Why not green?

[cjonesy108]

Colorwerx had some cool pie charts looking at color choices from pro leagues in north america, and I realized hardly any teams wear green.

Looking at the NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL, and MLS, only 8 of 132 teams have green as one of their primary colors (not counting teals in this).

MLB is the worst green-omitor. In contrast, 2/3 pro baseball teams have blue as a primary color (not counting teals here either).

Any theories? It this a little americana coming through, where we like our teams better in red, white & blue?

[Canadian_Idiot]

I blame the 90's "make everything crazy colours or all black" style.

[TruColor]

Colorwerx had some cool pie charts looking at color choices from pro leagues in north america, and I realized hardly any teams wear green.

Looking at the NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL, and MLS, only 8 of 132 teams have green as one of their primary colors (not counting teals in this).

MLB is the worst green-omitor. In contrast, 2/3 pro baseball teams have blue as a primary color (not counting teals here either).

Any theories? It this a little americana coming through, where we like our teams better in red, white & blue?

And on a related note, I am working on (it's open on my computer as I write this) a new report that will display a team's colors in a pie-chart format. Giving different weights to primary colors vs. secondary colors, etc.

Not sure how useful it will be, but it might be kinda cool lookin'.

[Morgan33]

This is something I've had trouble understanding for a long time. When I was a kid just getting into hockey, my two favourite teams were the Minnesota North Stars and Hartford Whalers. Not because I lived in either cities but because of their primarily Green uniforms. Keep in mind that I am biased because Green has always been my favourite colour for anything. Unfortunatly as the 90's hit, both teams ditched their beautiful Green unforms for Black and Navy respectedly and I hated it. Why would the NHL obliterate two of its best looking uniforms? This article about the Whalers Uniform change from 'The Blowhole' may answer some of your questions though (Scroll down to the 1992/93 Uni's).

http://www.hartfordwhalers.org/uniform.htm

To sum up, basically the reason for the switch was due to Merchandise Sales. Green Merchandise (for whatever reason) simply doesnt sell with fans. Black and Blue does. Even with a Dynasty like the Boston Celtics, White merchandise outsells Green by a margin of 25 to 1.

Hope this helps, Great idea for a thread.

[Quillz]

You're right about the MLB. Which teams are even known for being green? The A's and... is that all? I believe Tampa Bay used to be green, teal and purple in their early years.

My personal theory is that since the USA is red, white and blue, there's a tendency for sports franchises to flock to red and blue as opposed to green. It makes sense in a way... In the NFL, the AFC is represented in red and the NFC is represented in blue. In the NBA and NHL, the Eastern Conference is red and the Western Conference is blue. The MLB is basically "red teams" vs. "blue teams." I don't know what it is about green, but it's definitely not used as often.

Of course, it could come down to the simple fact that maybe green just doesn't have any many pleasant hues as red and blue do.

[TruColor]

Just for clarification:

...and before that:

[Korbyn]

The Dallas Stars could go back to green and everyone would be just fine with that ...

[Canadian_Idiot]

The Dallas Stars could go back to green and everyone would be just fine with that ...

I was wondering when you'd show up.

[Ryoma]

I don't know, but I wish it would change. Like Morgo, my favorite color is green, so it's kind of disappointing to see so little of the color in American sports. Green/yellow, green/gold, green/blue, green/red, green/black, and green/white are all fantastic color combinations in my personal opinion. It's a shame that so many identities consist of mainly blue, red, and black.

[HedleyLamarr]

Perhaps the little use of green has to do with the playing surfaces of baseball and football being green.

[Zerakus]

You're right about the MLB. Which teams are even known for being green? The A's and... is that all? I believe Tampa Bay used to be green, teal and purple in their early years.

My personal theory is that since the USA is red, white and blue, there's a tendency for sports franchises to flock to red and blue as opposed to green. It makes sense in a way... In the NFL, the AFC is represented in red and the NFC is represented in blue. In the NBA and NHL, the Eastern Conference is red and the Western Conference is blue. The MLB is basically "red teams" vs. "blue teams." I don't know what it is about green, but it's definitely not used as often.

Of course, it could come down to the simple fact that maybe green just doesn't have any many pleasant hues as red and blue do.

Not to take anything away from the point you are making. But the NHL and NBA Conference colors are actually flipped from each other. Something I find interesting.... And confusing, I can never remember which is which off the top of my head.

[cjonesy108]

I suspect a bit of americana plays into the derth of green. Green doesn't go as well with other colors. Even the color opposite (red) doesn't look as good as say, blue and orange IMO. (for an nba comparison, think milwaukee vs. charlotte) But red and blue definitely dominate.

I would love to see more color diversity. If I ever get the skills some of you have to do re-worked logos and concepts, I would throw in more green!

[rbripley]

Perhaps the little use of green has to do with the playing surfaces of baseball and football being green.

This would be my unofficial and wildly uneducated guess as well...

[DeadFish]

It's not just America that is missing Green either - despite Australian national teams generally playing in green and gold, there is a dearth of green in the country's major sporting competitions.

The premier Australian Football comp the AFL (which started as the VFL in 1897) took until 1994 to feature a team (still just the one of sixteen). The NRL (Rugby League) has two teams in 16 with green.

[OnWis97]

I'd love to see more green. More orange. More brown.

And I think a lot of us, the fans of a diversely-colored pro sports landscape, feel the same way. However, the individual teams have to worry about selling their own merchandise, not being a unique piece of of their league's quilt. Going only on what I've observed (in other words, I cannot back this up), people like black, red and blue best. If going mostly black can sell more Dallas Stars merchandise, then Dallas will do it. Fans, will buy "other team" merchandise in their favorite colors and it appears, unfortunately, that there is just too much preference toward certain colors.

So I think there are a few things going on that leads to certain colors, no matter how repetitively used in pro sports, to be king (In order of importance):

-People tend to like reds/blues/black over green/orange/brown.

-Trends in sports right now are not toward bright colors. Everyone wants to be the Mavs.

-In baseball, I think blue is just traditional. A lot of historic teams are dominated by blue and a lot of the franchises started blue at a time when it was kind of the thing to do in baseball.

-The US Red/White/Blue.

It's too bad. But maybe some trends will change...

[uniformity]

I especially like this quote from the Whalers' Web site:

Francis' dad, Emile, got rid of the Gumby-looking Whale on the uniform shoulder six years ago. That was a good move. But NHL clubs are looking for secondary logos for the shoulders and other merchandising.

"I had one idea of a killer whale crashing through the ice," Francis said. "But at this point it might be too late to do anything on the game jerseys except for the shoulder or on other merchandise."

If only the Whalers had done that logo. Maybe the Canucks wouldn't be stuck with that stupid whale.

[Firefly]

My son made the All Star team and our league is hosting the tournament this year. None of the teams have nicknames but go by what league they are from.

Roughly half the teams at the tournament are red. I watched two red and white teams hash it out in one of the most confusing games I've ever seen. Blue paired with red bills/logos was the other winner. Mostly navy blue. Then there was black and red. And finally, our team in a gorgeous hunter green button down jersey with the logo on the left breast and number on the right.

I tell you, it's a breath of fresh air. Still, would it kill some other teams to try orange? Yellow? Shoot, Daleks come in more colors than baseball teams.

[The_Admiral]

EX-TER-MIN-ATE-THE-TEAMS-THAT-WEAR-RED

[Gothamite]

EX-TER-MIN-ATE-THE-TEAMS-THAT-WEAR-RED

EX-TER-MIN-ATE... RED?

WHA-?

[Discogod]

I only really follow the NBA, and miss the days when there were a number of green teams. I loved the Mavs' old green roads, and even the P Diddy-designed alt looked better in green. The Sonics' '78-95 set's one of the best uniforms ever, and the Bucks' "Irish rainbow" unis are my favourite of all-time. I'd love to see the Jazz wear green full-time when they get their new unis.

My biggest problem with green is that it's hard for me to look "right" in green, in terms of coordinating colours. I've got a number of green jerseys, but find myself wearing red, white or blue jerseys more often as these tend to match more of my other clothes. I have similar problems with colours like orange and yellow too, for some reason...