What is the "uniform surprise"?

[Irish#1]

That's not Wooly's point. There used to be something distinct about The University of Notre Dame brand. We never sought to keep up with the Joneses, we had no aspirations to be like the Joneses at all. We've gone from something distinct and unique to something that's just like everyone else, we just hope to be good at it. These fool uniforms are perfect for the brand of "generic college football team," but Notre Dame has never taken the path of "generic college football team" until recently.

It's very simple. If we had consistently been a 10-12 game winner for the last 20 years with a NC or two thrown in, we probably wouldn't do this because we would have most every kid wanting to play for us.

 

[NCND]

It's very simple. If we had consistently been a 10-12 game winner for the last 20 years with a NC or two thrown in, we probably wouldn't do this because we would have most every kid wanting to play for us.

EXACTLY.

 

[IrishLion]

Because the uniform-changing gimmick is PART of Oregon's brand. I don't have a problem with it per se, I have a problem with us doing it, because it's not who we are. It's not our history or culture. Some teams (Alabama, Notre Dame, Penn State and the like) should never have mirror chrome logos on their helmets.

Part of Notre Dame's tradition is... breaking tradition.

Notre Dame has changed and evolved and stepped up its game alongside the competition.

Who cares if the old, grumpy guys in the stands think the uniforms should never change? It's not about them. It's about the kids that are growing up and going through school NOW, who will some day be those old grumpy guys in the stands. And those young guys LOVE this stuff. Should we ignore what the future of Notre Dame likes, because old grumpy dudes disagree with it?

 

[Irish#1]

I think they're growing on me. Still don't like the facemask, but the rest looks good enough.

Agree, blue or green, either would work, but not both.

 

[wizards8507]

It's very simple. If we had consistently been a 10-12 game winner for the last 20 years with a NC or two thrown in, we probably wouldn't do this because we would have most every kid wanting to play for us.

You honestly think this will make one iota of a difference in recruiting? There is no kid on the face of the Earth that's going to commit to the University of Notre Dame because we're playing a game against an ACC bottom-dweller in these ridiculous uniforms. None whatsoever.

 

[IrishLion]

It's very simple. If we had consistently been a 10-12 game winner for the last 20 years with a NC or two thrown in, we probably wouldn't do this because we would have most every kid wanting to play for us.

Disagree. Ohio State is a pretty good mirror of the hypothetical team you mention above, and every year they do something similar to this with Nike pro-combat unis or whatever the cool thing that year is.

 

[Irish#1]

Ah that magical time of year when people bitch about uniforms for a longer period than any ND player will actually wear them.

Nominated for POY

 

[wizards8507]

Part of Notre Dame's tradition is... breaking tradition.

Notre Dame has changed and evolved and stepped up its game alongside the competition.

Who cares if the old, grumpy guys in the stands think the uniforms should never change? It's not about them. It's about the kids that are growing up and going through school NOW, who will some day be those old grumpy guys in the stands. And those young guys LOVE this stuff. Should we ignore what the future of Notre Dame likes, because old grumpy dudes disagree with it?

I guess it boils down to the bolded. I think the "KIDS EFFING LOVE THIS SHIT" angle is overblown. The most emphatic support I've ever seen for an alternate uniform is "yeah, it's pretty neat to do something different for a game." Never "I asked coach Miles and coach Saban if they'd consider wearing purple glitter for one home game this year, and they refused. That's why I've decided to take my talents to South Bend." There's a way to do this kind of thing while respecting tradition. The two don't have to be mutually exclusive.

 

[BobbyMac]

It's very simple. If we had consistently been a 10-12 game winner for the last 20 years with a NC or two thrown in, we probably wouldn't do this because we would have most every kid wanting to play for us.

I bet they would. ND has always been great at self promotion. Green Jersey games and seasons. Their Heisman hype department got a player to even change his name. ND is not a brand built on one jersey or this perceived conservative stodginess, rather it's built on the dynamic culture of the football program. They've changed college football time and time again...by changing themselves

 

[Ndaccountant]

 

[IrishLion]

I guess it boils down to the bolded. I think the "KIDS EFFING LOVE THIS SHIT" angle is overblown. The most emphatic support I've ever seen for an alternate uniform is "yeah, it's pretty neat to do something different for a game." Never "I asked coach Miles and coach Saban if they'd consider wearing purple glitter for one home game this year, and they refused. That's why I've decided to take my talents to South Bend." There's a way to do this kind of thing while respecting tradition. The two don't have to be mutually exclusive.

And I think these jerseys do respect tradition. I think the angle that they DON'T respect tradition is over-blown. It's not destroying the ND mystique to do something different for a game.

 

[wizards8507]

They've changed college football time and time again...by changing themselves

But this isn't changing college football. This is us being changed by college football. We're not trendsetters in this, we're copycats.

 

[GATTACA!]

I love these, minus the facemasks. It's been too long since we've worn green.

Wiz take a chill pill and get with the times.

 

[NDinL.A.]

Off the top of my head, Oregon. Alabama. The SEC as a conference. Ohio State. USC. Texas.

ETA: And I wouldn't say I'm disgruntled. I'm generally quite... gruntled. But this is a uniform thread so bitch about the uniforms I shall.

Hold up...USC manages their brand well? Da Fuck? Do you realize how poorly they are looked on by the outside world? Do you see how the college football looks at them as cheaters, despite a horribly weak case against them (in comparison to the other schools that have been 'investigated')? They have a MASSIVE image problem in that sense, and one their fans are seething about bc the school did not fight back or sue the NCAA despite plenty of evidence (n the Todd McNair case) that would have made for a great case. Horrible example.

And Texas is a mess right now. Their AD is running them into the ground, the football program is a hot mess currently, their AD has pissed off about every major donor they have and it's been leaked to the press, lots of their sports teams are struggling where they were once mighty, etc etc etc. Another poor example.

Oregon, Alabama, and Ohio State are all huge winners right now. So of course they are branding themselves well. That's not a hard call at all. What about universities that weren't in the college football playoffs last year? I can think of a couple better examples than the ones above, no doubt.

Doesn't matter though...I do believe that ND has an image problem, and that's why I'm massively pro Showtime and pro these uniforms and other steps we're taking.

As for all this other nonsense...I'll say it again. Most people here have no problem with those who dislike the unis. I certainly don't. My closest friend absolutely hates them. It's the part about you being so adamant that this is a colossal failure and that ND is pissing off and disrespecting most of its fan base (not true) and that these uniforms are part of grander problem with the university, problems including Brian Kelly, a jumbotron, and music in the stadium lol. It's all a bit much and hugely overly-dramatic IMHO.

 

[Cackalacky]

But this isn't changing college football. This is us being changed by college football. We're not trendsetters in this, we're copycats.

Hey guys remember when college football changed NDs uniforms way back when:

 

[Irish#1]

Part of Notre Dame's tradition is... breaking tradition.

Notre Dame has changed and evolved and stepped up its game alongside the competition.

Who cares if the old, grumpy guys in the stands think the uniforms should never change? It's not about them. It's about the kids that are growing up and going through school NOW, who will some day be those old grumpy guys in the stands. And those young guys LOVE this stuff. Should we ignore what the future of Notre Dame likes, because old grumpy dudes disagree with it?

I'm willing to bet there are as many young grumpy dudes as there are old ones. Once you get there, you'll understand.

 

[IrishLion]

Hey guys remember when college football changed NDs uniforms way back when:

Can't believe those assholes so blatantly disregarded tradition!

 

[IrishLion]

I'm willing to bet there are as many young grumpy dudes as there are old ones. Once you get there, you'll understand.

Oh, I do understand. I'm a young grumpy dude myself when it comes to many things.

My point was that Wizards keeps saying the alumni/ the "older" demographic are being neglected, when in reality, if ND doesn't do things like use a gaudy/gimmicky uniform every now and again, then it's actually the future members of the community that are being neglected.

 

[Irish#1]

You honestly think this will make one iota of a difference in recruiting? There is no kid on the face of the Earth that's going to commit to the University of Notre Dame because we're playing a game against an ACC bottom-dweller in these ridiculous uniforms. None whatsoever.

I didn't say that and you need a timeout. I rarely call anyone out on this board, but you're just being an argumentative little 12 year old girl today. Go root for Bama or someone else the night this game is played.

My apologies to 12 year old girls. They would have quit whining about three pages back.

 

[GATTACA!]

Can't believe those assholes so blatantly disregarded tradition!

Those shoulder stripes in 62' make me want to vomit. Tradition is tradition.

 

[bigfish]

They could be worse

 

[BabyIrish]

I think the uni's are taking away from the real important new tradition, playing in different iconic venues/cities. Name me how many college football programs that have played at jerry world in the past 5 years. Probably a handful. How many of those can say they also played at Yankee stadium in the past 5 years. None of them except ND.
The point of this whole series is to allow ND fans who may not be able to travel to south bend to get to see the boys up close and personal in there own backyard, as well as exposing ND to the whole country. I see the uni's not as a gimmick or way to keep up with the joneses, but an extra way to jazz up an already different but exciting game.

 

[Irish#1]

Oh, I do understand. I'm a young grumpy dude myself when it comes to many things.

My point was that Wizards keeps saying the alumni/ the "older" demographic are being neglected, when in reality, if ND doesn't do things like use a gaudy/gimmicky uniform every now and again, then it's actually the future members of the community that are being neglected.

The older demographic doesn't get neglected the weeks the traditional uni is worn. When we were having the grass vs. turf debates, tradition was brought up countless times. Many references to Rockne and tradition. Someone made a great point about tradition and Rockne. Rockne was a trend setter. He was one of the first to use the forward pass. He was one of the first to platoon players. Rockne was creating tradition by being unique. I have a feeling Rockne would approve of these uni's.

 

[connor_in]

Many of today's posts in this thread

 

[Cackalacky]

Can't believe those assholes so blatantly disregarded tradition!

Its a travesty Tim Brown wasn't running around in that uniform from 1900.

 

[calvegas04]

on the subject of under armor being too expensive, are there any outlets or other retail stores in south bend that might have some discounted ND gear?

 

[wizards8507]

on the subject of under armor being too expensive, are there any outlets or other retail stores in south bend that might have some discounted ND gear?

Sometimes ND stuff makes its way into the T.J. Maxx / Marshalls in Mishawaka. I got a bunch of brand-new-with-tags ND baseball hats at the Goodwill thrift store on 23. My best haul was the Adidas clearance but that was obviously a one-time opportunity.

ETA: Shamrock Series stuff always goes on clearance after the season.

 

[IrishLion]

My best haul was the Adidas clearance but that was obviously a one-time opportunity.

You don't have to wait that long. In 11 short years ND will be clearing the shelves to make room for Nike stuff.

 

[kmoose]

As for ND and their fan base...you know what gets fans happy? WINS. You know what gets wins? Recruits. The players love them, the recruits will love them (see: Oregon), and guess what, I'll bet you any amount of $$ you want that the merchandise sales will be the same as last year, ESP if this team is a winning team.

I don't particularly like any of these apparel companies messing with the uniforms, but I get that they are a nice keepsake for the players. So I'm not going to say much about it.

However, I do absolutely abhor the line of thinking above. You're right: winning keeps fans happy, generally. And better recruits do usually translate into more wins. But you know what else recruits love?

-Cocaine and hookers on official visits
-Classes like "NFL History 101" and "Golf 110"
-Having tutors write their papers for them

I'm against doing things "just because recruits love it". No one is doing these kids any favors by catering to their every whim. They might make accomplished prima donnas out of them, but ND is about making boys into men.
I get that these unis are not indicative of some kind of fall of civilization at ND, but the fact that they cater to the fickle whims of a bunch of good High School football players is not enough, on its own, in my opinion, to justify making wholesale changes (even for just one game). Why not wear more traditional green unis with special "Team 127" and "Fenway Park" patches?

 

[Graybeard52]

I don't care for the shade of green or the horizontal stripe pattern. The green could be a shade or two darker and the stripes, I understand they are part of the nod to 11 championships but they look like an afterthought that was just slapped on there randomly. I think the vertical side stripes on the pants would have been enough. Outside of that, at least to me, they aren't terrible. If they wow the boys and recruits that's all that matters, regardless of what I think.

I do believe that since ND's school colors are blue and gold, one or the other should be a dominant color on any uniform. I know the green goes back to Rockne, there was the '77 USC game and several other instances of the green jerseys but it's one of the reasons I wasn't the biggest fans of the all white Shamrock Series uniforms, which brings me to this question:

We have now seen white jerseys/white pants, blue jerseys/blue pants and green jerseys/green pants, soooo...Are there gold jerseys with gold pants somewhere on the horizon and could UA pull it off without the boys looking like either a squeeze bottle of French's yellow mustard or Georgia Tech?