The 2014 Illini Nike Uniforms and Rebrand

IntenselyOrange · Apr 18, 2014

TheSecretWeapon said:
I'm actually surprised the logo isn't being constantly trashed by a great majority here just because it is basically a replacement for the chief sunburst logo. I think that is evidence that Nike/DIA did a pretty decent job with it

You might be right.

I'll also add that I think shield logos in general are stupid. I just did a google image search and thought most looked ridiculous. To me, it seems generic and the sort of thing you do when you can't come up with a good solution. And this coming from a guy that prefers the block I.

Shiloh · Apr 18, 2014

IntenselyOrange said:
No. I like the uniforms. I like the font. I like most of the rebrand. But the secondary logo is what is getting most of the attention. That is what is creating the most excitement for many.

I'm not losing sleep over this either. If it becomes prevalent to the point that it's the only cap I can find when I wear out my current cap, then I might be a little upset. But I doubt we'll ever get to the point that I can't find the .

I'm not rushing out to get the tattoo either, but I think it works for what it is: a detail. I think it adds to the uniform.

Illinnoying Orange · Apr 18, 2014

AutoPoster 3000 said:
If you love mix-n-match, this is probably the golden era, because I think the days are numbered for multiple helmets. The NFL has already decreed that teams may only use one helmet because modern ones are carefully form-fitted to the player's head to prevent concussions, and apparently this process is so exacting that they require it be done only once per season. I recall that Tampa was not permitted to roll out a special Bucco-Bruce throwback helmet last year, and this was the reason given. I imagine it's only a matter of time before the NCAA follows suit. Why they can't just swap out the shell of the helmet, or apply some 3M vinyl wrap to the surface like they do with cars, I can't say.

I sure hope so :thumb: 3 helmets are more than plenty. I personally would be completely fine with just one helmet. I hate that football & b-ball uni's have been allowed to become cartoonish art projects in recent years.

mattcoldagelli · Apr 18, 2014

IntenselyOrange said:
I completely disagree with you on this point. I think there would have been adulation for anything that was released. This is supported by the fact that any skepticism leading up to the release was mocked.

I don't think that's quite correct. I can't tell you how many times I heard (here and elsewhere) a general sense that we were "going to screw this because we're Illinois." I personally was worried that, in the absence of something solid to grab onto, Nike would just throw the pu pu platter of trendy, gimmicky items our way and we wouldn't even get a halfway consistent look out of the deal (I'm still surprised by how restrained and down to earth our football uniforms ended up every time I look at them; I really like them a lot).

Did people get tired of STL's "This is gonna be bad because they're not doing it the way I think they should do it" posts? Yeah, and I can't really blame them. But I don't think that's the same as mocking any skepticism of how this was gonna turn out.

IntenselyOrange said:
Further, I believe that many who were on the fence regarding the logo when they first looked at it were drawn in by the enthusiasm of posters like Matt. That's fine. But if you don't think that is reality, you should pick up a book on the physiological bases of psychology.

I think you're giving me and #TeamShield too much credit here. I think - much like you don't like it for reasons you can't quite explain - others just like it in much the same way. The guy posting on Illiniboard that said it looks like something from 90 years ago that they dug up and brushed off kind of captured my feelings on it. But I'm guessing that some of the other people that like it have totally different rationales.

All that said - is there any actual evidence of this being laughed at en masse by fans of other schools? At some point you guys putting this forward as a reason it bothers you should probably have that.

Kams Bathroom · Apr 18, 2014

micahmccoy said:
Just a quick rendering, but something like this.

Had to throw the shield on there.

The Illinois Fighting Wes Andersons

Deleted member 29907 · Apr 18, 2014

IntenselyOrange said:
I completely disagree with you on this point. I think there would have been adulation for anything that was released. This is supported by the fact that any skepticism leading up to the release was mocked.

We were starved for a logo. No one liked what we had and by default, anything was going to be better. Maybe I'm cynical because I think the shield is bulky and ugly. I don't have any specific design critiques of the logo like GHD and STL have, but I don't like it. For reasons that are not clear to me, it is ugly.

Further, I believe that many who were on the fence regarding the logo when they first looked at it were drawn in by the enthusiasm of posters like Matt. That's fine. But if you don't think that is reality, you should pick up a book on the physiological bases of psychology.

One could easily argue that I'm just a contrarian. That is a reasonable position. I stepped away yesterday and did not look at the logo. I looked at it today hoping to like it. I would love to like my alma mater's logo. But no, I still think it's horrible.

And it's all OK. You guys are all welcome to like a logo, that like GHD I think you would laugh at had it been brought out by Iowa, Indiana, or any other school. And I don't even think it's bad that the reason people love it is because it's ours. That's perfectly reasonable. That's great in fact.

Its ok to like or dislike it but to suggest that those who do, do so because they're influenced by anonymous posters on this board is comical. Yeah, I took psych classes in school too - you can pretty much use psych 101 to make any argument you pretty much want to. Flipping your argument then others could easily argue that your opinion was influenced by STL and GHD or others who didn't like it or as you say the psychology of being a contrarian. Works both ways, and to suggest that because you're going against the crowd you must have some superior ability / opinion is just idiotic.

That being said, this board OCDs too much and assumes its the authority on opinion for the Illini nation, when in obvious reality it's a VERY small sample.

illinicb · Apr 18, 2014

mattcoldagelli said:
I personally was worried that, in the absence of something solid to grab onto, Nike would just throw the pu pu platter of trendy, gimmicky items our way and we wouldn't even get a halfway consistent look out of the deal (I'm still surprised by how restrained and down to earth our football uniforms ended up every time I look at them; I really like them a lot).

I'm with you. I like the new unis and logos overall, but I'm probably just as pleased with what they aren't as opposed to what they are. I was concerned that we might see some over the top result just to be over the top and I don't see that.

IntenselyOrange · Apr 18, 2014

VAIllini35 said:
Its ok to like or dislike it but to suggest that those who do, do so because they're influenced by anonymous posters on this board is comical. Yeah, I took psych classes in school too - you can pretty much use psych 101 to make any argument you pretty much want to. Flipping your argument then others could easily argue that your opinion was influenced by STL and GHD or others who didn't like it or as you say the psychology of being a contrarian. Works both ways, and to suggest that because you're going against the crowd you must have some superior ability / opinion is just idiotic.

That being said, this board OCDs too much and assumes its the authority on opinion for the Illini nation, when in obvious reality it's a VERY small sample.

The difference is that I recognize that about my nature. I took a step back and still feel this way. You are defensive about your position. Usually people are defensive when their opposition hits on a truth.

IntenselyOrange · Apr 18, 2014

mattcoldagelli said:
I don't think that's quite correct. I can't tell you how many times I heard (here and elsewhere) a general sense that we were "going to screw this because we're Illinois." I personally was worried that, in the absence of something solid to grab onto, Nike would just throw the pu pu platter of trendy, gimmicky items our way and we wouldn't even get a halfway consistent look out of the deal (I'm still surprised by how restrained and down to earth our football uniforms ended up every time I look at them; I really like them a lot).

Did people get tired of STL's "This is gonna be bad because they're not doing it the way I think they should do it" posts? Yeah, and I can't really blame them. But I don't think that's the same as mocking any skepticism of how this was gonna turn out.

I think you're giving me and #TeamShield too much credit here. I think - much like you don't like it for reasons you can't quite explain - others just like it in much the same way. The guy posting on Illiniboard that said it looks like something from 90 years ago that they dug up and brushed off kind of captured my feelings on it. But I'm guessing that some of the other people that like it have totally different rationales.

All that said - is there any actual evidence of this being laughed at en masse by fans of other schools? At some point you guys putting this forward as a reason it bothers you should probably have that.

Maybe. I think, and it's only my thought, but I think you guys like it because it's ours. Maybe I'm wrong. I don't know. I honestly don't even care. If it was 50/50 I would agree that it's just a case of some like it some don't. The seemingly 90/10 nature of it suggests to me that there is some underlying psychology going on.

Of course the possibility does remain that I just don't have any taste. My wife would gladly get on here and argue for that.

WesterveltVictoryCigar · Apr 18, 2014

IntenselyOrange said:
No. I like the uniforms. I like the font. I like most of the rebrand. But the secondary logo is what is getting most of the attention. That is what is creating the most excitement for many.

It's getting a lot of attention here and on message boards because it's one of the few "new" parts of the re-branding. But I think the general public, recruits, etc that are looking at the uniforms aren't paying anywhere near the same amount of attention to it. They see the big picture, the new orange helmet, the zigzags on the hoops uniforms, etc.

Kams Bathroom · Apr 18, 2014

IntenselyOrange said:
The difference is that I recognize that about my nature. I took a step back and still feel this way. You are defensive about your position. Usually people are defensive when their opposition hits on a truth.

This is so ridiculous.

So when Illini fans hate what they had before and are desperate for a change to something, ANYTHING, they will be willing to embrace whatever comes along no matter how poor, and will defend it to the death out of homerish loyalty and to stave off some sort of crippling cognitive dissonance?

Go ask Tim Beckman if that's true.

Toews · Apr 18, 2014

IntenselyOrange said:
The difference is that I recognize that about my nature. I took a step back and still feel this way. You are defensive about your position. Usually people are defensive when their opposition hits on a truth.

I doubt your arguing that being defensive of an opinion and "taking a step back" are mutually exclusive. If so that is a weird thing to say. It would seem that they are not.

IntenselyOrange · Apr 18, 2014

Kams Bathroom said:
This is so ridiculous.

So when Illini fans hate what they had before and are desperate for a change to something, ANYTHING, they will be willing to embrace whatever comes along no matter how poor, and will defend it to the death out of homerish loyalty and to stave off some sort of crippling cognitive dissonance?

Go ask Tim Beckman if that's true.

Did you ever consider why you are so upset by the few of us that don't like it?

illinicb · Apr 18, 2014

IntenselyOrange said:
I think you guys like it because it's ours.

For me, the shield which is the component I like the least, I don't necessarily like it because it's ours, I accept it because it's ours. Maybe that is splitting hairs.

Kams Bathroom · Apr 18, 2014

IntenselyOrange said:
Did you ever consider why you are so upset by the few of us that don't like it?

I'm not upset at all that some people don't like it. I'm upset that I'm being accused of being a brainwashed DIA shill.

Toews · Apr 18, 2014

IntenselyOrange said:
I completely disagree with you on this point. I think there would have been adulation for anything that was released. This is supported by the fact that any skepticism leading up to the release was mocked.

We were starved for a logo. No one liked what we had and by default, anything was going to be better. Maybe I'm cynical because I think the shield is bulky and ugly. I don't have any specific design critiques of the logo like GHD and STL have, but I don't like it. For reasons that are not clear to me, it is ugly.

Further, I believe that many who were on the fence regarding the logo when they first looked at it were drawn in by the enthusiasm of posters like Matt. That's fine. But if you don't think that is reality, you should pick up a book on the physiological bases of psychology.

One could easily argue that I'm just a contrarian. That is a reasonable position. I stepped away yesterday and did not look at the logo. I looked at it today hoping to like it. I would love to like my alma mater's logo. But no, I still think it's horrible.

And it's all OK. You guys are all welcome to like a logo, that like GHD I think you would laugh at had it been brought out by Iowa, Indiana, or any other school. And I don't even think it's bad that the reason people love it is because it's ours. That's perfectly reasonable. That's great in fact.

This seems like "people disagree with me, so psychology!". Also, a fan-base making fun of other teams logo is different than the fan-base thinking everything their team is gold. We surely do not, go look at the thread when we got the last basketball uniforms. Or better yet, look at the fire Weber threads.

IntenselyOrange · Apr 18, 2014

Toews said:
I doubt your arguing that being defensive of an opinion and "taking a step back" are mutually exclusive. If so that is a weird thing to say. It would seem that they are not.

I'm not. I thought maybe I was just put off by the love that contradicted my initial feelings and left for a day. Logged on ready to like it today. I can't.

There's nothing wrong with being emotional. It's part of being human. But nothing in this world gets 90% support of its own merits.

illinimandan · Apr 18, 2014

JSpence said:
The whole point of rebranding is to create a new, consistent image. You're free to do whatever, but it's not helping to splatter the most popular Illini site on the internet with all of these knock-offs. Nike misfired on some elements (the tabs, the reliance on negative space, etc.), and folks making it busier within 24 hours of its release can be expected to detract from its grasp on the fanbase. Maybe I'm wrong, but in short, it seems "too soon".

Regarding the uniforms, they would probably look better with a white stripe. It seems like Nike was trying to deliberately mute them... or maybe they figured we'd never use the ugly orange-on-orange and the blue stripe looks better with the other tops.

The white on white is the only solid "color" jersey that works IMO. So we are closely aligned there. It's also good that nearly everyone likes the shield idea if not the execution.

davidlee930 · Apr 18, 2014

TheSecretWeapon said:
I'm actually surprised the logo isn't being constantly trashed by a great majority here just because it is basically a replacement for the chief sunburst logo. I think that is evidence that Nike/DIA did a pretty decent job with it

I always thought a block i inside the sunburst could replace the chief logo.

The shield looks awesome and it gets the job done, but nothing will ever replace the chief logo.

IntenselyOrange · Apr 18, 2014

illinicb said:
For me, the shield which is the component I like the least, I don't necessarily like it because it's ours, I accept it because it's ours. Maybe that is splitting hairs.

No. I think you're very much in a similar position to me. I'm not going to write angry letters to the DIA asking them to get rid of the shield. I just can't comprehend the magnitude of the love for it.

IntenselyOrange · Apr 18, 2014

Toews said:
This seems like "people disagree with me, so psychology!". Also, a fan-base making fun of other teams logo is different than the fan-base thinking everything their team is gold. We surely do not, go look at the thread when we got the last basketball uniforms. Or better yet, look at the fire Weber threads.

If you would laugh at the same logo in Black and Gold yet love it in Orange and Blue, that is the definition of loving it because it's yours. And that is fine.

Toews · Apr 18, 2014

IntenselyOrange said:
If you would laugh at the same logo in Black and Gold yet love it in Orange and Blue, that is the definition of loving it because it's yours. And that is fine.

But that isn't happening here. I see many critique the basketball jerseys. Sometimes people surprise you and like things you don't. I'm not saying the same logo for us we would love, just that we mostly don't like what other teams have. But I don't think we have any problem critiquing our team.

Kams Bathroom · Apr 18, 2014

IntenselyOrange said:
If you would laugh at the same logo in Black and Gold yet love it in Orange and Blue, that is the definition of loving it because it's yours. And that is fine.

And again, your only evidence in accusing people of this is that you, Fiery Beacon Of All Objectivity, doesn't care for a logo.

TheBossIllini · Apr 18, 2014

Ok I swear I saw a pic of the grey shorts on illiniboard

Shiloh · Apr 18, 2014

IntenselyOrange said:
If you would laugh at the same logo in Black and Gold yet love it in Orange and Blue, that is the definition of loving it because it's yours. And that is fine.

Who's laughing?

The 2014 Illini Nike Uniforms and Rebrand

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