fan.

That’s the honky tonk man jabroni 

[j'villejags 2,283]

2 hours ago, Cujo said:

 

 

The backwards helmet decals were a nice touch. 

[hugevolsfan 786]

9 hours ago, dont care said:

That’s the honky tonk man jabroni 

Yeah & he is cocky, cool, & bad...

[ahowe6464 565]

Did someone say we'd be hearing an official announcement about new uniforms today? Or am I completely making that up?