Yahoo Football Uniform Article

[slapshot]

Not to be outdone by Fox Sports/MSN, there's an article on Yahoo with one writer's opinion on the current crop of football uniforms. Looks like she suffers from Purplitis, the same affliciton of Paul Lukas.

College football uniforms: the good, the bad and the ugly

By NANCY ARMOUR, AP National Writer

September 2, 2006

With the college football season starting in earnest Saturday, it's time for a look at who's up, who's down, what's hot and who's not.

No, this isn't about the Top 25 or the early Heisman Trophy hype, and don't even start with the BCS nonsense yet. Fashion Week is about to get under way in New York, so why not a gridiron critique?

While the Fab Five gave us long, baggy shorts, college football players aren't typically fashion trendsetters. Too many teams are stuck on that white jersey-white pants combination, and spandex and shoulder pads haven't been in since the '80s. Grass stains and mud aren't on anyone's list of accessories, and only Jesper Parnevik could love the combinations Oregon has been trying.

That doesn't mean style isn't important, though. Between the thousands of fans at the game and the millions more watching on TV, a whole lot of people are going to be giving these guys the once-over.

So let's examine the good, the bad and the really ugly in college football fashion.

GOOD

1. Michigan -- Maize and blue and winged helmets. Enough said.

2. Florida State -- While other schools experiment with shading and accent panels, the Seminoles leave well enough alone. As they should. Garnet and gold looks great on its own, in any combination. Plus, they have the best helmet in the game.

3. Harvard -- The black-and-white stripe down the center of the helmet is nice, but nothing beats the school motto on the shoulders -- in Latin. The Crimson can run over and educate you at the same time.

4. Texas -- This is the only way to wear orange.

5. Louisiana-Lafayette -- Simple in either red or white, with "LOUISIANA" in plain block letters on the front, but they work. There's no need to be flashy when your helmet says "Ragin' Cajuns."

6. Notre Dame (blue or white jerseys) -- Love the Irish or hate them, you can't deny their uniforms are classics. And nothing says college football like those gold helmets.

7. LSU -- One of the few times yellow and purple look good together. The Lakers get the other pass.

8. UCLA -- Powder blue and gold is a tough combo to pull off, but the Bruins do it with style.

9. Ohio State -- Impressive enough on their own, the scarlet-and-grey uniforms look even better with Buckeye stickers on the helmets.

10. Penn State -- Sure they're boring. They're also old-school cool.

Honorable mentions: Auburn, Colorado, Fresno State, Mississippi, North Texas, Southern California, Virginia.

BAD

1. Oregon State -- Every day is Halloween in Corvallis!

2. Notre Dame (green jerseys) -- These were great the first few times they made a special appearance. Now they're getting hokey. They're also not working.

3. Tulsa -- Royal blue doesn't look good in a jersey, and it's even worse on a helmet.

4. Mount Union -- Good thing the Purple Raiders have won eight Division III titles in 13 years or people would really make fun of their grapelike duds.

5. North Carolina -- Basketball uniforms look great in Carolina blue. Football uniforms, not so much.

6. Baylor -- The all-green uniforms look like something out of the Jolly Green Giant's closet. Pick one helmet or another, too.

7. Wyoming -- What can brown do for you? In this case, nothing.

8. Maryland -- Ralph Friedgen's gameday outfits look better. And put the turtle on the helmet.

9. Missouri -- With no numbers on the sleeves or shoulders, it looks as if the Tigers got hold of their jerseys before the designers finished them.

10. (tie) Nebraska and Mississippi State -- There's old-school and there's boring. These are boring.

REALLY UGLY

1. Oregon -- Oh, where to begin. That neon yellow that made you run to adjust the color on the TV is no longer the Ducks' worst fashion faux pas. After yet another redesign -- this is No. 4 since the 1996 Cotton Bowl -- Oregon now looks ready for the XFL. The numbers look like something in a fun-house mirror, and the diamond-print reinforcements on the knees and shoulders make it seem as if moths got into the locker room.

Can we settle on one home and one road uniform, too? White with green, all green, green and black, yellow and green -- make up your mind!

2. TCU -- Purple is never a good color choice, and the mascot is ugly. But putting those triangles on the trim around the neck and sleeves took it to a whole new level of bad. Please remember the players will have to show these pictures to their kids someday.

3. Tennessee -- This shade of orange is acceptable only for creamsicles and selected Halloween decorations. (This goes for you, too, Syracuse.)

4. Boise State -- Bright blue jerseys to match the bright blue field. This isn't paintball -- there's no reason to blend in.

5. Virginia Tech -- Even Crayola wouldn't put orange and maroon together.

[Drew22]

She completly threw tradition out the window, in a couple of places.. I love Tennessee's jerseys. Also, except the different sleeve colored one's the VaTech ones are unique. That's why they are cool.

[sacker12]

The only one that I can agree with her on is about UL-Laf's unis. They are really nice, especially with the custom font.

[harperdc]

". Oregon State -- Every day is Halloween in Corvallis!"

what, a team can't have its colors be orange and black? so much for Oklahoma State there too. besides, there are more creative ways to make fun of a team in orange.

and Oregon's uniforms look a LOT better actually playing than on TV or in the introduction pictures. the black Civil War ones were passable in person, I bet different combinations of the new ones will look pretty good too.

[georgie6543]

did she have to put both oregon schools in the ugly categories? I agree with the Oregon one, but not with the OSU one. I really like the OSU ones, modern, but not over the top.

[husker_blitz]

Doesn't make a lot of sense to me that it said Penn State had a cool old school look but Nebraska's was boring.

[griff7774]

TCU uni's are not that bad . Consider what they used to wear. Plus the Horned Toad is unique (even if the mascot scare little children)

[Spearhead]

She's right about TCU's neck and sleeve trim but she blew Baylor's uni completely.

The Bears looked good on Sunday in the gold and green.

[JohnnyFriedRice]

She completly threw tradition out the window, in a couple of places.. I love Tennessee's jerseys. Also, except the different sleeve colored one's the VaTech ones are unique. That's why they are cool.

Not all traditions are good...

[Gothamite]

True. But she seems not to comprehend that some are.

[thepablo21]

The Bruins look good in powder blue but the UNC, THE powder blue school doesn't?? Carolina's jerseys look great, as well as many others like Nebraska.

[statebully]

10. (tie) Nebraska and Mississippi State -- There's old-school and there's boring. These are boring.

That's uncalled for!

[CheeseHusker]

You can't praise Penn State and criticize Nebraska for the exact same thing.

I wouldn't trade our duds for anyone elses.

[Shumway]

At leasts he didn't bash my favorite unis: Tulane

I've gotta disagree on a few here, though. I actually like Baylor's uniforms, same goes for Mizzou. I like TCU, Tennessee, and V-Tech(I think orange and marron look cool together).

[hecticbro]

I'd say this woman has bad taste, but it seems like she doesn't even know what her taste is. Several times, she bashes one team for something she's just finished praising another for, and on top of that, she doesn't seem to know about design changes some of the teams critiqued have undergone before this season.

By the way, I think Nebraska looks really good (besides that pathetic "N" on the helmet, why don't they use a better font?) and Penn State's football uniforms are the most boring in the sport.

[JohnnyFriedRice]

True. But she seems not to comprehend that some are.

Then you should write an article.

[tBBP]

I'd say this woman has bad taste, but it seems like she doesn't even know what her taste is. Several times, she bashes one team for something she's just finished praising another for, and on top of that, she doesn't seem to know about design changes some of the teams critiqued have undergone before this season.

By the way, I think Nebraska looks really good (besides that pathetic "N" on the helmet, why don't they use a better font?) and Penn State's football uniforms are the most boring in the sport.

By the way, I think Nebraska looks really good (besides that pathetic "N" on the helmet, why don't they use a better font?) and Penn State's football uniforms are the most boring in the sport.

Most boring? Quite possibly...BUT, just like Alabama and the Cleveland Browns (no matter what concept I draw up for them), they ain't changing nann time soon...

(By the way, did anyone notice Hawai'i has gone back to silver helmets and pants this year? The dark green they use looks damn near black in a photo...almost like the Hawai'i Raiders or something.)

[huskeraddict]

By the way, I think Nebraska looks really good (besides that pathetic "N" on the helmet, why don't they use a better font?)

Because that "N" has been with us for a while. Changing it now would just be stupid. Come on what's not to love?

[jtthasportfreak]

What a freakin Yahoo she is

[sacker12]

What a freakin Yahoo she is

Ha, good one.