On New Uniforms And Jail
by Sean Keeley on Feb 11, 2010 12:41 PM EST
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Obviously, this is the best quote so far on the new Nike uniforms, courtesy of Arinze Onuaku. Actually, they're in reference to the new warm-ups, pictured to the right.
"The warm-ups?You know when you go to jail and they put you in the inmate uniforms? That’s what they look like."
Do I know what it's like when I go to jail? No, Arinze. I do not know what it's like when I go to jail. And neither should you! Just because you watched a couple episodes of Oz, that doesn't mean you can talk about jail like you've been there. (Unless we're talking about Free Throw Jail. Then yes, the book should be thrown at you. The Free Throw Book.)
My initial thought on the unis was that I was fine with them. All things considered, it could have been a lot worse. After having a chance to see them in action, there's a couple thoughts I have that have softened my stance a little bit.
First, we have to talk about the gray numbers. We're fans, which by nature means we are fanatical, which means that we can sometimes be irrational. We make grand proclamations and biting, sweeping remarks about jerseys and designs and logos. We either love them or hate them. And we make that known. And we usually make it known in regards to this "gray creep" that's worked it way onto the uniforms in ways that make it hard to take it constructively.
That said I honestly believe that, if you were to get 100 rational, free-thinking Syracuse die-hards in a room and ask them for a lucid, honest opinion, 97 of them would tell you they hate the gray numbers. Hate them. Not only robs the jersey of depth but also lessens the impact of the blue, which is the preferred second color by those 97 (possibly all 100). Considering these are the same people that are most likely to throw down hard-earned money to purchase a jersey of their own, it just seems at odds with common sense.
Maybe there is market research telling me I'm wrong and, if so, I'd love to see it. But until then, I'd wager any amount of money I'm right.
Second, the wiastband. Now that I've seen it in action...meh. I remember when I was on the Carl Sandberg Middle School basketball team. We had just received brand new uniforms to wear and the school was giving away old iterations. The pile of old uniforms they brought out was the most dated and cornball collection of basketball uniforms I'd ever seen. Most of them had large waistbands that stood out, just like the ones of the new uniforms.
That's what it makes me think of. 70's or 80's basketball. A little goofy, to be honest. I'd be much happier with just white all the way from the shoulders to the knees. It just looks...cheesy (but I do like the neckband, so that's something...right?)
Finally, the back logo. Honestly, it's fine. It seems harmless. Mostly because, if you didn't know what was there...you never would. No one who isn't intimately aware of Syracuse University's iconography will watch the game and be able to tell what's going on. Not that that's a reason to lose it. It's just means it's...not a big deal.
I do like that it kinda looks like Darth Vader, though. Can we just swap this out and make it Darth Vader for real?
In conclusion, they're not that bad. I think we can all live with them. But I'd just really love to know the justification for the gray numbers. I don't get that.
H/T: Matt R.
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Honestly, I agree..
The numbers don’t look bad to me. But that waist band, hate it. And I especially hate that instead of putting the block S on the front of the waist band, they put out the slang version of our name. Just seems bushleague to me.
Its like when Louisville introduced those football uniforms last year that said “The ’Ville”. When I saw that I was scared they’d do the same thing with “The ’Cuse”, and it seems to be starting. Ugh.
not tarred and feathered, that's very West Virginia-ish.
Grey is the color of Georgetown, the arch rival. It is only part of the Dr. Gross tradition, not the Syracuse tradition.
It’s not a bad uniform, but the grey needs to go.
From everything that I have read and/or heard...
The silver/grey is because we are a Nike “Elite” school. Most of the Elite programs have silver in their uniforms. If you own anything Syracuse with the Elite wordmark on it, you’ll notice it is silver. I think that is the reason for the silver on the unis.
That being said, it doesn’t work. I was at the game last night, and honestly, sitting in 314 they looked just like the previous uniforms. But watching the highlights on TV made me realize that the numbers just plain old disappear at times. It may be fine on the orange unis but it doesn’t work on the home whites. I’d rather they just do the silver outline on the Nike logo (or the “S” on the collar) and be done with it.
Go Orange!
that's pretty cool
the elite part. If it’s a special honor, it kind of makes it OK for me.
I feel that the jersey’s look much better in person than they do on TV or the internet.
And I'm the opposite.
I don’t want a corporate marketing theme to be on my favorite team’s jerseys. If it were an NCAA thing, like all the elite college basketball teams had silver, I’d be proud. But I don’t care that Nike considers us one of the Elite schools that wears their jerseys.
i hate how they still say Orange on the front of the home whites and not Syracuse. Id prefer the secondary color to be blue, but I dont 100% hate the grey with the orange stroke around it.
But, id much rather it be consistent and have both the word & number be orange with a blue stroke or vice versa. I hate the mismatch colors on name & number
What’s wrong with “ORANGE” on the home unis?
Look at most MLB uniforms … they have the nickname on the home jerseys and the city name on the road jerseys.
If you’re in the Dome watching SU play a home game, do you really need to be reminded that you’re watching “SYRACUSE”.
Road Unis
should def have Syracuse on the front. It’s almost like we’re ashamed of the city we’re from. I like that our home jerseys say Orange on the front. No need to tell us where we are.
Without Gerry McNamara we wouldn't have won 10 f-- games, not 10
by PoetryInMoten on Feb 11, 2010 4:01 PM EST up reply actions
yes MLB is set up that way. College basketball however is not. Im sure there are some pretty obvious examples but I can not think of any other big time college basketball program that has their mascot on the front of their jersey vs the actual name of the college…or some version of it as Pitt & Uconn both are still representing the University and do not say Husky or Panthers. what other schools reference their mascot versus their school on their home unis?
its looks minor league for them to say Orange versus Syracuse
by EmpyreLounge44 on Feb 11, 2010 7:49 PM EST up reply actions
proves my point
I said big time basketball program
by EmpyreLounge44 on Feb 11, 2010 10:00 PM EST up reply actions
jk, i actually did think of the Irish after I posted
by EmpyreLounge44 on Feb 11, 2010 10:05 PM EST up reply actions
You do bring up an interesting point, though...
I remembered that ND had Irish on their unis, and I didn’t look all that hard, but most everyone else I thought of had the school name on both the home and away jerseys.
I don’t have a particular problem with having the team name on the home and the school name on the away uniforms… makes sense that you’re representing where you’re from while on the road and defending your home otherwise, but I wonder why SU decided to go that route when no one else seems to.
by Trapped_In_ACC_Hell on Feb 11, 2010 10:22 PM EST up reply actions
Duct Tape
It looks like they put the numbers on the jerseys with a roll of duct tape that happened to be lying around the training room.
watching the game last night
the unfocused image of the bench i thought prison warmup suit as well, funny arinze said the same thing. if only devo was here to see this..
Nike thought
Devo would still be here when they started planning.
"Send it in Jerome!!!!"
by AndyKinsella on Feb 11, 2010 1:38 PM EST up reply actions 1 recs
Just promise me
that the football jerseys from the G-Rob era are gone forever.
Beyond that, I’ll defer to the powers that be.
i agree
I think sean’s wrong on the waistbands. I think they’re the best improvement. I think they look great and i like the prominent “’Cuse.”
by Bernie's Fine on Feb 11, 2010 1:44 PM EST up reply actions
Thought It Would Be More Prominent
I like the waistband, but since most of the players have their tucked-in jerseys loosened over the top of their shorts, the waistband is mostly moot.
waistband
makes them look like boxing shorts. that was my first impression. my second was that they were 20 years late and with the wrong team. imagine if 1990 G’town had shorts that looked like boxing trunks. not that there’s anything wrong with denim shorts (hahahahahahahaha) but boxing-looking shorts would have added to their “mystique”. and then when they came out and actually punched people (because they were dirty, dirty players) it would have made total sense.
"Send it in Jerome!!!!"
by AndyKinsella on Feb 11, 2010 1:47 PM EST up reply actions
Someone in another thread made this point:
The man in the video explaining their design referred to the waistband as “retro.” Yet the rest of the jersey is supposed to be new and cutting edge. The two styles don’t work well together.
The back is bad
I think the design on the back should be changed. It has too much detail and no one can tell what is there… It should just be the Dome and/or Empire State Building… I thought Empire State Building was a better idea (credit this Blog). UConn has a way better design for th back: it’s simply a Husky and it’s clearly visible. Change the backs. Everything else is cool.
by Josh in Syracuse on Feb 11, 2010 1:36 PM EST reply actions
Yeah
Let’s re-inforce the idea that we play home games in NYC. Maybe we can put the Hollywood sign on there as well and make us America’s Team so that we never play another road game ever.
Without Gerry McNamara we wouldn't have won 10 f-- games, not 10
by PoetryInMoten on Feb 11, 2010 1:43 PM EST up reply actions
My biggest issue
Is the placement of the block S on the shorts. I would prefer if the S was at the bottom of the shorts instead of in the middle of them.
Ooo yeah that's hot
I hate the silver numbers.
Honestly, if they dumped the silver numbers I would probably never complain about these jerseys again. But the silver, especially on the numbers, is just stupid.
I’m paraphrasing Seinfeld Jeopardy on SNL here when I say, “What’s the deal with our accent color? It’s silver, it’s blue. It’s silver, it’s blue. Come on! Just pick an accent color and stick with it!” And I’d prefer they stick with blue.
The UConn fan I was watching the game with pointed out that these tight men’s jerseys with their small arm holes and more fabric over their shoulders look like women’s jersey tops. I’m not really complaining, but it was an interesting point that I hadn’t noticed.
One big positive: I really like the collar. I’ve always enjoyed those on soccer jerseys and I’m glad to see them on these basketball unis now.
The design on its own, not on the jersey
…makes it look more like one of the sandpeople than Vader.
+1 for the Oz reference
Great show, highly underrated.
Remove the Gray/Silver numbers and the jersey’s aren’t half-bad. Better then I expected.
by moosedontbounce on Feb 11, 2010 2:36 PM EST reply actions
Compare/Contrast
Do we have images of the last 2 unis front and back, shorts and pants? I would love to see a side-byu-side comparison.
Because I think the new ones are an upgrade… I can see the design on the back feeling superflous, but the waistband and shoulder oranges makes the “ORANGE” pop better on TV last night.
Without a side-by-side comparison
I would say these are an improvement from the last ones. But I hated the last ones and only hate these slightly less.
I don't mind the attempts to go retro-nostalgic
But it’s what’s being offered up as nostalgic that is irritating. If you’ve followed the team all yer life, you know damn well that blue is the dominant accent color. In typical Nike fashion, they’re inventing the nostalgia for us so as to fit in to their new marketing ploy. And DR. Gross signs-off on it because he does the same god damn thing all the time.
“Run Like Fire” like Steve Prefontaine, right Nike? Fine. Just make sure you don’t die a slow, painful death as you’re crushed by you’re own car after you drive drunk and get into an accident.
yeah
the warmups are terrible in my opinion.
anyone else notice that rick jackson wasn’t wearing a short sleeve undershirt last night? first time i’ve noticed him without one.
Wes Johnson is ridiculously good!!!
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