Written by: Perry Griffith IV
My appeal to uniforms has been with me for as long as I can remember, and I don’t really know why. I can remember being a kid getting a new NHL video game, and excitingly yelling down to my dad that it had new uniforms for the Phoenix Coyotes, to which he responded “Uhhh… ok.” This season for the NFL, is there much to yell down to dad about? I’ve got some thoughts on a few new sets of new uniforms.
Jacksonville Jaguars
The Jaguars have ditched the two-tone, black-and-tan helmets, and they’re bringing back the straight up black helmet with the same logo. A fine move… perhaps they’ve realized an AFC Championship caliber team shouldn’t be wearing something looking like arena league helmets. The uniform gets a makeover by going with what I like to call Penn-State-simple. They have three different jerseys and pants that they’ll mix and match: black, teal, and white. The large numbers have no bordering, but they’re unique enough to avoid looking boring. There’s barely anything else on the unis except for the Jags logo near the left shoulder and number on top of the shoulders. Considering they have a unique color scheme with the teal and black, it’s interesting to see such a simple uniform, but I think they look classy. A thumbs up from me!
Tennessee Titans
The Titans may not be able to win the AFC South on the field, but they’ll be damned if they get one-upped in the uniform department. In my opinion though, I like the Jags’ new uniforms better. For the Titans’ 20th anniversary season, they have pretty much kept the same overall style but made a lot of alterations. The biggest change is the helmet, which has been changed from white to navy blue with the same logo. I usually prefer white helmets over colored ones, so I’m not crazy about this change. Although when they wear the all-navy uniform, it’ll look quite nice.
The numbers are now pointy at some of the corners, as if they’d poke you if you fell on them. The reason, according to NFL.com is they “are shaped to mimic the Northeast corner of Tennessee as the state appears on a map.” I do also have an odd passion for geography as well, but I would not have recognized this without reading it. They still have the thick line on the shoulders that now point towards the arms, but the line is now silver. I really would prefer they kept some color on the shoulders to make them look less dull. I like the overall style, but some of their changes are keeping me from loving them.
Miami Dolphins
Miami made some small changes…. They have a new number design that’s close to the traditional block style, and their orange is a darker shade now. But what’s really still looming over Miami is the new logo still stinks compared to the original. Beyond the classic dolphin logo, they need to bring back the layered piping on the shoulders. And they do wear this traditional uniform a couple of times a year. Hopefully someday they realize that classic uni is best, as many teams eventually realize with their ugly modernized unis.