Throwback Styles - too late but why not.

Submitted by Wolverine90 on

Link here to throwback styles apropos given the current uproar over the upcoming throwbacks:

Some Old and New Uni's

It would've been awesome if we could've thrown back to those caps from 1879 somehow.  Aside from tossing some numbers on the helmets and block Ms in a few spots, the easiest throwback changes would have been:

1. Actually revert back to the color Maize.  Check out the UM football wiki page.  Wiki.  See to the middle right the UM uniform, and then under it, the colors Maize and Blue.  Notice how our uniforms are not "Maize" but more of a highlighter yellow. 

This is Maize:

This is now:

Going back to Maize is a simple throwback move.

2. The wings on the helmet forehead gradually went from  Five Head down to a Three head now.

This is a Five Head helmet (notice the expansive rise of the Maize, almost to the top of the helmet):

Think receding hairline.

This is now:

A lot thinner, sleeker rise up front.  Short and neat.


These simple changes were probably rejected because they do not offer a sharp enough contrast  to generate sales... Who knows.  We haven't see the helmets yet, but I hope the wings are so high they make the rise of all our players' forehead look like those of every 40-50 yr old alum reading this blog.

ryebreadboy

June 9th, 2011 at 3:24 PM ^

Also, because I assume they will only be selling jerseys at MDen. I don't know many people who'd buy a helmet, but most of my friends have jerseys.

chewieblue

June 9th, 2011 at 3:31 PM ^

Open an ear of corn and you don't see a dark gold color.

That means the old helmets were NOT maize.  We have it right the way it is now,  and the brighter shade looks a lot better with the dark blue.  

M-Dog

June 9th, 2011 at 8:36 PM ^

Our current unis look great, the best they ever have.  The current yellow looks sharp with the dark blue AND WOULD HAVE LOOKED GREAT UNDER THE LIGHTS.

Ahem.  Sorry for the outburst.

Our current road unis leave something to be desired.  Feel free to screw with those.  (Not the helmet please.)  All white, all yellow, all blue, knock yourself out.

M-Dog

June 9th, 2011 at 8:44 PM ^

That new yellow is our trademark.  Notice that an authentic Michigan home jersey has nothing on it that says Michigan, not even a block M.

Yet when I see someone wearing one, I know it's Michigan.  Because of the color of the yellow.

Change the yellow to French's mustard and it could be just about anybody's jersey.

 

JeepinBen

June 9th, 2011 at 3:33 PM ^

has changed throughout the years due to TV. What looked "best" on TV in the 1960s didn't in the 90s and doesnt in HD. 

There also were issues with Nike's copyrighted "Maize" and Adidas' copyrighted  "Maize" etc. but in general the changes in shade were due to TV cameras and what looked best

Louisville Wolverine

June 9th, 2011 at 3:46 PM ^

That image confirms that stripes were at least used at one point. So the new stripes do somewhat harken back to something tangible in the past. No one's great grandparents were alive to have witnessed it though. That does, however, bring up the interesting fact of just how long football has been played at Michigan and how short our collective experience of it is.

BlueHills

June 9th, 2011 at 8:29 PM ^

Well...I've been watching Michigan games since the age of 5; so that would be 1955. Michigan has been playing football for 132 years, so that means I've been a Michigan fan for about 42% of the time they've been playing football.

Not once did I see them wear gaudily striped home jerseys, however.

UMaD

June 9th, 2011 at 3:39 PM ^

always have and always will.  The highlighter effect is way too neon X-treme for me.  I like the darker, amber, tone.

M-Dog

June 9th, 2011 at 8:51 PM ^

I agree with you when the highlighter yellow is all by itself.  But when it's teamed up to accent our dark blue, it looks very sharp.

The problem with the mustard yellow and our dark blue is that after about 10 feet away the two colors blend into a moldy greenish gray.

 BTW, what year did they switch to the current highlighter yellow?  I first laid my eyes on a Michigan uni live in 1982 and they were the same yellow they are now. 

Carcajous

June 9th, 2011 at 4:21 PM ^

Technically, no.

From Wikipedia (where that swatch comes from):

"The color maize or corn refers to a shade of yellow; it is named for the cereal of the same name—maize (the cereal maize is called corn in the Americas). In public usage, maize can be applied to a variety of shades, ranging from light yellow to a dark shade that borders on orange, since the color of maize may vary."

JeepinBen

June 9th, 2011 at 4:50 PM ^

Can you even be sure that your eyes and my eyes see the same color? We all learned that that swatch is a shade of yellow, but maybe yellow to my eyes is red to your eyes! And red is blue! We'd NEVER KNOW. We know that Maize and Blue is the best color combo there is, but maybe Maize as processed by your brain looks like red as processed by my brain. we look at the same swatch, they are called the same color, but how our brain processes it might be totally different

yoopergoblue

June 9th, 2011 at 4:24 PM ^

Can't people just leave this shit alone!  Supposedly the players love the throwbacks and no one has seen what the whole throwback combo looks like yet.  Regardless, this is a one game deal and nothing permanent.