M Uniform Bracket - Round 1 Men's Regional

UPDATE: Voting for this bracket is closed. Stay tuned for the Round 2 bracket.

This is the first of what will be a multi-part series in which the MGoBlogosphere will get to pick their favorite unis among the pantheon of Michigan athletics. I tried to represent every varsity and club varsity team at least once, although to get it all to fit I had to make a few judgment calls. Among those missing: a number of pre-winged football unis, and the blue version of the new hockey sweaters (since the icers were getting close to having their own bracket).
In the end, I narrowed it down to 64 for your consideration, just enough for a full tourney.

So here we go: the outfits of champions, 64 gorgeous unis in white, maize, and of course, Blue.

Click on the game links for examples of each uniform. Click on the [vote] links to cast your vote.

(ed note: If anyone is better than I am at Web editing, specifically finding ways to do things under the restrictions of the diaries -- e.g. not having to post polls like this -- your advice would be appreciated. Also, don't put too much effort into understanding the seeding; I didn't.)

Gallery:

View Full Album

Men's Bracket, Standing Out from the Crowd Region:

These are the unis that are made to show off our stuff, or at least burn out Ohio's eye sockets trying. When one of your colors matches the sun, you don't have to hide it behind blue sky and gray clouds. Sometimes, though, the sport calls for an alternate that's a little more subdued, a little more classy. There is such a thing as too much sunshine. I'll let the MgoBloggers be the judge of which alternate uniforms will put M over the top, or need to be returned to the costume department of Brüno.

Included in this bracket are the basketball team's flashy yellows (pictured), the glossy maize-on-ice sweaters of the cagers, and a slew of other (baseball, lacrosse, soccer, tennis) alts. It also has baseball's classic blues, and the subdued yet prepster shirts of M's golf team (so entered with collars un-popped).

Game 1: Hoops - maize (1) v. Tennis (8)
 
[vote]

Game 2: Ice Hockey - maize (2) v. Soccer - maize (7)

[vote]

Game 3: Golf (3) v. Baseball - blue (6)

[vote]

Game 4: Baseball - maize (4) v. Lacrosse - maize (5)

[vote]

Men's Bracket, Not Everyone Looks Good in Blue Region:

Navy blue, throughout history, has not been a color reserved for the masses. It's a color you have to earn. Those who put on an azure jersey, or sweater, or leotard, become part of a long tradition of excellence. Only after proving yourself worthy of that tradition may you don this hue. Blue says that you stand above the competition, that you are better than others. There are so many great reasons to wear this color, but if you're gonna go blue, you'd better do it right.

I'm not even going to pretend like this bracket will be competitive, considering a) this is a primarily football-based blog, and b) Michigan's home uniform is consistently rated by the national version of these things as the best in sports. But even so, we play the games, and there's some good things in blue outside of the Big House. On the other hand, some are little more than a slighty altered version of the Steve&Barry's tee (and not even written in Hebrew or with "Dad" underneath), unless you're into that sort of thing (gotta admit, I kinda am).

Game 1: Football - home (1) v. Gymnastics (8)

[vote]

Game 2: Hoops - blue (2) v. Cross Country (7)

[vote]

Game 3: Wrestling (3) v. Tennis (6)
[Author note: The original image used for Tennis was incorrect, and was changed July 13, 2009, at 1:22 a.m. EDT to reflect M Tennis's true blue uniforms. At that time, the vote favored wrestling 84 to 41. After the voting shifted dramatically after the switch, I decided to only count votes after that point, and posted an announcement to that effect in the boards. In the end, Tennis didn't need the help.]

[vote]

Game 4: Track&Field (4) v. Soccer (5)

[vote]

Men's Bracket, In My Day We Wore X Region:

A friend of mine was asked once why his faith has so many traditions. His reply, "when 900 years old you reach, look as good, you will not, hmm?" Michigan's not that old, but we have been playing a full slate of varsity sports for longer than most Division 1 schools have existed. In that time, a lot of outfits have come and gone, though considering all those years, though not so many as you might think -- we're "traditional" like that I guess. Some have been brought back. Others never left. And some probably belong back on the shelf.

Many of these are more recent, for a couple of reasons. 1) Most of this board wasn't around or even alive for most of Michigan's uniform history -- not that old uniforms were given all that thought to begin with back then. And 2) some recent changes (e.g. football aways) might still carry with them enough emotion, being still present in our memories, and I'm a whore for response rates.

Game 1: Football - '90s away (1) v. Football - '00s away (8)

[vote]

Game 2: Hoops - '89 (2) v. Ice Hockey Block M's (7)

[vote]

Game 3: Ice Hockey - '60s whites (3) v. Ice Hockey '90s whites (6)

[vote]

Game 4: Ice Hockey - maize scripts (4) v. Football - '70s white pants (5)

[vote]

Men's Bracket, Scientifically Speaking, I'm Actually Wearing Every Color Right Now Region:

White is a dangerous color, but for those who can pull it off ... oh, who am I kidding, as Misopogal can tell you, I really don't know anything about fashion. What I do know is that if you don't wash your white hockey sweater after every use, you'll develop some unintended yellow slashes at the drip-points of your pads (I'm still waiting for a hockey uni to be designed with color slashes where the sweat stains usually form).

In this bracket are the whites, some for home use, others only meant for the road. Some are mixed with maize or blue for a classy two-tone look. Some are bright with only spare stripes breaking up the brilliance. Others are a dark white (gray). Some have pinstripes. You tell me which ones you'd wear (so long as it's before Labor Day). [ed note: Misopogal says this is a myth, you can wear white after Labor Day, unless you're going to a friend's wedding, because that would be tacky].

Game 1: Football - Away (1) v. Baseball - gray (8)

[vote]

Game 2: Hoops - White (2) v. Baseball - pinstripes alt (7)

[vote]

Game 3: Ice Hockey - white (3) v. Soccer - white (6)

[vote]

Game 4: Baseball - home (4) v. Lacrosse - white (5)

[vote]
 

Don't feel left out, girls -- stay tuned for our next installment, Round 1: The Women's Bracket.