Colts Helmet

[cantplaypiano]

What would you think of an Indianapolis Colts helmet which was a blue shell with white horseshoe, stripe and facemask?

Other than expense, is there a reason football teams do not as a general rule have a different helmet for home and away games? (Washington State has done this recently, but they're the only ones I can recall) Might it also have something to do with the helmet design being one of the most recognizable elements of the team logos?

[sacker12]

Actually, the reason why you don't see NFL teams with a home and away helmet was because it is against the rules for a team to have a separate helmet with their home and away uniforms. The exception would be if a team was to have a separate helmet for an alternate/throwback uniform.

[rmered]

I would think the reason for one helmet is for corporate branding.

Let's face it, you don't see too many McDonalds signs in Yellow with Red arches.

Indi's helmet looks pretty good as is.

However, rams 99 did a version of what you're proposing in the Concepts Forum and it doesn't look too bad. Probably not as good as what they've got, but not bad.

http://boards.sportslogos.net/index.php?showtopic=31375

[yh]

What would you think of an Indianapolis Colts helmet which was a blue shell with white horseshoe, stripe and facemask?

I think it would be visually appealing however out of character for a team whose graphic identity has been defined by a white helmet with a blue horseshoe and stripe for nearly fifty years.

I think one of the reasons why you don't see home and road helmets in the NFL is because helmets are so frequently used as identifying marks for their teams. If you have two helmets you're going to have to produce licensed apparel and other merchandise featuring each helmet so that consumers can buy goods with their favorite helmet. That will likely lead to a lot of waste.

[Gothamite]

I think you're probably right.

In no other sport do you have a piece of the uniform as the primary representation in so many media. Look at any newspaper's Saturday edition, and ten to one the graphics for the weekend's games involve helmets.

Look at CBS's graphics for the scores at halftime. What do they show? Opposing helmets. Look at the opening to Monday Night Football. Two helmets crashing.

Baseball teams are represented by their primary logos. Maybe sometimes by a cap (secondary) logo. Hockey teams, soccer teams, all identified by their logos. None of them are identified as much by a jersey or a cap as the NFL clubs are identified by their helmets.

I'd go so far as to say that the helmet is the defining symbol of NFL teams. No wonder the NFL guards them so carefully....

[cantplaypiano]

the Colts being one of the old-school teams, I can see why change would be likely undesireable.

I wasn't aware that there was an actual rule in the book of rules that said "one helmet per team, all sales final, no refunds, no returns." although I seem to recall hearing something about teams being forced to keep a design for X number of seasons no matter how awful it is. Not sure if that might also apply to college, as I recall Purdue wore gold jerseys with white numbers outlined in black for about two seasons and they were difficult to see, so they switched to black numbers outlined in white, then ditched the gold jerseys altogether in favor of black. It looked a bit like UCF's current gold jerseys minus the shoulder wedges. This wasn't a redesign so much as a swapping of colors neccesitated by a need for greater visibility of the uni numbers.

I recently saw something for the Cleveland Browns which had a helmet with a gray facemask, I'm vastly in favor of the white mask for the Browns, as it's one of the featured colors, and brings it together alot like KC's white masks. I'm just generally against the gray mask becuase it's trying to be something it isn't, they're trying to make a rubber coated mask look like an old-school uncoated one.

[Bleujayone]

Actually, the reason why you don't see NFL teams with a home and away helmet was because it is against the rules for a team to have a separate helmet with their home and away uniforms. The exception would be if a team was to have a separate helmet for an alternate/throwback uniform.

I'm wondering if there is something that allows for an alternate helmet for the alternate jersey. The only time I've seen a different helmet was for the throwback kits.

But if it is legal, I wonder if some of these alternate jerseys wouldn't be as bad if the helmet (and perhaps the logo on it) were not also altered for one game. Either a different color shell or a secondary logo or experimental alternate logo. Something along the likes of the Calgary Stampeders 1 game alternate helmet with the mustang head/horseshoe logo to go with the black jersey set.

Does anyone know where one can look up the entire set of NFL uniform & logo rules and protocols?

[cantplaypiano]

If you want the chapter on socks and shoes, I know a fellow who has a few copies of it that the league has thrown at him and I'm sure he'd be willing to give one up for you. That's C. Portis, c/o Washington Redskins, 1600 Fedex Way, Hyattsville, MD 20785.

[Gothamite]

Actually, the reason why you don't see NFL teams with a home and away helmet was because it is against the rules for a team to have a separate helmet with their home and away uniforms. The exception would be if a team was to have a separate helmet for an alternate/throwback uniform.

I'm wondering if there is something that allows for an alternate helmet for the alternate jersey. The only time I've seen a different helmet was for the throwback kits.

But if it is legal, I wonder if some of these alternate jerseys wouldn't be as bad if the helmet (and perhaps the logo on it) were not also altered for one game. Either a different color shell or a secondary logo or experimental alternate logo. Something along the likes of the Calgary Stampeders 1 game alternate helmet with the mustang head/horseshoe logo to go with the black jersey set.

Does anyone know where one can look up the entire set of NFL uniform & logo rules and protocols?

I don't know if you can find the specific rules online, but we do know that teams cannot have more than one helmet.

The Seahawks tried that when they redesigned their scheme - they wanted a blue helmet for home and a silver helmet for the road (or vice versa, can't remember). They were denied permission.

The Redskins, on the other hand, could have two separate helmets specifically because one was part of a throwback package.

[paynomind]

Two things that bother me about some rules:

When they have no purpose, and when they are inconsistant.

Why is there a rule about number of helmet styles from the NFL? Is this really their issue? If the Colts want to keep their helmet white with a blue horseshoe, they should be allowed. If the Seahawks want to have a blue, and a silver, that should be up to the teams. Now, if the NFL wanted to have a rule that said that teams playing one another must have substantially differently colored helmets, I'd see the logic and purpose there. But legislating just to legislate aggrivates the hwll out of me.

Oh, but all of our fussiness about helmets? Oh, well thats doesn't COUNT if its a throwback. What? How is that different? Really, in all honesty, it really is just an alternate. Most designs are admittedly just 'inspired' by the old design. SO, if a team wants to have an alternate helmet, they just have to call it a throwback helmet. So, this year, the Bills had a white helmet and a blue helmet.

Ridiculous.

The whole thing with making houston change their helmet color was silly too.

I've just typed "helmet" more in 45 seconds than in any two hour period of my life.

[CC97]

Two things that bother me about some rules:

When they have no purpose, and when they are inconsistant.

Why is there a rule about number of helmet styles from the NFL? Is this really their issue? If the Colts want to keep their helmet white with a blue horseshoe, they should be allowed. If the Seahawks want to have a blue, and a silver, that should be up to the teams. Now, if the NFL wanted to have a rule that said that teams playing one another must have substantially differently colored helmets, I'd see the logic and purpose there. But legislating just to legislate aggrivates the hwll out of me.

Oh, but all of our fussiness about helmets? Oh, well thats doesn't COUNT if its a throwback. What? How is that different? Really, in all honesty, it really is just an alternate. Most designs are admittedly just 'inspired' by the old design. SO, if a team wants to have an alternate helmet, they just have to call it a throwback helmet. So, this year, the Bills had a white helmet and a blue helmet.

Ridiculous.

The whole thing with making houston change their helmet color was silly too.

I've just typed "helmet" more in 45 seconds than in any two hour period of my life.

Great post, I agree with everything you said.

Spot on guvna'.

[Stampman]

Two things that bother me about some rules:

When they have no purpose, and when they are inconsistant.

Why is there a rule about number of helmet styles from the NFL? Is this really their issue? If the Colts want to keep their helmet white with a blue horseshoe, they should be allowed. If the Seahawks want to have a blue, and a silver, that should be up to the teams. Now, if the NFL wanted to have a rule that said that teams playing one another must have substantially differently colored helmets, I'd see the logic and purpose there. But legislating just to legislate aggrivates the hwll out of me.

Oh, but all of our fussiness about helmets? Oh, well thats doesn't COUNT if its a throwback. What? How is that different? Really, in all honesty, it really is just an alternate. Most designs are admittedly just 'inspired' by the old design. SO, if a team wants to have an alternate helmet, they just have to call it a throwback helmet. So, this year, the Bills had a white helmet and a blue helmet.

Ridiculous.

The whole thing with making houston change their helmet color was silly too.

I've just typed "helmet" more in 45 seconds than in any two hour period of my life.

It took you 2 hours to type that?

[paynomind]

I've just typed "helmet" more in 45 seconds than in any two hour period of my life.

It took you 2 hours to type that?

You should try reading as many posts as you have typed. I said, "in 45 seconds."

As a matter of a fact, I re-typed it three tiems to make sure I said it correctly, too.

[cantplaypiano]

I remembered hearing about the Seahawks of two-helmets, at the time I assumed it was like MLB, a team could have a home and road helmet that differ, if by nothing other than a color. Then I recall not seeing the silver helmet ever.

Consistancy is all you can ask for in anything. As long as the rulebook isn't *too* ridiculous, but the rules are enforced equally regardless of whether it's Barry Bonds wearing his pants bottoms down to China or Oscar J. Noodleman, the rule must be enforced consistantly, otherwise what's the point of having a rule in the first place?

http://www.nationalchamps.net/Helmet_Project/nfceast.htm

If you look down at the Philadelphia Eagles section, it makes mention that in 1969 they different home and road helmets. The 2002 Washington Redskins also are said to have used a different helmet at home. You could always call this a throwback though as it is the same as the late-60s model. Evidently this one helmet per customer rule is more recent than '69 or there's a loophole that I'm not aware of.

[John in KY]

I'll try to answer a few questions posed throughout the entire thread without using a bunch of quotes, so bear with me:

1. As others have stated, the NFL brands their teams with their helmets. That is why they don't want a team using two different helmets throughout the season, like the Seahawks wanted to do when they debuted their current design.

2. There is the loophole for throwback uniforms worn as alternates, which, I think, goes back to the 75th season Throwback program in 1994.

3. This rule was not in place back in the late 1960s even though the NFL was starting to use the helmet designs as a brand. However, teams had to inform the NFL in enough time for them to change their branded merchandise. That is why the Saints were not allowed to switch to black helmets - they just came out wearing them in their first preseason game, and the NFL made them switch back to gold for the regular season. That is also why even Vince Lombardi couldn't use the yellow helmets he designed for the Redskins in 1969 (they wore the spear helmet, but with a burgundy shell instead of maroon shell for 1969) - the yellow helmets were worn in 1970-71, after Vince's death. I think even the Eagles were granted a loophole to ?try out? two new designs with the intention that they would pick one going forward ? remember, in 1969 they had the white helmet with green wings and the green helmet with white wings, while in 1968 they still had the green helmet with silver wings.

4. Colleges are not under this restriction; they can do anything they want whenever they want - as long as their suppliers can come up with the goods.

5. Someone said they didn't like gray facemasks because "they're trying to make a rubber coated mask look like an old-school uncoated one". However, the old Schutt/Cramer and Dungard facemasks were metal coated in gray rubber.

[yh]

The whole thing with making houston change their helmet color was silly too.

Houston had to change their helmet color?

I thought those white helmets were simply temporary prototypes never intended to be the real thing.

[iowahoo]

the Colts being one of the old-school teams, I can see why change would be likely undesireable.

True, but that didn't stop the rams from changing their helmets which were pretty similar since they started out in Cleveland in the 1940s.

Are they the only major league franchise to win a championship and then move towns in the off-season?

[leopard88]

Are they the only major league franchise to win a championship and then move towns in the off-season?

They are the only ones I can think of offhand, unless you consider the CFL and USFL "major league."

CFL -- Baltimore Stallions won 1995 Grey Cup, then left for Montreal after the Browns move was announced.

USFL -- Philadelphia Stars won 1984 championship, then left for Baltimore after the proposed move to the fall was announced.

Of course, franchises in the NFL were not all that stable in 1946, so maybe the comparison is reasonably valid.

[DG_ThenNowForever]

the Colts being one of the old-school teams, I can see why change would be likely undesireable.

True, but that didn't stop the rams from changing their helmets which were pretty similar since they started out in Cleveland in the 1940s.

Are they the only major league franchise to win a championship and then move towns in the off-season?

How many teams moved in the offseason, and then immediately won a championship? I can think of the Avalanche, and that's it. Man, if I were a Nordiques fan I'd have been pissed.

[paynomind]

The whole thing with making houston change their helmet color was silly too.

Houston had to change their helmet color?

I thought those white helmets were simply temporary prototypes never intended to be the real thing.

I've heard both stories. The one I heard first rings more true: the NFL told them they couldnt have a white helemt because the Colts and Titans already did in their division.