Full Uniformz For Penn State Released
At 8:15 on a Friday, so unless they're trying to bury their publicity stunt—not likely—they were blindsided by the catalogs for like the third straight time and released them early because the cat was already out of the bag. It's 2014, guys: the internet is fast.
The cat:
Goofy numbers were already known, and then the monochrome blue. They're running out of options before they start tossing around all yellow, aren't they?
These are the best alternate uniforms we have done so far IMO. I am however of the thought process that Michigan, USC, Bama, and Penn State should never, ever, ever change anything about their jersey's because they are a BRAND!
I forgot about the matte helmet. those uniforms were horrific. If PizzaBoy touches the helmet again I'm going to cut off his johnson.
I believe in nothing...except our traditional home uniform.
The blue pants are really the biggest change. It's really pretty negligible for people to get up in arms about, but that's the way it goes. You do anything slightly different and it's all "rabble rabble." I think these look better than the Outback Bowl unis, Cowboy Classic unis, or white alternates against MSU.
I think these alternate uniforms look better than that raccoon that got hit on the road out in front of my house that's been rotting there in the ditch for the last week and a half, so they can't be so bad, right?
Michigan is all about tradition, most wins ever, highest winning percentage all-time, strongest SOS all-time, etc. Bo had to preach to his assistants when they started in AA hanging their coats on nail hooks when one was dumb enough to say, "Shit, we had better facilities than this at Miami." Talk about a diabtribe. "Have you ever hung your coat in the same place as Yost, Crisler, Oosterbaan, et. al. Do you realize the helmet here alone is worth three recruits a year? Do you think they've won the most games in history by how nice the coach's locker space is, how nice the uniforms? No, they've won because when you run out of that tunnel, you're on the field where greateness has become a habit. And I asked all of you to join me because I thought you had what it took to restore Michigan to the top." Guess he didn't have much to say after that, and neither did they. If we went back to our uniforms, had the balls to do there, recruits would feel the same way.
Reporter: "What do you think of the alternate uniforms?"
Player (in his head): "Those things are effing hideous. I'll feel embarrassed walking out of the locker room in them. Now I know how my sister and her friends felt when they complained about those ugly bridesmaid dresses they had to wear. Can I say all that? Hmmm, if I do, then every single newspaper and blog will write about what I said. Some will paint me as some sort of malcontent that is trying to rock the boat. They'll say that I'm not supporting the program. Coach Hoke will probably even get mad at me for airing my true feelings in public like that."
Player (out loud): "Uhhh, they're great. I love them. They're real, uhh, unique."
Players like Mike Hart, who will just say whatever truth hits them with complete and total confidence, consquences be damned, are few and far between. 99.99% censor themselves with question like that and tow the company line even if they don't like it. Which isn't to say they all hate them. I'm sure some don't. But the ones that do will never come out and say it.
Also, I disagree that the players should even have a say in this. When you join the football program, you are joining something that is bigger than yourself. It's about being part of the 130+ years of tradition, not me, me, me, and I want to wear this or that. They should have a say in certain things. But the tradition that they signed on to be part of is cheapened when it is toyed around with, and if they don't understand that, then the tradition hasn't been adequately explained.
If the players on this team decided that the line "champions of the west" was outdated and should be replaced with a more modern line, they wouldn't have any say in that. The uniforms are just as much a part of the tradition.
Welp, you can throw "tradition" out the window... The jerseys are just stupid! I've always thought blue pants would be kinda cool, but on the road only. Home uniforms are the best in the game of football, no need to touch those. Shoes are cool though! Still want Nike back!
Why should Michigan football be any different? It's just a product, a commodity to be sold, to be monetized at every opportunity. The best way to goose sales is to change the product packaging frequently.
Just no.
For a non traditional event, it has become tradition to wear alternate uniforms.
August 9th, 2014 at 11:47 AM ^
reminds me of Oprah episodes. Wish they could get up like that for games against Ucon and the likes. Other than the block M on the helms, and the striped numbers, the unis look decent. Maybe the best ones so far. imo
Michigan football is now a disposable consumer commodity, whose packaging can be changed on a whim to suit transitory promo needs and sales projections.
I'll never be a fan of uniformz, but this could definitely be worse
August 9th, 2014 at 10:06 AM ^
August 9th, 2014 at 10:24 AM ^
I just don't get it I guess. I thought we were going to do alt unis once. ONCE. Now I find myself cringing at more of these, even the basketball ones, than I can say I like. I also agree with others here who say the players would never say they don't like them. Apparently, The Team The Team The Team now includes the uniformz.
That said, the blue pants don't bother me, but these designers have to edit themselves. Stop with the pants. The yellow shoes are a distraction, and the damn stripes on the numbers make no sense at all. Does anybody here think of stripes when they think of Michigan?
It's time to stop all of this before all-yellows are brought out.
August 9th, 2014 at 10:46 AM ^
I've seen worse, I guess. But is this really necessary?
August 9th, 2014 at 11:04 AM ^
Back in ‘66, when I walked on the court for high school basketball practice wearing these
instead of these 
THAT was considered a fashion statement. So, As long as the members of Michigan Football Team 135 like these new alternate uniforms (even if deep inside, they don’t), I can live with it. I just wonder whether those men were given a choice in the matter.
I still play ball weekly, and refuse to play in any shoes except Air Force 1's. That being said, those high white Chuck's are about as dope as can be. This has nothing to do with anything.
August 10th, 2014 at 8:38 PM ^
August 9th, 2014 at 11:09 AM ^
August 9th, 2014 at 11:09 AM ^
So lets make the shoes, socks, pants, gloves and jersey all look as stupid as we can.
August 9th, 2014 at 11:33 AM ^
the visual come October is going to look a whole lot like Penn State v. Pitt.
When 2 schools with rather well-known uniforms play ..... I'd prefer they both wear those rather well-known uniforms. Oh well.
August 9th, 2014 at 12:59 PM ^
Concur with the majority of posters on the iconic nature of the home uni. I don't know why it's so hard keep the classic design language but make it look modern, just use the normal solid number unis with thin single maize striped shoulders would look soo much better with the blue pants. The number font and "fake" stripes just kill this design, which in total is not so Uniformzy. Concur w/blue pants on the road. Didn't we do that once or twice during the mid 90's? I recall a photo with Walter Johnson wearing them possibly?
In the mid 90's (1890's), Walter Johnson would've been under ten years old. I don't recall seeing him in blue pants, but those photos haven't been fuly colorized, so I could be wrong.
Maybe Gilvanni Johnson?
August 10th, 2014 at 1:51 PM ^
Is the player I was referencing, whoops. Also, couldn't find any pictures online so maybe a figment of my imagination. will search the freep archive.
August 10th, 2014 at 8:30 PM ^
...aren't most of you tired of drumming up outrage for this by now?
At least the AD is continuing the tradition of thinking its "customers" are idiots:
...this new look draws inspiration from the university’s past uniforms. The jersey and pants feature metallic blue, laser-cut stripes that shine under the lights while ultra-light, no-sew metallic numbers stretch with the jersey...
Yes, we're going to honor the past uniforms with metallic blue, laser-cut stripes. When has metallic anything been a part of our uniform??? Prison stripes in the number? Because we did that....when? Maybe DB is really Dr. Evil with his lay-zers? If we have to do an alternate uniform, it wouldn't hurt if it had something to do with our history/tradition (or than printing a "go blue" afterthought on an undershirt). The only "alternate" uniform I've seen DB put out that actually reflected our history was the Cazzie Russell for bball last year. It was perfect.
August 10th, 2014 at 8:34 PM ^
...once a season. The kids like them, morons buy them, whatever. What I can't deal with, however, is the fact that UM wears them for marquee games. Playing Illinois? Fine, dress like Oregon. Purdue? Fine, dress like Oregon. Maryland or Rutgers? Fine, dress like Oregon. The Game, Sparty, ND, Penn State? Dress like Michigan, fergodsakes.
Hahahahahahahahaha! Some of you posters are funny.
First it was: Don't let them blare rock music in the stadium.
When they blared rock music in the stadium it was: At least they aren't changing the uniforms.
When they changed the uniforms it was: At least they aren't messing with the home uniforms.
When they messed with the home uniforms it was: At least we're not whoring out the Big House with ads.
When they whored out the Big House with ads and introduced another alternate jersey it is: Well, at least they'll never change the helmets.
My friends, it is quite obvious that unless we break out Ann Arbor Torch and Pitchfork Co. we will be looking at a future of all maize uniforms with an introverted helmet and ads all over the field and the uniz. You heard it here first.
I take back what I said about not caring about uniformz.
August 9th, 2014 at 11:00 PM ^
August 10th, 2014 at 1:34 AM ^
August 10th, 2014 at 6:47 AM ^
August 10th, 2014 at 7:31 AM ^
August 10th, 2014 at 8:10 AM ^
I'm a 53 year old Michigan alum and you can count me in as someone who doesn't like the alternative unform concept at UM or in college football. While I appreciate how Oregon has made the multi-jersey/helmet/pant approach part of their culture, it's not the avenue I'd like to see the Wolverines and other CFB programs adopt. There are iconic looks out there that are timeless and traditional which shouldn't be changed in any major way.
There are schools all over the spectrum on this. Alabama, USC and Penn State come to mind as programs that have implemented very little real change and maintain one basic look. Oregon, as I mentioned above, is on the other end of the spectrum. Michigan and programs like Notre Dame and Nebraska are somewhere in the middle.
Hopefully, CFB will emerge from this uniform craze like major league baseball did after some of the rather odd outfits teams starting wearing in the 1970s. The Pittsburgh Pirates, Houston Astros, Atlanta Braves and Chicago White Sox come to mind as programs thatl went through a rather bad uniform phase during the decade that brough us the leisure suit and the male perm. Baseball teams also opted for pullover shirts and beltless pants, although I don't recall the Yankees changing anything (perhaps the model Michigan should emulate). If you look at MLB teams these days, they're all pretty much back to a pretty traditional look.
All that said, I'm resigned to the idea that Michigan and other schools are going to bring out these alternate uniforms from time to time. Is it a marketing gimmick? Yes. Do the players and recruits like them? Apparently, and I remember how enthusiastic Denard Robinson was during his post-game interview after UTL I about keeping the jersey (although we really don't know if it was because like them or because it was such an epic game against Notre Dame or both). Do the fans like them? I suppose that opinion is split.
So if Michigan is going to continue rolling these out in the future, perhaps the athletic department can entertain some guidelines:
1. Less is Best. Of all the alternate uniforms I've seen them wear, the jerseys they had for the Sugar Bowl game against Virginia Tech were the best probably because they were the most basic looking.
2. Don't Suck. The uniforms for the Alabama and South Carolina games looked like something from the old USFL. At least try for something that looks a little better and in the case of the bowl game against SC, make sure you can at least read the numbers.
3. Win the Game. The UTL I game uniforms would be that less memorable (and less popular as a sales item) if Michigan didn't win that game.
4. See what the other team is wearing. By far, the uniform that looked flat out bad was the white pants/bumblee ensemble for the Michigan State game. MSU was wearing a combination of bronze, dark green and black and made the UM outfits look even more ridiculous by compairson. OTOH, the UTL I uniforms looked markedly better than the early 1960s Notre Dame was wearing.
Speaking to my last point, if Michigan is going to go for a "bad ass" look with the dark blue pants, my recommendation is that UM should go all the way with it. Get rid of the neon maize and replace it with the darkest yellow possible. Minimize the yellow elements on the uniform and for goodness sakes, don't wear flourescent shoes and get rid of the goofy numerals. Since we're throwing tradition out the window, go whole hog and consider turning the wings on the helmet from maize to black.
One final thought. This blog was in a coniption about the Regents voting down fireworks for the Miami (Ohio) game (which is going to include a commemoration of the 200th anniversary of the Star Spangled Banner) and the night game with Penn State. Tradition, the excesses of modern culture and a circus-like atmosphere were cited as some of the reasons why Michigan should not have fireworks at a football game (although it seems to be okay at college and pro hockey games played at Michigan Stadium). John U. Bacon's musings on the issue were considered gospel
Well, UM might not have fireworks for the PSU game, but it looks like Brandon will have the final word that evening on something even more visiible that evening--the uniforms the team will be wearing. UM will remain unique in one other aspect as well--the 13 September Michigan Marching Band performance surrounding the bicentennial of our National Anthem ("bombs bursing in air", "rockets red glare") will be one of the very few in the country to be conducted without fireworks--all thanks to the Regents.
Go Blue!
August 10th, 2014 at 5:06 PM ^
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