Often, a small child’s first favorite outfit is a sports uniform, and middle-aged men and women can be seen wearing team jerseys and other logo apparel at professional and college games throughout the Bay Area.
In the world of sports, uniforms can provide a rallying point for fans, especially considering the rate at which players change teams. Uniforms also help teams brand themselves, and a popular design can be a significant source of revenue for teams and leagues.
According to Paul Lukas, author of a regular uniform-related column at ESPN.com and originator of his own popular UniWatch blog (www.uniwatchblog, com), our local area is well represented through the lens of sports sartorial splendor.
“The A’s white uniform, right down to the shoes, is a classic look,” Lukas said. “The 49ers are a good looking team, especially with this year’s changes. The Raiders always look good, and the Giants are a good looking team.”
Lukas is a bit less enthusiastic about the Warriors and Sharks uniforms, though he noted that he has inside information that the Warriors look will undergo a major change before next season, and he noted in his blog that fans “will not be disappointed.”
The Sharks are one of many teams, Lukas noted, that followed the lead of the NBA’s Charlotte Hornets into some combination of teal, black and/or purple in the late 1980s and early 1990s. “Those were dark days in sports uniform design.”
The more recent trend that Lukas has noticed is towards red alternate jerseys. The Atlanta Hawks and the New Jersey Nets are either introducing or expanding the use of red alternate uniforms this season, following a path blazed by the Braves, Red Sox, Angels and New York Giants. “This look has had surprising staying power,” said Lukas, noting that red can be harsh.
“It’s really a matter of keeping the wheel turning,” he said. “Designers are paid a lot of money to keep a fresh look and understand what fans might buy.” Lukas thinks the biggest change in coming years could be a total rethinking of the football uniform. “The traditional football uniform has been a shirt, knickers and socks,” Lukas said. “The shirt is no longer a shirt because it doesn’t have sleeves, the knickers have become biker shorts cut above the knee, and the socks have become tights or leggings. Players are obsessed with speed, with tight jerseys leaving nothing to grab, and minimized padding. The old look has become obsolete.” Lukas foresees the day where the NFL will switch to something akin to a unitard, and that colleges and high schools will follow suit.
The trend Lukas finds most bothersome is that of advertising on uniforms. The NFL and NBA have ad patches on their practice jerseys, and several WNBA teams put corporate names where team names are traditionally placed on the front of jerseys, much like what is done in soccer. “I am unalterably opposed to advertising on uniforms. The only logo on a sports uniform should be a team logo,” he said. Lukas would also do away with manufacturer trademarks on uniforms.
Lukas added that blatant advertising on jerseys will gain a foothold if good men say nothing. “Teams are more than just businesses,” he said. “They are civic entities often playing in facilities built with public money. People rally around them. Wearing a city’s name on a jersey is a privilege, not a right.”
Make no mistake, according to Lukas; the day when the McDonalds logo replaces the Cubs (or other team’s) logo on the front of the uniform is on the horizon unless fans and media make it clear it is not what they want. “This is absolutely a threat,” he said. “The teams can’t wait to do it. They are only worried about media and fan backlash.”
A perhaps underrated element of uniforms is safety. This past season, some major leaguers experimented with the Rawlings S-100 batting helmet, designed to withstand impacts of up to 100 miles per hour. The helmet gained notoriety last season when the Mets’ David Wright gave it a try after returning from a concussion courtesy of a beaning by the Giants’ Matt Cain.
A few other players also gave the helmet a whirl. Unfortunately, observers noted that the helmet made players look like the alien Kazoo from The Flintstones, which led to ridicule. They were also said to be a bit heavy on the head. A streamlined version will be mandatory in the minor leagues next season, and Lukas thinks it is likely that it could take hold in the majors within the next decade.
After years of studying athletics aesthetics, Lukas says he longs for the return of natural fabrics, stirrup baseball stockings, stripes on socks pulled up to at least the calf, less baggy trousers, shorter basketball shorts, and straight hems on hockey jerseys. His blog and his column could have a long life waiting for those wishes to come true.
OFF THE BENCH
PAUL HIRSCH