The Astro's Problem

[ZapRowsdower8]

It's not that I totally dislike their current uniforms (Although I think the navy and gold were the best) but the problem with the Astros is that when I think about them I can not associate a color to them.

When you think of the Yankees you think navy...

the A's - Green and Gold

the Giants - Black and Orange

any Pittsburgh team - Black and gold

hell even the Rockies - Purple, black and silver

I guess my question is, does anybody else feel this way about the Astros, or any other team? And how can a team have been around for as long as the Astros and not form any kind of identity in one's mind?

[IceCap]

the current astros unis by themselves are fine. they even use my favorit colour combo outside of yellow/powder blue. the brick and sand is amazing. that said, the unis just dont say "astros" to me. the pinstripes, the vintage looking script, even the awsome colour combo seems to go the opposite direction of the name. i agree that the astros last unis (navy and gold) were the best they have had, and it would do them good to return to those unis. however i dont whant to see the brick, sand, and black dissapear, so i suggest that the d-baks addopt it if/when the astros do.

[slapshot]

Yeah, Clemens is a jerk.

Wait, I though this was about one particular player.

[riceboyler]

I think of the Astros and the first color that comes to mind to me is a bright orange, like the hats of the Nolan Ryan rainbow uni era. The new look is good and modern, but I really like the bright orange they used instead. Nobody seems to be using that color anymore, and I think it matched the image of the team.

[cheo25]

Well, navy blue and orange were the Astros' primary colors for the franchise's first 32 seasons of existence, rainbow uniforms not withstanding. But two major changes in a six-year period (navy and gold in 1994; black, brick and sand in 2000) mucked that up.

As a lifelong fan, I think what they have now is OK, but it's not the Astros. They should go back to navy blue and orange, more like the shooting star era. Would have to have a slightly different logo, since they don't play in the Astrodome. But I'm probably in the minority on that.

[Avenger]

...the unis just dont say "astros" to me. the pinstripes, the vintage looking script, even the awsome colour combo seems to go the opposite direction of the name...

Couldn't agree more. With the name Astros, they need to have something on the space/futuristic tip.

Maybe I'll mock something up...

[VitaminD]

The Astros have an identity, they just strayed from it.

And as much as I like their present color scheme, there is ZERO connection between the colors and anything astronomical. Except for the hat logo, there's nothing that makes me think of the sky.

To answer the question that kicked off the thread, when I think of the Astros, I think of those awesome orange hats and the rainbow-bellied jerseys. Yeah, they're garish, but the navy and bright orange is what sticks out in my mind.

[Yac12]

I too agree with the liking of the Navy Blue and Orange colors. My favorite hat is the navy hat with the orange star with the white H.

[Discrim]

they shoulda changed the name to South Texas/Houston Railmen or whatever they were thinkin of changing to when they started using the current colors...basically, if they were, for example, the Railmen then the scheme would make sense, but for the Astros it looks as goofy as it would if the Yankees began wearing maroon.

the 94-99 uniform captured the identity perfectly, adn going back to it would be the best move they've made in a while as far as uniforms go.

[iowahoo]

It's not that I totally dislike their current uniforms (Although I think the navy and gold were the best) but the problem with the Astros is that when I think about them I can not associate a color to them.

When you think of the Yankees you think navy...

the A's - Green and Gold

the Giants - Black and Orange

any Pittsburgh team - Black and gold

hell even the Rockies - Purple, black and silver

I guess my question is, does anybody else feel this way about the Astros, or any other team? And how can a team have been around for as long as the Astros and not form any kind of identity in one's mind?

People in Philadelphia might not necassarily think of the A's as green and gold.

[BBTV]

ICS did a fantastic Astros concept a while back. I did a search for it but it looks like it is down.

[ltravisjr]

Navy blue and orange is what says "Astros" most to me now, but that is because of the tradition of those colors. Tradition aside, I think the colors that would most represent "Astros" (space, stars, etc), would have to be midnight blue, silver, and perhaps white.

LT

[swisherHOU]

The ballpark is built around an old train station, Union Station. That's why they have the train on the outfield wall.

They're uniforms reflect where they play perfectly. Just like the uniforms in the Dome did the same thing....but so did the name.

I think they though about changing the name to the Express or Railmen or something like that, but it didn't fly...but they kept the uniforms that would have gone with that.

Its the owner. Once he's gone I would expect them to return to some variation of the older uniforms...but then the uniforms won't fit the ballpark.

Of coarse, bieng an Astros fans, I would trade all that for an offense right about now.

this is what they should be wearing:

[cheo25]

Swisher, you make sense -- uniforms fit the stadium. That said, they're not the Astros with the current color scheme. I like the pics you posted and would love to see them go back to that.

Furthermore, I also agree with you that I'd like for their offense to come out of the witness protection program. Thirteen runs on a seven-game road trip won't cut it.

[winghaz]

The way the uniforms and colors look now, they would fit the old name Houston Colt .45s.

[sacker12]

Whenever I think of the Astros, I still think of them in navy and gold since that is what I remember seeing them in in grade school.

[jWilson4mvp]

Astros=Those ugly mustard and w/e else they were jerseys

[The Green Meanie]

Astros=Those ugly mustard and w/e else they were jerseys

They never used mustard.

[sscrunner06]

I've always been a huge Astros fan, but I really don't like the uniforms they have now. The pinstripes and the colors really don't, in my opinion, go with their identity ( as a lot of ya'll have already mentioned).

Personally, I think that the navy and gold were the best colors/identity that they've had. I know that when the most recent changes were announced around 2000, my first thoughts were "Why these colors?" and more importantly "Why pinstripes?" It just doesn't work.

Maybe somebody would be interested in making a new astros concept using a slightly updated version of the old navy and gold. With all the talent I've seen on this board, I know that someone could make the astros right again.

[Jungle Jim]

The most beautiful batting helmet in the history of the human race!

I used to love watching my Reds play games in Houston -- the Reds in their bright red caps/helmets and the Astros in their bright orange caps/helmets. Those colors WERE those teams.

Today when the Reds play in Houston, there's a team wearing black playing another team wearing black. Ugh!