What is the "uniform surprise"?

[BGIF]

Positive - No one would have cared about the Four Horseman picture, if ND had LOST to Army. Besides, ND didn't create the Four Horsemen nicknmame, New York Herald Tribune writer Grantland Rice did.

Damn it moose, there you go again, bringing up facts.

 

[ShamrockOnHelmet]

And all this time I thought it was about losing games. With new unis, a turf field, and a Jumbotron, Davie, Willingham, and Weis would be in the Hall of Fame.

If the Titantic had had multicolored deck chairs it still would have sunk because it plowed into an iceberg. It needed better leadership and a better crew.

ND's football demise was championed by Monk Malloy and Beauchamp running off Vinny Cerrato and then Lou Holtz. Similar to what had been done at ND by Father O'Donnell when Rockne died and what Father Hesburgh did with Leahy. It wasn't until Parshegian turned down Hesburgh for the ND job that Hesburgh saw the light.

Yes, ND championed the forward pass, the Rockne Shift, and a number of other innovations on the field. The design of gloves and helmets doesn't win games. Stop the nonsense. Coaches and players win games through proper execution, regardless of their garb or the environs.

Wow, you are really missing the point. I never said we win because of that. I'm talking about our position of transcending college football. We are THERE because of the tradition of innovation.

 

[ShamrockOnHelmet]

You're wrong there. I have nothing against innovation. I just want it ON THE FIELD. All of the uniform stuff is fluff and pageantry. ND built it's reputation on hard working blue-collar kind of guys who couldn't have cared less about fluff and pageantry. All they cared about was getting an education and playing football to the best of (and many times beyond) their abilities. To my way of thinking, putting such a big emphasis on uniforms and such turns away those kind of guys, and brings in guys who aren't quite as committed to excellence. I might very well be wrong, but it's just my guy instinct.

We'll agree to disagree, then. The best news of all is that your POV is losing out (as you can see by new unis and such), and thats a good thing for the University.

 

[NoJusticeNoPeace]

lol NDNation

 

[JoeyGetherall]

They're all calling for him to be fired. Many are talking about actively rooting against the team to get a new coach in ASAP. They are absolutely ridiculous.

Sometimes I read it and ask myself "They have to be kidding right? This can't be real."

It's pure comedy.

 

[SoDakDomer]

wins=players=recruits=18 yr old kids

I have no problem pulling out some gimmicky jerseys for one game if it even helps us land one recruit we otherwise would not have gotten. Notre Dame has a ton to offer for a high school football player, if changing the jerseys for one game adds to this list so be it. With that being said we better never approach oregon status with jersey changes. I cant even remember what their base jerseys look like. Change in moderation is alright with me.

 

[GreatGolson]

just thought of something for the traditionalists, if being "traditional" is te only reason you are
still a fan, then you have your priorities wrong

 

[Kak7304]

wins=players=recruits=18 yr old kids

I have no problem pulling out some gimmicky jerseys for one game if it even helps us land one recruit we otherwise would not have gotten. Notre Dame has a ton to offer for a high school football player, if changing the jerseys for one game adds to this list so be it. With that being said we better never approach oregon status with jersey changes. I cant even remember what their base jerseys look like. Change in moderation is alright with me.

I agree. This helmet is being used for one game. I don't think it's that big of a deal or completely throwing away tradition.

 

[GreatGolson]

btw, i love ND nations threads about a video board which they call Tron ( or Sprint Vision/Adidas Board)

 

[NoJusticeNoPeace]

What if the players like the uniforms? It really should be about them and for them since they are the ones playing out there.

 

[kmoose]

just thought of something for the traditionalists, if being "traditional" is te only reason you are
still a fan, then you have your priorities wrong

There's nothing wrong with being a traditionalist. I think most of the older guys here are still fans because, even with the losses, we still see a University that is doing it right. Perhaps it's not always perfect, but we can see that the University still places a HUGE priority on academics alongside athletics. It also still cares about the character of it's athletes. We've had some guys with some troubles, but not even nearly on the scale of what is going on in more and more places around College Football. I hate the extended conversations and speculations about the uniforms. But I have no problem with one game a year being used to change things up. As long as the changes are tasteful.

 

[returnofthemack]

The helmet shown on und.com looks pretty cool. However, in the pictures of the helmet on other sites, the facemask looks like it's painted a dark shade of forest green, which I think looks hideous. Does anybody know for sure if the facemask is black or forest green?

 

[koonja]

The jerseys have changed like what, 5, 10 times? Was it breaking tradition the first time they changed? Just wondering how you traditionalists feel about our current jerseys since they weren't our original jerseys.

 

[ShamrockOnHelmet]

I hate the extended conversations and speculations about the uniforms.

No one is forcing you to click. I ignore threads about things I don't like on this site. Some people like to talk about things you might not, thats the beauty of personal freedom.

 

[GreatGolson]

There's nothing wrong with being a traditionalist. I think most of the older guys here are still fans because, even with the losses, we still see a University that is doing it right. Perhaps it's not always perfect, but we can see that the University still places a HUGE priority on academics alongside athletics. It also still cares about the character of it's athletes. We've had some guys with some troubles, but not even nearly on the scale of what is going on in more and more places around College Football. I hate the extended conversations and speculations about the uniforms. But I have no problem with one game a year being used to change things up. As long as the changes are tasteful.

^dont get me wrong, some of the traditions of ND are important to the character of the university. things like the gold helmet are icons of Notre Dame, and things like putting emphasis on academics are one reason i like ND, however i do not think that ones main reason for notre dame is because they never change. as shamrock has said multiple times already, notre dame has historically been a trailblazer with things like green jerseys, TV contracts, and national scheduling. If anything, i think ND is going back to their roots with these changes. And its obvious the players and recruits like them, lets remember, these are 18 year olds from the ESPN generation, not 40 something alums from the pre-coed days.

 

[NDPhilly]

Remember this pick from 6 months ago?

Almost exactly the same.

 

[Rhode Irish]

I'll throw my two cents in here: I am big on traditions. Tradition is a big part of why I'm an ND fan. The last thing I want to see is Notre Dame sell its soul in an attempt to be "modern" or "trendy." If you go back through this thread, you will see me arguing against ridiculous changes to the uniform (black jerseys, all gold uniforms, pink jerseys, etc.).

Having said all of that, the helmets for the Maryland game are awesome. AWESOME. ND's golden helmets are famous. Improving them by making them more golden is not selling your soul. Either is putting one of your logos on the helmet (something that the program has done before in the past - it could be argued that it is a tribute to the program's past).

Some of these "tradition fetishists" need to take a deep breath. And the lunatics at ND Nation can play in traffic as far as I'm concerned.

As far SoH and KMoose's argument, KMoose is right that what makes ND football is what has happened on the field, but that doesn't mean that the program hasn't been innovative in other areas, and it certainly doesn't mean that any attempt to market the program undermines the program's values. I honestly don't even see the connection. Anyone who thinks ND will Return To Glory on the strength of our new helmet is an idiot. Likewise, anyone who thinks our new helmet will be detrimental to that effort.

 

[Damion704]

LOVE ur post

 

[ShamrockOnHelmet]

Remember this pick from 6 months ago?

Almost exactly the same.

Nice callout. Who had the scoop on that?

 

[returnofthemack]

Never mind, I looked at the picture Ryan Grooms posted and the facemask is dark green and not black. I guess it was just the lighting in the UND pic but I thought it looked pretty cool with a black facemask. Still like the helmet, just not a fan of the painted facemask, it's a little too high school for me.

 

[GreatGolson]

heres the pic from Ryan Groom's (NDFB equipment manager) Twitter

 

[NDPhilly]

Nice callout. Who had the scoop on that?

Idk I think we all thought it was a HS helmet.

 

[JoeyGetherall]

I wonder what they would do if the shamrock was upside down like it was in the 60's. Or numbers even. Oh my!

 

[Yes]

Didn't we already do this? I like our uniforms being boring! Maybe a green jersey every other year, and a shamrock every 20 years, but c'mon.

 

[GreatGolson]

Normally I'm against the "what it" game, but just as pure speculation, i wonder if the ND nation people (and a few on this and other boards) would be this up in arms if ND was 9-0? what if Notre Dame wins a national championship in the next 2 years? its likely that Kelly would get more of what he wants (jumbotron, field turf) Bottom line: Winning makes all this drama go away.

 

[JughedJones]

heres the pic from Ryan Groom's (NDFB equipment manager) Twitter

Alright, I'm gonna go ahead and say it.... That thing is ugly as sin.

 

[Patulski]

I say go all the way:

Basilica: Rap hymns sponsored by Def Jam
Golden Dome: Add Adidas Stripes on each face
Fill in the lakes and build condo's sponsored by Goldman Sachs
Grotto: Fluorescent lights, sponsored by GE, with a talking 3D Mary sponsored by Pixar

 

[rocket66]

Normally I'm against the "what it" game, but just as pure speculation, i wonder if the ND nation people (and a few on this and other boards) would be this up in arms if ND was 9-0? what if Notre Dame wins a national championship in the next 2 years? its likely that Kelly would get more of what he wants (jumbotron, field turf) Bottom line: Winning makes all this drama go away.

Right, and as much as the traditionalists choose to ignore it, it's going to take things like this to excite the future recruits. Exciting future recruits will turn into winning future games. If the traditionalists get their way, well then I guess they can enjoy the tradition of losing.

You have to stay relevant to the youth and things like this are necessary to gain the excitement. BK "gets it".

 

[JughedJones]

Hey, I'm cool with a new uni every once and a while.....but those helmets are poo.

 

[irishtrinity]

Green for the Money, Gold for the Honey....

helmets look very cool i like the shamrock and the green facemask....Anyone hear about the leprachaun on the back of the helmet?