PSU Football Uniforms: Are you old or new school on this?

[JmmyW]

One thing I'd like to see is numbers on the helmets. And rather than spend $ on one-off uniforms, I'd rather see each player get two helmets. One helmet with the number on the left side; the other helmet with a number on the right side. Only ever where them so our sideline can see the numbers. Provides us a slight strategic benefit that the opposition doesn't get, while going a little retro.

 

[PSU_Nut]

I won't disagree many of today's recruits (certainly not all) like more "flash" but I can't believe they would choose a school based solely upon the uniforms. Certainly Alabama, which I consider "old school" has no trouble getting kids. Still, if it was for, perhaps, one home game and one road game, I could live with the tweaks.

Alabama does the occasional special uniforms.

 

[LafayetteBear]

One thing I'd like to see is numbers on the helmets. And rather than spend $ on one-off uniforms, I'd rather see each player get two helmets. One helmet with the number on the left side; the other helmet with a number on the right side. Only ever where them so our sideline can see the numbers. Provides us a slight strategic benefit that the opposition doesn't get, while going a little retro.

jmmy: I have always operated under the assumption that the teams get these uniforms for free. Nike (or Under Armour) gets to put their Swoosh (or logo) on the uniform, and gets some positive PR for that, as well as he potential for sales of jerseys, hats, etc. to fans of the school. I could be wrong and there may be some fee paid by the school, but I'm pretty sure any fee would be nominal.

 

[dawgduice]

I recall some years ago, in the 90s' when we were playing a game the was televised, as were most, an expert commentator said something "don't let those white uniforms make you think they are slow, that team is really fast".. So I think the "uniforms" are part of WE ARE

 

[psuro]

If you see a color photo of a college football game you will always be able to figure if its Penn Stare Alabama UCLA Texas USC or Notre Dame. Whether it is the 1950s 60s 70s 80s or now.

Because fashion is timeless.

 

[RWCStateFan]

I'm definitely "old school". Plain blue and white - traditional and classic. JMHO.

 

[Bygsky]

pink and black during homecoming to recognize our original colors...avoid the "causes" trend crap as folks will start biatching about not having their cause supported. Perhaps a cute little hair bow and matching mascara.


Take off the names. Put back The trim. Put the numbers back in the helmets.

 

[PSU_Nut]

pink and black during homecoming to recognize our original colors...avoid the "causes" trend crap as folks will start biatching about not having their cause supported. Perhaps a cute little hair bow and matching mascara.


Take off the names. Put back The trim. Put the numbers back in the helmets.

No one has ever explained the obsession Penn State fans had with numbers on the helmet. It not traditional as Penn State had them for a five year period when that was the trend in college football. It wasn't unique to Penn State as almost every school in college football had them. Now everyone would just think Penn State is trying to copy Alabama.

 

[lionlurker]

Schools like Cal that don't have our old-school traditions, wish they did. And if they did, they wouldn't do helmets like that.

Cal's a great school obviously, with a great history. But merely having history isn't enough to imbue true tradition. Once you have that, you hold onto it. Michigan, OSU, Penn State, Texas, Bama. Programs like these are the lucky ones.

Just look at our neighbors to the west. They are an old-time program, as well, but they get new uniforms/helmets/logos every year. It just doesn't work that way.

 

[Mace54]

I thought both Michigan and OSU wore alternate uniforms for a few games ? Coach Franklin seems like a very progressive guy. I think he should consult with the team and see what they think. When the team runs out of the tunnel with metallic helmets, I wonder what the sound of 5000 heads exploding will sound like.

 

[Evan Ceg]

I'm pretty "old school" when it comes to Penn State Football unis. I would like to see the single blue stripe, about 1.5"-2" wide, returned to the pant leg. I might go with some very thin piping around the yoke and sleeves. Don't mess with the helmet.

I don't get all these alternate uniform concepts that other schools indulge. Isn't the point of graphical branding consistency? I know teenagers are attracted to shiny, sparkly things, but when I turn on the TV, I want to be able to recognize the college football teams without reading the graphic. Some of these state-of-the-art uniforms are downright hideous (e.g., Maryland, Texas Tech, Oregon most of the time).

One thing I would like to see Penn State Athletics do is enforce the Helvetica font on varsity uniforms (other than Football, of course). Again, consistency of identity.

 

[Alphabets]

I thought both Michigan and OSU wore alternate uniforms for a few games ? Coach Franklin seems like a very progressive guy. I think he should consult with the team and see what they think. When the team runs out of the tunnel with metallic helmets, I wonder what the sound of 5000 heads exploding will sound like.

They do, and that's exactly what I propose as well. Even the teams with great traditional uni's such as UM and OSU have one-off's for special occasions. It's probably going to happen, and I see no reason why anyone should be against it. Best of both worlds. Keep the tradition and satisfy the urge for something fresh every now and then.

 

[childsSkip]

Over the last decade, and especially the last five years, many (most?) college football teams have tinkered a bit with their uniforms, whether it is matte black helmets, silver helmets, camo uniforms, or something else. Oregon, with assistance from Nike and Phil Knight, has been the leader in this trend.

Just saw a photo of a football helmet my school (Cal) apparently plans to use next season. White rather than the school colors (navy and gold), and a Bear rather than the traditional script Cal or block "C." Here it is:

Got me to wondering if PSU has ever done any tinkering with its uniform design. I don't recall that it has, but I thought I'd ask. Was also wondering how PSU alums feel about the issue.

I understand that a lot of the kids who are playing or being recruited like this stuff. I suppose that is a plus, but I cetainly see a value in preserving a school's traditional look. The PSU unis are pretty basic, but that also seems iconic to me, and a plus in its own right.

Your thoughts?

I wanted names on the back for years, I would like to see a small Penn State on the front, and a nice PSU on the helmits.

 

[65psu65]

If you see a color photo of a college football game you will always be able to figure if its Penn Stare Alabama UCLA Texas USC or Notre Dame. Whether it is the 1950s 60s 70s 80s or now.

Because fashion is timeless.

Every team you listed besides PSU has done alternate uniforms/significant uniform changes.

UCLA http://www.bruinsnation.com/videos/...tball-uniforms-LA-midnight-washington-huskies Midnight style uniforms

Texas http://uniformcritics.com/football/...ns/2013-ut-red-river-rivalry-nike-pro-combat/ Gold Logos added to uniform for Oklahoma game

Notre Dame http://subwaydomer.com/2014-articles/top-10-notre-dame-football-alternate-uniforms-of-all-time.html Top ten alternate uni

USC http://www.dailynews.com/sports/201...as-way-to-combat-opponents-alternate-uniforms Chrome mask helmet redesign

Alabama switched to pro combat uniforms but kept their look largely intact.

 

[LAVAR!!!1]

We are Penn State. Not Bama. Not ND. Not Texas. Let them chase Oregon. No pro-combat, 3rd, 4th, 5th or 13th jersey. If you need that, wear white shoes when we play Bama. Exorcise those demons.

Get rid of the names. The one-sided numbers is a good idea because we get a slight tactical advantage.

 

[delcoLion]

Over the last decade, and especially the last five years, many (most?) college football teams have tinkered a bit with their uniforms, whether it is matte black helmets, silver helmets, camo uniforms, or something else. Oregon, with assistance from Nike and Phil Knight, has been the leader in this trend.

Just saw a photo of a football helmet my school (Cal) apparently plans to use next season. White rather than the school colors (navy and gold), and a Bear rather than the traditional script Cal or block "C." Here it is:

Got me to wondering if PSU has ever done any tinkering with its uniform design. I don't recall that it has, but I thought I'd ask. Was also wondering how PSU alums feel about the issue.

I understand that a lot of the kids who are playing or being recruited like this stuff. I suppose that is a plus, but I cetainly see a value in preserving a school's traditional look. The PSU unis are pretty basic, but that also seems iconic to me, and a plus in its own right.

Your thoughts?

Old school, here. Maybe our uniforms are basic but they are classy.

 

[65psu65]

We are Penn State. Not Bama. Not ND. Not Texas. Let them chase Oregon. No pro-combat, 3rd, 4th, 5th or 13th jersey. If you need that, wear white shoes when we play Bama. Exorcise those demons.

Get rid of the names. The one-sided numbers is a good idea because we get a slight tactical advantage.

We are Penn State no matter what uniforms the team wears. The kids that wear the unis are what matter. The hilarious thing to me is everyone argues for traditional uniforms, but don't agree on tradition. Trim (not truly traditional) or no trim, numbers on helmets (a fad) or not, gray mask or blue mask (a fad once manufacturers could produce color masks), swoosh (has been on the uniforms for 20+ years now) or no swoosh.

 

[Alphabets]

We are Penn State no matter what uniforms the team wears. The kids that wear the unis are what matter. The hilarious thing to me is everyone argues for traditional uniforms, but don't agree on tradition. Trim (not truly traditional) or no trim, numbers on helmets (a fad) or not, gray mask or blue mask (a fad once manufacturers could produce color masks), swoosh (has been on the uniforms for 20+ years now) or no swoosh.

I don't think we have a choice on the swoosh. If Nike makes your uniform, you're getting the swoosh whether you like it or not. No debate.

I don't mind the swoosh, but i don't like the new B1G logo we had to start wearing.

 

[PSU_Nut]

We are Penn State. Not Bama. Not ND. Not Texas. Let them chase Oregon. No pro-combat, 3rd, 4th, 5th or 13th jersey. If you need that, wear white shoes when we play Bama. Exorcise those demons.

Get rid of the names. The one-sided numbers is a good idea because we get a slight tactical advantage.

Seriously? What tacticle advantage is that?

 

[65psu65]

I don't think we have a choice on the swoosh. If Nike makes your uniform, you're getting the swoosh whether you like it or not. No debate.

I don't mind the swoosh, but i don't like the new B1G logo we had to start wearing.

Many people hated the swoosh when it went on. It could absolutely come off, it would just mean $$$. Not saying I care either way.

 

[Alphabets]

Many people hated the swoosh when it went on. It could absolutely come off, it would just mean $$$. Not saying I care either way.

Yep, no way PSU is turning down sponsorship dollars for the sake of taking off a tiny swoosh. Plus, not to beat a dead horse but the kids probably love the swoosh.

 

[bamasota]

Seriously? What tacticle advantage is that?

I think that a couple of posters were not aware that teams switch ends of the field every quarter, and that the numbers would always be facing the PSU sideline, and away for the opposition.

Either that, or each player would have two helmets with numbers on opposite sides, and switch with the start of each quarter.

Kind of makes you wonder about who is paying attention, eh?

 

[LionsandBear]

I'm both. I love our basic Blue and White design. It's classic and speaks to what PSU is all about.....Blue Collar Team Ball. At the same time I think it's possible to update the design without breaking with the tradition. Over the years I've seen some Nike designs that I thought would keep with our tradition while updating our style. I'd be willing to see the unis updated so long as they keep it to the simple Blue and White (maybe a little Gray)colors without any patterns or logos thrown in.

 

[LionsandBear]

http://blog.pennlive.com/davidjones/2012/07/who_and_what_is_behind_penn_st.html

I see nothing wrong with this uniform that was proposed 3 years ago. It's modern while keeping with our tradition.

 

[Alphabets]

I've always kind of liked these 2:

 

[green2623]

old school............simply

 

[Zenophile]

"There is no name on my jersey." Black shoes and basic blues. That's Penn State football.

If Coach Franklin wants to do a one-game alternate uniform that approximates a modern interpretation of one of our historic looks, I can be on board with this also.

But whatever other teams do, they can do. We are Penn State.

 

[Osprey Lion]

New. It's time for new threads.

 

[PSU-Knocker]

I'm for the basic uniforms. I even would prefer the names off the jerseys. However, I think Franklin wants the names on the jerseys for recruiting purposes. I think he likes to send potential recruits touched up pictures of the recruits in the Penn State uniform with, of course, the recruits name on the jersey. If not for that, the uniforms would not have names on the jerseys.

Franklin uses every trick he can think of for recruiting.

 

[Zenophile]

We have plenty of history from which to draw inspiration for a one-game "throwback" alternate uniform (if such an option is going to be considered).

 

[LAVAR!!!1]

Seriously? What tacticle advantage is that?

It is easier for us to see the players' numbers, so we gain a slight advantage on certain substitutions, particularly when someone wearing 50-79 is declared eligible or someone not wearing 50-79 is not.

I think Joe may have eliminated helmet numbers for this reason.

 

[65psu65]

It is easier for us to see the players' numbers, so we gain a slight advantage on certain substitutions, particularly when someone wearing 50-79 is declared eligible or someone not wearing 50-79 is not.

I think Joe may have eliminated helmet numbers for this reason.

This is absolutely ridiculous. Zero advantage gained. When players run on the field their chest is facing you and the sides of the helmets are not. Players playing out of position for their number have to declare and be announced by the officials.

Teams started putting numbers on helmets in the mid sixties. Nebraska, Alabama, Auburn, and many others decided to put the numbers on on helmets years before PSU made the change to follow the trend. The change from the gray mask to the blue mask was similar. Manufacturing changes allowed for colored masks to be produced and PSU followed the trend a few years after many other schools made the change.

PSU took numbers off the helmets because they decided to stop following the fad and go more traditional.

 

[PSU_Nut]

It is easier for us to see the players' numbers, so we gain a slight advantage on certain substitutions, particularly when someone wearing 50-79 is declared eligible or someone not wearing 50-79 is not.

I think Joe may have eliminated helmet numbers for this reason.

Are you serious? You don't think a GA in the press box who responsible for personel can't see the 18 inch high letters facing them on the jersey but now will be able to see the two inch number on the helmet?

That like saying you don't wear bell bottom jeans anymore because of the improved. thermodynamics of boot cut jeans. Penn State doesn't wear them because the fashion trend ended.

 

[udsig91]

I am old school traditional all the way...