NFL Championship Sunday

[Cujo]

Don't forget about this look from the 1990 NFC Championship.

I was never a fan of this Giants set, primarily becuase the blue helmet was so much darker than the blue on their uniforms. Very "Dallas Cowboys-esque".

[epper]

Sorry, I still think this is the best look the 49ers have ever had.

Totally agree.

[Chawls]

One gripe I have with the Niners and Giants current uniforms, are the black shoes. I don't know why, but that just doesn't sit right with me.

Because there is no black anywhere else in either of their sets.

Sorry, I still think this is the best look the 49ers have ever had.

No need to apologize. You're absolutely right.

[Mingjai]

Me, I just hate ALL stripeless football pants, regardless of whether or not the rest of the uniform has stripes. (Notre Dame, Michigan, and the St. Louis Rams are my only exceptions... just because!)

Just because...what?

I never had a problem with the 49ers burgundy/black years. They weren't a downgrade, just something different. The only think I disagreed with were the white pants they wore for the first several years. Eshh!

Yeah. Those pants were begging for some gold. I don't like the Niners current unis as much as the previous uniforms because it was change for change sakes. So often, uniforms introduced in the 90s are flawed by the overexuberance (sp?) of new design techniques. But the uniforms introduced in 1996 weren't flawed, save for the white pants, and even that was fixed by 1998. It was an appropriate evolution to the 49ers uniforms. It made sense. It didn't need to be nixed.

I agree with this 100%. The 49ers 1998 update was a perfect example of how to update a team's look while keeping all the tradition of the past. The only thing I would change to the look would be to drop the sleeve logos.

[CitizenTino]

This was easily a better Giants/49ers uniform matchup:

If only the Giants' pants and facemasks were white and red respectively, not that dingy gray color... then it would be perfection.

Oh hell no. Those Giants uniforms were OK up close, although sort of boring without any kind of stripes or other detailing. However, at a distance, the blue and red on the jerseys blended together and made them look purplish - you can sort of see it in that picture. Their current road uniforms are worlds better.

How were the Giants able to ditch these uniforms after just a couple years? Maybe my memory is off, but it seems like they wore these for about 2 or 3 seasons, then switched to what they wear on the road now. I was under the impression that teams had to stick with jerseys for at least 5 years.

[guest23]

This was easily a better Giants/49ers uniform matchup:

If only the Giants' pants and facemasks were white and red respectively, not that dingy gray color... then it would be perfection.

Oh hell no. Those Giants uniforms were OK up close, although sort of boring without any kind of stripes or other detailing. However, at a distance, the blue and red on the jerseys blended together and made them look purplish - you can sort of see it in that picture. Their current road uniforms are worlds better.

How were the Giants able to ditch these uniforms after just a couple years? Maybe my memory is off, but it seems like they wore these for about 2 or 3 seasons, then switched to what they wear on the road now. I was under the impression that teams had to stick with jerseys for at least 5 years.

I'm pretty sure the 5 year rule is strictly enforced for a full scale identity change so either changing the road jersey was considered a minor modification or an exception was made since the giants have some serious pull with the league office.

I vaguely remember that one of the older mara family members was giving their input during the retro redesign and they really wanted the red sock/red numbers with red northwestern strips but nike (and maybe the league)steered them to a more "uniform" design between home and road jerseys...it obviously didn't hold too long and the mara's eventually got their way (poor sales?) as they adopted the "classic" road uniform after a couple of seasons and the word mark was changed to the "ny" logo on both jerseys as well.

stuff like this is the coolest thing about classic sports uniform design...things aren't necessarily uniform all of the time and the designs tended to change much more organically than what is contrived now and tends to be over-designed.

[TheOldRoman]

That's just it, the pants do not NEED to match the helmet. But if you are against solid black pants, mimicking the helmet "stripes" would be the most logical thing to do. The Bears and Chiefs have striped pants the match the jerseys, not the helmets. Seeing as the Ravens' jerseys do not feature striping, that leaves the helmet. There is no NEED to have striped pants in football, either. Yes, that's how things were "back in the day" and that is how the basic design of the football uniform has developed. But again, make design choices that fit the brand. If a team has what one would consider a more "modern" brand, then the design elements of the uniform should match that. With the current Raven's identity, traditional pants striping is out of place, especially on the black pants.

No, pants don't need to match the helmet. Also, you don't NEED jersey stripes for striped pants to work. The Giants home, old Cardinals home, Buccaneers, Saints (though their stripes should match their helmets) all look/looked fine. And yes, there is a need to have striped pants in football. Striped pants and different colored pants being worn with the jerseys (unless they are white) are part of the established aesthetic of football. If a design firm can't figure out how incorporate some king of design into the pants other than a hip logo, it is not good at its job. Traditional pants striping is not out of place on the Ravens. Their white pants have worked for them for a long time. The used to wear white socks with the same striping, and those also looked good. Stripes work fine with them, just as any team would look good with a given striping pattern. I'm sorry, aside from the superfluous helmet slashes and the terrible number font, there is nothing modern about the Ravens' design. Having a logo on the sleeve and a black jersey cuff doesn't mean that jersey doesn't go with striped pants.

[dbadefense1990]

Don't forget about this look from the 1990 NFC Championship.

Why do I sense that this game will end in a FG, like their two other playoff matchups at Candlestick?

[whitedawg22]

This was easily a better Giants/49ers uniform matchup:

If only the Giants' pants and facemasks were white and red respectively, not that dingy gray color... then it would be perfection.

Oh hell no. Those Giants uniforms were OK up close, although sort of boring without any kind of stripes or other detailing. However, at a distance, the blue and red on the jerseys blended together and made them look purplish - you can sort of see it in that picture. Their current road uniforms are worlds better.

How were the Giants able to ditch these uniforms after just a couple years? Maybe my memory is off, but it seems like they wore these for about 2 or 3 seasons, then switched to what they wear on the road now. I was under the impression that teams had to stick with jerseys for at least 5 years.

I'm pretty sure the 5 year rule is strictly enforced for a full scale identity change so either changing the road jersey was considered a minor modification or an exception was made since the giants have some serious pull with the league office.

I vaguely remember that one of the older mara family members was giving their input during the retro redesign and they really wanted the red sock/red numbers with red northwestern strips but nike (and maybe the league)steered them to a more "uniform" design between home and road jerseys...it obviously didn't hold too long and the mara's eventually got their way (poor sales?) as they adopted the "classic" road uniform after a couple of seasons and the word mark was changed to the "ny" logo on both jerseys as well.

stuff like this is the coolest thing about classic sports uniform design...things aren't necessarily uniform all of the time and the designs tended to change much more organically than what is contrived now and tends to be over-designed.

The Giants wore the red-numbers-outlined-in-blue road uniform for exactly five years (2000-2004) before changing to their current set in 2005.

http://history.giants.com/page/New+York+Giants+Uniforms

For instance, here's Eli Manning as a rookie in 2004 wearing the old numbers:

[Kramerica Industries]

Those previous Giants roads were underrated.

I like what they wear now, but at least in the past their jerseys actually had blue somewhere other than the helmet. And, at least from that picture, the gray pants look less flat than what they wear now.

[guest23]

Those previous Giants roads were underrated.

I like what they wear now, but at least in the past their jerseys actually had blue somewhere other than the helmet. And, at least from that picture, the gray pants look less flat than what they wear now.

they were nearly identical to the bills of the same era from the waist down...for that offense both of those sets will be eternally known for their mediocrity...I'd be fine if the giants stuck with the road grays and added a white version to be occasionally worn at home and on the road.

[JStamper]

I hate every aspect of ravens UNIS. Colors, logos, home, road, shirts, pants, socks. Very good team, needs complete overhaul of UNIS.

[shstpt1]

I think with nike taking over, the Ravens could borrow a look from UVa and their pants stripes. They would match the stripes on the helmet better than any normal vertical striping could do

[patsox]

I think I saw the Ravens practicing in white pants.

[scraw28]

they're just having a full contact practice....they also wear the white pants in practice for training camp

[Cujo]

I think I saw the Ravens practicing in white pants.

I don't believe that's any indication as to what B-More will wear this Sunday.

Practice uniforms =/= Gameday unis

[nybatt]

When the Football Giants went with the re-design for the 2000 season the road unis had RED socks. They wore the red socks on the road for the 2000 and 01 seasons, then without any announcement, switched to blue socks on the road.. So those blue-socked disasters were worn for 3 seasons until the true throwback re-do for the 2005 season was unveiled. It was one of former owner Wellington Mara's last wishes to see the return to the traditional road uniforms of the team's halcyon days in the 1950's throug the early '60's.

I was never a big fan of the blue trim and names on the 2000-04 unis; always made me feel like they went 'half-assed' to a throwback. The blue looked out of place and looked terrible on TV. The white cleats were an abomination (again, keeping with a true throwback theme they simply looked wrong).

Admittedly I am completely biased, as the current road unis are a dream come true for me. Well, if it had true sleeves I guess it would make me a lot happier, but as was stated before it's about finding a happy medium. Also, keep in mind red was a predominant feature of Giants unis through the years, so the red-dominated uniform is not something out of the blue (pardon the pun) or sacreligious. The uniqueness of the home and road unis being in total contrast is what I like the most. In my opinion the Giants have achieved uniform perfection at home and especially on the road.

Lastly, the searing image of the Giants in the 2002-04 road unis will always be blowing that lead in Frisco!! Good riddance!

nybatt.

[oldschoolvikings]

When the Football Giants went with the re-design for the 2000 season the road unis had RED socks. They wore the red socks on the road for the 2000 and 01 seasons, then without any announcement, switched to blue socks on the road.. So those blue-socked disasters were worn for 3 seasons until the true throwback re-do for the 2005 season was unveiled. It was one of former owner Wellington Mara's last wishes to see the return to the traditional road uniforms of the team's halcyon days in the 1950's throug the early '60's.

I was never a big fan of the blue trim and names on the 2000-04 unis; always made me feel like they went 'half-assed' to a throwback. The blue looked out of place and looked terrible on TV. The white cleats were an abomination (again, keeping with a true throwback theme they simply looked wrong).

Admittedly I am completely biased, as the current road unis are a dream come true for me. Well, if it had true sleeves I guess it would make me a lot happier, but as was stated before it's about finding a happy medium. Also, keep in mind red was a predominant feature of Giants unis through the years, so the red-dominated uniform is not something out of the blue (pardon the pun) or sacreligious. The uniqueness of the home and road unis being in total contrast is what I like the most. In my opinion the Giants have achieved uniform perfection at home and especially on the road.

Lastly, the searing image of the Giants in the 2002-04 road unis will always be blowing that lead in Frisco!! Good riddance!

nybatt.

Well played.

[JQK]

I love the Giants whole identity except for one aspect: The Pants.

Pick one (preferably the "road" version, with the red/gray/blue/gray/red pattern), and stick with it...

[goforbroke]

For me, both teams have the same problem ...

These are beautiful uniforms for the niners and giants as a whole (Pairing the jersey with gold pants and gold helmet, and grey pants and blue helment) however, the fans don't wear the pants and helmet, and the standalone jerseys doesn't work well enough on their own IMO.

I wish the niners would add some gold to the jersey and the giants would add blue. Because as it stands now the jerseys alone both like throwback cardinals home/away jerseys.