SPORTS  |  LIFESTYLE  |  ATTITUDE  |  AUTHENTIC
YDKJ
  • HOME
  • About
  • Contact
  • Photos

First Word  |  Fashion Sense?

8/15/2015

0 Comments

 
Is it over?

Has that retina-burning, eye-hurting display of rebranding disaster finally exited the TV screen, if not the playing field at FirstEnergy Stadium in Cleveland, Ohio?

Wow. As fashion debuts go, that was hard to watch. Maybe Johnny Manziel and Co. did a few good things Thursday night in an NFL preseason opener against Washington, but nothing was going to look with what the Cleveland Browns were wearing to those whose views stretch beyond the boxscore and the bottom line.

Granted, wins and losses always will be the ultimate measuring stick of success, but it never hurts to have a little style, some flair, just any semblance of half-decent swag in pursuit of that success. The Browns’ foreseeable future will have none of that.

In tinkering with one of the most traditional brands and uniforms in all of sports, the franchise was taking a chance, and that on its own deserves an array of verbiage that ranges anywhere from “takes some balls” to “what in the effin hell were they thinking?”

Indeed, who knows what mindset fueled this ...

Sorry, but you don’t need a degree from some fancy schmancy design institute to recognize bad, or “swing and a miss.” Just being new or edgy, for me, certainly doesn’t qualify as quality – despite what a nation of Nike University proponents believe every time their beloved Oregon Ducks unveil their latest and greatest getup ever … before the following week.

Hey, Nike gets it good sometimes. It’s rebranding of Florida State following the Seminoles’ national title-winning season was brilliant. It took a very good look, streamlined it, tweaked it and produced arguably the sharpest uniform in all of college football.

That same year, 2014, Nike did OK by Illinois and Miami, but completely bombed with Syracuse. The Orange, in fact, weren’t equipped with orange jerseys until this year. Frankly, Illinois wasn’t given its primary blue jersey, either, until this year. Miami? The ’Canes cut ties with Nike this year and joined forces with Adidas. The NFL certainly is comfy with Nike, though, saying goodbye to Reebok in order to make The Swoosh its lone on-field outfitter.

For me, Under Armour trumps them all. With Maryland serving as its poster-child test-tube outfit much like Oregon does for Nike, UA comes up with some crazy stuff, too. But, somehow, it usually works, or works better, in my eyes. Its most recent showpiece, a Shamrock Series uniform for Notre Dame to wear when it faces Boston College in Fenway Park this fall, has been panned by few and raved about by many. I tend to agree with the latter, although I’m not sure about BC’s UA-authored attire for the same event.

I also think UA has the FBS level’s best-dressed … with, of all teams, the one fielded by my alma mater, Temple University. The Owls have great colors to work with in cherry and white, with black also factoring despite not being “official” to the school. They have multiple combos to wear, and multiple helmets as well – just not to the extreme of, say, fellow UA member Maryland or Oregon, or even Rutgers, another Nike school.

Now, if Temple’s performance actually caught up to its look, especially if the Owls would drop the diamond-T helmet, both the school and its outfitter could be sitting very pretty.

- Jack Kerwin
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Categories

    NFL
    MLB
    NBA
    NHL
    NCAAFB
    ​NCAABB
    Eagles
    Phillies
    76ers
    Flyers
    Temple
    Villanova
    La Salle
    ​Saint Joe's
    ​Penn State

    Archives

    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    November 2021
    October 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    January 2020
    December 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    April 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015

    Best of 2018

    Picture

    Best of 2017

    Picture

    Best of 2016

    Picture

    Best of 2015

    Picture

    RSS Feed

Picture
Your source for insight ... or insanity

GET TO KNOW YDKJ

ABOUT    |    CONTACT   |    BLOG    |    PRIVACY POLICY

​© COPYRIGHT 2018   YDKJ   |   Terms & Conditions
Picture