Thursday, Nov. 12, 2009
We're All Marching off to War
When I was a kid, I would eagerly anticipate the arrival of either the seasonal Sears or JC Penney catalogues.
Not because I wanted to order the latest Toughskins or look at the female models in their underwear - and no I didn't wear husky. OK, maybe I did...
Anyhow, I loved these catalogs because of the authentically-designed NFL helmets and jerseys they featured in the pages - the ones that you could actually never find at the store when you went looking for them. Maybe that was because we mostly went to the liquidation centers and not the actual department stores, but that's really a different story.
In the early '80s, my hometown newspaper, The Atlanta-Journal Constitution, began printing NFL matchups in capsule form in color, each featuring the team's helmets and logos.
With the Sunday paper and my Sears or JC Penney catalogs as my guide, I would draw each NFL team's helmet and logo, and then color them in. I did this week after week, until I got them right. One that proved to be particularly tricky to recreate was the Cincinnati Bengals when the team changed from a plain, stencil-lettering helmet to the tiger stripes still in effect today.
Yes, I actually like the game of football itself, but the designs of uniforms and logos have always been interesting to me.
When the NFL began outfitting some of its teams in retro, or throw-back, uniforms a few years ago, I took notice. Major League Baseball has similarly instituted throwback uniforms to mark specific occasions as well.
But it's been taken to a whole new level this season as the NFL celebrates the 50th anniversary of the AFL (American Football League) with which it merged in 1970.
How many folks know that the first few Super Bowls were actually matchups between rival football leagues?
Who knew that this decade's most dynastic NFL franchise (not named Steelers), the New England Patriots, used to be the Boston Patriots and was an original member of the AFL and not the NFL?
Meanwhile, the throwback uniform craze has also been augmented by the so-called "special" uniform craze, which has spilled over into the college game, trickling on down to the Palmetto State as Steve Spurrier's University of South Carolina Gamecocks will sport a camouflage motif on Saturday when taking on the Florida Gators. The Gamecocks camouflage duds are part of the Wounded Warrior Project, and proceeds from the sale of replica jerseys will go to the organization which aids severely injured members of the military as they transition back to civilian life.
I was at Coastal Grand Mall on Saturday and went into Sports Fan-Attic to see if any of USC's military-inspired gear was for sale, and the folks looked at me like I had gone AWOL, but if you're interested in getting your hands on some camo-Cock paraphernalia, the uniform maker Under Armour has it available online at www.underarmour.com. There's a jersey-style T-shirt for $33.99 and a long-sleeved hoodie for $67.99.
Also on Saturday, Maryland will sport camouflage unis its game vs. Virginia Tech, as part of the Wounded Warrior Project.
Will it spawn more funky football fashion at the collegiate level?
Will teams suddenly have more uniform choices on game day than a contestant on "America's Next Top Model?"
To get to the bottom of these questions and more, we dispatched local, grizzled veteran sportswriter Terry Massey to explore this football fashion fad and find out if it's really all about one color: green.
You can read his Blackwell-meets-Ditka critique starting on page 12.
And he's also compiled a succinct primer on the AFL on page 13 in case you thought we were talking about arena football, and not the daring, maverick pro football league that revolutionized the game and brought us such iconic teams as the Raiders, Chargers, Jets, Chiefs, Bills, Broncos and Dolphins.
CH-CH-CHANGES
You may have noticed that starting with last week's Surge, the typography of our pages is a little different - some fonts are a little bigger and the design has been tweaked.
That's because we have switched to a new layout system, which we are still working to perfect, so please bear with us.
Also, you will notice that starting with this week's issue, our Gut Reaction restaurant review will begin running on a weekly basis, instead of bi-weekly, giving you more information about local dining options.
As always, any feedback is welcome, so please send me a note, to: kkimes@weeklysurge.com.
