This is what an alternate uniform looks like for Alabama. Dave Brandon makes me sad sometimes.
http://nikeinc.com/news/crimson-tide-to-play-for-bcs-title-in-nikes-most...
I dont get it
They're basically the same as
They're basically the same as their regular uniforms
"Ohio is like a giant turd that Michigan just can't pinch off"
But people will be able to
But people will be able to see the numbers at least.
Greetings from Bolivia.
"It's special how the real true people hang together. And if you don't support the program you're not a true Michigan guy. It's that simple." - Gary Moeller
Sorry had to laugh at the
Sorry had to laugh at the reduced glove weight...... if only they had reduced weight gloves last year I'd have won the heisman!
Hilarious, isn't it? It's a
Hilarious, isn't it? It's a lot like when Nike trumpeted the fact that they had a belt buckle that was like four ounces lighter. And just think, somewhere there's a person under the age of 18 getting goggly-eyed and going "oooooooooooo" and meaning it, and these are the people to whom we should listen about uniform design.
"We've beaten Michigan the last four years. So where's the threat?"
- Mark Dantonio
Blogging the Virginia Cavaliers at http://fromoldvirginia.blogspot.com/<
Those are clean. I'm jealous.
Those are clean. I'm jealous.
Misleading. These arent
Misleading. Those arent alternate uniforms. Those are the same design with different material.
These are the last alternates that alabama wore.
Yeah
I didn't care for the houndsooth, but you could only see it on extreme closeups anyway.
I thought it was a great,
I thought it was a great, subtle, cheeky "throwback". Way better than our alternates. Subtle is good - it doesn't ruin the team's look on tv but it adds interest if you want to buy an alternate jersey. Added revenue + still looks good = win win
I really think the enhanced
I really think the enhanced thermoregulation will be the difference maker
This might be arrogant, and if it is, it is, but we're Michigan
When I read that, I
When I read that, I immediately thought back to the fishnet jerseys from the 80's. You can't get much better thermoregulation than that. And if you've got abs you can even get the belly cut fishnet jersey.
Derrick Brooks and his cutoff
Derrick Brooks and his cutoff agrees.
The point is you can have
The point is you can have uniformz without going Full Clown. They can get as innovative as they want and still maintain the traditional look Alabama has worn for decades.
And yet Adidas gets the green-light to do redesigns for us, and we get bumblebee stripes, techfit jerseys the players rejected because they didn't fit correctly, and designs that look like reject leftovers they found in the basement when the MDen took over the old Steve and Barry's location on State Street.
Bottom line: There is a better way.
DB has final say, so he gets
DB has final say, so he gets the majority of the blame. But I still blame Adidas for designing the fugly alternates in the first place.
But it makes you wonder
What th e designs look like that DB does reject. I bet there have been a few.
Oh my god.
That's a very dark thought. Do you think he rejects any of them? Or maybe just the ones like this?
No DB should get the most
DB should get almost all of the blame. He's the one who played for Michigan under Bo not the adidas guys. He should understand the tradition of Michigan well enough to not trot us out in bumblebee stripes for godsakes.
Perfection is not attainable, but if we chase perfection we can catch excellence.
- Vince Lombardi
You clearly have no idea...
You clearly have no idea what an athletic director truly does...
If you think he sits around approving jersey designs, he should be fired immediately.
Would he have a say? Sure.
But if the TEAM, Coaches and Administration over the football team all say they want the jersey...it has nothing to do with Dave Brandon.
This is coming from an Assistant Athletics Director at a University. I can tell you right now, if my team want to wear some alternate uniform, and the coaches came to me wanting it and I approved...my AD may not even hear about it. Now at the University of Michigan, I would hope that he would when it pertains to football...but even so, if it's gotten approval up the line...he's not going to overrule it like some almighty king. That would be a slap in the face to the team, his coaches and his administration.
People need to stop acting like Dave Brandon cares about the things MGoBloggers and fans care about...Dave Brandon cares about winning and money. PERIOD. That's it.
“True loyalty is that quality of service that grows under adversity and expands in defeat. Any street urchin can shout applause in victory, but it takes character to stand fast in defeat. One is noise — the other, loyalty.”
Ok well if its not Brandon
Ok well if it's not Brandon who sat down with Adidas and layed out the expectations and vision the university has regarding uniforms, then it is somebody he directly hired. At some point representatives from this university were sold on periodically putting out alternate uniforms and then Adidas went and designed the garbage. Maybe Brandon has nothing to do with which designs were put out, but he had to have played a role in the decision that we were going to head down this road.
I'm sure Nike has pitched ideas to Alabama and I'm sure that Alabama's position is that they are going to mostly avoid any changes to their uniforms. Michigan could have taken this position with Adidas but chose differently and Brandon would have been involved in that decision.
it has nothing to do with Dave Brandon.
So the buck doesn't stop with David Brandon then. He's helpless to prevent his assistant AD from running into the Adidas clowniformz store and pulling random ugly stuff off the racks.
I might agree...
...with Mr. Yost's point above but with all the talk coming from Dave Brandon specifically about "branding" and "wow factors" there is simply no way he doesn't have a hand in the uniforms that the team is wearing in it's biggest games. This stuff is clearly a pet project of his.
Posted this
Posted this yesterday:
Just so we are clear, Dave Brandon does not choose which jerseys we wear. Per the AD announcement back in August (I cant speak for any jersey decsions before 8-2012) there can be three jerseys/year:
1) Special in-season jersey for one game 2) Regular jerseys for the rest of the games 3) Bowl game jersey, if the coaches choose
The key here is the coaches choose whether or not to do it, not Dave Brandon. The AD believes that the coaches are best in tune with our players and recruits and thus will decide what jerseys, when, etc. So instead of focusing all of your anger at DB, direct it at the coaches or Adidas or Mary Sue Coleman. The AD decided we can have 3 jerseys/year, the coaches decide which of those to wear. They dont have to choose any.
I believe that the ultimate authority on this subject is DB, but the individual choices are made by the coaches and team.
You sound like you're from London
Mary Sue Coleman has less to
Mary Sue Coleman has less to do with uniforms than anyone.
CoE Class of 2007
Everything you are saying is
Everything you are saying is perfectly true, I have no doubt. Honestly. And yet it totally ignores the "captain of the ship" mentality that a good leader has. The clowniformz are showing up on the field with Dave Brandon's approval, whether explicit or tacit, and that is a fact.
All he would have to do is spend two minutes of his time calling up Brady Hoke and saying, "you know what? those things are bad, don't do those any more." It's not a slap in the face if he's a good leader about it. The fact that he doesn't means he approves, or else is not a good leader.
Edit: Also, who was front and center and the first man quoted when Michigan revealed its first UTL clowniformz? http://www.mgoblue.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/061011aaa.html
"We've beaten Michigan the last four years. So where's the threat?"
- Mark Dantonio
Blogging the Virginia Cavaliers at http://fromoldvirginia.blogspot.com/<
It makes me sad that other
It makes me sad that other premier, elite college football programs like USC and Alabama still do something that says "we don't fucking need alternate uniforms to sell our brand to recruits, to fans or anybody." And I've long sympathized with the position that, it's expensive to run a college sports program, we need revenue somehow. But maybe your budget wouldn't be so big if you didn't have so many people worried about "managing Michigan's brand." You should have one guy, (I'll even do it for free) who's only job when someone proposes something to get some buzz or try something new is to say, "do we absolutely need to do this? Is revenue the only purpose behind it? Because if it is, can we please consider another way to raise revenue that doesn't fuck with our core competencies, or if it must happen, can we at least have the absolute best possible people be responsible for its production and implementation?" Show me anyone who thinks the people behind Michigan's jersey designs are doing consistently great work and I'll show you a very casual Michigan fan, likely wearing jean shorts or possibly overalls.
absolutely
We should strive to be more like those bastions of integrity in college football, USC and Alabama. Let's not leave out PSU, the other oft cited example.
Eating is murder.
Exactly how do you think
That a less honest program would have more control rather than less over their equipment provider? I don't think these things are related.
My point has absolutely nothing to do with that.
It's that some of us are so concerned about relatively trivial things that we hold up programs like USC, PSU and Alabama as examples to follow. Perhaps that's a sign that we should take a step back and try to put things into perpsective.
Eating is murder.
While I understand your
While I understand your point, on the issue of uniforms (maybe the only issue that applies), they are not selling out. I don't see Oregon as a bastion of integrity either. That seems to be who DB admires in the context of uniform policy.
What do uniforms have to do
What do uniforms have to do with integrity? Less than nothing?
It is simple, if people don't
It is simple, if people don't buy the alternate jerseys they will stop making them.
I'd be willing to bet only
I'd be willing to bet only the UTLs sold well (you rarely see anyone wearing any of the others). DB's been chasing that ever since.
In addition, I'll contend
In addition, I'll contend that the only reason that the UTL jerseys sold well was directly due to how exciting the game was. If it was a blowout or a loss, people would likely see those uni's for the crap that they were. (IMHE)
Or DB will say something
Or DB will say something about needing to "step up the wow factor" and you will begin to see the team in even more unusual uniforms, alternate helmets, different color schemes, etc.
Ann Arbor: now the permanent home of the Little Brown Jug
67-22-3 all-time
They don't even use Nike's
They don't even use Nike's gimmicky lighter mesh lined pants or the vapor socks. Just the new jersey template Oregon has worn since last years' Rose Bowl. Glad to see someone doesn't whore themselves out.
"So put 2 on, put 10 on, WHAT DO YOU CARE IT'S NOT LIKE YOU'RE PAYIN' FOR 'EM!!!!?"
-Doug Heffernan, in regards to Arthur and his stamp needs
The M recruits like it...
Currently recruiting class is ranked very high...I don't care.
As mentioned before:
'Bama is doing pretty good to recruiting-wise too. I don't think it really makes a difference.
Those don't look any
Those don't look any different than their regular uni's. Then, vs. the atrocities that have been our regular uniforms.....
It's been a lot. Its been a roller coaster that for some reason seemed like it would never get good. But you know what? We kept fighting. It's like that old saying goes, "Those Who Stay Will Be Champions." -David Molk
Wow, I meant our alternates.
Wow, I meant our alternates. Our regulars are glorious. My bad.
It's been a lot. Its been a roller coaster that for some reason seemed like it would never get good. But you know what? We kept fighting. It's like that old saying goes, "Those Who Stay Will Be Champions." -David Molk
Brand Recognition
DB keeps talking about developing better brand recognition. Alabama and Nike are doing a better job.
They are. Partly because
They are. Partly because brand recognition doesn't improve when you keep changing the packaging.
I'm disappointed that there
I'm disappointed that there are no elephant ears on the shoulders. These are so boring.
"Wasn't that Michigan drive just great. That's like Patton riding into Berlin." ~Bob Ufer
Was Michigan the only team during bowl season to wear . . .
Was Michigan the only team to wear alternate jerseys and helmets for a bowl game that were different from what was worn during the regular season?
Oregon has so many uniform combinations for regular season play that even if they did have something special for last night's Fiesta Bowl, most people wouldn't even notice.
Alabama's uniforms have different materials, but the same traditional look. I guess tradition sells in Tuscaloosa, but not in Ann Arbor.
If UM had worn all blue jerseys with a block M on the sleeve, it would have been a different, yet traditional look that Michigan could have marketed very successfully. Instead, we have something that looks like it came out of the Canadian or Arena Football Leagues (or even worse, East Lansing).
Never got the whole school
Never got the whole school names on the back.
"Touchdown alabama! Eddie Alabama with a 50yd run!"
When the ADept sells special jerseys and gear, you'll see my picture next to the targeted customer crowd. A sheep.....but a Blue one.....
I think that's just a sample
I think that's just a sample for the rollout graphic. You know, because they wouldn't want anyone to get the impression that they were making loads of money selling jerseys of actual amateur athletes. They probably didn't even realize that #10 is the number of Alabama's starting QB.
B-22 Raptor
With the 10 yard reception
Bo' Money Bo' Problems
Is that a preview for Halo 5?
Is that a preview for Halo 5? Weird days in college sports.
All in for some manball.
Tradition at Alabama, USC
"Son, would you like to play in the NFL?"
vs.
"OMG, LOOK AT OUR JERZEEZ!!!"
This is Michigan, fergodsakes.
The prevailing philosophy has
The prevailing philosophy has been: USC doesn't need to do it, Alabama doesn't need to do it, LSU doesn't need to do it, why do we have to???
College athletics is all about advantages. It's an arms race. When you're trying to impress 18 year old kids in order to have them pick your school that's what happens.
USC doesn't really need uniformz to impress 18 year old kids - they have perfect weather, beaches, amazing coeds, are in the heart of the movie industry, etc.
Why would Alabama need uniformz to make an impression - they have Nick Saban, an NFL robot producing football coach.
LSU plays in the SEC and is also located in the most talent rich football state in the United States of America.
Any Michigan fan should want their program to do anything - anything reasonable, to keep up with the Joneses. Otherwise you will be left in the dust of the NCAA arms race.
Never been a big fan of this argument.
Newer jerseys can't be a bigger selling point for Michigan than having a traditional, iconic look that is easily identifiable with the winningest football program. Rather, the effect of changing the jerseys can't be as great as, say, upgrading the facilities, hiring coaches that are effective at recruiting/developing players, and improper benefits (Michigan shouldn't do the latter).
How does Michigan increase revenue to pay for such nice things? They shouldn't need to given Michigan has the highest revenue of any NCAA school, but if Dave Brandon won't take a salary cut to keep up with the Joneses, then they should try to sell advertising in the stadium. I honestly don't think this would create a bigger outrage from the fanbase than changing the uniforms, especially since every other school does this and it would make Michigan a lot of money that is otherwise not guaranteed when marketing more ugly-jersey merchandise. Yes, Brian and many MGoFaithful would be upset (myself included), but the casual fan won't care and neither would recruits.
Michigan's offensive style requires more players that have greater interactions with the Higgs field.
I dont get it
http://www.youtube.com/user/jcbakkar?feature=mhee