Tampa Bay Buccaneers Getting New Logo, Helmet & Uniforms

[hormone]

Well, let this jersey collector and lifelong Bucs fan weigh in...

On a design standpoint: The font sucks ass and so does the contrasting shoulder yoke. I guess I can live with the BUCS on the one sleeve if that is "modernization" The ship looks good on the other. At least it's going forward. The XL logo is OK. The chrome fits in because of the silver on the numbers. I was worried the chrome mask was going to be a shiny version of GFGS. I think the chrome trend is like a 3D TV. It's cool for a few minutes, but who really cares in the long run. The pewter socks suck with the pewter pants. The red socks didn't look bad with them. Mike "the tool" Williams wore red socks in a game 2 years ago and it looked bad, but the red socks with this set didn't. Maybe because I saw the pewter socks. The website says 3 sock options so I imagine there is a black set as well. The orange looks forced like the Chargers forced colors. There are a second set of pants as well. I imagine white. Pewter/White/White will look as bad as the AZ Cards white set.

I think the problem is that overall this set is not as good as what they are leaving behind. The Orange/White was unique and was replaced with Pewter/Red/Pewter, which arguably was the best rebrand/modernization/classic look set out there.

I just bought 3 Canes jerseys and 3 Bucs jerseys last season. Now the fan/collector in me has to get this?? Who to get is the next question?

I guess some poster on another website summed it up best saying that this isn't designed for a designer to like. This isn't designed for middle age/middle class guy to like. It's designed for some youth to like. It's designed to be talked about. (That's not quite the terms that were used, but you get the point).

I'd like to see it in better light because the helmet looked black in the stock photos, but really popped on the NFL Network stage.

[MellowTheMyth]

These uniforms had so much potential and Nike & Tampa dropped the ball. How in the hell do you have the abbreviated wordmark on the left shoulder and the secondary ship logo on the right shoulder? Nothing about it screams Buccaneers to me. Only thing I like is the helmet. SMH. . . .

Honestly, these uniforms look like a template that would be a bit of a lateral change for the Atlanta Falcons if they were to get new uniforms.

[WSU151]

These are terrrible by college standards. I guess the Bucs decided to complete the trio of terrible looking Florida teams.

Agree, best dressed football team in Florida is .....Seminoles?

No. UCF

Is that what everyone you know says?

Nope, only my fellow Knights.

Oh ok. That makes it more legit...haha

[hugevolsfan]

Definitely, but that's hardly the fault of the designer. If it's an independent designer I would probably expect something a little more tasteful, but in Nike's case, if given no guidelines they'll do whatever they can to show off their technology and generate attention.

That's like dangling a steak in front of a lion then getting mad at the lion for eating it.

I'm not defending Nike's designers, but it's flat out lazy and irresponsible for anyone to blame a designer without knowing what the parameters were or what input the client gave. Even if none, the blame goes to the client.

If I look like an idiot because I'm wearing a woman's pink bejazzled sweater, it's my fault for buying it from the store, not the designer's for making it.

That's all absolutely true, but I think a slightly better analogy would be this. Let's say you don't know much about fashion, so you hire an expert. Now what if that expert (because for some reason or the another it would be advantageous to them) convinces you that men wearing pink bedazzled sweaters will soon be all the rage. And, since you feel this isn't your area of expertise, and you trust them, you go with it.

Now, you can say its ultimately your own fault... you physically put it on and walked out the door... but there's at least some blame to go around, don't you think?

I agree but I have a hard time calling the ones who designed this uniform a designer since the only thing they really did was make the "historical buccanneer blade carvings" in the font.

No doubt this will make the field because we have already seen the uniforms this is not like the 49ers when all they had was a helmet.

[seattlesonicsofsacramento]

My first thought when I saw the uniforms was "AFL" (followed by "these pewter capris look awful"). I've noticed that a lot of people are calling them Arena Football League, but not really offering any evidence, so here's my attempt to explain that reaction.

First, the Bucs:

The numbers on the red uniform in that pic look like they're lighting up. That's actually pretty neat. Still don't like the shape though.

And we have to disagree about that last bit. A Zubaz uniform in the NFL for the Bengals would be amazing.

I think they are supposed to light up, actually. "reflective chrome"

[BBTV]

Definitely, but that's hardly the fault of the designer. If it's an independent designer I would probably expect something a little more tasteful, but in Nike's case, if given no guidelines they'll do whatever they can to show off their technology and generate attention.

That's like dangling a steak in front of a lion then getting mad at the lion for eating it.

I'm not defending Nike's designers, but it's flat out lazy and irresponsible for anyone to blame a designer without knowing what the parameters were or what input the client gave. Even if none, the blame goes to the client.

If I look like an idiot because I'm wearing a woman's pink bejazzled sweater, it's my fault for buying it from the store, not the designer's for making it.

That's all absolutely true, but I think a slightly better analogy would be this. Let's say you don't know much about fashion, so you hire an expert. Now what if that expert (because for some reason or the another it would be advantageous to them) convinces you that men wearing pink bedazzled sweaters will soon be all the rage. And, since you feel this isn't your area of expertise, and you trust them, you go with it.

Now, you can say its ultimately your own fault... you physically put it on and walked out the door... but there's at least some blame to go around, don't you think?

Fair enough, however here's the thing - they didn't really hire design experts. They hired Nike. Nike's designers primary responsibility is to Nike - the sportswear company. So there's a conflict of interest there. Given strict guidelines, you're going to get what you want. Otherwise, you're going to get a billboard for all of Nike's shiny new stuff, since that's their job.

Nike designers (and I am just speaking out of my ass because I have no idea how it really works on the inside) are paid by Nike, not the client. So they will do what's in the best interest of Nike. Sometimes that will mean that they create a very basic design. Most of the time...

If a sports team doesn't know what they want, they should really hire an independent firm or work with in house designers because they would have more of a vested interest in the outcome.

I get what you're saying, and don't really disagree. I just can't blame Nike for being Nike, even if the design (or at least the numbers and patches) sucks

[xmichaelp]

Vikings fans should count themselves lucky they made it out alive. Ya, their number font isn't great, and I'm still not sold on the sleeve stripe, but in hindsight it certainly could have been worse.

I'm starting to think Miami and Minnesota told Nike roughly what they wanted and the other teams just let Nike do whatever. There's a big contrast between to two groups.

[jhans203]

My first thought when I saw the uniforms was "AFL" (followed by "these pewter capris look awful"). I've noticed that a lot of people are calling them Arena Football League, but not really offering any evidence, so here's my attempt to explain that reaction.

First, the Bucs:

The numbers on the red uniform in that pic look like they're lighting up. That's actually pretty neat. Still don't like the shape though.

And we have to disagree about that last bit. A Zubaz uniform in the NFL for the Bengals would be amazing.

I think they are supposed to light up, actually. "reflective chrome"

I really want to like these, but the font is atrocious.

[Brian in Boston]

Nike has well and truly "jumped the shark" when it comes to uniform design. As the old saying goes, "Just because you can do something, doesn't mean you should do something."

My heart goes out to Tampa Bay Buccaneers die-hards. What was once one of the best looks in the National Football League has been discarded for an aesthetic train-wreck.

[jws008]

Here's my hope, based on the Bucs' behavior the last time their look was rebranded, that we will eventually see some of the other options Nike and the design team presented to the team.

(Because if this is what they decided on, how bad were the other options?!?!?).

[dennisbergan]

I think with the option to wear orange socks, an orange 3rd jersey is going to be a part of this set.

The orange socks would have no place as I see it, without there being a orange alt.

Has to be.

[infrared41]

Wow. That just may be the biggest downgrade in NFL history. The Bucs went from one of the best looks in the league to quite possibly the worst. Good Lord are those things awful.

[WideRight]

Chrome facemask: A tacky fad that has already lasted too long and cannot die soon enough.

Oversized logo: Welcome to MLB Turn Ahead the Clock night for an entire season. Especially worthless when it obscures half of the logo behind the facemask.

Custom font: Well, they got us to stop complaining about the serifs on the Vikings' uniforms. These are ludicrous!!!

Metallic colors portrayed as matte: You cannot call pewter, pewter if it is a matt fabric like the pants and yokes are here. That is not pewter, that is murky dull grey, it's dirty laundry water grey. And it's fugly!

Pant stripes: These are not really stripes, just splotches of color that begin and end without any rhyme or reason. Is it so hard to have a stripe extend the whole leg?

Bay Orange: A proud tradition now slapped on at random places, and when placed next to dirty laundry water grey, it looks so very very not good.

Unitard pants: (Pants and socks the same color). It doesn't work with black, white or any other bright color, why would it work with dirty laundry water grey?

The Buc's original uniforms were silly, but they screamed "FLORIDA".

The Pewter 2000's uniforms were strong, they felt like the uniforms of a pirate-themed team.

These uniforms feel like NIKE puked up every bad idea that even Oregon didn't want and decided to make Tampa look like a team from the MAC.

I cannot wait for the NIKE NFL period to be over and pray that someone with sanity gets placed on the design team for whichever company takes their place.

And thank the flying spaghetti monster that Buffalo changed their uniforms before NIKE got on board!!!! Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!

[Skyjuice]

After seeing all the pictures, I've come around to liking these and have backed away from the cliff's edge. My problem is that number font. it is MUCH too straight and angular. If the font had some curved element it would improve the look ten fold. Will definitely be buying that red home jersey, but I'm still not sold on the away.

[beruud]

Omg... Nooooooooo no no no... #@$%

[FiddySicks]

At first sight I was pretty annoyed but accepting of these. But seeing this angle, right here, makes me wanna flip a table.

This is nothing short of an ENORMOUS downgrade. Everything that I hoped they wouldn't do, they did. That new pewter color makes it look like Malcolm Glazer was dumpster diving at The Factory of Sadness and found the Browns old pants under a pile of dirty diapers and was astonished at how much they reminded him of Errol Flynn. It would actually be a better look with white pants at home, and that was the absolute WORST look with the old uniforms. This whole thing is SUCH a train wreck.

[Brian in Boston]

These uniforms feel like NIKE puked up every bad idea that even Oregon didn't want and decided to make Tampa look like a team from the MAC.

BINGO!!!

An NFL franchise shouldn't take the field looking like a football team from a university in a mid-major conference.

[Chilton92]

@Skyjuice I agree. Heck, I think the Captain America font would be more appropriate for the Bucs than what they're using, and it hardly fits the identity. Not buying a jersey, though.

[buffalo50]

I fear what Nike has in store for my Browns in 2015

.

The Browns already look like total horse****. Its not like they could look any worse.

The Browns should have been rebranded and those current mess of a uniform burned and tossed into Lake Erie, when they came back into the league in 1999.

And for the 198th time...QUIT BLAMING NIKE!!! The teams are the ones who make the decisions on the rebrands and uni changes. NFL properties is heavily involved too. You morons blaming Nike for everything don't know what you are talking about...as usual.

You have to admit that the large logo, use of chrome and bright colors all reek of nike. Not complaining about the features but its pretty obvious they have a great deal of control...

If the Bucs said "wow, that flag is just too big. We want it the same size as before", Nike might say "but... but BIG... and..." but the Bucs could just say "we want it smaller. Thanks."

"control" is in the hands of the client.

I completely agree with you. But you have to release sometimes the client doesn't know what's best for them and allows the "design" team to manhandle the situation.

Definitely, but that's hardly the fault of the designer. If it's an independent designer I would probably expect something a little more tasteful, but in Nike's case, if given no guidelines they'll do whatever they can to show off their technology and generate attention.

That's like dangling a steak in front of a lion then getting mad at the lion for eating it.

I'm not defending Nike's designers, but it's flat out lazy and irresponsible for anyone to blame a designer without knowing what the parameters were or what input the client gave. Even if none, the blame goes to the client.

If I look like an idiot because I'm wearing a woman's pink bejazzled sweater, it's my fault for buying it from the store, not the designer's for making it.

Put another way - If I go home tonight and set out four bowls of 'food' for my dog;

- cat vomit

- contents from the lint tray in my dryer

- toe-nail clippings

- his own, freshly purged excrement

...he's gonna eat one of 'em.

Just sayin'.

In my world Nike gets more than half the blame.

[tigerslionspistonshabs]

^ 50 bucks on the cat vomit.

What are the odds of these getting New York-Islander-fisherman'd after a season? Or better yet, before the season begins? Can they do that?