I have become boggled by the ability of some fans to become enamored by badly assembled uniform combinations. I am not talking about 'fugly' uniforms like the Falcons' gradients, the Buccaneers' alarm clock template, or the Browns' 'Tribute to Working Class Cleveland' in 2015. I'm talking about average or better individual components that when assembled one way look fine but when assembled in another way do not.
I have undertaken the process to trying to figure out the best ways to assemble a uniform, so let's begin.
Let us start with the most trite, uninspiring, lacking in originality possibility - MONO. For our purposes, A-A-A-A. One color only is used for helmet, jersey, pants, and socks. Personally, I like to call these the 'Granimals' combo. You could mix and match. The possibility is there. However, Dad decided to go with the lowest common denominator when dressing the little one after the bath - keep everything the same. That's GOTTA work, right. Well, the look is there. It all matches. The problem is, there was no effort put into it. It's that essay your English teacher handed back to you and said "You included all of the facts but there's no SOUL to your essay. There's nothing that grabs my attention and makes me want me to read further. It's just the list of facts. Do better." We've all been there and it's never a good feeling to be on the receiving end of one of those conversations even though you know in your heart that you threw that essay together in 4 hours the night before it was due and you had three weeks prior to work on it.
 |
| A-A-A-A. GRADE: D |
Whoa. A 'D' right off the bat? Can it get worse than that? Absolutely. The example for A-A-A-A used above, the Rams, is at least clearly detectable as the Rams. The blue and yellow. The horned helmet. Bland combo, but still the Rams. What can make A-A-A-A worse? A complete lack of team identity. How does this occur? By practically eliminating team colors from the equation by making every 'A' a soulless white.
 |
| Mono-white A-A-A-A. GRADE: F |
Look, we see what you tried to do, even going so far as to create 'an unnecessary white alternate helmet to complete the look.' What you've done is largely cast aside the colors most associated with your franchise. What you've done is place a white logo on a white helmet. What you've done is remove 97% of your team's identity by focusing on a color shared by 100% of the rest of the League. "When everybody does it, no one is special." At the time of this writing, 29 of the 32 NFL teams have used a combination using white jerseys, pants and socks - an affliction commonly referred to as 'White Plague.' That's over 90% of the League utilizing uniforms that are essentially the same below the helmet.
Only one team truly does it right, and they were actually pioneers of the look...the modern White Bengals of Cincinnati. They originated the look in 2016 following the advent of the Color Rush program the previous season using their normal orange-shelled helmet. It's actually a look that makes sense as a reflection of the 'chromatically challenged' white bengal tigers. The best part is that they evolved the look when they redesigned their uniforms in 2021, finally being allowed to complete the appearance with the white alternate helmet when the League loosened restrictions on helmet shells, thereby giving a fully complete White Bengal combination in 2022.
Moving on, let's begin by altering one lone aspect of the uniform at a time, starting with the helmet - A-B-B-B. This combination made frequent appearances back in 2015 at the dawn of Color Rush. The League still limited use of alternate helmets, so teams were forced to use their regular shells while perpetrating often horrendous combos below them. The results were typically, most often regretable.
These were bad then and the template of these costumes still doesn't work. It's essentially still the coloring book page for which you provided one lone crayon to your three year old. No design. No artistry. No nuance. Just throwing one color up against the wall to overpower any sense of creativity. As mentioned, when Color Rush began, there were limitations on creating alternate helmets to go with these combos. The fact that everything below those helmets was one color only does not allow the grade for the A-B-B-B combos to sway one bit away from the A-A-A-A. GRADE: D
Let's move from the crushing confines of mono-ism and begin to explore true contrast in a uniform. Let us now vary the jersey from the other three elements - A-B-A-A. While the differently colored jersey tries its best to shatter the blandness of mono, having the lower half still in the same color beats down the jersey's attempt while maintaining the lower half's appearance as 'yoga pants.' The most common visualization of A-B-A-A occurs with white jersey'd uniforms.
Whether the pants having stripes on the sides (or not), thereby affecting classification as 'yoga pants,' has been a point of discussion. Some debate that simply possessing the stripes down the length of the pants makes double-dipping pants and socks of like colors 'ok.' Others maintain that having the stripes does not significantly 'break up' the commonality of a uniform lower half making them appear as one contiguous uniform element. I, personally, agree with the latter, especially when alternative possibilities for a team exist below the knees combining with the team's frequent unwillingness to move in that positive direction. A-B-A-A GRADE: D+
Do differently colored pants that break up a mono-uniform do any better than a jersey? Yes. In fact, historically the A-A-B-A template has been extremely reliable. Having the like-toned helmet, jersey, and socks broadcast the strongest of the team's colors while the pants add in that secondary color in support, yes, it absolutely works, and works well.
If pressed, in fact, I would stipulate that this template has historcially produced the best looking configuration of uniform elements over the League's history. It would be extremely difficult to frame this template, yet have a bad looking uniform. No grade can be given to A-A-B-A other than GRADE: A
Does changing the color of the socks affect the mono-uniform in the same positive way as altering pants' color? Unfortunately, no. Template A-A-A-B does not help the mono-uniform, to be honest. Truth be told, the variation in the socks is minimized by the monotone above them. You just aren't drawn to them due to being patently overwhelmed by the single color above. Due to the minimal effort in trying to avoid a complete mono-chromatic uniform, this template receives a small bump up to GRADE: C-
Amazingly enough, when A-A-A-B is performed with a base of white, the colored socks produce a pop of 'WOW' that actually does make the template work well. It's almost as if the eyes go to where the color is. Interestingly, this is a lesson that White Plague enthusiasts are frequently slow to grasp. Colored socks can literally turn any White Plague tragedy into a success. White-based A-A-A-B...GRADE: A
Now we begin to enter the realm of creativity. What happens when two uniform elements are swayed from the others? Honestly, it's a mixed bag. Much has to do with whether or not the two elements are beside each other in the template. Let's alter the jersey and pants first - A-B-B-A. For the longest time, this template was a staple of away uniforms.
Having the helmet and socks in the same color creates a perfect 'bookend' effect that perfectly frames the complete uniform. The same template, though not as popular with non-white jersey'd combos, does create the similar effect with colored jerseys. You likely wouldn't want to see it every week, but the template still provides great balance on the whole. A-B-B-A GRADE: A-
Keeping the differeing elements together, let's next bump them down below the waist - A-A-B-B. Most commonly, this template either delivers a double dose of white above or below the waist. Neither is an optimal look and both, unfortunately, recast the uniform with the dreaded 'yoga pants' look. Why go this route when other options, better options, are available? It doesn't make any sense.
A-A-B-B GRADE: D
Now the fun can begin. The next template utlizes two different colors in non-consecutive elements - A-B-A-B. This combination is almost a 100% guarenteed fiesta for the eyes. The uniform is, again, perfectly balanced. No aspect over-whelms the eyes. Harmony exists. This is another structured template earning GRADE: A.
Frequent uniform commentators typical either universally love or universally disparage the next group of templates, often referred to as the Triple Mismatch Club. Within these templates their are elements based in 3 differing colors, the result can cause euphoria or nausea depending on the viewer's predisposition.
Let us begin the TMC with template A-B-C-A where the socks are the same color as the helmet while the jersey and pants are both different. This year's Rams have reintroduced a throwback to their 1950s attire using this template. Assuming this year's version wears the historically accurate blue socks - as they should - this template succeeds on all levels. GRADE: A
Second in the TMC features the helmet and pants in the same tones while the jersey and socks differ. A-B-A-C can be found in Carolina's original third jersey hued in 'Carolina blue' creating a frequently used entrant in this template's TMC look. Up until recently, Detroit's standard road uniform would have qualified, as would the original Houston Texans' road uniform and the Dolphins' combination that opted for orange socks for a portion of the 1973 season after their perfect 1972 campaign.
Each offers a solid look that still says 'football uniform.' A-B-A-C gets a GRADE: B+
Next on the list of possibilities, we have like-colored helmets and jerseys using two different colored elements for socks and pants - A-A-B-C. Likely the best example of this template would be the primary road uniform for the current Chargers team. This is a template few teams can execute due to the need for a great degree of variation and availability in colors of the individual components. One of those teams was their division rival Broncos way back in 1965. The Browns of the early 2000s also dabbled in the A-A-B-C template.
As a template, A-A-B-C works. However, due to its infrequency of use, it just won't become a look that many teams will, or can, attempt. On its own merits, it's not bad. GRADE: B
Unorthodox TMC members are next on deck. Matching jerseys and pants while the helmets and socks are in different colors - A-B-B-C. The Panthers' most common road uniform fits this discription. Even switching to black socks for this combo, as was done the last 5 seasons, it still works, just not, necessarily with the same POP as with the blue socks. GRADE: B+
Another Triple Mismiatch Club offering features matching jerseys and socks with dissenting helmets and pants - A-B-C-B. Again referencing back to the Panthers who explored this combination back in 2024, it just seems like the uniform is trying too much. Yet when the same template is used with the Broncos' redesigned uniforms a better balance is struck. It seems what we have here is a template that greatly depends on the colors being used to determine it's level of success. GRADE: B
One remaining TMC possibility exists - matching pants and socks with differently colored helmets and jerseys - A-B-C-C. Reaching out again for the Broncos, we find this combo used 2024. The problem is not with the contrasting helmet and jersey but with the duplicate-colored pants and socks providing the 'yoga pants' appearance that should be avoided whenever possible, especially when other options are available. GRADE: D+
This sends us careening into one of the rarest birds of them all - the Quadruple Mismatch uniform - featuring all four elements of different colors. A-B-C-D. Let's face it. There aren't that many teams that utilize 3 colors, not including white. The template is just rare. Because of that scarcity and not a bad combination in the bunch below...GRADE: A
In conclusion, opinions are going to very. The 'look' of a uniform doesn't entirely depend on the organizing template being used but also on the ability of the colors to play off of each other while still striking a much needed balance for the entirety of the uniform. It's my hope that this structural look into uniform templates has instructed some, enlightened others, and shed light onto a part of a sport most of reading this consider to be a large and important part of our lives.
Bill Schaefer
GUD Graphics and Research, X Account Supervisor
No comments:
Post a Comment