Jersey Changes Post-Hoke/Brandon

Submitted by Geaux_Blue on
Haven't seen this come up in the wake of the personnel changes:

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

SWHarrison

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. 

Joined: 10/13/2014

MGoPoints: 52

Heinous Wagner

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.

Joined: 08/10/2009

MGoPoints: 768

Wolverine Devotee

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. 

 

Joined: 06/29/2009

MGoPoints: 31528

MichiganStudent

December 22nd, 2014 at 6:38 PM ^

You think the suites are stupid? If so, I couldn't disagree more. I think they make the stadiums appearance much better and it helps keep the sound in.

Joined: 08/27/2008

MGoPoints: 7223

Wolverine Devotee

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. 

 

 

Joined: 06/29/2009

MGoPoints: 31528

Yostbound and Down

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.

Joined: 07/27/2011

MGoPoints: -86513

Couzen Rick's

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.

Joined: 12/22/2014

MGoPoints: 15988

Auerbach

December 22nd, 2014 at 6:02 PM ^

Another point to consider: The current deal with Adidas goes through 7/31/16 (so 2015 is the last football season under the current deal), which means Hackett is likely going to be the one negotiating our next apparel deal that we'll be stuck with for another 8 years or so. Which apparel company we sign with will determine what happens with uniformz, both in terms of quality and frequency.

Joined: 12/15/2014

MGoPoints: 841

MI Expat NY

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.  

Joined: 07/24/2008

MGoPoints: 8636

Yostbound and Down

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...

Joined: 07/27/2011

MGoPoints: -86513

Don

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.

Joined: 06/30/2008

MGoPoints: 148237

JamieH

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.

Joined: 09/05/2009

MGoPoints: 28331

mb121wl

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.

Joined: 11/29/2014

MGoPoints: 214

JamieH

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. 

Joined: 09/05/2009

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NowTameInThe603

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.

Joined: 12/10/2014

MGoPoints: 5751

BlueHills

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.

 

 

Joined: 10/31/2010

MGoPoints: 7466

I Like Burgers

December 22nd, 2014 at 6:38 PM ^

I think you can accomplish the same thing by putting the honored or retired numbers on the suites. People will see them there and be reminded.

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.

Joined: 10/06/2012

MGoPoints: 30574

JZ

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. 

 

Joined: 11/10/2013

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