Penn State considering uniform overhaul

[CS85]

Calling people "mental midgets" doesn't exactly help the process along.

[Kevin W.]

Calling people who are angry at Penn State for all of this "trolls" won't help you either.

Don't put words in my mouth. People have every right to be upset and angry at Penn State; however, the folks who are hijacking this thread aren't angry at all; they're mental midgets who think they're being funny by posting barbs. There is nothing humorous about child abuse.

Have you ever seen that scene in Scrubs where (it's been a long time since I've seen the episode so correct me if I'm wrong) Dr. Cox mentions the reason why he does stuff like taking bets on a patient's condition? It's because without the moments of levity, doctors would go mad with all of the illness and death around them.

Cracking jokes and having a good sense of humor helps people through the hard times. This scandal has sent shockwaves throughout the college football world. Does it affect 99% of us quite like the death of a patient affects a doctor? No. That doesn't mean we can't use humor to lighten the mood and lessen the blow, though.

[IceCap]

Seriously, stop it with the hijacking and trolling. Just stop.

Given all that's happened, just take your medicine. People are going to mock PSU because they're justifiably outraged, and humour helps people to cope with that. It'll pass, just give it time. Trying to get them to stop won't work to your advantage.

This is part of the problem - it's insinuating that anyone with a PSU affiliation is guilty of something.

It's a little naive of the Bully to not expect that some kind of not-so-funny pedophilia joke would invade this thread, and it's counter productive for him to yell and scream about it, but it's also not right to tell him to "take his medicine" as if the jokes are a payback for something that he's guilty of.

I get your "the reasonable will be pushed into a defensive position" idea. Yeah there are sane, well adjusted PSU fans, students, and alumni.

The problem is people are rightfully angry at the institution (not those affiliated with it necessarily, just the institution) and they're going to criticize it and make jokes at its expense. Are they wrong for acting like this? No, they're not. So if you affiliated with Penn State, even if you're a sane, reasonable person, you kind of don't have the right to demand they stop, or to call those legitimately angry people "trolls." You have to "take your medicine." Not because you've done anything wrong, but because the school you're affiliated with most definitely did. So just keep quiet and wait for it to pass (it will). You're in no position to demand people not be upset at Penn State University.

Calling people who are angry at Penn State for all of this "trolls" won't help you either.

Don't put words in my mouth.

I didn't.

There is nothing humorous about child abuse.

Ok, this is part of the problem. Now please, hear me out, because I don't want what I'm about to say to get twisted and turned.

I don't know what your true feelings are in regards to this whole PSU scandal. I don't know, and I won't pretend to know. That being said, when you say something like this it can appear less then genuine. It can be seen as you caring more for the institution then the victims and using the crimes committed as a means to deflect criticism from the institution.

Now I'll give you the benefit of the doubt, that you're simply a well meaning guy affiliated with PSU who wants to get through this whole ordeal with the school hanging onto as much dignity as possible. That's admirable. Calling people who are rightfully disgusted at PSU mental midgets and trolls, however, isn't helping your case. Your goals might be honourable, but the means by which you're going about it are all wrong.

[BroadSt_Bully]

There you go again putting words in my mouth.

There is a clear distinction between legitimate disgust and trolling. You are the one who links the two together, then flips the script on me and making me look to be the bad guy. Those who are cracking jokes here are not legitimately disgusted; they're just looking for a cheap laugh at the expense of the victimized children and the institution.

Sorry, I've just reached my breaking point by staying quiet, putting up with it and ignoring the noise for 9 months.

Now let's PLEASE get back on-topic. Is that so wrong? Is that so much to ask? Apparently so.

[hailstateunis]

So, how bout them uniforms?

I think the names on the back are a good first step, and I'm curious as to where the blue ribbon is placed.

[DC in Da House w/o a Doubt]

So, how bout them uniforms?

I think the names on the back are a good first step, and I'm curious as to where the blue ribbon is placed.

Left chest I would guess

[Cujo]

Getting back on track for a moment...

When they take the field at Beaver Stadium for their 126th season, The Pennsylvania State University football team will wear uniforms featuring a blue ribbon to support all victims of child abuse. Also, for the first time, the names of each football player will adorn their jersey in recognition of their resolve and dedication to the team and the University.

Are the ribbons a permanent fixture to their uniforms as well? Since Penn State decided to go that route, I'd like to see them stick with it beyond this season.

[BroadSt_Bully]

Getting back on track for a moment...

When they take the field at Beaver Stadium for their 126th season, The Pennsylvania State University football team will wear uniforms featuring a blue ribbon to support all victims of child abuse. Also, for the first time, the names of each football player will adorn their jersey in recognition of their resolve and dedication to the team and the University.

Are the ribbons a permanent fixture to their uniforms as well? Since Penn State decided to go that route, I'd like to see them stick with it beyond this season.

Nothing has been confirmed beyond the 2012 season. I suspect there will be a few more changes in 2013.

[slapshot]

Getting back on track for a moment...

When they take the field at Beaver Stadium for their 126th season, The Pennsylvania State University football team will wear uniforms featuring a blue ribbon to support all victims of child abuse. Also, for the first time, the names of each football player will adorn their jersey in recognition of their resolve and dedication to the team and the University.

Are the ribbons a permanent fixture to their uniforms as well? Since Penn State decided to go that route, I'd like to see them stick with it beyond this season.

All this past season, the Boston University hockey team wore a blue Autism-Awareness shoulder patch on its uniforms. Don't know if it will continue to be worn in the future, but at least the precedent exists. I suppose it's not much different from the America Needs Farmers (ANF) sticker worn on Iowa's helmets.

[BBTV]

Seriously, stop it with the hijacking and trolling. Just stop.

Given all that's happened, just take your medicine. People are going to mock PSU because they're justifiably outraged, and humour helps people to cope with that. It'll pass, just give it time. Trying to get them to stop won't work to your advantage.

This is part of the problem - it's insinuating that anyone with a PSU affiliation is guilty of something.

It's a little naive of the Bully to not expect that some kind of not-so-funny pedophilia joke would invade this thread, and it's counter productive for him to yell and scream about it, but it's also not right to tell him to "take his medicine" as if the jokes are a payback for something that he's guilty of.

I get your "the reasonable will be pushed into a defensive position" idea. Yeah there are sane, well adjusted PSU fans, students, and alumni.

The problem is people are rightfully angry at the institution (not those affiliated with it necessarily, just the institution) and they're going to criticize it and make jokes at its expense. Are they wrong for acting like this? No, they're not. So if you affiliated with Penn State, even if you're a sane, reasonable person, you kind of don't have the right to demand they stop, or to call those legitimately angry people "trolls." You have to "take your medicine." Not because you've done anything wrong, but because the school you're affiliated with most definitely did. So just keep quiet and wait for it to pass (it will). You're in no position to demand people not be upset at Penn State University.

We do not disagree on this point. Fair criticism is certainly warranted, and there's no reason to censor it (though it's not warranted in a logo thread, IMO - to Bully's point, it should be reserved to the general-discussion thread so those of us who want to get away from that can discuss the actual uniforms here.)

Nobody should be giving or taking this criticism on a personal level. "Take your medicine" makes it personal. You have a bad habit of this kind of things in your arguing style (though I'll concede that it's improved a great deal since your problems a while back.)

So, to summarize:

1. Bully is right that this stuff shouldn't be in a logo/uniform thread.

2. Bully is wrong to bitch and complain about it, because that's just going to make it worse.

3. Bully is wrong for using the "report" button over and over again, because as others have mentioned, sometimes it's just better to let it go away on its own (plus I don't think the mods act on reports anyway.)

4. There are people trolling, though it hasn't been as bad lately. I don't consider the dumb pedobear posts to be trolling - just poor attempts at humor.

5. I'm a little conflicted about if the cartoon is really trying to make light and humor of child sexual abuse or not. I could see both sides of this, except that it's not really humorous to anyone old enough to not be at risk of said abuse. Either way, not worth making a stink about.

6. (getting actually logo / uniform related for a change) the ribbons should not remain on the jersey past this year - at some point you have to distance yourself from the whole thing. The existence of the ribbons is a safe PC move for now, but in reality they're not going to raise any more awareness than the scandal already has, and if you leave them on past this one year, it'll look like they no longer care about kids once they decide to take them off.

7. I never thought I"d say this, but I like the idea of names on the jerseys for at least the duration of the punishments. It's like a "yeah we're hosed, but now you're really representing yourself out there and not just a piece of the machine so take pride in that" (or something.) That being said, scandal or no scandal, my opinion on the PSU uniform has been made before.

[Perfect Zero]

Ugh, and we still can't get this thing back on track...

I guess it's going to be small steps for Pennsylvania State to get different stuff on their uniforms. I rather like the current look they have. It's simple and classic; something that we don't see often from the current age of college uniforms. I would like to see them go back to the numbers on the helmets though.

[omnivore]

Yeah, I felt like once JoePa left this would be the easiest move to make, even before the scandal. Seems like a no-brainer and glad O'Brien decided to do it. Plus, it is a nice thing for the guys who are sticking with the program. Seems like other visual changes in future years will be likely to move them even further out of the shadows of the JoePa era.

[knnhrvy16]

While I'm as big a fan of Penn State's look as any (it's in my top three favorite looks in all of football), I do believe it's time for changes. I'd certainly get behind numbers on the helmet, and I'd be fine with the names remaining on the jersey from here on out. That keystone "S" would be a nice addition to the collar, or even the pants. Changes that would seem small enough to other programs, but large enough and workable for Penn State I believe.

[hockey week]

Ugh, and we still can't get this thing back on track...

I guess it's going to be small steps for Pennsylvania State to get different stuff on their uniforms. I rather like the current look they have. It's simple and classic; something that we don't see often from the current age of college uniforms. I would like to see them go back to the numbers on the helmets though.

Wasn't it said that there isn't enough time to do anything drastic? I think names on the back, now a ribbon logo, and I would imagine a logo on the helmet would be all they're really capable of right now.

How quick is the turnaround on the Nike ProCombat jerseys? Do you think they've had a design waiting for approval (before all this happened that JoePa rejected), have they been working most of the summer on an appropriate design, or they'd have to start from scratch for a late-season game? A one-off alternate seems like the only other possibility at this point.

There'll be plenty of time to design, focus-group-test, and implement a new look for the next season, making the "are we keeping the ribbon patch?" question moot, and really giving the organization a fresh start. The only other appropriate timing for such a thing would be at the end of the NCAA sanctions, something I could also see happening.

[The_Admiral]

That keystone "S" would be a nice addition to the collar, or even the pants.

I don't like logos that just say "State." It seems like something for a fictitious team in a movie. Beat State! I mean, I guess you could argue that the keystone is the "Penn" and the S is the "State," but why not an interlocking PS, or just a P? No one calls them "State."

[Sodboy13]

That keystone "S" would be a nice addition to the collar, or even the pants.

I don't like logos that just say "State." It seems like something for a fictitious team in a movie. Beat State! I mean, I guess you could argue that the keystone is the "Penn" and the S is the "State," but why not an interlocking PS, or just a P? No one calls them "State."

I don't think that logo merely says "State" though, as the shape of a keystone is a fairly widely-accepted geometric shorthand for "Pennsylvania". That's why I dig it.

Also, you added on the second half of that while I was editing. Damn, quick-draw.

[Kiltman]

I really like O'Brien's reasoning for putting the names on the back

I can't really get behind the ribbons on the jerseys though, it's like a Scarlet Letter for crimes the players had nothing to do with. And when would it be ok to take off? A big deal would be made of it whenever they would. If we must I would rather them just incorporate sky blue into the uniform than the ribbon. A lot of Penn State merchandise is already sold using a light blue...so it wouldn't all be for to acknowledge child abuse. Like a thin trim around the name and numbers would be ok. I hope the ribbon is just on the helmet, but it will probably be a huge one on the left chest.

[knnhrvy16]

That keystone "S" would be a nice addition to the collar, or even the pants.

I don't like logos that just say "State." It seems like something for a fictitious team in a movie. Beat State! I mean, I guess you could argue that the keystone is the "Penn" and the S is the "State," but why not an interlocking PS, or just a P? No one calls them "State."

I think two letters interlocked in the keystone shape would be too much. It'd have to be done just right. A "P" would be redundant when the keystone already represents Pennslyvania. Thus, an "S" alone inside the keystone is the better route I think. It's cleaner and much less forced than a "PS", and there's no redundancy. Just as you suggested, the keystone is "Penn", the "S" is "State". To me, a unique mark like that makes it easy to tell it isn't just "State." That's just my opinion.

[evanmaldonado]

I like the addition of the names, but I wouldn't mind seeing something like them using a Pro Combat next year to gauge fan reaction to a new uniform. Maybe incorporate silver. I think just adding a silver helmet and pants would look fantastic

[rams80]

I like the addition of the names, but I wouldn't mind seeing something like them using a Pro Combat next year to gauge fan reaction to a new uniform. Maybe incorporate silver. I think just adding a silver helmet and pants would look fantastic

No, I'd rather Penn State not join the "50 shades of grey" era of college football uniform design.