So...the jerseys. Was it worth the freakout?

Submitted by cypress on

I didnt think they looked too bad at all.

ijohnb

January 2nd, 2013 at 10:29 AM ^

I agree with you to a point, they are not going any where.  Even with a coach that probably feels like these uniforms are the equivalent of six 15 years old kids standing on his porch listening to rap music with oversized headphones and smoking menthol cigarettes and whistling at his wife, Dave Brandon and Adidas appear to be unwaivering with their vision.  it is unfortunate, but I think it is time to go in the "already been talked about" category and just accept that we are those guys now.

maizenbluedevil

January 4th, 2013 at 10:48 PM ^

I did and they just didn't look right.

That combined with our players slipping (inadequate footwear), and not being able to see the numbers on the jerseys, it was an equipment fail in pretty much every way possible....  just bad, shabby, and mediocre, like something even the parents of Pop Warner kids would frown upon.

NYWolverine

January 2nd, 2013 at 3:15 PM ^

First, I have to say I loved the alt helmets and hope to see more of them. They highlighted the defining characteristic of the Michigan uniform is a bold way. Awesome. I hope we do more of that while leaving the rest of the uniform the hell alone.

Mainly because the uniforms looked like an ugly set of pajamas a small child would wear while watching Barney. We came out looking like a bunch of kids coming up from naptime. The unis were noticeably different, which in a tradition program like ours only begs the question: Why? Why do we need the distraction? If it isn't highlighting any of our traditions or our brand (a'la the helmet), there's no need for it.

The only good that came out of those jerseys is a realization that gimicks are incredibly incredibly lame. The winning team looks cool no matter what. The losing team, when its adorned in cute Adidas pajamas, looks especially uncool.

White away jerseys with blue numbers and letters and a single Block M directly under the collar. No other embellishments (no blue collar, no Ms on the shoulders, no stripes, piping, two-tones stitching, etc.)! Standard maize pants, block M on the hip. Lastly, win the damn game. Done.

I hope DB does a metallic wing on matte helmet next year. I know that sounds like flamebait but I'm serious; drawing more attention to the winged helmet is way cool and less liable to f*** ups than alt jerseys.

Shakey Jake

January 2nd, 2013 at 8:27 AM ^

It's 2nd nature to freak out if you post here. So, the answer is yes.

Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go post on the "What are you drinking in the off season?" thread.

I don't really care what the team wears. I just want to them to win.

Though, I did think the helmets were pretty damn rad.

I also think we should do a thread were posters post a pic of what they wear so we can all judge them and rip on them for their lack of style.

cadmus2166

January 2nd, 2013 at 8:45 AM ^

Stop doggind on Agassi!!!  He's my favorite tennis player of all time, and you have to admit his fashion choices, whether good or bad, and always loud, drew attention to his career early on while he was still refining his game.

That said , we're Michigan fergodsakes, and we don't need the attention, so stop messing with the unis!

The Baughz

January 2nd, 2013 at 9:36 AM ^

Ill bite the bullet. The jerseys sucked. I have made several comments regarding all the new uniforms and how much I liked them. Well these last ones were bad. I was a fan until I saw them on tv yesterday. I couldnt tell who half the guys were. The numbers didnt match which made them even worse. Blue numbers woyld have been much better.

On the other hand, the helmets were sweeeeeeeet. Several of my non michigan buddies also sent me texts saying how much they liked the helmets.

treetown

January 2nd, 2013 at 12:50 PM ^

Agreed - the helmets worked and the jerseys largely due to the inability to recognize the numbers were a failure.

Came to the game a bit late and at first I thought the Michigan receiver was wearing some sort of temp vest or even a no number jersey.

I get it that modern jersey trends have been about creating new looks to buzz up sales. The UTL throwbacks worked well. But the jersey and helmets have to do their original purpose - allowing spectators to ID the team and players. No one did a TV test with the jerseys out on a field otherwise it would have been obvious that the numbers would blend and bleed with the jerseys.

 

Section 1

January 2nd, 2013 at 11:52 AM ^

There are two things professed by self-proclaimed Michigan devotees who are not otherwise prone to "freakouts."

One is "winning" and the other is "tradition."

Uniformz lose on both counts.  David Brandon's uniform experimentation is now officially a "losing tradition."

While I negged the OP for reasons of demonstrating my own ire, he asks a good question:  "Was it WORTH the freakout?"  I'll play along with that question.  Was it worth it?  We don't know.  We don't know, because as far as I am aware, we've never been told what the Athletic Department nets out of the deal to mess around with Michigan's iconic football uniforms.  How much do we really get out of jersey sales related directly to design changes?  Somebody ought to know what that number is, and they ought to share it with us.

Magnus

January 2nd, 2013 at 8:14 AM ^

I liked the jerseys themselves.

But the yellow numbers on a white background should be saved for the next time we play in a dome, or maybe a night game.  The mid-day sun was too bright and washed out the maize.

Mabel Pines

January 2nd, 2013 at 8:16 AM ^

Those were my favorite alternate uniforms ever!    I can't do the stripe thing.  But I really loved yesterdays, and the matte helmets were super cool.  I once had a nice matte red nailpolish that I loved.   Matte cars next!  (kidding)

Don

January 2nd, 2013 at 8:32 AM ^

Completely aside from the issue of style, the main practical purpose of a jersey is to communicate clearly and immediately the number of the player who's wearing it. The fact that the numbers were hard to read is a major fail.

Combine that with the weird lemon-yellow nature of the maize and the pathetic "Oooh, the cool teams are doing matte helmets, so we have to as well," the unis sucked ass.

Freaking out? No, that's stupid, and I'm too old to lose one minute of sleep over it. Disgusted? Absolutely.

Our uniforms were not broken, but Brandon has decided they needed fixing anyhow. That's what you get when your AD comes from a marketing background.

Wolverine Devotee

January 2nd, 2013 at 8:25 AM ^

Loved them. The helmets need to stay matte IMO. Look so clean. 

Hope they sell minis of the helmets.

go16blue

January 2nd, 2013 at 11:36 AM ^

Were people this upset when we first went to shiny helmets, too? Come on people, complaining about the jerseys I get (and 100% agree with), but the finish on the helmet doesn't really matter, and is bound to change over time. 

JHendo

January 2nd, 2013 at 8:33 AM ^

They were absolutely terrible.  Regardless of the fact that we already had the best uniforms in sports and thusly don't need to play around with the design for a "special" game, when the game starts out with the commentators poking fun at them, you know we screwed the pooch on this one.

SC Wolverine

January 2nd, 2013 at 8:39 AM ^

If you are going to be a program that emphasizes tradition, like us, then you should be traditional.  This is one thing I love about Penn State.  It makes no sense for us to try to compete with the Oregons of the world, when our strength is in the opposite direction.  Plus, I had to stand two feet away from the television just to see the uniform numbers.  And I hated the matte helmets.  But at least we don't have a mascot yet.

B1G_Fan

January 2nd, 2013 at 8:51 AM ^

 It's all about jersey sales. How many people have a #1 jersey they still rock to games even tho there hasn't been a player who wore #1 since Braylon left? I wore my #7 until this year and only dumped it because I was afraid folks would misunderstand me as a Hawthorne fan.

 Now how many people own multiple 16 jerseys? I've seen people wearing the UTL and the Bama game jerseys and actually a handful of the killer bee MSU jerseys. at 180 bucks a pop thats got to be some nice revenue

B1G_Fan

January 2nd, 2013 at 12:11 PM ^

  Don't see what that has to do with anything. Never saw a  CEO say nah nevermind that extra $700,000 a year we already make 10 million from this part of the franchise. In fact thats a good example , Why sell 1 Denard jersey when we can sell 4.

$180 is the price for an authentic Michigan Denard Robinson 16 jersey from Mden

Ali G Bomaye

January 2nd, 2013 at 4:31 PM ^

Here's what it has to do with anything: every time we produce another random jersey, we water down the brand.  A few years ago ESPN had an unscientific poll where Michigan's football uniforms were voted the best uniforms in sports.  But if you had only watched football for the past two years, you would barely be able to figure out what Michigan's "real" uniforms were.  What Dave Brandon is doing is killing long-term value in the name of slightly increased short-term profits.  That's something that bad CEOs do, not good ones.

Victor Hale II

January 2nd, 2013 at 9:30 AM ^

"But at least we don't have a mascot yet. "

 

I fear that we can't avoid the Noid for long.  Like, literally, the Noid.

 

After jumping the shark with these Outback Bowl uniforms, I am very afraid of what's coming next.