Some of my favorite things about sports are the uniforms.
A strong visual identity can really help a team’s personality stick out, and stick with us. For example: When I think of old-school, smash-mouth football, the first teams that come to mind are those old Oakland Raiders squads. The guys are just as bloody, dirty and taped up as anyone else, but something about those black and silver duds just screams intensity. It’s Phil Villapiano lighting up a running back at the line of scrimmage, or Jack “The Assassin” Tatum lying in wait for an unsuspecting receiver to catch a ball up the middle.
For the record, I’m 22 years old. I just watch a lot of old game film on YouTube.
My biggest bone to pick with uniforms has nothing to do with complete overhauls or other major changes. Rather, it’s the way in which our favorite teams pay tribute to a cause, person or group.
Everyone has his or her own way of giving a shout-out, and I can respect that. It’s great we all want to raise awareness for someone or something, but there are just some situations in which leagues and teams go overboard.
Because it’s that time of the year, a good starting point would be the Wounded Warrior Project unis that we’ve been seeing on Saturdays. I can’t get behind the way in which some universities are using the flag.
And, neither can some of the troops that these schools are attempting to honor. You may have seen or heard about the “bloody flag” unis that Northwestern football recently wore, which have caused a big stir. Some people think the look is great. Others say it’s disrespectful. I’m siding with the latter group, because, as SB Nation’s Matt Ufford pointed out in a recent article, it directly violates the U.S. Code for representing the flag. Title 4 Chapter 8 Section (j) specifically states, “No part of the flag should ever be used as a costume or athletic uniform.”
How do you honor your country and its troops by breaking the rules it created for flag etiquette? I know the intentions were good, but the execution is not.
Even more widespread than the code-breaking unis is Pink-tober. I support the cause, but I think it’s time to tone down the amount of pink we’re seeing. We shouldn’t get rid of it altogether — it is supporting a good cause — but you can’t even close your eyes anymore without seeing the color. It’s even creating confusion on the field, as NFL referees have recently found out with their pink penalty flags.
So, kudos to Chicago Bears wideout Brandon Marshall for doing something about the pink overload in October. Marshall wore green shoes during a game to promote mental health awareness, a cause he actively supports, and was fined $10,500 for not wearing pink. He didn’t even bat an eye.
“Football is my platform, not my purpose,” he said afterward.
Fining a guy for not complying with regular uniform standards is fine, but fining him because his cause isn’t the league’s cause is ridiculous.
But, the shoes and the fine certainly raised the awareness he was after. His pair of green cleats sparked many debates and got people tuned in to the mental health awareness conversation. The little things like that, which do not overwhelm our eyes and cause blindness, make for the best tributes.
Perhaps limiting the pink to a noticeable decal on the back of every helmet would be the best way for players to honor a league’s cause without feeling like it’s being shoved down their throats.
At the same time, I believe teams shouldn’t have to be confined to whatever a league’s governing body wants them to do. Tributes mean a lot more when they’re team-specific, or even player-specific, as with Marshall. All of the players on the 2011-12 New England Patriots knew Myra Kraft — the “M.H.K.” patch was added to their jerseys for that season, and they all wanted to honor the woman they knew. If the Pats can wear those patches all season to support their own personal cause, why can’t Marshall wear green shoes for one game and not be out $10,500 the next morning?
Thankfully, there are instances where teams and players have free reign. In Plant City, an example comes from the Strawberry Crest girls basketball team. I love what they are doing this season to support teammate Aliyah Gregory and her cause: purple socks, shoes and bracelets to raise awareness about domestic violence.
Gregory dedicated her senior season to her late aunt and started her own campaign to raise money and awareness for the cause. It’s not a big, gaudy exploitation of the color and the cause, as with some visual campaigns, but it’s easily noticeable from anywhere in the gymnasium and doesn’t distract anyone from the game. People will talk about it, and anyone at the home games will be able to get more information from her mother.
It’s time for more teams and leagues to take a leaf out of Gregory’s book and make the game the biggest part of the visual identity. After all, the best way to honor someone or something is more about playing well than looking flashy.