Monday, August 6, 2018

Checking out some of 2018's college football uniforms

It goes without saying that the bar of fashion, especially in athletics, is set by youthful influence. Young people tend to set the standard of what looks cool, while making fun of your lack of youth if you disagree. Although that can be frustrating, just know that in a few years they'll be taunted for being old as if it's not natural, just like all of us are. If some good old fashioned cynicism doesn't make you feel better, we're not in the same boat.

Due to the nature of college football programs wanting  needing to appeal to young recruits, game day fashion has become a major recruiting tactic. The poster child of this movement is obviously Phil Knight, founder of Nike and Oregon alum. The wide variety and bold manner of the Ducks' uniforms have undoubtedly set a precedent for any school that does not have the selling point of historically traditional uniforms (Penn State, Notre Dame, USC, Texas, most of the SEC). So let's take a look at some of the new uniforms for the 2018 season.

After rocking Russell Athletic gear for the last few years, Georgia Tech was seriously in need of a reboot. To be honest, their entire program is in need of a reboot if they want to return to relevance. They need to really market their school to local talent, as they're in such a legitimate hotbed of high school talent. So, in an attempt to create some buzz, the Yellow Jackets switched their apparel alliance over to Adidas. Before even looking at the uniforms, I think we can all agree the change can't be as good as if they had switched over to Nike or Under Armour. But let's give them a chance:


Personally, I think the Tweet itself was much cooler than the unveiled uniforms. They're not bad looking, but just kind of plain. It seems they went for the "clean" look but forgot to make them look entirely clean. I believe a "clean" look should portray speed and overall smoothness. These numbers look a bit blocky to me.
Also, would it be too much to ask for these models to show some excitement about the uniform? Look at these two guys: completely stone-faced and not even flashing a pose or anything. Take away those scholarships, these guys can't put on a show.

I do love the white helmets, as I almost always will. But Georgia Tech could've used a little bit more blue and gold overall. Would it be too much to ask for a gold jersey in there to relive the Calvin Johnson days? 
Despite not being perfect, credit to Georgia Tech for finally ditching the Russell Athletic threads. The uniforms aren't necessarily bad, but they're not something to write home about. Yet here I am, writing about them. Any press is good press, remember that kids.

Okay, everything I just wrote about Adidas uniforms in a slightly negative light, forget about it with the ECU Pirates' new uniforms for this season: 




I once won a National Championship with ECU in dynasty mode on NCAA Football '14, so the Pirates will always hold a special place in my heart. But honestly, purple and gold, when done correctly, is one of the best looking color combinations in sports. Add pirate-inspired art to that color scheme and you've got yourself a winner. I'm a huge fan of how these turned out.

When thinking of traditional uniforms, the BIG 10 as a conference certainly comes to mind. You've got Penn State with the most plain, old school uniforms of all time. Wisconsin and Nebraska share an identical lack of flair. Although Michigan's traditional uniforms are beautiful, they still make as few changes as possible to the actual look. Iowa legitimately looks like they're still losing recruits to the military draft. But a few BIG 10 squads broke free of tradition, and the Minnesota Golden Gophers most recent upgrade is phenomenal.





The detail in these new threads is incredible. I'm really liking the switch from gold numbers to white numbers on the standard home kit. If they were just plain white numbers and collar, it'd still look good. But the design within the numbers and collar makes it simply awesome. I can't say I absolutely love the charcoal variance of the Gophers' uniform, but that's simply because we've been seeing the charcoal trend too often now in my opinion. The gopher tail on the helmet is a fantastic touch, as well as the "ROW" on the front helmet bumper. I didn't know a uniform revamp was so necessary for Minnesota until I laid my eyes on these beauties.

We also get to see some new members of the Jordan family in college football this year as the Florida Gators and Oklahoma Sooners will both be sporting the Jumpman in 2018. They will be joining Michigan and North Carolina as the only Jordan-branded college football teams. And while we're on the topic of the Tarheels, it's being reported that 13 UNC football players will be suspended for the first game against ECU for selling their team-issued Jordan 3s.

Now, Florida and Oklahoma saw barely any changes to their uniform other than the Jordan logo:




The Jordan logo on the jersey is worth more in the recruiting game than revamped uniforms, so good on the Gators and Sooners to maintain their traditional looks while giving them a modernized, trendy twist.

That's all for now, but as some more uniforms pop up before and throughout the season I'll be sure to give my thoughts.
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