Bills confirm new uniform for 2011

[Gothamite]

Once bigots try to take away a team's ability to add one, we can take it to SCOTUS and find out.

[BlueSky]

Well, my closing point was that it's a case-by-case thing. Take the Colts. Gray or blue, I really don't think it makes much of a difference:

But the Steelers? The gray isn't horrible but black is definitely better.

That's not even the best example I'm sure but it gets the point across.

[Gothamite]

I agree wholeheartedly that it's a case-by-case thing. I don't like hard and fast rules such as "facemasks must be in a team color" about this particular one. Some teams look good in gray, some do not.

The Bills, if they are going with an early-1970s-inspired uniform, can make the gray work very well. The Cardinals do not.

[IceCap]

I'd argue that helmets became a de facto part of football uniforms when Fred Gehrke* painted horns on his.

Can't agree - while Gehrke popularlized helmet logos in the pros, teams had been wearing matching helmets for at least a decade.

But the overall point that helmets are part of the uniform is still valid regardless of exactly when it occurred.

The helmet is part of the uniform, no one's questioning that. The facemask isn't necessarily part of the uniform, however.

Go back to the hockey goalie. The mask is part of the uniform, yes, but is the cage on the mask part of the uniform? No. They're usually silver, white, or black. Neutral colours because they're pieces of the equipment, not part of the uniform that has to be colour-coded. Another hockey example would be cages on player helmets. You see these cages all the time when minors and women play, and you see if from time to time in the NHL when a player wants to protect his face to let an injury heal. These cages are by and large black or silver. The helmet is part of the uniform, hence why it's coloured to match the sweater, pants, and socks. The cage, however, is just a piece of equipment. It's almost always black or silver, and in rare cases white, regardless of what the team's colour scheme is. It's technically part of the helmet, which is a piece of the uniform, but it's not a piece of the uniform itself.

The same can easily be said about facemasks in football.

[Lights Out]

My rule is this: Does the color scheme (and the uniforms) include silver or gray? If so, feel free to use a gray facemask. If not, avoid gray like the plague.

Unless a team's color scheme contains silver or gray, all a gray facemask does is muddle up the color scheme and advertise the team's transparent attempt to hop on the current throwback trend in sports.

[Billy B]

Well, my closing point was that it's a case-by-case thing. Take the Colts. Gray or blue, I really don't think it makes much of a difference:

I think that the blue looks much better than gray, but that's besides the point. There isn't really any reason that the Colts should wear a gray facemask. They can wear a white one instead and still have a neutral color facemask that is actually one of their colors.

I was going to use the helmet is a piece of equipment argument in my last post but I thought that might be trivializing the whole thing. Helmets used to just be pieces of equipment and everybody wore a brown leather helmet. Now that their is technology to have colored helmets, it would look ridiculous for a team to be wearing gray helmet. The facemask should be the same way.

[IceCap]

The helmet is part of the uniform; it's more then a piece of equipment. Why does it follow that the facemaks has to be part of the uniform as well?

Like I pointed out, most cages in ice hockey are neutral colours. They could colour-code them to match uniforms, but they don't. Why? While the helmet or goalie mask may be part of the uniform, the cage itself isn't. It's just a piece of equipment. The same thing can be said for facemasks in football.

[Gothamite]

Like I pointed out, most cages in ice hockey are neutral colours. They could colour-code them to match uniforms, but they don't. Why? While the helmet or goalie mask may be part of the uniform, the cage itself isn't. It's just a piece of equipment. The same thing can be said for facemasks in football.

Good point. I don't really follow hockey enough to know that.

[BlueSky]

The helmet is part of the uniform; it's more then a piece of equipment. Why does it follow that the facemaks has to be part of the uniform as well? Like I pointed out, most cages in ice hockey are neutral colours. They could colour-code them to match uniforms, but they don't. Why? While the helmet or goalie mask may be part of the uniform, the cage itself isn't. It's just a piece of equipment. The same thing can be said for facemasks in football.

Because it's mounted on the helmet? Hey, just a guess. You know, the same reason the grille is part of a car?

[IceCap]

The helmet is part of the uniform; it's more then a piece of equipment. Why does it follow that the facemaks has to be part of the uniform as well? Like I pointed out, most cages in ice hockey are neutral colours. They could colour-code them to match uniforms, but they don't. Why? While the helmet or goalie mask may be part of the uniform, the cage itself isn't. It's just a piece of equipment. The same thing can be said for facemasks in football.

Because it's mounted on the helmet? Hey, just a guess. You know, the same reason the grille is part of a car?

Look at the pics I posted. Cages are attached to hockey helmets and goalie masks, but they're not considered part of the uniform. They're just pieces of equiptment, hence why they're always neutral colours.

[IceCap]

Anyway technology exists to make hockey sticks and skates (and the cages on goalie masks) any colour you want, but they're left mostly neutral. Why? They're pieces of equipment, not part of the uniform. I think the same argument can be made for facemasks in football.

That's the best argument I've ever heard FOR gray masks. It's really convincing actually...almost makes me accept gray facemasks now.

However, the Skins better keep their gold...makes the whole uniform.

I know, right? I've been making this argument for years as a way to justify the use of grey masks. People just notice when Ice_Cap speaks, I suppose .

It pays to be boisterous and opinionated

I think it was your original argument that turned me onto the idea, actually. It's interesting, because the debate seems to be centred around aesthetics. Do you like retro or modern designs (to simplify the debate)? Well the "facemask is just a piece of equipment" argument intrigues me because it sidesteps that unwinnable debate and looks at things from a more quantifiable perspective.

Any sane person knows that just because you can doesn't mean you should.

Indeed. See also BFBS.

[BBTV]

Well in what other sport do they sell replica pieces of equipment, or use equipment in place of primary marks for marketing purposes?

If it's just equipment, then what color do you choose for replica helmets? What color goes on the helmet that's used in the advertisements and banners?

Teams have to make a consious decision about how they want to be represented. Since the helmet is their primary means of representation, they need to sit down and consiously decide what color that facemask will be. It's just not as simple as "who cares, it's just equipment. We don't order team-colored shoulder pads either."

It's certainly a valid point, but I think that there is too much evidence in support of the facemask not (or no longer) being merely a piece of equipment, on the same level as a mouthgard, shoulder pads, or elbow pad.

[STL FANATIC]

Here's my response to your point, Ice.

Facemasks in hockey should be painted team colors. You're point only works if everyone accepts that what happens in hockey is valid. I don't.

Now, there are some notes for hockey, however. One, most facemasks on skaters appear in the minor leagues. Those teams can't always afford the extra bells and whistles like paying for painted masks. While they make appearances in the NHL, they're so few and far between, it's hard to get worked up about. Two, while goalies always have a facemask, goalie helmets in general seem exempt from the team colors rule to a large extent. Goalies are free to personalize their masks to their own tastes, generally with a team flair. They've never been treated as a piece of the team uniform. The choice of facemask color often has more to do with that personalization than anything else.

Now, were you to look at baseball where catchers masks ARE required to be uniform, you'd be able to move past my point about goalie masks as it appears all hockey style catchers masks feature a grey face mask.

But then you just cycle back to my original point, which is that I don't accept that and I believe teams should use the technology that exists to make that facemask a team color.

[DeFrank]

I think colored facemasks look better................

Jus sayin

[McCall]

Hey, here's a thought, some look good with gray face masks, others don't.

Wait others have said that too? I guess it's a fairly common opinion.

[whitedawg22]

The ills logo would probably have a puking buffalo.

Isn't that what the red streak is? Perhaps the poor creature has some kind of internal bleeding.

[Milo Meningocele]

The ills logo would probably have a puking buffalo.

Isn't that what the red streak is? Perhaps the poor creature has some kind of internal bleeding.

I like to think of it as a trail of blood, symbolizing their being hunted to near-extinction.

[IceCap]

If it's just equipment, then what color do you choose for replica helmets? What color goes on the helmet that's used in the advertisements and banners?

Grey.

[IceCap]

Facemasks in hockey should be painted team colors. You're point only works if everyone accepts that what happens in hockey is valid. I don't.

Fair enough. I've never had a problem with it though.

Now, there are some notes for hockey, however. One, most facemasks on skaters appear in the minor leagues. Those teams can't always afford the extra bells and whistles like paying for painted masks. While they make appearances in the NHL, they're so few and far between, it's hard to get worked up about.

The teams shouldn't have to individually paint the cages. The technology exists to mass produce cages in a variety of colours. That way the Michigan State Spartans ice hockey team could just place an order for green cages. In the NHL a team could just order a team-coloured cage when the need arises.

They don't mass produce cages in a variety of colours, though. Why don't they? No one feels the need to. Everyone, from the players to the team to the manufacturers just views cages as pieces of equipment, not something that needs to be coloured to match a team's uniform.

Two, while goalies always have a facemask, goalie helmets in general seem exempt from the team colors rule to a large extent. Goalies are free to personalize their masks to their own tastes, generally with a team flair. They've never been treated as a piece of the team uniform. The choice of facemask color often has more to do with that personalization than anything else.

I don't think it's a stretch to assume that the majority of goalie mask designs reflect the colours and/or logos of the team. While the designs are often personal they still reflect the identity of the team. Therefore the neutral coloured cages are still valid in this discussion.

Now, were you to look at baseball where catchers masks ARE required to be uniform, you'd be able to move past my point about goalie masks as it appears all hockey style catchers masks feature a grey face mask.

But then you just cycle back to my original point, which is that I don't accept that and I believe teams should use the technology that exists to make that facemask a team color.

It's a matter of opinion, in this case. I guess the question is "where does it stop?" Should every piece of equipment be colour coordinated to match the uniform? The technology certainly exists to make it possible.

[Fjm]

I think the difference in the NFL is that the helmet is a large part of the team brand, it's equivalent to a secondary logo. It's why each NFL team can only have one helmet design.

And the facemask is part of that logo -- so the color should be uniform and signficant. It's not just a trivial piece of equipment. Other player equipment, such as a chin strap, is not held to that standard.