Here's something to think about.
Notice how that Pro Combat example has a Nike under shirt with sleeves that go to the elbow?
Did you notice that Oregon did the same thing in the title game and put their numbers there?
We're going to see this more and more with football uniforms. If you recall, back in the day football jerseys used to go all the way to the elbow, and sometimes even further.
That allowed uniform designers to put stripes on the shoulders and arms without it looking stupid. Nowadays with the tight jerseys, should stripes look stupid (check Nebraska's uniform, some of the Indy Colts, etc.) and putting numbers and stripes on the arms is all but impossible today.
Just look at an old picture of Joe Namath and then at Joseph Addai to see the difference.
But with these undershirts, we're seeing companies, particularly Nike, putting designs on them as part of the uniform proper. This is exactly what Oregon State did this year with their Pro Combat jerseys...they wore black undershirts to match their jersey and added orange and white stripes near their elbows to make it look more old school.
And I think it looks really incredible. What if Notre Dame started doing this? I think this would be a nice idea that would allow the team to keep its current traditional look but add some modern flair too...which in some cases (as pointed out by the OSU unis) can look old school too.
We could wear blue undershirts at home and put the players numbers on their arms. Or take the "ND" monogram off the jersey, replace it with a number like under Weis, and then put the ND, or shamrock, or the Leprechaun on the undershirts on the arms.
Thoughts?
