Jersey Changes Post-Hoke/Brandon
Not exactly a cancer-curing topic but I'm curious: how would you like Michigan to handle jerseys in 2015 and beyond? Re-retire the legacy jerseys? Require multiple year commitment to wear #1? Avoid Jerseyz or whatever the kids call special event uniforms?
I'll hang up and listen
December 22nd, 2014 at 5:59 PM ^
Get rid of legends numbers, creates entitlement, imo.
No more uniformz. Alabama, Texas, etc. recruit just fine with their two set uniforms.
December 22nd, 2014 at 6:05 PM ^
December 22nd, 2014 at 6:11 PM ^
And left all that other nonsense to Brandon.
December 22nd, 2014 at 6:29 PM ^
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December 22nd, 2014 at 8:14 PM ^
i really wish hoke had succeeded. he was a good guy with good intentions. its a shame dave had to ruin that entire era of um football
December 22nd, 2014 at 7:07 PM ^
Other numbers are at the coaching staff's discretion (#1, #2, #21) etc. An occassional special jersy for a big game or bowl game is fine. However, please get rid of adidas!!!!!!!
December 22nd, 2014 at 7:06 PM ^
December 22nd, 2014 at 8:00 PM ^
Alabama's recruiting might have more to do with winning three National Championships in the past five years. I am pretty sure if Alabama switched to hot pink/black polka dot uniforms that their recruiting wouldn't take much of a dip at all.
December 22nd, 2014 at 5:59 PM ^
Nike?
December 23rd, 2014 at 12:09 AM ^
I like the idea of bringing back helmet stickers. They just need to be given out for very high standard stuff (i.e. Denard's game winning Notre Dame drive in 2011). Seems like UGA, FSU and OSU just clutter the helmet with those things.
December 22nd, 2014 at 6:00 PM ^
I would hope that we would avoid the clown suit jerseys that so many other programs are using. I mean, did you see those things Western was wearing (and on that godawful blue field, no less)? And if it's JH, I predict the helmet stickers will return.
December 22nd, 2014 at 6:03 PM ^
Shelve the distractions like special jersey numbers until the program starts winning again.
God forbid we just display numbers and championship years on the plain ass solid Blue corporate suites like I've been suggesting since those stupid things were put up.
December 22nd, 2014 at 6:22 PM ^
Agreed. I don't think any numbers should be retired just because the roster is so massive...put up the national championship years and honored numbers subtly and that will be nice.
December 22nd, 2014 at 6:25 PM ^
Very similar to what Nebraska does... and they have retired numbers under their scoreboard. Looks nice and clean.
December 22nd, 2014 at 6:38 PM ^
December 22nd, 2014 at 6:43 PM ^
I think WD was saying the plain, boring look of just navy paint on the outside of them is old.
Actually that's what I'm saying, but, yeah.
December 22nd, 2014 at 6:57 PM ^
I really don't care for the suites. They're not meant for fans like us. They're meant for corporations and rich alumns. I've been inside them and stuff and they're nice, but they don't concern me. I don't like the appearance of them from the outside. The boring appearance of them from the outside bothers me.
Also, the suite structures make it feel boxed in. Gone are the days when my breath would be taken seeing the wide, light expand upon walking through a section entrance. Now it just feels condensed and boxed in.
I also just don't like suites in general. Or premium seating where there are waiters running up and down the aisles (Tigers' ballpark). I was in one of those sections once at a Tigers game with a friend who had the tickets and I just felt uncomfortable.
December 22nd, 2014 at 7:03 PM ^
They're kinda a necessary evil in my mind. I watched last years NW game from one of them with a bunch of people I didn't know (free tickets from someone thru one of our work's contractors) and the atmosphere inside was just lame...stodgy people who wouldn't cheer at all. But hey, great food and it is a pretty great view (although everywhere else in the stadium is a great view now too. They're meant for companies and other large groups to pay lots of money to the AD and that's a revenue source that doesn't quite bother me as much...they added new seats and didn't really take away any of the old seats from more passionate fans. Painting with a wide brush here.
I do think the towers make it feel boxed in but I think from the exterior they look pretty good, so there's that.
December 22nd, 2014 at 9:18 PM ^
Don't care to sit in them either, but the stadium looks much better with the suite structures. They also make the stadium look more imposing and help keep the sound in.
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December 22nd, 2014 at 6:00 PM ^
Helmet stickers will be back.
December 22nd, 2014 at 6:04 PM ^
December 22nd, 2014 at 6:12 PM ^
They were on the helmets when I started watching Michigan so I got used to it immediately. They were a nice added touch to IMO.
December 22nd, 2014 at 6:19 PM ^
I'm in the same boat as you. I grew up with the helmet stickers and wouldn't mind seeing them come back.
December 22nd, 2014 at 6:16 PM ^
Bo came up with the helmet sticker while at NT Miami. Woody Hayes stole the idea a few years later. I wouldn't be surprised if they came back if we get JH.
December 22nd, 2014 at 7:50 PM ^
Harbaugh had Stanford Axe (their rivalry trophy with Cal) helmet stickers during his tenure at Stanford, which has since been continued under David Shaw. A quick google image search of Stanford teams prior to 2007 leads me to think this was the first time Stanford did this, so I wouldn't be surprised if Jim Harbaugh were to bring back the yellow footballs if hired.
December 22nd, 2014 at 7:52 PM ^
Well this is awkward.
December 22nd, 2014 at 7:44 PM ^
stickers. It celebrates individual achievement over team achievement. It defaces the pristine beauty of the helmet design. And it's so high schoolish (though most high schools have abandoned the practice.)
December 22nd, 2014 at 6:00 PM ^
December 22nd, 2014 at 6:02 PM ^
December 22nd, 2014 at 6:01 PM ^
December 22nd, 2014 at 6:02 PM ^
December 22nd, 2014 at 6:05 PM ^
I think the school decides. Nike/Adidas/Under Armour all have schools that do it, some schools reject or minimize it, most prominently Alabama, Texas and USC. There's no reason why we can't be a school that rejects or minimizes it, no matter which apparel company we sign with.
December 22nd, 2014 at 6:17 PM ^
December 22nd, 2014 at 6:25 PM ^
Yes some recruits do like them but I would argue that UNIFORMZ are not that big of a selling point (unless you're Oregon). Like the poster above stated, Alabama, USC, and Texas don't use them and they have no problem pulling in recruits.
December 22nd, 2014 at 7:19 PM ^
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December 22nd, 2014 at 6:26 PM ^
The jerseys are only great if the team wearing them is winning. So the first UTL jerseys for me are always gonna be kinda awesome, just because of that game. Wearing 3 alternate away uniforms the next season, in games where we lost each time, was stupid. I'm fine with a couple alternates but pick them and stick to them...
December 22nd, 2014 at 6:52 PM ^
Yep, having a bunch of alternate jerseys was the key to retaining Mike Weber, Chris Clark, Darian Roseboro, Garrett Taylor, and Darrin Kirkland even after a disappointing season that resulted in the firing of Brady Hoke. There's no doubt that if we didn't have the alternate jerseys that all of those guys would have decommitted by now, because the jerseys are the primary reason they committed to UM in the first place.
December 22nd, 2014 at 6:07 PM ^
December 22nd, 2014 at 6:11 PM ^
Just have the numbers retired and let new players create their own legacy. Probably the only existing number that needs to be retired is #2.
Helmet Stickers I can go either way on. Bo liked them, so if Harbaugh brings them back, I have no problem with them.
I'm fine with an occasional alternate uniform (like once every year max) as long as they get rid of the idiotic bumblebee striping that has afflicted so many of our alternate designs.
December 22nd, 2014 at 7:53 PM ^
If stickers are part of the deal, I've officially gone off JH.
BTW, for all his virtues and accomplishments, Bo was (like Woody) stubborn, conservative, and not always the embodiment of class (cf. his reaction to the Big Ten decision to send OSU to the Rose Bowl after the infamous 10-10 tie).
Few people will recall the cheer of relief and pleasure that greeted Moeller's first offensive play--a pass--after he became head coach.
Bo was human. So is JH. So is everyone.
December 22nd, 2014 at 8:29 PM ^
What did you expect him to do, just roll over and let his team get screwed over and like it? Remember, back then the Big Ten had an idiotic rule that if you didn't go to the Rose Bowl, you couldn't go to ANY bowl, so that vote essentially ended the careers of every Michigan senior on the team.
Bo was far from perfect and there are I didn't always agree with him. But sticking up for his team and his players was never one of those things.
December 22nd, 2014 at 6:09 PM ^
Get rid of the obvious. No QB should ever wear 98 again, EVER. Legend numbers awful.
Keep Uniformz. We are not Oregon, having a special uniform for one night a year (UTL) is not a big deal and I actually enjoy it.
December 22nd, 2014 at 6:10 PM ^
December 22nd, 2014 at 6:11 PM ^
December 22nd, 2014 at 6:27 PM ^
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December 22nd, 2014 at 6:18 PM ^
Harbaugh would retire the #4 jersey, unless a special QB comes around to wear it. Perhaps they are also working on a deal with this company???
Michigan will be their launching pad!
December 22nd, 2014 at 6:21 PM ^
There's some benefit in the Legends jerseys: they help both fans and players remember and honor inconic players of the past. That's a legacy worth respecting, and it remains a nice thing even if Brandon was the guy who thought of it.
I don't consider myself a casual fan, but I'd forgotten about some of the former players honored by the issuance of the patches.
Maybe a better idea would have been simply a name patch, with the current player keeping his number. But I have no problem with the patches, other than the fact that they are too large and complicated-looking.
A simple maize split M with the original player's name in the split would do the job fine.
December 22nd, 2014 at 6:38 PM ^
I've never liked the players wearing the legend jerseys because it because impossible to create their own legacy. For instance I'd like for Peppers to keep wearing 5, and not switch to 2. Would be nice to have both 2 and 5 be iconic numbers.
December 22nd, 2014 at 6:23 PM ^
I actually like the legends jersey in theory, because it allows younger generations to become acquainted with Michigan Football's rich history. Being born in 1991, I wasn't exactly an expert on Bennie Oosterbaan, Wisterts, Ron Kramer, etc.
BUT, in practice, I really don't like the legends jerseys for a few reasons. One, the added significance of meeting the "legends" family and bearing the patch every game may create unnecessary pressure. Two, wearing the legend's jersey may create a sense of entitlement. Three, by the time many of the players reach a point where they've earned the jersey, they have already created their own name with the number they initially wore.