NFL monochrome uniforms

[BlueSky]

My wife has a one-word theory on what makes a nice uni: contrast (between full elements like helmet, jersey, pants and socks, not panels etc.). In most cases she's right.

[Sport]

Did the Browns wear monobrown once in the preseason, or am I remembering that wrong? Can't find a pic.

If so, that would clearly make a "worst of" list.

I believe when they first used the stupidly ugly stripeless brown pants in the preseason (and maybe for a couple games after that) they wore them with brown socks so they wore a brown leotard. Morons loved it. People with design literacy and taste hated it.

When they took the field the next time in the brown pants they wore the striped socks to match the sleeves. It didn't look much better.

There's some colors you just shouldn't use for football pants. Brown might be at the top of the list.

[Chawls]

Titans light blue is the best.

Rams navy blue is the worst.

[Xist2inspire]

Grown men look ridiculous in head-to-toe or at least shoulder-to-toe one color tights. White's a neutral color that just does not look the same in monochrome form as other colors. Just how it is.

I don't quite buy that. If that's the case, then why is black monochrome usually hated? It's a neutral color as well, right?

Sports aesthetic is slightly different. White is the only true neutral color. Gray in some applications (baseball road uniforms, facemasks in some opinions, etc.). Black is not a neutral color in the world of sports uniforms/logo design except for use as a minimal outline in logos, primarily. Otherwise it's a team color option. No different than any other color (except the aforementioned white).

Agree to disagree then, I suppose. To me, white is just another color option, not merely the default setting. You have to pay just as much attention to using white correctly as you do any other color.

What are your thoughts on "white-outs" in college football?

[McCall]

Grown men look ridiculous in head-to-toe or at least shoulder-to-toe one color tights. White's a neutral color that just does not look the same in monochrome form as other colors. Just how it is.

I don't quite buy that. If that's the case, then why is black monochrome usually hated? It's a neutral color as well, right?

Sports aesthetic is slightly different. White is the only true neutral color. Gray in some applications (baseball road uniforms, facemasks in some opinions, etc.). Black is not a neutral color in the world of sports uniforms/logo design except for use as a minimal outline in logos, primarily. Otherwise it's a team color option. No different than any other color (except the aforementioned white).

Agree to disagree then, I suppose. To me, white is just another color option, not merely the default setting. You have to pay just as much attention to using white correctly as you do any other color.

What are your thoughts on "white-outs" in college football?

What's the one color jersey every team has? White. White in uniform aspects is the blank canvas for other colors to be used on. Black does not work that way with uniforms. It's a regular color.

[UnclearInitial]

Unpopular opinion: I usually prefer monochrome to the yoga pants look, especially if the pants are stripeless.

[McCall]

Except that most monochromes end up with the yoga pants or leotard look because they always seem to use the same color pants/socks.

[Bustin8]

Unpopular opinion: I prefer monochrome in general. I love the Ravens all black the most but I'm bias with that. There really isn't one in the NFL I don't like. I love navy blue so I love the rams monochrome along with the pats and seahawks. I'm not crazy about the Jags but thats more ot do with their new uniforms in general. I usually always prefer that the jerseys and pants be the same color whether its their colored uniforms or their white ones. White jerseys and colored pants are ok, but colored jerseys and white pants kinda irk me.

[MiK]

These forums have warped my mind, because I remember not that long ago I actually liked some of the monochrome looks around the league. Now I've seen through the bull. Most of these are hideous.

Congrats Sports Logos Community, you have successfully converted another one.

[JB83]

Call me crazy but I like the Saints all black look. It looks stealthy to me.

And I like that Redskins one posted earlier too. I guess I just don't mind the monochrome look.

[TheOldRoman]

Monochrome is hated due to guys having something implanted in their mind that it's "girly"... thus the reason you hear them say it looks like unitards.

Yet, they think Batman looks cool and other superheroes. They think blacked out vehicles look good, etc etc etc...

Really makes little sense.

I think it's a weird subconscious paranoia thing. The ballerina complex.

OR.... or, here's a though... we dislike monochrome uniforms because it looks bad to us because it goes against the Established Aesthetics of Football. You don't hear people complaining that the Lakers wear purple monochromes, do you? No, because that's how basketball uniforms are supposed to look. Note that we did complain about the crappy gold-jersey-black-shorts Wizards alts. There is a certain way football uniforms are supposed to look, and there is plenty of leeway within that to be creative and unique with uniforms. But wearing matching pants and jerseys does not make a good football uniform.

As for the worst, I will go with the Titans. The white helmet looks so horribly out of place with that look. Like they were supposed to have light blue helmets, but the equipment guy forgot to pack them, so they slapped decals on white helmets purchase from Sports Authority. White helmets are dicey due to the inherent genericness. They have to be coordinated with the pants to not look out of place.

[RayFinkle]

The white helmet makes the look for the Titans. All dark blue or all light blue, with the white helmet, works.

[CrazyAnna]

Established Aesthetics of Football

Where can one find this magical reference?

[IceCap]

Um, the general history of the game?

[CrazyAnna]

Um, the general history of the game?

So there are no set of rules per se. Just traditionalist that get upset when a team goes outside the norm? I applaud what the Cheifs did. I wouldn't want it all the time, but once or twice a year is perfectly fine. Same goes to the Dolphins in all-teal, the Bears in all-navy, the Texans in all-red, and etc. Not sure why people get so upset about it. I would understand if it was a permanent change and they wore it all the time, but a rare occasion shouldn't bother anyone.

[Midway]

Agreed^ Nothing wrong with the occasional one-offs for the sake of giving the fans something new to look at.

Monochrome is hated due to guys having something implanted in their mind that it's "girly"... thus the reason you hear them say it looks like unitards.

Yet, they think Batman looks cool and other superheroes. They think blacked out vehicles look good, etc etc etc...

Really makes little sense.

I think it's a weird subconscious paranoia thing. The ballerina complex.

Swing and a miss

[BBTV]

Established Aesthetics of Football

Where can one find this magical reference?

Established Aesthetics of Football

Where can one find this magical reference?

Um, the general history of the game?

Right, but let's acknowledge that aesthetics do slowly evolve over time. The Kansas City Chiefs uniform, which most people here look at as the epitome of a football uniform or even an archetype would have been "against the established aesthetics of the game" back in the '30s and '40s.

Granted the sport was young then, but teams from coast to coast, pro and amateur, all had similar looking styles of uniforms (brownish pants, multi-striped long-sleeved shirts, etc.) Then it evolved into what it became in the '60s - '00s, and might be evolving again. IMO these monochrome uniforms and uniforms that are designed to "cohesively flow" from head to toe are still the exception, but if it continues much longer, eventually the established aesthetic will be for these types of uniforms, with the "traditional" ones becoming the outliers.

[UnclearInitial]

Except that most monochromes end up with the yoga pants or leotard look because they always seem to use the same color pants/socks.

I was talking about the leotard look with white jerseys, it just looks unbalanced. I prefer monochrome to the leotard look with white jerseys. Monochrome might have too much color, but usually it's balanced

[nuordr]

These forums have warped my mind, because I remember not that long ago I actually liked some of the monochrome looks around the league. Now I've seen through the bull. Most of these are hideous.

Congrats Sports Logos Community, you have successfully converted another one.

They have warped my mind too as I used to be a modern uniform junkie...now I pretty much hate them (Oregon I am looking at you) but I still love the monochrome look (only if the pants have stripes).

[Sport]

Monochrome can look good. I loved Seattle's first scuba suit for example. But most of the time I think the players look like unathletic blobs, particularly when it's a brighter color like red or Tennessee's light blue.

I like to see the colors separated a little bit. These aren't steadfast rules, but for me I prefer helmets that are a different color from the jersey. All white is acceptable and can look good, primarily because I'm used to it, but all yellow looks stupid. Why is that? I don't know, but it's how it goes.

If I had to choose though, my favorite football uniforms the helmet is the brighter color, the jersey is the darker color, the pants match the helmet color or they're white, and the socks match the jersey color. It's why packers look good, but the Titans regular home look looks stupid. If the Titans went back to their original home look or wore a light blue helmet, navy jersey, light blue pants, navy socks that would look far better because the colors wouldn't be so bottom heavy. They'd be more spread out.