For some longstanding powerhouses, the introduction of bizarre new uniforms is a gimmick that threatens to undermine decades of hard-earned tradition.
For the emerging juggernaut at Oregon, bizarre new uniforms are the tradition. By that standard, the 2012 line unveiled today on the Oregon Football Facebook pageis an exercise in restraint.
The good news: Helmet-wise, the Ducks will apparently keep rolling with the oh-so-sweet “liquid metal” lids they debuted in January’s Rose Bowl win over Wisconsin, where they reflected the surrounding splendor like a freshly polished chrome fender off a 1967 Firebird.
In fact, based on the leaked photos that made the rounds last week, they’ll be adding a green helmet to the rotation with the same design and reflective properties. The preview photos from Nike also indicate a more intricate design in the vein of the ”carbon-dipped” helmetintroduced in 2010.
Alas, the only new feature on the uniforms appears to be the “Wing” pattern on the shoulders, which is a new design but hardly a novel concept for veteran Duck watchers. Available colors: Black, white, yellow and “Forest,” i.e. darkish green. We’ve also seen some evidence of a brighter green jersey, a la the ”Fighting Ducks” motif Oregon broke out for a Thursday night game against Cal last October, as well as an all-white “Storm Trooper” look, the likes of which we’ve also seen several times before. Otherwise, the official release from Nike concerns itself with carbon fibers, base layers, cooling zones, “Deflex” padding and something the company calls “Chain Maille Mesh.” In other words, nothing new.
Is this what it’s come to? After a decade of snickering, then tolerating, then embracing and finally bowing before their incandescent marketing might, are we becoming desensitized to the Ducks’ novel insistence on novelty? To that awful, highlighter yellow that once threatened to ignite the overwhelmed pixels on your old standard-def television?
Are Nike’s designers finally reached the far end of the cutting edge, unable or unwilling to go any further? Are they getting bored? Have so many other schools driven the bandwagon so far into even weirder, more ill-advised territory that Oregon is beginning to look relatively sane by comparison? Have we actually reached the point in college football that the Ducks can be considered conservative compared to the infuriating new looks at Nebraska and Notre Dame?
Or are they just holding a little back, waiting for the right time to pull something really interesting out of their thermoregulated sleeves once the season is underway? We will know when the almighty Swoosh deems it necessary for us to know.
via CBS Sports
