IMO we have reached a point where sheer aggressive plain-ness doesn't put you in the upper tier anymore. I definitely wouldn't include Bama in the top 10, and I'd be shaky on PSU. Nebraska, Wisconsin, Oklahoma type uniforms are nowhere near, IMO.
Darn it I forgot Colorado.
Get Miami on that list, friend! WVU's standard blue helmet with the gold logo is also a personal favorite of mine.
WVU is a great logo, but I don't feel like it has ever come together for a great uniform.
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So just to be clear, you guys don't want a new uniform at all then?That top set is. I would absolute okay with that being our uniform. Clean and simple.
I have stated this opinion before, but the main issues with our current uniforms are NOT big; we should not try to reinvent the wheel when we get new ones this year, and I doubt we will. Small changes like changing the numbers to a more traditional font to match the simplicity of the jersey, switching the blue and white on the helmet stripe, adding an outline to the number or a stripe on the pants, etc. would make a small but mighty difference, IMO. I think you could easily combine elements of our current uniform with the 1989-2004 set and have a smashing success.
I actually like the Lovie ones, too, lol. However, they had kind of a weird combination of modern (like the striping) and classic/understated. Same basic problem, IMO, as our current set just on the opposite end of that spectrum.
Yeah, that is about as nostalgic as it gets for me when it comes to Miami, haha. I am truly jealous of programs where a white helmet feels "natural," because when it works ... it REALLY works. JMO. I think you touched on a good point that there is no one way to make your uniform be "cool" or "recognizable" or "iconic" or whatever. What works for Illinois might not work for Oregon, etc. The only time it's ever an epic fail is when it just seems conceptually disjointed. For us, I think the clear path is traditional.WVU is a great logo, but I don't feel like it has ever come together for a great uniform.
And I can appreciate Miami calling back to the uniforms of their dynastic 80's, but as a child of a very specific era, to me this will always be The U:
It's kind of the opposite of what you're saying about Illinois, which is dead on.
Illinois is the past. Oregon is the future. Miami is the gauche, unsentimental, Nike-fied present.
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The problem with our current uniforms is that the white-eliminating two color-core design of the jerseys/pants is well done but just kinda can't possibly work as a helmet.So just to be clear, you guys don't want a new uniform at all then?
I will also say that with our current uniforms, it is not really the home set that is the problem ... it's the away ones. The plain orange number with no outline on a plain white jersey with no striping or anything - with which we have often worn plain white pants without any striping - just does not look good, IMO.
The Beckman ones are so frustrating because they could have been way better. Why did the helmet have a white stripe inside the blue but the pants didn't? Why was the collar so large? The subtle Red Grange touch was nice too.I would generally agree with your list, but I think the second group is huge. I would argue you have these "groups" for uniforms:
1. The truly traditional (practically ancient) ones that will likely never change (e.g., Penn State)
2. The classic ones that might not be quite as old but are now totally associated with that program and likely will never change (e.g., Iowa)
3. The ones that change from time to time but generally keep the same "feel" across multiple eras and are still instantly recognizable (e.g., Florida)
4. The schools who are just updating their uniforms and font to the norm of the current era, with the only consistency being their colors (e.g., Iowa State)
Within those tiers, you might get more iconic vs. less iconic or varying degrees of schools chasing trends. Illinois has been really weird. Just look at how our most default home uniform has evolved in these last several versions, going from most recent to least recent:
(Same basic uniform as the previous one but added the helmet stripe and switched to a white facemask to make it at least a bit more traditional)
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(Classic Lovie Era uniform)
(First Shield rebrand or whatever)
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(Zook Era uniform)
(Pre-2005 Uniform)
For the Zook Era ones, we clearly sort of chased the current trend (look how similar ours is to Mizzou's, lol), even abandoning the orange pants at home. However, every other uniform has been some weird combination of "updating" the uniforms while also trying to keep them relatively simple. I never liked them at the time, but those pre-2005 uniforms just look damn classic now ... funny how that works, huh?? What really works in our favor is that the current trend seems to BE harkening back to the classics. I think it's the perfect time to move into that "Iowa Tier" I described above where everybody knows what Illini football looks like.
Yeah, I at least strongly prefer the outlining patterns we used in that era. Ignoring everything else, if we must have orange numbers on our white jerseys instead of blue, the Beckman numbers looked SO much crisper with that outline:
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Counterpoint - the Juice Williams O/B/W
not for me
That O/B/W Zook Era jersey, for me, is the perfect example of how having a "cool looking jersey" and having the "right" jersey for the brand of Illini football is not always the same thing. That was the jersey I mostly grew up with, and I actually really liked it ... I mean, it looks cool! However, it was pretty much the standard template for all Nike jerseys (see the Mizzou photo above where you can tell minimal effort went into making our two jerseys different, lol) in that time period, and it just didn't really "look like the Illini" to me. This is all subjective, of course, but I have come around to simply wanting a "simple" jersey if it at least means we can keep it long term!not for me
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And what really rubbed me the wrong way was I feel like we were the last team to be wearing that template. All of those teams got new uniforms well before we got the Shield rebrand.That O/B/W Zook Era jersey, for me, is the perfect example of how having a "cool looking jersey" and having the "right" jersey for the brand of Illini football is not always the same thing. That was the jersey I mostly grew up with, and I actually really liked it ... I mean, it looks cool! However, it was pretty much the standard template for all Nike jerseys (see the Mizzou photo above where you can tell minimal effort went into making our two jerseys different, lol) in that time period, and it just didn't really "look like the Illini" to me. This is all subjective, of course, but I have come around to simply wanting a "simple" jersey if it at least means we can keep it long term!
EDIT: I tried to find other random Nike jerseys from that era that were very similar to ours, and it is actually kind of funny, lol:
Illinois
Arizona
Clemson
Kentucky
Miami (FL)
Missouri
Oklahoma State
Wake Forest
Must have been an easy time to design jerseys at Nike.
And I think that is totally fine and understandable, I would just keep "the wheel" relatively simple as a template. Those curvy white lines are simultaneously really distinctive AND the exact same on everyone's jerseys.
That sort of templateization was hot in the industry in the aughts.Must have been an easy time to design jerseys at Nike.
I could live with it. I would want the orange stripe on the back of the jersey removed, though … once a player moved at all, it literally never matched up with the one on the pants, and it really isn’t necessary in the first place.That sort of templateization was hot in the industry in the aughts.
And that really suited us, I think you could make a decent argument that it was the best uniform we've ever had.
We complained about that more than was deserved, IMO.
Replace the slant Illinois with script and use the new block I and who is complaining if we'd kept those to the present day?
My reaction to seeing this as a lifelong Denver Bronco fan …And that really suited us, I think you could make a decent argument that it was the best uniform we've ever had.
albeit minor, I really liked the tweaked, rounded block I and there's only so much you can do with a block I
We've been through this a number of times. I'm sure there will always be others that disagree, but: 1) Under Armor just isn't strong financially and they are not partnering up with big athletic programs anymore (although I can say they make great looking uniforms); and 2) Adidas has put out some hot garbage uniform-wise over the years. I will admit Adidas might have reined it in in recent years, but the quality just isn't the same as Nike and the err on the side of too much creativity that you get weird nonsense that looks like cheap knockoffs of what Oregon does. Because we do not have that classic, untouchable look, I imagine we would be the guinea pig for a lot of their creativity projects, and I doubt any of us would be happy with the outcome.
That O/B/W Zook Era jersey, for me, is the perfect example of how having a "cool looking jersey" and having the "right" jersey for the brand of Illini football is not always the same thing. That was the jersey I mostly grew up with, and I actually really liked it ... I mean, it looks cool! However, it was pretty much the standard template for all Nike jerseys (see the Mizzou photo above where you can tell minimal effort went into making our two jerseys different, lol) in that time period, and it just didn't really "look like the Illini" to me. This is all subjective, of course, but I have come around to simply wanting a "simple" jersey if it at least means we can keep it long term!
EDIT: I tried to find other random Nike jerseys from that era that were very similar to ours, and it is actually kind of funny, lol:
Illinois
Arizona
Clemson
Kentucky
Miami (FL)
Missouri
Oklahoma State
Wake Forest
Must have been an easy time to design jerseys at Nike.
