The NFL has alternate uniforms figured out

[JQK]

Thank god the NFL is finally doing something about the alternate uniforms. Now if only Hockey could jump on that bandwagon and make these teams at least look like themselves most of the time...

[Puck]

Without alternate uniforms, what will Ohio State players sell?

Too soon?

[mmejia]

I'm a little shocked that people don't get what's behind this. It doesn't make any sense that the only time anyone ever gets to see the Texans, they don't look like the Texans, or the Jets look like the old Titans, etc. NFL teams used to have the strongest brands in all of sports, and for the most part still do, but it's better to get this under control before idiot owners start going too far. In this era of revenue sharing, the strength of each team's brand is important to all of the other teams, so handling this at a league level is perfectly appropriate. Besides - if you need "special" uniforms for big games, all that does is send the message that your regular uniforms aren't special and the games you play in them aren't important.

As a Texans fan (yes, I'm the one), I have to agree with this. The Texans are in the bottom ten percent of the league in terms of visibility. Winning at some point may change this, but for the upcoming season and the 9 before it, the Texans are an identity that's nowhere near the central focus of any fan outside of SE Texas. The Texans usually get one shot a year to showcase their brand on national stage and they've chosen to feature an all-red look. A look that's not very representative of their "primary" look, which is confusing to me.

The Texans are just one example of many in what's becoming a bad trend.

[yh]

No, the NCAA doesn't need to adopt nazi-like uniform rules

Hear hear! College ball would be painful to watch if everyone was forced to wear brown shirts.

[Sport]

umm, I like it. Like BBTV, I instantly thought of the Texans. It seems like the last few times they've been on nationally they've worn the blood-clots, which aside from looking completely terrible, being a stain on their solid brand and the league's aesthetic as a whole, and looking completely terrible, just do not represent their team with the best foot forward.

If you're playing in a big game, which I'd define as an MNF or SNF game, then you should wear what is best representative of your franchise. I'm talking about the uniform that was meant to be worn the way it was designed. That doesn't include a monochrome uniform that was never designed to be worn in the first place (Texans, Titans, Vikings allpurple)

If you get bored through a 16 game season with a team only wearing two uniforms then I'd suggest you look into getting an adderall prescription.

You have to regulate things like this or else you'll lose strength with your brand. Don't underestimate the power of a strong brand.

[Captain Poncho]

Variety is the spice of life. There is no reason a brand can't be supported while wearing an alternate uniform. I'm aware most dislike the Bengals' uniforms, but their brand is still supported whether they're in black pants, orange jerseys, or their standard uniforms. There's no mistaking who they are, plus there's the added variety of matching multiple uniform combinations.

Given with the cited examples of the Packers' Navy/Brown/Gold, the Eagles' yellow/baby blue and the Broncos brown/yellow, there are certainly uniforms that have left the building in terms of supporting a brand, but an alternate in and of itself doesn't necessarily mandate such a crazy departure.

Even large organizations like the Y (formerly YMCA) are presenting much more variety in their corporate marks, and not sticking with one and only one mark in their collateral.

[Lights Out]

Firstly, I don't buy the "nobody knows who's playing" excuse. A quick look at the scorebug will reveal which teams are playing for anyone who is confused.

Secondly, I'd argue that some thirds represent the brand better than the primaries - the Chargers' powder blues, the Bengals in orange, and the Panthers in Carolina blue, for example, and that's not even including throwbacks.

[TheOldRoman]

Firstly, I don't buy the "nobody knows who's playing" excuse. A quick look at the scorebug will reveal which teams are playing for anyone who is confused.

Secondly, I'd argue that some thirds represent the brand better than the primaries - the Chargers' powder blues, the Bengals in orange, and the Panthers in Carolina blue, for example, and that's not even including throwbacks.

We've been through this before. That is a bad excuse. Teams should be able to have distinctive uniforms, even when more than one teams wears the same colors. If we could all just look at the score bug to see who was playing, then there is no use at all in branding a team.

[DeFrank]

What about the teams like the Rams who have 3 sets of pants? Would they have to pick a strict set to appear with each jersey?

No. The way the rules are now says that one can only wear a third JERSEY twice. Under the new rules, you have to do that in the first 8 weeks on the regular season and not on national television.

Pants can be mix and matched no matter. what. They can wear... each combo ONCE and not bring out gold jerseys and be fine. But they also could bring out gold twice. Once with gold pants and the other with blue or white.

[JQK]

No, the NCAA doesn't need to adopt nazi-like uniform rules

Hear hear! College ball would be painful to watch if everyone was forced to wear brown shirts.

This is why i love Yale...

[Saintsfan]

Firstly, I don't buy the "nobody knows who's playing" excuse. A quick look at the scorebug will reveal which teams are playing for anyone who is confused.

Secondly, I'd argue that some thirds represent the brand better than the primaries - the Chargers' powder blues, the Bengals in orange, and the Panthers in Carolina blue, for example, and that's not even including throwbacks.

first off you shouldn't need to look at a scorebug, but even then, you've got say the Jets in Titans blue and maybe there against someone in 1940s style retros. A look at the scorebug isn't necesarily going to tell the average casual fan which team is which.

And if the third is the look the franchise wants, make them the primary. But it's crazy, in a 16 game schedule, that teams even have alternates. And especially so in big games. In my view it's time to purge the league of throwbacks, and perhaps allow teams to wear an alternate once a year.

[WSU151]

Secondly, I'd argue that some thirds represent the brand better than the primaries - the Chargers' powder blues, the Bengals in orange, and the Panthers in Carolina blue, for example, and that's not even including throwbacks.

Make those alternates the primary jerseys then, if they so present a stronger brand. Simple answer.

[Gothamite]

Secondly, I'd argue that some thirds represent the brand better than the primaries - the Chargers' powder blues, the Bengals in orange, and the Panthers in Carolina blue, for example, and that's not even including throwbacks.

Make those alternates the primary jerseys then, if they so present a stronger brand. Simple answer.

Sure is.

[oldschoolvikings]

Secondly, I'd argue that some thirds represent the brand better than the primaries - the Chargers' powder blues, the Bengals in orange, and the Panthers in Carolina blue, for example, and that's not even including throwbacks.

Make those alternates the primary jerseys then, if they so present a stronger brand. Simple answer.

Sure is.

Thirded

[deliver2david]

I wish the NFL (and other leagues) would follow the soccer model and just have a regular uniform and a clash uniform.

[Kevin W.]

Secondly, I'd argue that some thirds represent the brand better than the primaries - the Chargers' powder blues

Simple solution: have the Chargers switch to powder blue full-time. It would be amazing.

EDIT: Nevermind, saw that the other posters said the same thing.

[Lights Out]

Secondly, I'd argue that some thirds represent the brand better than the primaries - the Chargers' powder blues, the Bengals in orange, and the Panthers in Carolina blue, for example, and that's not even including throwbacks.

Make those alternates the primary jerseys then, if they so present a stronger brand. Simple answer.

I agree that all three of those jerseys should be the primaries (especially the Chargers' powder blues - the fanbase loves them), but for whatever reason, those teams are unwilling to do so. So, at the very least, fans should be able to see them occasionally throughout the whole year, including in primetime matchups.

Also, does the rule still allow teams to wear their third jerseys as primaries during the playoffs? Because the Chargers have had a playoff "tradition" for a few years now of wearing the powder blues at home during the playoffs, and it'd be a shame to see that end.

[TheOldRoman]

I wish the NFL (and other leagues) would follow the soccer model and just have a regular uniform and a clash uniform.

I wish people would stop suggesting American sports do things like they do in soccer. With a few exceptions, we don't really care about soccer. No regular/clash uniforms. No teams with only city names. No advertising on uniforms.

[Kevin W.]

With a few exceptions, we don't really care about soccer.

That's definitely not true. You do realize that the MLS is on the verge of surpassing the NHL in terms of TV viewership, right? Also, need I remind you that the US set the attendance records for the World Cup 17 years ago. Those records have yet to be broken and would have had the chance to be broken in 2022 if the Qataris hadn't bribed FIFA.

To say that America doesn't care about soccer is patently and unequivocally false.

[deliver2david]

I wish the NFL (and other leagues) would follow the soccer model and just have a regular uniform and a clash uniform.

I wish people would stop suggesting American sports do things like they do in soccer. With a few exceptions, we don't really care about soccer. No regular/clash uniforms. No teams with only city names. No advertising on uniforms.

Soccer is very popular in America. You should open your eyes.