UniWatch Power Rankings

[jc...]

? All judging has been done by the Uni Watch Power Rankings Executive Committee, which has a membership of one and freely admits its biases. The committee is rather fond of green but gets a rash at the mere thought of purple, for example. Similarly, the committee tends to like old-school designs and is skeptical of design "innovations" that just feel like gimmicks. Despite these predispositions, however, some teams' rankings may surprise you. (Just to provide some diversity of opinion, we've also invited ESPN.com writers in the four major sports to chime in on what they like and don't like in a uniform design. Their essays will be showcased throughout the week, although they weren't part of the judging committee.)

Its not really a surprise on how this list came out. He tells everyone right in the beginning that his criteria is his own. Just like you and I. Enjoy the piece for what it is. He isn't the end all, be all, and I am sure he would tell you he isn't. Just someone's opinion, he just has a bigger stage to express it.

[gosioux76]

I was puzzled that he placed the Wild so high. The logo is a classic, but their uniforms -- particularly the red one -- are atrocious. I was expecting him to agree, especially considering how he called the use of red-and-green as "too Christmas-y" in his criticism of the Bucks.

But let's not forget the sole purpose of these lists, which is to stir debate and generate clicks. As an added bonus, based on this discussion, it's provided a worthy soapbox for self-aggrandizement.

[TimEOBrien]

I was puzzled that he placed the Wild so high. The logo is a classic, but their uniforms -- particularly the red one -- is atrocious. I was expecting him to agree, especially considering how he called the use of red-and-green as "too Christmas-y" in his criticism of the Bucks.

But let's not forget the sole purpose of these lists, which is to stir debate and generate clicks. As an added bonus, based on this discussion, it's provided a worthy soapbox for self-aggrandizement.

OH SNAP!

[BrandMooreArt]

As an added bonus, based on this discussion, it's provided a worthy soapbox for self-aggrandizement.

which wasn't the intention, but whatevs

[Kevin W.]

Wow, I was completely wrong about the reasoning he used to argue against the Blackhawks. Not one complaint about the imagery of the logo. I'm surprised.

That said, putting them at #49 is a travesty.

Meh, he doesn't like the red jersey. I get that. I disagree, but I get that. Even he said that if he could just pick one jersey/uniform he'd pick the road white and the 'Hawks would be much higher.

And it's not a travesty. It would not be a travesty if he ranked the Yankees dead last because he blames them for pinstripes. Nor would it be a travesty if he ranked the Thunder #1 (and he did actually rank them surprisingly high).

Where the Blackhawks are is in "good" territory. And quite honestly, I've never understood why I always see it listed as "fact" that it is obviously the #1 uniform in hockey. I definitely prefer Detroit and Toronto (pre-edge, anyway, for the leafs). It's not like he ranked it #105 or something.

In any case, it's subjective.

I know, I know, it's not really a travesty since it doesn't matter. I was just being a homer for the hell of it.

[BJ Sands]

I wonder if Paul Lukas has ever seen a red Blackhawks jersey in person. To use his word, the colors on the head dress really 'pop' on the red background. If anything, the white jersey is the weaker one.

[IceCap]

i have no interest in reading critiques from someone who dosent know the first thing about critiquing design. now its my turn to sound like a douchebag, but his ignorance is not equal to my knowledge. so the "its just his opinion" thing dosen't fly with me

I know 'red already responded to this, but this really bugs me. I am not a professional designer. I have not taken a single class in graphic design. Moreover I have no desire to pursue that profession.

Yet I'm pretty sure I know what I like when it comes to branding and sports logos and uniforms. I have my reasons for why I like certain things and why I dislike other things, and I try to explain those reasons as thoroughly as possible when it's appropriate to do so. I find the notion that someone's opinion isn't worth reading just because they're not a professional designer to be ridiculous. If it is how you truly feel, then you might as well put most of the board on "Ignore."

Sorry, not trying to come off as a douche, but it's just how I feel. Ultimately I don't believe anyone's opinion here is more "right" than anyone else's.

[Silent Wind of Doom]

Using process of elimination, here are the 25 top teams, in no particular order:

MLB: Yankees, Mets, Tigers, Dodgers, Cardinals, Blue Jays, Cubs, Athletics, Royals, and Phillies.

NFL: Raiders, Steelers, Bears, Packers

NHL: Maple Leafs, Canadiens, Rangers, Red Wings, Bruins

NBA: Lakers, Celtics, Jazz, Warriors, Spurs, Heat

While I do find he has come down to the best of the best, it would have been nice to see the Giants, Jets, or Dolphins in the top 25. At least one of them, in place of the Jazz, Spurs, or Phillies. Great to see a third of the MLB make the cut, though.

[BrandMooreArt]

i have no interest in reading critiques from someone who dosent know the first thing about critiquing design. now its my turn to sound like a douchebag, but his ignorance is not equal to my knowledge. so the "its just his opinion" thing dosen't fly with me

I know 'red already responded to this, but this really bugs me. I am not a professional designer. I have not taken a single class in graphic design. Moreover I have no desire to pursue that profession.

Yet I'm pretty sure I know what I like when it comes to branding and sports logos and uniforms. I have my reasons for why I like certain things and why I dislike other things, and I try to explain those reasons as thoroughly as possible when it's appropriate to do so. I find the notion that someone's opinion isn't worth reading just because they're not a professional designer to be ridiculous. If it is how you truly feel, then you might as well put most of the board on "Ignore."

Sorry, not trying to come off as a douche, but it's just how I feel. Ultimately I don't believe anyone's opinion here is more "right" than anyone else's.

already adressed this, but i wasnt taking it quite to that extreme as designer vs non-designer. was trying to focus on 1 person.

just for the record, i wouldnt "ignore" you (or most people here). we don't see things the same way, but because you can actually give a reason for liking or not liking something i can respect your position. unlike the person this thread is about (or has become about)

ultimately, i dont believe my opinion is better than someones who is an expert in a field i know nothing about. that was the point i was trying to get at. i'll admit, it got uglier than i wished

[CS85]

I don't understand why people routinely bag on the Arizona Cardinals' look. I think it's great.

The list revokes it's integrity entirely when it lists the Washington Wizards ahead of the Chicago Blackhawks.

[Braden]

The Penguins uniforms... are ranked higher than the Blackhawks uniforms...

Jesus Christ, Paul Lukas.

[jrodsep]

Using process of elimination, here are the 25 top teams, in no particular order:

MLB: Yankees, Mets, Tigers, Dodgers, Cardinals, Blue Jays, Cubs, Athletics, Royals, and Phillies.

NFL: Raiders, Steelers, Bears, Packers

NHL: Maple Leafs, Canadiens, Rangers, Red Wings, Bruins

NBA: Lakers, Celtics, Jazz, Warriors, Spurs, Heat

While I do find he has come down to the best of the best, it would have been nice to see the Giants, Jets, or Dolphins in the top 25. At least one of them, in place of the Jazz, Spurs, or Phillies. Great to see a third of the MLB make the cut, though.

Really the Jazz and Warriors a top 25 teams? I would have swapped out those two for the Blackhawks and Bulls. All of the rest are deserving in my opinion to battle it out for 2nd to 25th place. Because I have hunch that the Yankees (as much as it pains me) will be #1. Also of note is that all of the NHL finalists are from the original six. Still don't know how can he leave out the Blackhawks, just giving a crappy excuse that the red jersey doesn't do justice to the colors of the indian head piece.

[Eye]

The Penguins uniforms... are ranked higher than the Blackhawks uniforms...

Jesus Christ, Paul Lukas.

I agree, that this shouldn't be the case, but the Blackhawks jersey, not so much the uniform, need to be tweaked to unify the colors and stripes more consistently from home to road.

I didn't read the article though because I don't care what Paul Lukas thinks.

[vmd9]

im totally with Legend here, but moreover i have no interest in reading critiques from someone who dosent know the first thing about critiquing design. now its my turn to sound like a douchebag, but his ignorance is not equal to my knowledge. so the "its just his opinion" thing dosen't fly with me

I agree completely.

I glanced over a few of his "reviews" and could not believe some of the explanations. If it's a uniform ranking, how can his reasoning to rank the Penguins so highly be based on their logo is a skating penguin? If these rankings are based on logos, how is OKC ranked so high?

[infrared41]

I don't understand why people routinely bag on the Arizona Cardinals' look. I think it's great.

The list revokes it's integrity entirely when it lists the Washington Wizards ahead of the Chicago Blackhawks.

Well, I can't speak for everyone else, but I "routinely bag" it because it's a clown suit posing as a football uniform. It has a "traditional" helmet to go with very modern jerseys and pants (which are no prizes themselves) and it just looks stupid. It's a bad uniform for a lot of reasons, not the least of which is it can't decide what it's supposed to be. It's like someone said "let's go for a new look while retaining some of our tradition." Someone else said "OK, how about we keep the old helmets and update the rest." Then someone else said "perfect." So they called Reebok and said "from the neck down, make us look exactly like every other modern uniform." Reebok said "what about the helmets?" The Cardinals said "no, we're keeping those because we'd still like a link to out past." Then they all went to lunch. That's how I see it anyway.

The Blackhawks were ranked way too low. (In what could be an extremely unpopular move, infrared41 decides to admit he likes Paul Lukas...) I like Paul Lukas but his list is so far off the mark that I'm beginning to wonder if he just pulled teams out of a hat to come up with their ranking.

[infrared41]

im totally with Legend here, but moreover i have no interest in reading critiques from someone who dosent know the first thing about critiquing design. now its my turn to sound like a douchebag, but his ignorance is not equal to my knowledge. so the "its just his opinion" thing dosen't fly with me

I agree completely.

I glanced over a few of his "reviews" and could not believe some of the explanations. If it's a uniform ranking, how can his reasoning to rank the Penguins so highly be based on their logo is a skating penguin? If these rankings are based on logos, how is OKC ranked so high?

Editors. Limited column space.

[tommytimp]

Insane. The Thunder are ranked higher than the Blackhawks, and the reason the Hawks are ranked so low is because their home jersey, which is, let's se...oh yes, red, is too "loud" to let the colors in the logo headdress "pop."

Our grief is mountainous. That's just stupid.

[PhlyBoy]

I like Paul a lot, but he was completely off on the Blackhawks. They should be top 10 no doubt, their uniforms are a thing of beaut. I'm interested to see where the Pack end up...

[OnWis97]

im totally with Legend here, but moreover i have no interest in reading critiques from someone who dosent know the first thing about critiquing design. now its my turn to sound like a douchebag, but his ignorance is not equal to my knowledge. so the "its just his opinion" thing dosen't fly with me

I agree completely.

I glanced over a few of his "reviews" and could not believe some of the explanations. If it's a uniform ranking, how can his reasoning to rank the Penguins so highly be based on their logo is a skating penguin? If these rankings are based on logos, how is OKC ranked so high?

The Penguins logo is front and center on the uniform. Not so for OKC. Their poor logo does not have nearly as much impact on the uniform. (or no impact...I don't recall whether it's on the shorts).

[BrandMooreArt]

I don't understand why people routinely bag on the Arizona Cardinals' look. I think it's great.

The list revokes it's integrity entirely when it lists the Washington Wizards ahead of the Chicago Blackhawks.

Well, I can't speak for everyone else, but I "routinely bag" it because it's a clown suit posing as a football uniform. It has a "traditional" helmet to go with very modern jerseys and pants (which are no prizes themselves) and it just looks stupid. It's a bad uniform for a lot of reasons, not the least of which is it can't decide what it's supposed to be. It's like someone said "let's go for a new look while retaining some of our tradition." Someone else said "OK, how about we keep the old helmets and update the rest." Then someone else said "perfect." So they called Reebok and said "from the neck down, make us look exactly like every other modern uniform." Reebok said "what about the helmets?" The Cardinals said "no, we're keeping those because we'd still like a link to out past." Then they all went to lunch. That's how I see it anyway.

i feel the same way. i actually like the design, but the whole package is being pulled in 2 different directions by the grey face mask. just changing that to red/black/white would at least make the whole thing a modern design.

i don't think its as bad for the Bills because they have a better mix of traditional and new design, its obviously inspired by the past where the Cards just seem they overlooked a detail. but a blue mask there would be best i think