Oregon Ducks save the best for last

[pheer]

OK, I am as much of a "classic look" guy as anyone... and I'd bet dollars to donuts this won't become a classic... But who's to say that at least one of the things they are trying now isn't the "classic look" of the future. While I wouldn't be a fan of every team in the NCAA do this, I enjoy Oregon's "Test mule" status. Nike needs a way to judge fan reaction. Oregon gives them that opportunity.

[infrared41]

I think that all of this uni experimenting has actually become Oregon's brand.

Exactly. If Oregon went back to a more traditional set up with one home and one road set they would lose the one thing that really makes them stand out. I'd bet if someone did the research they would find that "those crazy uniforms" is one of the first (if not the first) things someone thinks of when they hear Oregon football. It works for them and it works well.

[WideRight]

That was a tough game. I couldn't root for either team.

Either you root for the team that represents everything that is wrong with corporate power in uniform design

or you root for the team that (among others) represents the complete corruption of college football where no one

even tries to pretend that these players are real college students with interest in attending classes and earning a degree.

The eyesores vs. the illiterate.

Guess I am stuck watching Harvard-Yale or Army-Navy if I want to believe that college football is about college

first and football second. But that doesn't really surprise me, just makes me sad.

[The_Admiral]

or you root for the team that (among others) represents the complete corruption of college football where no one even tries to pretend that these players are real college students with interest in attending classes and earning a degree.

Why does this bother you? Why do you need to know that minor league football players go to school to enjoy it? Do you need to know that major league football players sell insurance in the offseason to enjoy the NFL?

[infrared41]

That was a tough game. I couldn't root for either team.

Either you root for the team that represents everything that is wrong with corporate power in uniform design

or you root for the team that (among others) represents the complete corruption of college football where no one

even tries to pretend that these players are real college students with interest in attending classes and earning a degree.

The eyesores vs. the illiterate.

Guess I am stuck watching Harvard-Yale or Army-Navy if I want to believe that college football is about college

first and football second. But that doesn't really surprise me, just makes me sad.

That is some funny stuff. Santa isn't real either dude. He's just some guy in a red suit getting paid to get his picture taken at the mall.

[The_Admiral]

Guess I am stuck watching Harvard-Yale or Army-Navy if I want to believe that college football is about college first and football second. But that doesn't really surprise me, just makes me sad.

If the only football I allowed myself to enjoy was the goddamn crappy-ass Harvard-Yale game, I'd be pretty sad too!

[Buster]

Loved the sock color.

Other than that...yuck. Hate the style of he numbers. The material on the numbers didn't look like good quality, I swear I saw wrinkles or waves in many players' numbers. The CF helmets are unique. Pants were ugly, sort of a green/grey/puke shade. The numbers on the sleeves looked equally-bad.

My initial reaction was "wow, ugly uniforms" and as the game went on, the helmets and neon yellow grew on me, but the uniform as a whole was a disaster. Par for the course for the Ducks.

I'm glad Auburn won.

Although, Oregon's cheerleader uniforms and mascot were both FAR SUPERIOR to Auburn's.

[Kevin W.]

or you root for the team that (among others) represents the complete corruption of college football where no one

even tries to pretend that these players are real college students with interest in attending classes and earning a degree.

You could say that about Oregon too, since they pay the players with Nike money.

[BrandMooreArt]

Nike's visual tricks

http://www.fastcodesign.com/1663020/the-visual-tricks-behind-oregons-flashy-uniforms-in-the-bcs-title-game

[guest23]

Loved the sock color.

Other than that...yuck. Hate the style of he numbers. The material on the numbers didn't look like good quality, I swear I saw wrinkles or waves in many players' numbers. The CF helmets are unique. Pants were ugly, sort of a green/grey/puke shade. The numbers on the sleeves looked equally-bad.

My initial reaction was "wow, ugly uniforms" and as the game went on, the helmets and neon yellow grew on me, but the uniform as a whole was a disaster. Par for the course for the Ducks.

I'm glad Auburn won.

Although, Oregon's cheerleader uniforms and mascot were both FAR SUPERIOR to Auburn's.

the cheerleader photo illustrates how poorly nike thought out and executed this uniform stunt...the cheerleaders, coaches, staff, endzone, and most oregon fans are adorned in school colors while the team on the field was dressed in charcoal and highlighter green...the disconnect of the uniform colors made the ducks a visual orphan in the stadium...in my opinion nike really failed at this...if you are going to change a school's colors to your corporate branding motif you better spend a little more $$$ and outfit everyone associated with the school in the new scheme and hand out a ton of neon swag to fans as they walk into the game to give the appearance of the overwhelming public support of the corporate neon motif.

in addition for those who are saying the uniforms were futuristic how so?..the template was the same they had all year...the orlando thunder wore neon...colored socks are nothing new...one off uniforms are nothing new...multicolored football cleats have been around for several years...

[tBBP]

You know something? guest23 makes a pretty good point in part here...I now am curious how the sidelines--and, by extension, the stadium--would have appeared had the Ducks coaching staff and sideline crew, every Duck fan, and the entire cheerleader squad, been decked out in highlighter attire trimmed in charcoal and carbon (or, for some of the fans, the other way around), to include the Duck mascot. I mean sure, it may have seemed like half the stadium would have consisted of road construction crews, but so what? If Nike wanted to go all out, they should have went ALL...THE...WAY...OUT.

(And they probably would've blown out a couple hi-def megapixels in the process. )

[-Akronite-]

I like any combo the Ducks put out that includes their school colors (green and yellow). When they go off and have charcoal carbon black highlighter fest unis its just stupid looking. They have a great design (love the wings, the O works great on the helmet, and I like the actual color scheme) but they keep switching it up just to switch it up.

Would've been better if they had green pants instead of carbon and maybe a green futuristic helmet? That could've made them at least look like the ducks.

The shoes and socks are fine though, their feet stood out so much that a lot of the team's movement did look duck-like.

[pheer]

Loved the sock color.

Other than that...yuck. Hate the style of he numbers. The material on the numbers didn't look like good quality, I swear I saw wrinkles or waves in many players' numbers. The CF helmets are unique. Pants were ugly, sort of a green/grey/puke shade. The numbers on the sleeves looked equally-bad.

My initial reaction was "wow, ugly uniforms" and as the game went on, the helmets and neon yellow grew on me, but the uniform as a whole was a disaster. Par for the course for the Ducks.

I'm glad Auburn won.

Although, Oregon's cheerleader uniforms and mascot were both FAR SUPERIOR to Auburn's.

the cheerleader photo illustrates how poorly nike thought out and executed this uniform stunt...the cheerleaders, coaches, staff, endzone, and most oregon fans are adorned in school colors while the team on the field was dressed in charcoal and highlighter green...the disconnect of the uniform colors made the ducks a visual orphan in the stadium...in my opinion nike really failed at this...if you are going to change a school's colors to your corporate branding motif you better spend a little more $$$ and outfit everyone associated with the school in the new scheme and hand out a ton of neon swag to fans as they walk into the game to give the appearance of the overwhelming public support of the corporate neon motif.

in addition for those who are saying the uniforms were futuristic how so?..the template was the same they had all year...the orlando thunder wore neon...colored socks are nothing new...one off uniforms are nothing new...multicolored football cleats have been around for several years...

I guess my point wasn't clear. I was saying that they would be the classics of the future, not that they are futuristic. The Colts and Browns and <insert classic football uniform here> all started, and in many ways continue to be, contemporary looks. The moniker "Classic" has to be applied at some time, just like at some point "Antiquated" is.

[vmd9]

Oregon's colors are Green and Yellow. What do you get when you combine those? Bright Green. They did wear both colors last night, sometimes it looked green, sometimes it looked yellow. It was smart and looked great.

[Drakonius26]

I completely agree with oldschool. They looked okay in Photoshop, but actually on my HDTV they didn't look as sharp as I thought they might, not to mention that most of the game and angles ESPN presented us with, didn't make the uniform pop at all. It was a nice try, but mostly their ensemble seemed faded or washed-out.

I disagree...I thought they looked really sharp on TV. really futuristic...the game was almost fun to watch bc of the uniforms alone.

under my definitions, if the uniforms are half the aesthetics of the broadcast...the uniforms win (not score wise...obviously!)

Perhaps, I'm just old-school that way. I don't want to see every team wearing a single color jersey, with single color block numbers, and three stripes on the sleeves as the only source of secondary/tertiary colors on the jersey, but because their washed-out and overly-futuristic look, it almost seemed like Auburn was playing a Division II team. Not to mention, the cheerleaders and fans, for the most part, were wearing different colors than the football team itself. The whole concept just wasn't thought out, and perhaps if Oregon ever reaches the championship game again, they can rock the green and gold uniforms.

A perfect example of futuristic jerseys on this forum or what I've seen in real-life is CJay's personal football league design. Some of the designs and colors I'm not sold on, but he was a way of making them pop, modern/futuristic, and yet still achieve an identity.

[guest23]

Oregon's colors are Green and Yellow. What do you get when you combine those? Bright Green. They did wear both colors last night, sometimes it looked green, sometimes it looked yellow. It was smart and looked great.

by that rationale pink is now a uniform color for wisconsin and nebraska.

neither smart nor did it look great.

[cheo25]

In the carnival of uniforms that is the Oregon Ducks, they sure saved the best for last.

http://epidemikcoalition.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/oregon_championship_uniforms.jpg

Those are some sleek looking unis.

I have to disagree. The biggest game of your school's football history and you don't wear any school colors, outside of neon trim on shoes and socks? How about a green or yellow helmet and/or green or yellow pants, at least?

[WideRight]

Guess I am stuck watching Harvard-Yale or Army-Navy if I want to believe that college football is about college first and football second. But that doesn't really surprise me, just makes me sad.

If the only football I allowed myself to enjoy was the goddamn crappy-ass Harvard-Yale game, I'd be pretty sad too!

Yeah, I know it is unrealistic and antiquated for me to long for college athletes to be students first.

I teach at a Division III school and it boggles my mind when students tell me they chose my school because of its football team. DIVISION III!!!! No scholarships, no special perks, and they picked this school so they could play on the football team. If you are in Division III you are playing glorified intramurals!!!

And then they get here and devote far more time to practice and weight training for what can only be called a "hobby" at this stage, than they do on the coursework that is supposed to be the reason they are in college. I just don't get it. I played sports in HS, then I went to college, the best one I felt I could attend which would get me the best chance at the career I wanted and the life I wanted, and I stopped playing sports.

And don't even get me started on "signing ceremonies". Our local news shows every HS kid who "signs" with a Division II school to play tennis or a Division I-AA school to play volleyball, but you never hear word one about the kid who got the free ride to Stanford for physics or the girl who will be at Vassar because she has a 4.0.

Which student deserves the praise more?

By this point you know who I would say. I gotta say I like the priorities in other countries better. No college athletics, you go to school to study and if you want to focus on sports you better be good enough to make a club team.

Sorry, rant over. Rage subsiding. Hulk sleep now.

[tohasbo]

Guess I am stuck watching Harvard-Yale or Army-Navy if I want to believe that college football is about college first and football second. But that doesn't really surprise me, just makes me sad.

If the only football I allowed myself to enjoy was the goddamn crappy-ass Harvard-Yale game, I'd be pretty sad too!

Yeah, I know it is unrealistic and antiquated for me to long for college athletes to be students first.

I teach at a Division III school and it boggles my mind when students tell me they chose my school because of its football team. DIVISION III!!!! No scholarships, no special perks, and they picked this school so they could play on the football team. If you are in Division III you are playing glorified intramurals!!!

And then they get here and devote far more time to practice and weight training for what can only be called a "hobby" at this stage, than they do on the coursework that is supposed to be the reason they are in college. I just don't get it. I played sports in HS, then I went to college, the best one I felt I could attend which would get me the best chance at the career I wanted and the life I wanted, and I stopped playing sports.

And don't even get me started on "signing ceremonies". Our local news shows every HS kid who "signs" with a Division II school to play tennis or a Division I-AA school to play volleyball, but you never hear word one about the kid who got the free ride to Stanford for physics or the girl who will be at Vassar because she has a 4.0.

Which student deserves the praise more?

By this point you know who I would say. I gotta say I like the priorities in other countries better. No college athletics, you go to school to study and if you want to focus on sports you better be good enough to make a club team.

Sorry, rant over. Rage subsiding. Hulk sleep now.

You bring up a valid point.

[FiddySicks]

About two weeks ago I got the motivation to order a LaMichael James t shirt with the BCS game patch screened on. On the website it looked like their regular road unis, but when I got the shirt it was just like the jerseys they wore. I wasn't impressed with the new look, but the shirt looks awesome. The neon is very bright and the carbon fiber numbers and wings compliment it well. Another thing I like about the highlighter color is that it is a good mix of yellow and green and in some ways covered both of Oregon's main two colors. When I saw Oregon hit the field last night my jaw just about hit the floor. IMO, they looked fantastic.