College Football Uniforms, Part 1: The Best Uniforms in the Game

Last night, #3 Boise State and #13 Virginia Tech (based on today's AP Poll) played a great game. There were big plays, lead changes, and anyone who tuned in last night got a match-up that lived up to the hype.

Something else fans saw were new uniforms by both teams.

Boise State's uniforms didn't really do anything for me, but I didn't have any particular issue with them.






Not the case with Tech's uniforms. I saw them, and immediately thought 'wtf?!?!' I made a joke on my facebook page the other day stating that they looked like they were designed by M. Night Shyamalan. Look, I realize with fashion and :::achem:::"artistic expression," it's a matter of opinion when it comes to whether they are good-looking or ugly. But these uniforms just looked so strange to me.

It made me think, and then I asked myself 'what are the ugliest uniforms in college football?'

To answer that question, a benchmark needs to be set. What makes a good-looking college football uniform?

The best uniforms represent what college football is all about - tradition and modesty. Good uniforms make you feel like you're looking at a photo album from decades past. They should remain relatively true to what previous teams from that school wore. They shouldn't be flashy. No cartoonish fonts for the numbers. No elaborate graphics. No flashy color schemes. Let the NFL teams use all of that to sell their products. The uniform should give off a vibe that these young guys love football, and are about what's good for the team. They don't need flash and glitz. They don't need to be noticed. They just want to play, share in whatever success they achieve, and respect and honor the traditions of the team.

Here are 5 schools that, according to what I described above, have the best uniforms. You'll find that all of them are based around a simple design of jersey color, normal font for the numbers, and a constant logo on the helmet:

Honorable Mention: Division III schools - Almost every small school college football game I've seen, the uniforms are classy. Block letter on the Helmet, maybe the mascot. Simple design. Understated. Here is where you'll find some of the best looks.

5) BYU Cougars - While they are a rip-off of the Yale jerseys, they still look good. The classic Oval logo with the 'Y' in the middle is displayed on the helmet. The rest is simple and dignified.

Here's why these jersey's are special: When the school changed them, it just didn't look right. Back in the early part of the Aughts, the team wore uniforms that looked more flashy and "with it" (whatever that means). The fans never liked them, favoring the traditional style the team wears today. Coincidentally (or not), the experimentation happened when the program hit a rough patch. Once they went back to the old unis, the bowl games returned.

4) Michigan Wolverines- Gold Pants. Wings on the helmet. 878 wins, good for the most in Division 1 FBS.

3) Nebraska Cornhuskers - The simple 'N' on the helmet to go along with the jerseys. Awesome.





2) Penn State Nittany Lions - If you want tradition, here it is. They wear plain helmets with just a single blue stripe going down the middle. Jerseys are a solid navy blue or white, depending on whether they are home or away. What sets these apart is the fact that the players' names aren't on the backs of the jerzeys. It symbolizes modesty. No one is above the team.

1) Notre Dame Fighting Irish - Whether you like them or not, Notre Dame's uniforms make the team look like kings. The gold helmet, the simple, navy blue jersey, and the gold pants make the team look like champs even when they have a losing season. Different from other teams on this list, Notre Dame has an alternate home green jersey that is reserved for special games. As a symbol of unity and modesty, there are no names on the backs of the jerseys. A nice get-up.


So there. Here is what college football teams should look like. My next post will concentrate on the ugly uniforms.

What should we take away from Week 1 of the College Football Season?

Week 1 of the College Football season is almost in the books. The two remaining games are The Crab Bowl Classic (Maryland v. Navy in Baltimore) and The Clash in the Capital (#3 Boise State v. #10 Virginia Tech at Fedex Field in Landover, MD). One is a rivalry game and one pits two ranked programs against each other who have "national championship" aspirations. Save for those two games, we now have something to go by when talking about teams in the context of the 2010 season.

With Week 1 almost in the can, what can we take away?

That's a tough one. Usually, this is the week when teams play the paycheck/tune-up games (whatever your nickname is for them). This year was no different, as there were enough of these games to shake a stick at over the weekend. These games usually don't tell much since the match-ups are usually uneven.

All the same, there was an abundance of interesting things that took place.

Florida struggled against Miami (OH) - In what was supposed to be John Brantley's coronation as the new King of the Swamp, Florida looked awful. They ended up beating the Redhawks 34-12, but the score doesn't tell the story. Going into the 4th quarter, the Florida offense had a total of 26 yards. That's not a typo. There were fumbled snaps. They were 3-12 on third down. Anyone who saw the game also took notice that Miami (OH) (a non-BCS team that plays in MAC) showed up to play, physically going tit for tat with the Gators. For a paycheck game, the Gators got a run for their money (cue the rim shot). Florida has work to do if they're going to be competitive against the SEC teams.

Michigan looked sharp - I know. They won big last year, too, and still had a lousy season. But this is different. This weekend, they played UConn, a BCS team who has an honest shot to win the Big East. They pushed around the Huskies and started to show the makings of an efficient offensive football team. Denard Robinson looked like Pat White, running the offense like an expert. Michigan showed some legit promise of a strong season.

Syracuse looked like a football team - If Encyclopedia Britannica had an entry on Bad Football, there'd be footage of the Greg Robinson Era streaming from the book. On Saturday, the opening game of Season 2 of the Doug Marrone Era, Syracuse beat the Akron Zips 29-3. The Orange displayed efficient offense, swarming defense, and looked like a tougher, more physical team. The Akron Zips are not exactly the Alabama Crimson Tide, but this was a win on the road, something the program has had difficulty with in recent years. The road to respectability is paved with victories over the teams you're supposed to beat, and this was a promising sign.

Nobody cares about USC - They played Hawaii late Friday night. There was no headline about their underwhelming 49-36 win over an average-at-best Hawaii team. None of the big network analysts talked at length about their game. To editorialize a bit, I say 'good.' They aren't eligible for a bowl game. They aren't eligible to play for the "National Championship" even if they do finish undefeated. They have little bearing on how the year will end, other than to play the role of the spoiler. Why they are ranked confuses me.

Texas Tech won without Mike Leach - Tommy Tuberville walked into a tougher situation than one may think. He took over at a winning program, making it somewhat hard to get players who already know how to win to buy into his new system. According to ESPN's Holly Rowe, there was a considerable amount of backlash from the parents of the players due to Leach's actions against redshirt Sophomore Adam James. If that wasn't enough, the fan base liked Leach, and were upset over his ouster. But, the Red Raiders went out today and beat a talented and feisty SMU team. The game didn't show any evidence of insubordination or defiance on the sideline. From the looks of this win, the team seems to be on solid ground from a standpoint of organization and structure. As far as the fans go, wins will ultimately decide whether they will embrace Tuberville, so today's victory is a step in the right direction.



We'll see what Week 2 brings.

Big Ten Football Rivalries, BYU going Stag, New Music for the Fall, and a 'Bon Voyage' to Jake "The Snake" Roberts

Sorry for the long gaps between posts. The creative process is a tricky thing.

I have some thoughts on some random things:

-There's been some concern recently with the new Big Ten expansion. The issue that conference officials are dealing with right now is upholding football rivalries. The fear is that when the conference divides into two divisions, the importance and integrity of rivalries will go by the wayside.

To me, you can't have your cake and eat it, too. If the conference wants to have a title game, there needs to be some flexibility. For example, when the Big 8 expanded to become the Big XII, The Nebraska-Oklahoma Rivalry, once a heated and storied one, was modified due to both schools being put in different divisions. Instead of playing yearly, the game was played every other year. I think the Big Ten should look at this circumstance as model to establish some sort of compromise. The conference has 14 rivalry games. While I think there is a unanimous sentiment that Michigan-Ohio State should be kept in tact, conference officials shouldn't treat this like rocket science. It would be impossible to play each game every year when the conference gets split.



-BYU is considering leaving the Mountain West Conference to join the Western Athletic Conference as an associate member. The school would be a member in all sports but football, with the goal of being an independent in that sport. Essentially, BYU would try to be the Notre Dame of the west, hoping to eventually get easier access to the BCS.

I think this idea is hair-brained. Look, BYU is a solid program. They play quality BCS teams, they are good for a bowl game each year, and they may be one of the only non-AQ schools that gets top-flight talent. Additionally, BYU has great tradition, with a national championship, a Heisman Trophy winner, and great rivalries. They are also on their own network, too (BYUtv). According to Trevor Matich of ESPN, BYUtv is in 50 million homes, and is now available in HD.

There is only one Notre Dame. Notre Dame is to college football what The New York Yankees are to baseball. They may be down, but the program represents everything important about college football. Plus, Notre Dame is a much bigger cash cow. Their fan base is enormous and travels well for bowl games and neutral-site games. They have a TV contract with NBC, a national network. While I'm not a fan of Notre Dame, facts are facts. Notre Dame is a draw.

With the BCS, BYU shouldn't hold their breath. Notre Dame needs to be ranked in the top 8 to be considered for a BCS bid. The other independents, Army and Navy, need to finish in the top 2 to be considered for a BCS bid. For a school in a non-BCS conference to get a bid, they need to either finish in the top 12, or finish in the top 16 and ahead of a BCS conference champion. If this is about the BCS, they would have been better off staying in the MWC.


-The Fall Season seems to be bringing some good new music from some metal bands.

Zakk Wylde amicably parted ways with Ozzy, and his band, Black Label Society, released, in my opinion, one of their best records, "Order of the Black." The album showcases great riffs, great solos and Wylde's songwriting talent (a big reason why he had a job working for Ozzy for over 2o years). There are one too many ballads, and they hurt the flow of the record a little, but as a whole, good work here.

The Sword put out "Warp Riders,"a concept album about a tidal-locked planet in which one side has constant darkness and the other has constant sunlight. This record is a little different from their first two. The band seemed to take a chance and expand their sound a little, giving some of the songs more of a hard rock/groove feel, a little less darkness. The record is very atmospheric. Overall, I enjoyed it a lot. In general, fans get upset if a band tinkers with their sound at all, but the band did it well here by keeping everything good (The Sabbath-y riffs, the retro sound) and adding some new things that give their sound a newer, fresher color.

If this was 10 years ago, and Iron Maiden put out a record, you could bet money I'd have it the same day it was released. Times have changed. In the past decade, the band has changed their sound and style quite a bit, going in a more progressive direction. Their latest album "The Final Frontier," is more of that. I did not buy the album, but, with an open mind, I did hear all the songs online. I'll give credit where it's due; the record is more in line with "Brave New World" than it is with their last two records. The album has some solid moments. Overall, this record was so laborious to get through. While Iron Maiden records have always been complex and intricate, the songs were still fun to listen to. Almost all the songs were pretty long, a sign of production issues. Maybe I'll buy it, but it's not a priority. It's sad to say that about a Maiden record.

-PWinsider.com reported this week that Jake "The Snake" Roberts has retired from the wrestling business after 35 years. The video can be seen here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ye3ImhrcaY0&feature=player_embedded

In the video, Roberts (whose real name is Aurelean Smith), after a match in Watertown, NY, thanked the fans, talked about his father's recent death, and then cited health as reasons for hanging it up.

Roberts is probably best known for his two stints in WWE (1986-1992,1996-97), when he wrestled some of the biggest names in the business. Never known to have a great body or great athleticism, Roberts had a high aptitude for the performance part of the show, giving eerie promos and excelling in ring psychology.

After he fell out of the spotlight, Roberts fell on hard times, which was documented in the film Beyond the Mat. Throughout his career, he has battled alcohol, drug, and sexual addictions. He has spent the latter part of his career kicking around the independent circuit.

My hope is that Roberts is considered for the WWE Hall of Fame. I would consider him to be one of the best wrestlers ever in the business, and if Pete Rose and "Sensational" Sherri can be inducted into the Hall, surely they need to include Roberts.

Bon Voyage, Jake.

The Time Has Come For Me To Eat a Little Crow

This past Sunday, TNA put on their ECW tribute pay-per-view, Hardcore Justice. The card was a who's who of old-time ECW personalites. There were appearances from The Sandman, Raven, Tommy Dreamer, Sabu, Bill Alfonso, Justin Credible, Balls Mahoney, Axl Rotten, and The Dudleys, to name a few. The show itself received mixed reviews.

A while back, I blogged about how doing this show was not a good idea for a variety of reasons. While I haven't wavered from that stance, as the title of this post indicates, I do need to eat a little bit of crow. According to The Wrestling Observer Newsletter (http://www.fromheadlockstoheadlines.com/2010/08/report-early-buy-rate-number-for-tna.html), early projections indicate that Hardcore Justice had a buyrate in the neighborhood of 20,000 buys. To give a little perspective, TNA's May and June pay-per-views, Sacrifice and Slammiversary, respectively, did about 8,000 buys a piece. While none of these numbers are great (WCW did about 40,000 buys when the end was near), this goes to show that TNA put on a show that wrestling fans wanted to see. While I'm sure some, if not most, of the TNA wrestlers under contract were not happy about giving up a PPV bonus to a bunch of hired guns, the show brought the company some much-needed business.

Pass the salt.

5 Predictions for the 2010 NFL Season

I'm Back. Things were quiet for awhile. But, with football on the horizon, and because I'm getting frickin' pumped, the inspirado is back.

Here some predictions I have for the season:

1. The Bills will stink - I'm not just writing this because I'm a Jet fan. Look at the facts. After they couldn't give the job away, they made Chan Gailey the head coach. Chan Gailey. While there are quarterbacks with starting experience, the position is shaky. Trent Edwards has the swagger of a junior high school girl who has just been cut from the volleyball team. Running Back Marshawn Lynch has had some meshugas, and the team even attempted to trade him. The team is better than you think on defense, but I don't think that will be enough to overcome the issues on offense, and I predict a rough season for Rotten Ralph and the Orchard Park Punching Bags.

2. The Jets will be good, but not great - There's something to be said for team chemistry. Last year's fantastic playoff run was a product of all the new team elements coming together at the right time. This year, the Jets have talent, but also a lot of new faces. If the 1996 and 2008 Jets seasons taught us anything, it's that no team is ever just one or two players away from a Super Bowl. I predict 9-7 with a playoff run.

3. The Raiders will improve a lot - They got rid of Jamarcus Russell. They got Jason Campbell from Redskins, and if he doesn't pan out, Bruce Gradkowski, who has provided a spark to the offense when he's been in, is still on the roster. Not only are they better at QB, but the team has drafted decently, stocking the roster with talented young players. While I don't know what their final record will be, I think the Raiders will surprise some people.

4. The Rams will eventually start Sam Bradford - This team still has a little way to go before they're competitive again. While I'm sure A.J. Feeley, a career backup, will start the season putting his hands near the center's crotch in game 1 against Arizona, I don't see him keeping the spot all season. If and when the Rams' season turns into garbage time, I think the coaches will put Bradford in to get him some experience.

5. The Colts will make the playoffs - As long as Peyton Manning is suiting up for Indy, this will keep happening. He makes that team go, and he'll do it again this season.




We'll see if I'm right.

TNA Wrestling Will Put On an ECW-themed PPV

After reading about it on dirt sheets for weeks, it was confirmed on last night's TNA broadcast that the company will be putting on an ECW-themed pay-per-view with past stars from the company appearing in matches. This will occur at TNA's next PPV, Hardcore Justice: The Last Stand. The blueprint for the event is similar to the one WWE had when they put on One Night Stand back in 2005. Tommy Dreamer, Mick Foley, Stevie Richards, Raven, and Rhyno each appeared last night to make the announcement, so it looks like they are confirmed for the show right now.

So many mixed feelings.

Growing up, I was a big fan of Extreme Championship Wrestling. I, like millions of other wrestling fans, was drawn to the edgy nature of the product. There was violence you didn't see in WWE and WCW, the other two companies around at the time. There were Jerry Springer storylines. The roster was full of wrestlers who gave the fans everything they had night in an night out, whether it was a pay-per-view or a random show at Freeport High School, or some other non-glamorous venue. Wrestling shows are scripted, but when you watched an ECW event, you thought twice about that, if just for a brief moment. In plain English, ECW gave you a show.

While the memories of that time are fond ones, I think doing a show like this is a terrible idea.

Number one, it's been done already. WWE not only put together an ECW reunion show, they brought back the entire promotion and made it part of the company's brand extension in which a certain portion of the roster wrestled exclusively on that show, similar to Raw and Smackdown. The results were poor, with WWE making their version of ECW a glorified B-show. As far as what TNA is planning, I don't understand how it will be any different. What are they going to do that hasn't already been done? It's an unoriginal idea that I feel will yield little results creatively.

Speaking of the creative side of things, TNA already has a show it puts on. The writers and bookers have spent months developing storylines. In fact, Impact has become an entertaining wrestling show as of late . Breaking away from that to do this show kills any momentum the company has been building.

Finally, ECW is the past. Once upon a time, the ECW wrestlers were the fresh new faces of this business, and fans liked them for it. Fans were just as interested in tracking their climb up the ladder as they were in seeing them work shows. Hulk Hogan, Ric Flair, and the like were the evil old-timers who drew heat from the fans because they were clinging to the past, refusing to give up their spots to the younger talent. The ECW guys have now become what Hogan and Flair were years ago. They are the old-timers now, selfishly holding onto the past glory from ECW's heyday. This is what I really find upsetting. It's their blindness. There is a new group of talent wearing the shoes that the ECW guys filled years ago. If those old guys really love the wrestling business like they always talk about, they should let go of the past and allow the young talent to grow.

For what it's worth, during the segment on Impact last night, the fans went nuts when they saw these five guys. Their segment drew a phenomenal pop from the crowd. Additionally, the crowd hung on Dreamer's every word when he gave his shoot promo on how he was upset with WWE's version of the the product and wanted closure in terms of ECW being defunct. It's possible I have no idea what I'm talking about, and fans still want to see this kind of show.

We'll see what happens.

A Tale of Two Wrestling Shows

Right now, I'm going to describe two wrestling shows. Both are WWE shows, but have different talent rosters. Each show is about two hours long.

The first show is an exciting one, and a fantastic wrestling show. It has the best young talent in the company featured each week in well-booked, entertaining matches. It has the best veterans who can still work the crowd and put on great matches. The storylines are interesting, drawing the fans into the show.

The second show has more of second-tier, B-show feel. Each week, wrestlers who might be a big deal someday are featured in matches that are supposed to get their feet wet when it comes to being in front of a TV audience. The veterans can still work decent matches, but are clearly washed up, and are only there to put over the young talent. The show is a little predictable, and has a ton of filler.

Most people would probably think the first show I described is Monday Night Raw. Aired live every week, it's in a killer time slot, and has traditionally been the flag-bearing broadcast of the WWE. It's natural to think this would be the more exciting show.

On the flip side, most people would probably think the other show I described is Smackdown. This show is taped, then aired later in the week. Additionally, it is in a horrible time slot, Friday night. If the younger talent is still trying to get used to the bright lights of TV, put them on when not as many people are watching, right?

Surprise! the first show is the blue brand, Smackdown. With arguably the best talent in the company, this show is very fulfilling, leaving you entertained and wanting to know what next week's show will offer.

Believe it or not, Monday Night Raw, at least these days, has become a glorified B-show.

Here's what I'm talking about. Recently, WWE aired an episode of Raw in which there wasn't one single match for the first hour of the show. The matches that did take place were squash material. The storylines were both boring and predictable. If that wasn't bad enough, they had a guest host (Rob Zombie), probably a last-ditch effort to boost ratings. It had to be the worst wrestling show I had ever seen, and that's taking into account that I once saw David Arquette win the WCW Heavyweight Championship.

This begs the question, 'what the hell has happened to Monday Night Raw?' Years ago, this was the best wrestling show on TV. It had some of the most memorable storylines (see 'Austin v. McMahon), there were crazy matches that left the audience agape, and when the show was over, the audience wanted more. That's all a memory.


If WWE wants to have the same kind of success it had back in the 90's, the ship needs to be righted, and Raw needs to return to form.