Illinois Football Uniforms

#101      
Also this year I'd like to see us go orange helmet, blue jersey, white pants. Think that could be our best look because it is most like the Butkus era unis.
 
#102      
Sorry I couldn't figure out how to make the image smaller. In my opinion, these are the best jerseys we have worn in a while. Did they have issues? Yes. The collar was too big, and it's annoying how the stripe on the orange pants didn't match the stripe on the orange helmet but they were close to perfect. You can instantly recognize who is playing, and they use the contrast between orange blue and white so well. I think our current set doesn't do both those things. Just had to vent a little haha.
View attachment 4656 Edit: Well I did figure it out

Amen! To each his own, but I’m not sure how these are worse than our current set ... they’re just classier.
 
#105      

mattcoldagelli

The Transfer Portal
White pants are awful.

As with all things related to athletics aesthetics, this is a sweeping - and wrong - generalization. White pants look great in some instances:
aub-06-12-bluewhite-danielshirey-vert-620x930.jpg


And bad in others:

0026%20FIU%20vs%20UCF%20Orlando%20ADD
 
#106      
I have come to believe we really should have "simpler" uniforms to fit the brand we want, but for some reason I just don't like these. There is like nothing going on. I actually kind of liked the ones we had before this, TBH. It shouldn't be that hard to screw it up, haha. What I think is more important is how we USE the jerseys we have (once they have been designed to at least be competent). I think the random mixing and matching is awful. I put forth a suggestion template kind of like this in the past, using next year's games:

vs. Akron - Orange/Blue/Orange (default home)
at UConn - Orange/White/Orange (default road)
vs. Eastern Michigan - Orange/Blue/Orange (default home)
vs. Nebraska - Orange/Blue/Orange (default home)
at Minnesota - Orange/White/Orange (default road)
vs. Michigan - All Blue/all Orange/whatever ... use a random big game as your gimmick game
vs. Wisconsin - Gray Ghost uniforms for Homecoming IF you're going to keep them ... I kind of like the idea, and my friends think it's really cool, but I see the argument that we should be wearing O/B/O on Homecoming, too...
at Purdue - Orange/White/Orange (default road)
vs. Rutgers - Orange/Blue/Orange (default home)
at Michigan State - Orange/White/Orange (default road)
at Iowa - Orange/White/Orange (default road)
vs. Northwestern - Blue/Blue/White or Blue/Orange/White and Blue/White/Blue on the road ... LOOK. LIKE. THE. BEARS. Never let those nerds forget our connection to the Bears and Chicago and just how many more alumni and fans we have in the area than they do, even when we've absolutely sucked for years.

Basic formula? Wear your regular jerseys except for special occasions. If we are to keep the Gray Ghost uniforms, wear them on homecoming. Pick one random "big game" (preferably a night game vs. a name opponent) to wear all Orange or all Blue. Against Northwestern, pick a Bears-style lineup. As much as I used to defend the all white look (it honestly does look pretty sharp), it just doesn't look like US. I have come around to believe that I would rather be less stylish but more definitive; someone shouldn't wonder who's playing without looking at the scoreline, they should think "oh, that's Illinois."
I like it.
 
#109      

mattcoldagelli

The Transfer Portal
I think contrast and consistency are the key to a good football look. Sticking with Auburn and UCF above, a dark jersey is always going to look better with white pants. The reverse is obviously also true - look at how much better this UCF combo looks:

ucf-football-vs-uconn.jpg


When I say "consistency" I mean things like striping - look at the stripes on the Auburn uniform above. Now, they can't be the exact same because they're appearing on different base colors, but the orange is always the most prominent and in the center, whether it is on the helmet, the sleeves, or the pants. UCF, on the other hand, has some sort of abbreviated black/vanishing gold stripe that is not replicated anywhere else on that uniform.

The annoying thing is, we had this right and got away from it. The eternal bummer of the Slant Illinois Era is that a bad helmet logo undid an otherwise really solid, classic look:
nov-2001-quarterback-kurt-kittner-of-the-illinois-fighting-illini-picture-id605022
 
#110      

Deleted member 29907

D
Guest
#111      

BZuppke

Plainfield
Well I like the variation from time to time. The traditional orange/blue/orange is what many of us are used to but I like the gray ghost for homecoming. I also like varying things by wearing white pants, orange jerseys different helmets etc in different combos at home and away. The only two uniforms I absolutely hate are the all orange or all blue. These are my tastes but many here love the all orange and/or all blue. Some don’t like the gray ghost.
 
#113      

mattcoldagelli

The Transfer Portal
Have to think that is only because of the tradition associated with the uni.

To a certain extent, but there are also some pretty basic tenets that reliably work for a football uniform. For example, here are two teams that lost a lot in their old uniforms, and have won a ton in their new ones, but I'm willing to bet most of their fans (and most on here) would, in a vacuum, prefer the old style.

old-school-denver-broncos-uniforms_1124923.jpg

image
 
#114      
To a certain extent, but there are also some pretty basic tenets that reliably work for a football uniform. For example, here are two teams that lost a lot in their old uniforms, and have won a ton in their new ones, but I'm willing to bet most of their fans (and most on here) would, in a vacuum, prefer the old style.

old-school-denver-broncos-uniforms_1124923.jpg

image

The new ones above are bad, but the old ones are comical. Denver's looks like a toy helmet logo thought up by Hasbro, and we all know about those epic pickeup games at Valley Forge.
 
#115      

mattcoldagelli

The Transfer Portal
The new ones above are bad, but the old ones are comical. Denver's looks like a toy helmet logo thought up by Hasbro, and we all know about those epic pickeup games at Valley Forge.

You're falling into the "Slant Illinois Fallacy" - a football uniform is much more than the helmet.* Look at everything else and notice the way the colors themselves do the work - you don't need jersey piping, the unnecessary scourge of modern uniform design, or gimmicky disappearing stripes (on the helmet or anywhere else).


*I personally really enjoy the old Denver D and Pat Patriot. They're helpful reminders that helmet logos don't need to have weird forward motion incorporated and that they could even be *gasp* hand-drawn (or at least look like they could be).
 
#116      

ChiefGritty

Chicago, IL
a dark jersey is always going to look better with white pants. The reverse is obviously also true - look at how much better this UCF combo looks

Totally agree. The obsession with the stormtrooper look is incredibly bizarre. I get that it like correlates with teen slang for these sorts of things, fresh, icy, whatever, but it looks awful in football uniform format.

To a certain extent, but there are also some pretty basic tenets that reliably work for a football uniform. For example, here are two teams that lost a lot in their old uniforms, and have won a ton in their new ones, but I'm willing to bet most of their fans (and most on here) would, in a vacuum, prefer the old style.

old-school-denver-broncos-uniforms_1124923.jpg

image

I passionately agree with respect to the Patriots, and disagree almost as vehemently on the Broncos. The 80's Pats and late 90's Broncos are timeless, iconic looks of those respective eras.
 
#117      

mattcoldagelli

The Transfer Portal
late 90's Broncos are timeless, iconic looks of those respective eras.

I'll say this about the late '90s Broncos unis - they are the Patient Zero of the modern football uniform. Obnoxious piping? Check. Boldly distinctive number font? Check. "Motion" logo? Check. Other teams tinkered with this stuff around the same time (I want to say the "Flying Elvis" Pats logo arrived in '95 or '96 - at one time it hideously arched over the shoulder pads as well), but this was generally seen as the first success (winning back to back SBs helps).

The Buccaneers also drastically overhauled their look that year, and these look old school in comparison:
images

(pouring one out for this look btw; can't believe what the Bucs have done since, it is funhouse mirror-level atrocious)
 
#118      
You're falling into the "Slant Illinois Fallacy" - a football uniform is much more than the helmet.* Look at everything else and notice the way the colors themselves do the work - you don't need jersey piping, the unnecessary scourge of modern uniform design, or gimmicky disappearing stripes (on the helmet or anywhere else).


*I personally really enjoy the old Denver D and Pat Patriot. They're helpful reminders that helmet logos don't need to have weird forward motion incorporated and that they could even be *gasp* hand-drawn (or at least look like they could be).


First off, when I look at that first photo, I'm captivated by what looks Elway stiff arming a Pats linebacker. But yes, I would certainly take the old unis over the new. And for better or worse, I like how the Pats are all in on the red/white/blue patriot theme in a big bold way, fat stripes and all. It's just hard to get past those helmet logos. At the same time, I loved the Bucs helmets from that era.
 
#119      

ChiefGritty

Chicago, IL
The Buccaneers also drastically overhauled their look that year, and these look old school in comparison:
images

(pouring one out for this look btw; can't believe what the Bucs have done since, it is funhouse mirror-level atrocious)

That's something that many have tried and almost all have failed: a genuinely novel color scheme.
 
#120      
I am late to this conversation so this might have been brought up before. I have always been a fan of Virginia Uniforms through the years. They have Blue and White pants with alternate orange tops. Subtle strips and the logo looks bold against the blue helmet. I am a fan of basic uniforms which is not what current college players agree with. If you look up iconic uniforms in the NFL they aren't extremely flashy. I also hate orange pants. I think the color always comes out looking lighter than it should (especially on TV).
 
#121      

mattcoldagelli

The Transfer Portal
That's something that many have tried and almost all have failed: a genuinely novel color scheme.

Plus keeping the orange trim as a callback to the Creamsicle Uni Era. I'm trying to think of a more well-done redesign in any sport in recent years (especially one that did everything new vs. reverting to an older look) and coming up blank.