What is the best part about being a sports fan? Is it
escaping from the stress and daily routine of the work week for a few hours? Is
it the jubilation one feels when their favorite teams prevail? Or is it the
excuse to stuff your face with cheap hot dogs and overpriced nachos?
For you, it may be one of those reasons. For me, it’s a
chance to marvel at the creativity of some teams in the uniform department. Jerseys
are an incredibly underrated part of the sports world. Yeah winning is
important, but what is the point if you look bad while doing it? For this
series of blogs, I will be taking a look at some of the best and worst jerseys
currently in rotation in your favorite sports.
Today’s post will focus on the best everyday unis worn in
the three major pro sports and college football. My
decisions are based upon three criteria: color scheme, design, and creativity.
Some color schemes just work better than others. Purple and
black, blue and orange, black and yellow, and any combination that includes
powder blue seem to be some of the more visually appealing color schemes. It is
hard to say that a uniform is top three in its sport if it does not have a
solid color scheme with two (or more) colors that complement each other
effectively. While the color scheme is important, it can easily be ruined if
the uni is not designed correctly. The use of primary and secondary colors,
proper logo placement and the lettering is all important. Using the team name
vs. the city across the chest, the typeface or font, as well as the placement
and font of the numbers are all factors. I feel it’s necessary to mention here
that the Yankees, Red Sox and Giants do not get any bonus points for not using
names on the back of the unis. Just because you have been around for 100+ years
does not mean I will reward you for this foolishness. Creativity however will be rewarded
quite nicely. Outside the box thinking in terms of displaying the team’s colors
or nickname can be a big bonus when evaluating unis.
College Football
University of Florida Gators (Color)
These may just be the best unis in college football. The
orange and blue color scheme is a personal favorite of mine, and Florida has
found the perfect way to display it here. Florida’s color unis typically
feature a blue jersey, white pants and orange helmet. The decision to go with
blue jersey and orange helmet was brilliant. They compliment each other
perfectly and play on the orange and blue color scheme in an incredible way.
The Florida logo with the gator head is a classic, but I love the decision to
put “Gators” on the helmet. As you will learn throughout this blog series, I
HATE white jerseys. With a passion. It shows such a lack of creativity, and
some teams display white jerseys with little to no thought or use white as a
secondary color to show how little unis mean to them. I say this to compliment
Florida. The Gators use blue, orange AND white in a perfectly mixed scheme that
doesn’t give a feel of color overload.
University of Maryland Terrapins (Maryland Pride)
Under Armour has been pretty solid with their college
uniforms, but their crowning moment was the Terps Maryland Pride unis. These
tasty uniforms feature a primarily white jersey with shoulders that display the
two different designs of the Maryland
state flag. The right shoulder is the black and yellow checkerboard design,
while the left side displays the red and white cross design of the flag. As
sweet as this design is, Under Armour absolutely killed it on the helmet. The
helmet is split in two, displaying the same flag designs seen on the shoulders.
This uni design has received quite a bit of criticism, but I think the
integration of state pride as well as the overall creativity of the unis make
this one of the better designs seen in college football.
TCU Horned Frogs (Color/Black)
Go ahead and call me biased. But after you do, take another
look at the purple jersey, black pants, and purple helmet combination of the
Frogs. What a glorious use of color here. It is nice to see a good use of
purple and black instead of the hideous white unis that TCU usually runs out.
The lack of white here is a big plus, but the proper use of black is what makes
this so special. Numerous teams like to use black regardless of whether it’s
one of their school colors or not. Although black is technically not a TCU
color (purple, white), you’d never know by looking at these unis. Another plus
here, even though it’s technically under the logo department, is the continued
use of the combined TCU-frog logo on the helmet.
MLB
Colorado Rockies (Alternate 2)
The vest jersey is a lost art in the game of baseball. I
have always been a fan of the vests worn in the MLB, although the number of
teams using them has been have been declining. The Colorado Rockies keep the
swag alive with the black sleeveless jerseys, grey pinstripe pants and a black
hat. What this uni lacks in creativity (standard city name display, block
numbers) it makes up for in a black vest, black undershirt combo.
Miami Marlins
(Alternate 2)
Since the renaming of the franchise in 2012, the uniform
game of the Miami Marlins has taken off. The new color scheme of orange and
black is another personal favorite of mine. The Marlins have another great one
with their alternate uni consisting of an orange jersey, white pants and an
orange hat. Using the team’s logo ‘M’ in the chest ‘Marlins’ as well as the light blue shadowing on the letters and numbers add to this uni’s impressiveness.
This uniform plays more on the Marlins orange and blue color scheme, which is just
as delicious.
Pittsburgh Pirates (Alternate 1)
Of the black and yellow color scheme seen in all the
Pittsburgh teams, the Pirates definitely have the best display of it uni-wise.
The Pirates alternate uni that is my favorite in baseball has a black jersey,
white pants, and a black hat. This is perfect in so many ways. First off, it
uses two of the best logos in baseball. The Pirates cap logo ‘P’ is one of the
best in the league, so why not use is on the jersey too? Another great logo is
the angry
(?) pirate and crossed bats logo, which is displayed on the left sleeve of
the alternate jersey. The yellow trim on the neck and sleeves, in addition to
the number font which matches the cap logo make this an incredible uni.
As you’ve noticed by now, my three MLB selections are all
alternate jerseys. This is because Major League Baseball has made all teams’
home unis white and all road unis grey. This is terrible because of the great
colors in the league. I understand you can not always wear a color because some
teams have the same primary or secondary colors, but you don’t need your main
unis to be white and grey. And pick up your uni game American League.
NBA
Chicago Bulls (Road)
When I say Chicago Bulls, what do you think of? It’s either
Michael Jordan, or the number 23. And when I say one of those, what do you
think of? I know what it is. It’s a red Bulls jersey. This combo of a red
jersey and red shorts with white trim and black font is one of the most
recognizable uniforms in all of sports. The red and black together is a solid
combo, but so many teams (Arizona Diamondbacks, Cincinnati Reds, Portland Trailblazers)
can’t seem to get it right. The simplicity of this jersey is what it makes so
impressive. All you really have is the black font with white trim, and three
displays of the classic Bulls logo (one above the player’s name, one on each
leg of the shorts). The Bulls road unis are a great way to start of the NBA
section.
Denver Nuggets (Road)
The Denver Nuggets also have chosen another fantastic color
scheme. The powder blue and yellow scheme goes great together, and looks great on their
road unis, which consists of blue jerseys and blue shorts with yellow trim and
a white stripe on each side. As I stated, I think powder blue might be the best
uni color there is. This included with the Nuggets yellow makes their road unis
a tough combination to compete with.
Orlando Magic (Road)
The Orlando Magic have always been strong
in the uni game. This is no different when it comes to their current road
unis. This is a combination of a light blue jersey with light blue shorts, with
pinstripes (!!!!!!!!!!!) and a black stripe down the side. Say what you want
about the color scheme or how it’s nothing like the old Magic jerseys, but the
pinstripes are still on point. I am also a fan of the font for the letters and
especially the numbers. This uni is clean.
NFL
Baltimore Ravens (Alternate)
Another team that can pull off the purple and black color
scheme is the Baltimore Ravens. The uni that landed them on this list however,
is their alternate black uniform. Last worn in their week 13 matchup against
the rival Pittsburgh Steelers, the Ravens black jersey, black pants and black
helmet combo is deadly. Going all black everything usually doesn't end well, but the
purple accents on the jersey, in addition to the white numbers and white logo
on the sleeves, help the Ravens pull this one off. Baltimore also rocks a
unique number font, which adds to the smoothness of the Ravens’ uni repertoire.
Cincinnati Bengals (Home)
Perhaps the most creative unis in the league belong to the
Cincinnati Bengals. They are always styling in the ever powerful black and
orange color scheme, but the home uni is the most impressive. This consists of
a mostly black jersey with white pants and an orange helmet. The best aspect of
this uni is the black tiger stripes on the orange helmet. Not only does it look
really cool, it is also the best integration of the team’s nickname in the
league. This same stripe pattern can be seen on the shoulders and down the side
of the pants. Major creativity points to Cincinnati here. The Bengals display a unique number font as well, which is huge
across the chest and back in white and nicely accented by an orange outline on
the black jersey.
Green Bay Packers (Home)
Another very appealing color scheme can be seen in the Green
Bay Packers unis: green and yellow. The Packers rock this from top to bottom,
with a green jersey, yellow pants and a yellow helmet. The green and yellow
mixing is consistent throughout, with yellow trim on the jersey and green
piping going down the side of the pants. That classic Packers ‘G’ outlined by
green on the yellow tops off what is one of the most beautiful unis in sports.
This is a simple uniform, with no city or team name or any team logos on the
jersey. It also has a standard number font, but man this uni is sweet.
Coming up next, I will take a look at the best throwback
unis in each sport. Tell me what you thought about my list, or if I left out
any of your favorite uniforms. Let me know your favorite throwback uniforms at
me as well!
Kris Gross
@ThatGrossGuy
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