2011-2012 NCAA Football Uniform Thread

[thespleenenator]

Ok, I finally figured out how to stop BFBS: don't talk about it. We know why schools use BFBS. Because it sells. But why does it sell? Why do people seem to always to buy BFBS merchandise? Why would schools try to rely on gimmicks? Because it garners attention. All this blogging, talking, news stories and advertisements grab people's attention. Let's face it, if a school plays a regular game against an average opponent with their normal colors, it;s not going to receive that much attention. But what if they where black? Instant media attention, bloggers go crazy (especially on this site) and boom, automatic dough. So Ice_Cap, if you really want BFBS to stop (and to all other people against it) don't talk about it and give as little attention as possible. Think of this as a huge bee: if you leave it alone, it will eventually go away.

[DrJack]

You act like you've caught the sports world in some giant conspiracy. "Ah hah! They added black to make money, and they think we won't notice, but I know the truth!" Designers and teams design jerseys to look good, and then they market them to sell. How is this a big secret?

I never claimed to have caught the sports world in anything. The Mets admitted to only adding black because they wanted to boost merchandising sales. There's no conspiracy, nothing for me to "uncover." No big secret.

Since it's not a big secret it's just frustrating to see you and other continue to claim it's anything more then a marketing ploy. Of course it is, the teams that have added black have said so themselves.

And again, designers have very little say. If a team highers a designer to design a black jersey, then he or she has to design a black jersey whether they think it'll look good or not. Team management makes the decision to add black, not designers.

And why should I hate black because of it?

Do you not read the posts you respond to?

I never said you had to hate black because it's a marketing ploy. In fact I said the exact opposite. If you like the way black uniforms look, good for you. Just don't try to claim that the addition of black is something it's not.

I know its a marketing ploy. I stated that over and over. But so is every jersey redesign. So are pro combats. Penn State just removed the contrasting collar on their jerseys - marketing ploy. Every single alternate jersey ever created had to do with marketing and selling merchandise. Logos, brands, uniforms, sponsors . . . . all marketing and all an attempt to make money. I graduated from a school that is the king of changing uniforms and marketing them to fans. The bottom line is always money, as I've said repeatedly.

What I'm saying is, when a team adds a black jersey, they've chosen black for an aesthetic reason. They've chose black because its an "in" color. And most importantly, they choose it because its neutral. It can be added to almost any existing color scheme and fit in well. Its the same reason they didn't choose brown, or green, or orange, or periwinkle.

Yes, its marketing. Yes, its a money grab. But that doesn't mean it can't also be good design or also done for other reasons too. Thats all I'm saying.

[Kevin W.]

Uniforms shouldn't be dictated by what's "in." This is football, not a :censored:ing runway show.

[thespleenenator]

Uniforms shouldn't be dictated by what's "in." This is football, not a :censored:ing runway show.

You're on a sports uniforms board. We're basically talking about fashion.

[crashcarson15]

This thread is really annoying at this point. Get a room guys. Seriously, I've got to sort through 10 pages of this "ZOMG BLACK IZ SO COOLZ!!!!!111one" or "BFBS sucks" just to see if anything new has been unveiled.

1 - This is why I hate megathreads.

2 - Can we uniformly start following the forum guidelines and start a new thread for each unveiling?

[Lights Out]

At this point, I almost feel like I should apologize for starting this thread because it's mostly been the same two vicious-cycle debates (Oregon, BFBS).

[Kevin W.]

I'd like to apologize as well, as I feel I've been disproportionately responsible for continuing that trend.

[thespleenenator]

Screw it, this is getting boring.

AKRON SUCKS!! AKRON SUCKS!!!! They have a freaking zipper as a mascot! That's really stupid! They should go die in a hole!

There, new cycle.

[Kevin W.]

No, their mascot is a kangaroo. Try again.

[thespleenenator]

No, their mascot is a kangaroo. Try again.

They're called the Zips, after the zipper manufacturing companies in Akron. Their actually mascot is a zipper, but their little man who walks around in a furry costume is a kangaroo, and nobody really knows why.

[Kevin W.]

No, their nickname is short for "Zippers." Their mascot is a kangaroo.

[thespleenenator]

No, their nickname is short for "Zippers." Their mascot is a kangaroo.

Wow, i completely forgot the word nickname for a second there. Dose anyone know why their mascot is a kangaroo?

[Kevin W.]

Because their student body chose it in the 1950s.

[crashcarson15]

Spleen is right about one thing. Akron does suck.

[tvko]

The new Penn State jerseys without the white trim have arrived: http://youtu.be/2fRGXDDsaRA

Wow. That looks like a practice jersey.

Nuh-uh, because, quality fabrics, and, uh, tradition, and, nike, and...

Yep. They're terrible.

[FiddySicks]

I for one am disappointed that Penn State decided to make the change. I know it's extremely small and in the long run will hardly be noticed, but I think they're trying too hard to look too plain without the different colored cuffs and collars. Plus I think the contrasting colors looked damn sharp, and for as small of a thing as it was it was kinda their thing and made them easily identifiable.

[BigDmo]

I mean, Penn State could have at least added a stripe to their pants to match the helmet or SOMETHING

[BrandMooreArt]

This thread is really annoying at this point. Get a room guys. Seriously, I've got to sort through 10 pages of this "ZOMG BLACK IZ SO COOLZ!!!!!111one" or "BFBS sucks" just to see if anything new has been unveiled.

1 - This is why I hate megathreads.

2 - Can we uniformly start following the forum guidelines and start a new thread for each unveiling?

im down with that

Penn ST jerseys look nice. not like practice jerseys, like Penn ST jerseys

[gdu]

I'm just gonna say it. Black is a great sports color. Teams that incorporate black into their color schemes are doing it because they are TRYING to make their look "better". You can define better however you want (cooler, sleeker, tougher, meaner, intimidating-er, whatever). But it is always done as a way to make a team/school/program LOOK BETTER. The motivation behind wanting to look better is . . . . . MONEY, and in college sports, recruiting (which can lead to wins, which leads to money). Bottom line is teams want to make money. They can make money by selling merchandise. Fans want to buy merchandise that looks cool, especially the casual fans. There is a current design aesthetic that says black looks good.

It doesn't look good in all cases, and many teams have misused it. Many traditionalists are angry about it. However, black isn't added for "black's sake". That makes no sense. Black is added for aesthetics' sake. And sometimes these designs are a hit (Hawaii's redesign, imo, is awesome). And sometimes they are a miss (the Celtics black alt is terrible, imo). But attractive, pleasing design is always the intent behind a designer choosing to add black.

BFAS. Black For Aesthetics Sake. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. But BFBS will no longer be in my vocabulary because its a stupid f-ing phrase. BFAS.

Are you really arguing that FIU added black for aesthetic's sake?

[gdu]

interesting that gopennstate has a video devoted to the helmet. they always seem to be the first team to don new helmet designs, and usually use the same type exclusively.

I almost feel like that has become Penn State's trademark in the past decade.

Eh, Plenty of schools have gotten the same new helmets as PSU, but PSU usually gives them to more players and the changes are more noticeable with their white helmets. PSU uses schutt exclusively (as do a few other schools like Texas Tech). TCU has a deal with Schutt, but players can choose any helmet brand they want. (USC and UVa are others I know have deals with Schutt).

TCU got the ION-4Ds just like PSU but only 1 or 2 players choose to wear it.

pic: http://keithr.zenfolio.com/p891819629/h3f360ae0#h3f360ae0