New Browns uni coming 2015

[oldschoolvikings]

Why does every football thread devolve into this argument every single time, especially when you all know how stubborn everyone is on this divisive issue and nothing you could ever say will sway that person's opinion?

My bet is that the facemask will be orange. With the exception of Minnesota, Nike hasn't made the facemasks a different color from the shells for the teams they've changed in the NFL.

I believe the Vikings have a black facemask.

That's why I said "with the exception of Minnesota"

An orange facemask for them would look awful, I'd live with brown or grey and want a white facemask

Yes.

[TheSoundofThrowingPennies]

Why does every football thread devolve into this argument every single time, especially when you all know how stubborn everyone is on this divisive issue and nothing you could ever say will sway that person's opinion?

My bet is that the facemask will be orange. With the exception of Minnesota, Nike hasn't made the facemasks a different color from the shells for the teams they've changed in the NFL.

I believe the Vikings have a black facemask.

That's why I said "with the exception of Minnesota"

An orange facemask for them would look awful, I'd live with brown or grey and want a white facemask

Yes.

That might be the worst shade of orange I've ever seen.

[oldschoolvikings]

Why does every football thread devolve into this argument every single time, especially when you all know how stubborn everyone is on this divisive issue and nothing you could ever say will sway that person's opinion?

My bet is that the facemask will be orange. With the exception of Minnesota, Nike hasn't made the facemasks a different color from the shells for the teams they've changed in the NFL.

I believe the Vikings have a black facemask.

That's why I said "with the exception of Minnesota"

An orange facemask for them would look awful, I'd live with brown or grey and want a white facemask

Yes.

That might be the worst shade of orange I've ever seen.

I think its just bad picture quality. This is from the mid 80's I think, and I'm old enough to have seen them wear it in person when I was in college at tOSU. IIRC it was pretty much just a standard orange.

[TheSoundofThrowingPennies]

Why does every football thread devolve into this argument every single time, especially when you all know how stubborn everyone is on this divisive issue and nothing you could ever say will sway that person's opinion?

My bet is that the facemask will be orange. With the exception of Minnesota, Nike hasn't made the facemasks a different color from the shells for the teams they've changed in the NFL.

I believe the Vikings have a black facemask.

That's why I said "with the exception of Minnesota"

An orange facemask for them would look awful, I'd live with brown or grey and want a white facemask

Yes.

That might be the worst shade of orange I've ever seen.

I think its just bad picture quality. This is from the mid 80's I think, and I'm old enough to have seen them wear it in person when I was in college at tOSU. IIRC it was pretty much just a standard orange.

Fair enough. I'd honestly never seen those uniforms before. Do/did the Illini used to use black as a primary in other sports too? Or is that an old school Bears esque Navy?

[oldschoolvikings]

That was navy. Like the orange, it just photographed dark.

Its funny you mentioned the Bears. When I was a little kid, from the few times I'd seen the Bears on TV I thought their colors were black and red. One day in Jr High a kid I knew wore a Bears stocking cap to school, and it was navy and orange. I thought the hat was wrong. Took me a long time to get that out of my head.

[MJWalker45]

It didn't help that the Bears wore black helmets and pants in Tecmo Bowl either.

[TheSoundofThrowingPennies]

That was navy. Like the orange, it just photographed dark.

Its funny you mentioned the Bears. When I was a little kid, from the few times I'd seen the Bears on TV I thought their colors were black and red. One day in Jr High a kid I knew wore a Bears stocking cap to school, and it was navy and orange. I thought the hat was wrong. Took me a long time to get that out of my head.

Haha I love that you said this! My dad is completely convinced that the Bears used to wear black and red. I've tried to tell him otherwise, but he refuses to believe it haha.

[oldschoolvikings]

That was navy. Like the orange, it just photographed dark.

Its funny you mentioned the Bears. When I was a little kid, from the few times I'd seen the Bears on TV I thought their colors were black and red. One day in Jr High a kid I knew wore a Bears stocking cap to school, and it was navy and orange. I thought the hat was wrong. Took me a long time to get that out of my head.

Haha I love that you said this! My dad is completely convinced that the Bears used to wear black and red. I've tried to tell him otherwise, but he refuses to believe it haha.

That was TV in the 70's. Antenna on the roof, 4 channels. Damn, now I feel old.

[Harmening]

Same as you guys. My Dad refused to believe that is beloved Bears were wearing navy. It took us going to a game at Soldier Field finally convince him.

[ESTONES6]

Why does every football thread devolve into this argument every single time, especially when you all know how stubborn everyone is on this divisive issue and nothing you could ever say will sway that person's opinion?

My bet is that the facemask will be orange. With the exception of Minnesota, Nike hasn't made the facemasks a different color from the shells for the teams they've changed in the NFL.

I believe the Vikings have a black facemask.

That's why I said "with the exception of Minnesota"

Sorry. I completely missed the NFL part. I thought you were talking about the Golden Gophers... Who also got a black face mask.

[WSU151]

Please stop with the =B= logo. It is terrible. It's a bolt on clip art logo.

Also, stop with the white face masks. Gray looks Infinetely better than the white.

The gray facemasks are ugly and distracting whereas white actually goes with the uniform. I do agree about the =B= logo, though.

Distracting?

Yes, it's distracting, because there is no other grey anywhere else in the uniform. It sticks out like a sore thumb.

Grey's a subdued colour. I don't see how it "sticks out like a sore thumb."

Gray, by its definition, is bland/subtle/neutral/etc.

Both of these statements are absolutely correct. By both the physics of the visible spectrum and the mechanics of how the human eye works, it simply isn't possible for gray to "stick out like a sore thumb". You may be able to talk yourself into believing it does based on some internal, self-imposed rules of what color a facemask is "supposed" to be, but the reality is by the very nature of what gray is, it does not stand out. It can't.

If you want to object to it based on the idea that the facemask should be a color that is represented elsewhere in the color scheme, I think you can legitimately feel that way. I would still disagree, but I can see the argument. But if you do make that argument against gray masks, I would expect you to make the exact same objection to Cleveland wearing black cleats. After all, black isn't part of their color scheme, either.

When something doesn't match...no matter what color it is...it sticks out like a sore thumb. The gray, though desperately trying to be "vintage", doesn't match anything on the Browns. The white mask is an upgrade because it does match and is far more cohesive to the rest of the uniform.

If the Toronto Maple Leafs or Detroit Red Wings wore gray socks...though "GRAY IS TOTALLY NEUTRAL!!!!!One!!"...it'd look terrible and stick out. Look at San Jose State. Their gray masks look pretty terrible in the overall design of their uniform because it doesn't match anything. The 49ers and Cardinals are guilty of this too...how many times have we talked about the Cardinals getting rid of the gray mask?

[WSU151]

Please stop with the =B= logo. It is terrible. It's a bolt on clip art logo.

Also, stop with the white face masks. Gray looks Infinetely better than the white.

The gray facemasks are ugly and distracting whereas white actually goes with the uniform. I do agree about the =B= logo, though.

Distracting?

Yes, it's distracting, because there is no other grey anywhere else in the uniform. It sticks out like a sore thumb.

I get that it's a "classic" look, but "classic" =/= good.

Wrong.

You are correct in saying that gray is not found anywhere else on the uniform, however, the gray is subtle, non-distracting, non-abrasive. Gray, by its definition, isn't distracting or abrasive.

I agree, there are design reasons why white theoretically is a better choice than gray. However, in practicality, the white is far more distracting, far more shocking than the gray. Uniforms are all about the eye test. The eye test shows white as being distracting while gray just kinda blends in and fades in comparison to the bright orange helmet.

The other aspect that people are not realizing is the Browns' helmet as a whole. The Browns' helmet is the most plain helmet in the league. Even with the Steelers' 1-sided helmet, the Browns' helmet is still more plain. The gray facemask blends in to the background and puts the focus on the orange shell. The white facemask does the exact opposite. The white facemask takes all the attention away from the helmet because it can be seen from the Goodyear Blimp. The focus now becomes the facemask instead of the legendary orange, logoless helmet.

The last paragraph is pretty ridiculous. The white facemask never becomes the main focus of the helmet. Never has, never will. C'mon.

[IceCap]

If the Toronto Maple Leafs or Detroit Red Wings wore gray socks...though "GRAY IS TOTALLY NEUTRAL!!!!!One!!"...it'd look terrible and stick out.

The difference is that socks on a hockey uniform take up more visual real estate then a facemask does on a football helmet. Grey socks would stick out by being large splotches of grey against non-matching uniforms. A facemask is is subtle enough in its own right that a grey mask just adds to that. As I said above I notice the white facemask on a Browns helmet whereas a grey facemask just sort of remains inconspicuous, for lack of a better term.

[WSU151]

If the Toronto Maple Leafs or Detroit Red Wings wore gray socks...though "GRAY IS TOTALLY NEUTRAL!!!!!One!!"...it'd look terrible and stick out.

The difference is that socks on a hockey uniform take up more visual real estate then a facemask does on a football helmet. Grey socks would stick out by being large splotches of grey against non-matching uniforms. A facemask is is subtle enough in its own right that a grey mask just adds to that. As I said above I notice the white facemask on a Browns helmet whereas a grey facemask just sort of remains inconspicuous, for lack of a better term.

Ok, hockey socks and facemasks aren't the same...but that's how I see the gray mask...a large splotch against non-matching uniforms. To me, the white mask blends in better with the helmet stripe, and when the team wore white uniforms. Look at that Garcia picture. It flows better, I think.

[Harmening]

Please stop with the =B= logo. It is terrible. It's a bolt on clip art logo.

Also, stop with the white face masks. Gray looks Infinetely better than the white.

The gray facemasks are ugly and distracting whereas white actually goes with the uniform. I do agree about the =B= logo, though.

Distracting?

Yes, it's distracting, because there is no other grey anywhere else in the uniform. It sticks out like a sore thumb.

I get that it's a "classic" look, but "classic" =/= good.

Wrong.

You are correct in saying that gray is not found anywhere else on the uniform, however, the gray is subtle, non-distracting, non-abrasive. Gray, by its definition, isn't distracting or abrasive.

I agree, there are design reasons why white theoretically is a better choice than gray. However, in practicality, the white is far more distracting, far more shocking than the gray. Uniforms are all about the eye test. The eye test shows white as being distracting while gray just kinda blends in and fades in comparison to the bright orange helmet.

The other aspect that people are not realizing is the Browns' helmet as a whole. The Browns' helmet is the most plain helmet in the league. Even with the Steelers' 1-sided helmet, the Browns' helmet is still more plain. The gray facemask blends in to the background and puts the focus on the orange shell. The white facemask does the exact opposite. The white facemask takes all the attention away from the helmet because it can be seen from the Goodyear Blimp. The focus now becomes the facemask instead of the legendary orange, logoless helmet.

The last paragraph is pretty ridiculous. The white facemask never becomes the main focus of the helmet. Never has, never will. C'mon.

The white cage definitely stood out to me. Through my eyes, it was the first thing I noticed on the helmet.

[ESTONES6]

Please stop with the =B= logo. It is terrible. It's a bolt on clip art logo.

Also, stop with the white face masks. Gray looks Infinetely better than the white.

The gray facemasks are ugly and distracting whereas white actually goes with the uniform. I do agree about the =B= logo, though.

Distracting?

Yes, it's distracting, because there is no other grey anywhere else in the uniform. It sticks out like a sore thumb.

I get that it's a "classic" look, but "classic" =/= good.

Wrong.

You are correct in saying that gray is not found anywhere else on the uniform, however, the gray is subtle, non-distracting, non-abrasive. Gray, by its definition, isn't distracting or abrasive.

I agree, there are design reasons why white theoretically is a better choice than gray. However, in practicality, the white is far more distracting, far more shocking than the gray. Uniforms are all about the eye test. The eye test shows white as being distracting while gray just kinda blends in and fades in comparison to the bright orange helmet.

The other aspect that people are not realizing is the Browns' helmet as a whole. The Browns' helmet is the most plain helmet in the league. Even with the Steelers' 1-sided helmet, the Browns' helmet is still more plain. The gray facemask blends in to the background and puts the focus on the orange shell. The white facemask does the exact opposite. The white facemask takes all the attention away from the helmet because it can be seen from the Goodyear Blimp. The focus now becomes the facemask instead of the legendary orange, logoless helmet.

The last paragraph is pretty ridiculous. The white facemask never becomes the main focus of the helmet. Never has, never will. C'mon.

The white facemask was never INTENDED to be the focus of the uniform, however, it thats what it ends up being... the focus. This isn't a theoretical discussion. This is a practical discussion. When you LOOK at the current helmet, the focus is on the orange shell and 3-sided stripe. When you look at the white facemask, the focus is souly on the facemask.

We are talking real world, eye test... Not Intro to Graphic Design 1000 at *insert your State University here*.

[BBTV]

I used to believe that a facemask shouldn't be grey if grey or silver is absent from the rest of the uniform, but I've come around on that. The Browns were a big reason why. I "noticed" the facemask when it was white. It's just subdued and not really jumping out at you when it's grey.

They're my only exception to hating GFGS. It just looks so good with brown and orange. I wish they'd use more gray.

[Jungle Jim]

When worn correctly, the Browns uniforms are every bit as iconic as the Bears, Packers, Raiders, etc. By "when worn correctly", I mean like this:

These unis are the best white facemasks a must

I like those looks too, but I don't think those combos are iconic. The white jersey orange pants combo was only used for a few seasons in the Couch/Holcomb and apparently Garcia era, and there's nothing iconic to be gleaned from that. The brown jersey orange pants was basically just the Kardiac Kids era, right? And of course the Richardson pic up there is photoshopped. The Sipe era is before my time but those orange pants look drab and awful to me - I love the brighter shade in the pics above though.

To me iconic is the white on white and brown on white. Throwing in the '00s orange pants for mixing and matching is a great move for variety. I could even tolerate further Oregon style mixing and matching with brown pants (with stripes this time) and orange jerseys (brighter / darker than previously used, more like the pants in the pic above.)

According to this page, they wore the white jersey with the orange pants 1975-83. That being said, I'm willing to back off my "iconic" description with regard to the orange pants, although I do think it's the best they've ever looked.

[mad43dog]

Or the fact that today's "Dawg Pound" in no way is even like the old Dawg Pound at Municipal Stadium. The real Dawg Pound died with the original team in 1995. This new one is a corporate / team created thing. Sure fans still embrace some aspects of it, but these days it is pretty tame.

they dumped beer on Chad Johnson so they still show signs of life

[MJWalker45]

And beaned the refs when Tagliabue made them go finish the game when all Jacksonville had to do was take a knee. The original Dawg Pound references were specifically for the defensive backs before being applied to the rest of the defense. Any new logo should be something that embraces the whole team, not just part of it.