Who @%$#ed with the helmet stripes?

Submitted by whidbeywolverine on

Is anyone else a little miffed that the vents on the revolution helmets have moved the lateral stripes, well, more lateral, so the effect is that some of the helmets look like blue basketballs with yellow stripes? Really, would it be that hard to paint the stripe so it runs over the airholes, so the previous, closer to parallel appearance of the three stripes would be retained?

Maybe I'm an old fogie traditionalist, but even Bo didn't @%$# with the helmets!

Continuing with uniform stuff, I'm OK with the new road uniforms, although I wish the flank striping was staighter like the piping on the ND road jerseys. Also, I think we need to go at least one more year without anyone wearing AC's number. I like the single digit quarterback numbers, and I think it would be cool to have the wide outs wear the teen numbers (although no Michigan player could wear '11' like Larry Fitzgerald, for obvious reasons).

Finally, I doubt this would go over with the current crowd, but I'd like to go back to my freshman year (1978) and take the names off the back - at least at home. As Bo might say, "There's no 'I' (or 'ID') in team!"

Comments

lhglrkwg

April 4th, 2009 at 1:53 AM ^

a. i hadn't heard about the helmets being changed. honestly, i probably never would've noticed if someone hadn't said something
b. i like the names. easier to figure out non-star players like O and D lineman, tight ends, linebackers, etc

Don

April 4th, 2009 at 6:15 AM ^

The vent holes are always going to be darker than the adjacent surfaces, so if the yellow stripes were running over them, they would appear from a distance as they had had some sort of interrupting gash in them. It's far better visually that they run smoothly from the wing all the way to the back of the helmet. The only solution would have been to choose a helmet with vents in a different location, but who knows if that's possible, or if the placement of the vents would be even less advantageous for our helmet design. Frankly I didn't notice anything different, and they don't look odd to me. If you look closely at the striping over the years it's changed subtly several times.

I much prefer the names on the jerseys. It didn't prevent the 1997 squad from being team-oriented, did it?

And I'm old-fogier than you... freshman year in '71.

MaizeAndBlueWahoo

April 4th, 2009 at 8:16 AM ^

I think this is what the old fogey is talking about. This is a picture of an otter with a helmet on:

http://i128.photobucket.com/albums/p164/sonar1313/campbell.jpg

This is a picture of Braylon Edwards:

http://i128.photobucket.com/albums/p164/sonar1313/edwards.jpg

Note the angle between the stripes on the side and the wing. Braylon's go straight back and make something close to a 90 degree angle, the Otter's are more like 45 degrees. It does look a little weird, though on TV, it probably won't be noticeable. OTOH, I don't see any reason why the helmets can't be properly striped. You can see the vents on Campbell's helmet there if you look close, and they don't look like they'd interfere with the stripes. Perhaps it's just sloppy paint work on the part of the helmet maker. Either that or Rich Rod is destroying all our traditions again, the farking bastage.

edit - I'm retarded about putting images in. I guess you won't see any dead corpses from me. No live ones either. just click the links.

Don

April 4th, 2009 at 8:35 AM ^

However, there's a photo gallery at MGoBlue, and some of the photos show vents — not little holes — close to or in the area where the old stripes used to be placed. I think somebody in the media (Brian?) should query Jon Falk or RR about this. If I'm right that the adjustment is a result of the helmet construction, I don't think it'll be an issue. If it was RR just wanting to change something, then a certain portion of the fan base will be up in arms, at least until he beats Ohio State.

Still doesn't bother me, though. They're still winged helmets.

WolverSwede

April 4th, 2009 at 11:15 AM ^

Thank you for actually showing the difference using pictures. Also, I would never have noticed. Also also, it sorta looks better. If you would've asked me to draw the winged helmet from memory, I would've made the stripes like that. I think the very front of the helmet is the distinguishing characteristic of the helmet.

Welllughhh

April 4th, 2009 at 3:57 PM ^

You can see in the Braylon photo that the stripes do overlap the little holes in his helmet. Why can't the revolution ones be the same? Have the stripes barely off to the side of the vent holes so it is as close as you can get without overlapping. Could it possibly just be the shape of the helmet is what's making it different?

I also believe this is in no way a move made by RR to tweak the tradition of the helmet design.

Seth

April 4th, 2009 at 9:39 AM ^

...I thought this was grandpa down-in-front being ornery, but the difference is noticeable, and thus an utter travesty. I guess it's hard to appreciate perfection until it's fucked with.

Bando Calrissian

April 4th, 2009 at 10:25 PM ^

No, but they are accurate.

Helmet Hut is known for meticulously researching their products, and have provided helmets for films about historic teams and games.

The inconsistencies in the helmet stripes have irked me for years, as have the differences in the shade of maize. Frankly, I wish they'd stop messing with the away uniforms, but whatever.

MGoPacquiao

April 4th, 2009 at 10:50 AM ^

along these lines, did anyone notice how mcguffie was wearing a revolution helmet in the rice spring game picture? that little bastard should have been wearing one last year. maybe he'd still be around.

dpowell7

April 4th, 2009 at 11:37 AM ^

after putting dog poop in a paper bag and lighting it on fire on Old Man Clemens' porch]
Billy Madison: Oh my God, Old Man Clemens hates shit.

Frank: Shh, here he comes.

Old Man Clemens: Who the hell is it? What do you want? Judas Priest, Barbara, it's one of those flaming bags again.

Barbara: Don't put it out with your boots, Ted.

Old Man Clemens: Don't tell me my business, Devil Woman. Call the fire department, this one's outta control.

[Old Man Clemens steps on the bag, then lifts up his boot and smells]
Old Man Clemens: Eck, poop again.

Billy Madison: He called the shit "poop".

[Billy, Jack, and Frank laugh hysterically]

Frank: This is the best night of my life.

[They continue laughing]

Old Man Clemens: I'll get you damn kids for this. You're all gonna die.

Sorry man but this,(sigh) seriously your making a big deal over nothing.

The FannMan

April 4th, 2009 at 10:03 PM ^

Jeag is right! Henne's helmet was the same as the Otter's in Wahoo's post. I have no idea how to include pictures or links in my post, so just click on the link to "Ron Bellamy's Underachieving Allstarts" that Brian has on the left. The banner there has a picture of Henne that shows the same stripe placement as Big Will's. It was not that noticeable either on TV or live. So, I do not think its that big of a deal. There have also been other changes over the years. If you go back far enough, they used to have numbers on the helmets in addition to the wings.

Aren't the vents in the revolution helments irregularly shaped? I think a yellow stripe over the vent look might look like it had a waive in it. I assume they tried it that way first, and decided it looked bad.

I would love them to take the names off the uniforms, epecially at home. It looks classy and reinforces the team aspect of the college game. You can buy a program to help identify the players. Too bad they don't do the free paper programs anymore.

Big Boutros

April 5th, 2009 at 1:39 PM ^

If Henne's Revolution helmet had divergent stripes, as Campbell's does, then that means Michigan Football™ has had asymmetry amongst team helmethood for at least five years.

UNACCEPTABLE

Big Boutros

April 5th, 2009 at 1:44 PM ^

jeag is right!

http://www.chadhennefans.org/images/1.jpg

http://www.collegian.psu.edu/archive/2006/10/10-12-06tdc/10-12-06dsport…

http://i2.cdn.turner.com/si/2008/writers/don_banks/04/27/snap.judgments…

but it doesn't seem to be as big of a difference. My legitimate hypothesis is that Campbell's head (and therefore helmet) is so enormous that the hole-maneuvering of the stripes is more pronounced.

markusr2007

April 6th, 2009 at 1:04 PM ^

with the Revolution helmet vents.

The problem is that it's not just a vent, but an indentation in the helmet shell surrounding the vents. They probably tried to paint over these already, but it probably didn't work well or look very good. I dislike the look of the Revolution helmet, in general, but the UM equipment manager Jon Falk is probably just doing the best he can with a freaking ugly helmet surface. It is what it is.

As far as the comment on UM helmet awards, I'm firmly in the camp that helmet awards should and must return, but I realize that they will not under Rich Rodriguez. Former UM backfield coach, and former WVU coach, Don Nehlen handed out "flintlock gun" helmet awards to Mountaineer players between 1980 and 2000. They looked stupid, IMO. RR axed the idea of any helmet awards when he became HC at WVU in 2001.

J.W. Wells Co.

April 7th, 2009 at 7:43 AM ^

The helmet stripe shenanigans didn't start with Rich Rod, so quit the bitching about him "destroying tradition" etc.

Here's a pic from the 2006 FYS game:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/65796002@N00/263468554/
Look closely at the stripes. On the fronts of the helmets, some players' stripes start on top of the humps in the wings near the center of the helmet. Other players' stripes start in the low valleys of the wings. Other players' stripes have that 45-degree angle look.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/marylea/270530849/
2006 CMU. Look at the great difference in space between the outside stripes and the center stripes of the different players. Compare #7 and #40. #39 (45-degree angle) and #4 (straighter back).

I noticed this years ago, peeps. It's not new. The stripes have not been completely uniform for several seasons now.

BlueTimesTwo

April 7th, 2009 at 12:47 PM ^

If the new helmets keep our guys un-concussed and on the field, I can deal with a little variation in the striping. I am all for tradition, but losing guys to preventable head injuries should be avoided at (nearly) any cost. If they switch to scarlet and gray helmets I will be concerned. If we keep the winged helmets intact as much as the new helmets allow, I am OK with it.