Biggest Logo/Uniform Upgrade and Downgrade

[SabreGuy]

I'm going to go with comparing only the team's current uni to their most recent previous uni (not really worrying about when they did the switch, as long as it was within the last 5 years or thereabouts.)

Upgrade: Cleveland Cavaliers. There is almost no doubt about this one for me. Their previous unis were a travesty of everything I hold dear, and the new ones... are pretty damn sharp!

Downgrade: I really want to put the Blue Jays here, but I actually think these monstrosities are a slight UPGRADE over the one year use of the T with a cartoon blue jay flexing logo. I also REALLY want to say Buffaslug here, too, but I don't think that works either, because I don't know just how bad it's going to be yet, till I see the uniforms.

So, for downgrade, I think I'm going to have to say... unfortunately, my Bills. Their old unis, while dated, were pretty solid. The new bib/piping/sometimes-monochrome nightmares are awful. I only hope that the Marv Levy regieme is already working on correcting it.

[Mike Clarke]

Biggest upgrade: Easy one here - CINCINNATI BENGALS current combos; they are so, so superior to the previous & BORING iteration of Bengals stripes - I used to think their helmet was hideous & needed to be changed but the new combos & design tweaks make it look acceptable. I'm probably one of very few people who feel this way. Great job!

Biggest downgrade: TIE among the following

Football - all CFL Nike uniforms from the individual team uniforms before the switch; Buffalo Bills - need to go back to mid-1960s throwbacks & ditch the red helmets.

Baseball - Toronto Blue Grays, er, I mean Jays

Basketball - Detroit Pistons teal & maroon horsehead back to their current blands

Hockey - New York Islanders fisherman back to their boring oldies of today

Looking forward to the negative reactions!

[Gothamite]

Downgrades:

The Bills, as mentioned, have been on a steady downward track. I think they've bottomed out, but I'm sure they can surprise me with an even worse look.

The Jays. They finally had a look that was modern but paid tribute to their history, and they dropped it for this mess.

Upgrades:

The Jets, losing the bland revamp and returning to a timeless classic.

The Angels have to be considered one of the biggest upgrades in American sports history.

The Brewers, but only on Sundays.

Just because Discrim brought it up, the Admirals just made a huge leap upwards (discussed ad nauseum on its own thread), ditching a boring, self-important and tired logo for a totally new look.

[whitedawg22]

Upgrades:

1. Cavaliers - anything was better; the current ones are suprisingly good

2. Devil Rays - the gradient looked like some kind of laundry mistake

3. Patriots (From the early Bledsoe italic-number blue jerseys to the current ones)

4. Pistons - 1980-96, red and blue, 2 championships. 1997-2001, teal and puke, 0 championships. 2002-present, red and blue, 1 championship, 1 finals. Coincidence?

5. Angels - Vests, cartoon wings, and pinstripes all suck independently, but the Disney uniforms were another example of the Gestalt effect.

Downgrades:

1. Bengals - I don't know if it's possible to look more Arena League

2. Bills - Especially the blue-on-blue home bib and the multiply outlined numbers

3. 49ers (from the Montana-era red and white jerseys to these awful fuschia ones) - at least bring back the red

4. Chargers - about 6 uniform changes since 1961, and every one has been a slight downgrade

5. Blue Jays - Mostly because they're currently amorphous and horrible.

HM: Washington Wizards, for changing their name from the Bullets.

[SportsmanTO]

So much hate for my Bills

I know the Uniform isn't very "uniform" but I do like their AOC combination. It's the only one that I really like in the whole NFL actually.

[youcan'tseeme]

Upgrade : Phoenix Coyotes

Downgrade: Ever uniform change by the Vancouver Canucks

[BadSeed84]

Upgrade: 76ers from the stupid lookin early 90s uniforms to the mid 90s uniforms

Downgrade - 76ers from the 95&96 uniforms to the current pieces of crap

[tBBP]

Let me throw my two rusted Lincolns into this, by league:

NFL upgrade: Buccaneers, by far (even though I still got love for the creamsicles), and call me crazy, but I like the Seahawks look too (only because of the Puget Sound connection)

NFL downgrade: Um...let's try that concoction those boys in Buffalo are forced to wear; Detroit Lions 3rd outfit (listen Matt...they are NOT THE RAIDERS! DITCH THE BLACK!) Honorable mention: Vikings, officially the purplest team EVER once they go purple-on-purple...on purple (shell/shirt/pants). I'll be sure to send P-Luke a card

NBA upgrade: what I'm seeing for the Bucks looks like it could fit; Detroit Pistons once they got away from that teal/brick/black/yellow mess; and teh updated Kings look (minus that atrocious gold 3rd); oh, and the Cavaliers rebranding, especially the 3rd outfits...best in the league IMHO

NBA downgrade: Pistons current logo (that flaming horsehead just looked SO MUCH BETTER); Memphis (logo looks like Winnie's estranged cousin; uniforms are ok but why use blue & blue just to be trendy when the original color palette was distinctly unique? I liked the old uniforms better); Jazz for doing the same blue & blue conversion

MLB upgrade: hmmm...San Diego? The sand roadies makes them unique. I also agree with the Angels current threads as opposed to those cartoony thingies from the Mo Vaughn era; and then, the Rays

MLB downgrade: hand this trophy to Toronto. Their last two renditions have been successive steps in the wrong direction in my umble opinion

NHL upgrade: Hmm...I liked Phoenix's prior look; but I also like their current look too; just wish they could work in the sand and black just a little more since they're used in the logo and nowhere else on the uniform; and Dallas for axing that Mooterus (who officially "coined" that word anyway?); but I'll wait to see what their new duds look like

NHL downgrade: all at once now...the SLUG! (Oh...and if Atlanta goes blue-on-blue and scraps the red, that will be a serious downgrade...THRASHERS implies violence, dare I say BLOOD...two blues and you may as well just call them the Tar Heels...or Grizzlies...or Jazz...or Nuggets...or Titans...)

[BallWonk]

My biggest upgrade is the 1987 Twins. They went from an exceedingly generic 1970s-style look that was just all over the place aesthetically to a crisp design where all the elements worked to complement one another and create a distinct look that was both modern and yet actively referred to the better elements of the team's past uniforms. Brilliant design, and the franchise also turned itself around at the same time. Much like the Angels did more than a decade later. Sadly, the Twins have been downgrading themselves ever since, first with alternates in non-matching shades of blue, then by adopting the TC (or rather, adopting it at home instead of on the road, where it would make more sense), and then by going all Mets on themselves with like 12 different uniforms, including one that brings back some of the worst elements of the 1970s-era uniform they upgraded from in the first place. What a shame.

I was never a fan of the ball-in-glove Brewers uniforms -- it was probably the single most generic team logo ever adopted at the big-league level. Only white uniforms with black stencil letters saying "Baseball Player" would be worse. Or, actually, the green crap the Brewers first switched to. That was worse than the ball-in-glove uniforms. Less generic, but worse. So the switch from that terrible uniform set to what they now wear, one of the best uniforms in baseball, that has to be rated a top upgrade, at least when compared to what came immediately before the switch.

Same with the Astros. I guess there are a lot of people who think orange rainbows are appropriate uniforms for baseball players. As a child who had to wear that uniform in youth baseball, I can testify from personal experience that pretty much every boy in America regards orange rainbow stripes as "sissy" or worse. But even accepting that there are people who want their hometown baseball team to look like extras from a Captain Eo video, the Astros post-rainbow blue and gold uniforms just weren't executed very well. That star was much too thin and delecate, and the jersey script was such a dated "futuristic" font that it made the Astros look like a Colecovision game cartridge brought to life. Plus, space isn't blue. It's black. So the switch to the current set, which uses colors you might actually see in space, along with a much improved star and a jersey script that at least doesn't look like something from the cover of a 1970s Isaac Asimov paperback, is a significant upgrade. Too much confusion between pinstripes and not pinstripes to be a great uniform set, but it's at least a good one in ways that its immediate predecessor was not.

Same with San Diego, actually. Brown and gold is a terrific color combination and blue and orange isn't the worst thing. But before their current very good uniform set, the Padres had just never had a uniform that was well designed (though circa 1974-1976 wasn't bad at all). Now they have a clean, distinctive look that actually serves the basic functional purpose of a uniform better than most other baseball teams at any level. Maybe not historically outstanding, but a very good uniform set, compared to past uniforms that have never been much better than confusing mishmashes, and were usually worse than that.

The biggest downgrade for me is every soccer uniform worn by every team on the planet since 1998. Everyone just gets uglier every year, thanks to the proliferation of supposedly high-tech jersey designs. Used to be soccer players wore shirts, but now apparently they wear sophisticated engineering systems. Soccer jerseys are now infrastructure first, uniforms second. And maybe they work better as player-support infrastructure than they used to, but they certainly don't work as well as uniforms.

[pflava]

Upgrade:

Phoenix Coyotes, mid/late 80's Braves, current Indiana Pacers, current Atlanta Hawks, NY Jets going retro, Detroit Pistons, current NY Islanders, Memphis Grizzlies

Downgrade:

Buffalo Bills, Cincinnati Bengals (two that should be in a category of their own).

Atlanta Falcons (although I do like the switch to the red jersey), Philadelphia Eagles, Seattle Seahawks, Toronto Blue Jays, Cincinnati Reds, NY Mets adding all the black, Phillies switching in the early 90's, Florida Marlins,

[whalersjets]

Upgrade: Anaheim Angels, even though I liked the blue jerseys, they were a joke.

Downgrade: Phoenix Coyotes. I'm sick of this bland "classy" stuff. The old jerseys were miles better, except the third.

[Gothamite]

Man, how could I forget the Bengals' downgrade? Thanks, whitedawg22.

The Arizona Cardinals also went through a big downgrade. The new logo is an upgrade, but the new uniforms are a major downgrade, so the whole thing is a net loss.

[Gothamite]

I was never a fan of the ball-in-glove Brewers uniforms -- it was probably the single most generic team logo ever adopted at the big-league level. Only white uniforms with black stencil letters saying "Baseball Player" would be worse. Or, actually, the green crap the Brewers first switched to. That was worse than the ball-in-glove uniforms. Less generic, but worse. So the switch from that terrible uniform set to what they now wear, one of the best uniforms in baseball, that has to be rated a top upgrade, at least when compared to what came immediately before the switch.

Setting aside the ball/glove combo, I must respectfully disagree with your assesment of the Beermakers' changes. The Brewers' 2000 overhaul was, in my opinion, a significant downgrade.

I personally think the new uniforms are generic, much more so than the two 1994-1999 uniform sets, because they have absolutely no connection with the city. The Germanic lettering might have seemed generic to you, but it struck a visual connection with the culture and architecture of Milwaukee. The Cream City still has many buildings with an Old World influence (and many of the new ones have a modern echo of that influence), and the wordmark captured that perfectly.

The current Brewers uniforms, in contrast, have nothing about them that says "Milwaukee." Not even the lettering on the road jerseys, unless you're looking at them through a magnifying glass.

It's very rare that a team's look is keyed into the individual character of the city. The Brewers accomplished this, then tossed it aside for a uniform that could belong to any old place. For that reason alone, I consider the step they took in 2000 to be a step backwards.

[SabreGuy]

I personally think the new uniforms are generic, much more so than the two 1994-1999 uniform sets, because they have absolutely no connection with the city. The Germanic lettering might have seemed generic to you, but it struck a visual connection with the culture and architecture of Milwaukee. The Cream City still has many buildings with an Old World influence (and many of the new ones have a modern echo of that influence), and the wordmark captured that perfectly.

I might be tempted to agree with you with the 1997 - 1999 unis, but I disliked the primary logo. At least during 97-99, they had just the M on the caps. From 94-96, however they went with the "interlocking MB" caps that my friends and I derisively referred to as "Motre Bame" due to their striking similarity to the interlocking Notre Dame ND.

[NY Jay]

My biggest upgrade would be the current Cavaliers jerseys. They went from that funky color combination that they had in the 90's to the awesome red and vegas gold combo during the LeBron era. The navy alternates are great too.

My biggest downgrade would be the Magic changing to the plain blue jerseys that say Orlando in the generic font from the T-Mac era jerseys with the cool Magic logo on the front.

[IceCap]

I was never a fan of the ball-in-glove Brewers uniforms -- it was probably the single most generic team logo ever adopted at the big-league level. Only white uniforms with black stencil letters saying "Baseball Player" would be worse. Or, actually, the green crap the Brewers first switched to. That was worse than the ball-in-glove uniforms. Less generic, but worse. So the switch from that terrible uniform set to what they now wear, one of the best uniforms in baseball, that has to be rated a top upgrade, at least when compared to what came immediately before the switch.

Setting aside the ball/glove combo, I must respectfully disagree with your assesment of the Beermakers' changes. The Brewers' 2000 overhaul was, in my opinion, a significant downgrade.

I personally think the new uniforms are generic, much more so than the two 1994-1999 uniform sets, because they have absolutely no connection with the city. The Germanic lettering might have seemed generic to you, but it struck a visual connection with the culture and architecture of Milwaukee. The Cream City still has many buildings with an Old World influence (and many of the new ones have a modern echo of that influence), and the wordmark captured that perfectly.

The current Brewers uniforms, in contrast, have nothing about them that says "Milwaukee." Not even the lettering on the road jerseys, unless you're looking at them through a magnifying glass.

It's very rare that a team's look is keyed into the individual character of the city. The Brewers accomplished this, then tossed it aside for a uniform that could belong to any old place. For that reason alone, I consider the step they took in 2000 to be a step backwards.

The current uniforms say "Brewers" much more then any uniform they have had. If the set with the Germanic lettering emphasised the Wisconsin/barly/ball logo they would have been perfect. As it was they decided to use the generic "MB" dimond logo.

The new set has a strong connection to the name "Brewers" and because of that I think it's a huge upgrade.

Upgrade: Phoenix Coyotes, Anahiem/Los Angeles Angels, Anahiem Ducks

They all ditched ugly and childish indentites for great uniforms and logos that convey the team names with out resorting to cartoons.

Downgrade: Toronto Maple Leafs

The Leafs' jerseys have been in a state of decline since they switched to the "Canada leaf" in 1967. After the "Canada leaf" they went to the 70's Ballard era uniforms and logo, the worst uniform set the team has ever had. From there they made a slight update, ditching the 70's era jerseys in favour of a more traditional jersey, but they keept the Ballard leaf. The uniforms have again declined with the addition of the "TML" logo and the silver trim. The only current Leafs jersey I actually like is the alt, which is a throwback to the road uniforms used just prior to the Leafs' switch to the "Canada leaf."

[ColeJ]

the buffaslug is obviously not the biggest downgrade... that would make it seem as though the buffagoat was somehow good

also, icecap... i'm wondering your opinion on the potvin/sundin era leafs jerseys... with the rounded numbers and the leaf shoulder logo...

i loved those... am i the only one?

[ColeJ]

Man, how could I forget the Bengals' downgrade? Thanks, whitedawg22.

i said it first

[IceCap]

also, icecap... i'm wondering your opinion on the potvin/sundin era leafs jerseys... with the rounded numbers and the leaf shoulder logo...

I actully thought those were their best uniforms that used the Ballard leaf. If they MUST use the Ballard leaf I would perfer it if they used those uniforms over the the current silver/"TML" uniforms.

Oh, and Potvin still rules

[yankeessuck11714]

I know the Bills blue on blue combo is really bad, but the jerseys look really good when worn like this.