What is the "uniform surprise"?

[NDhoosier]

I like them... Seems to be popular among the players and recruits. 2014 commit Justin Brent likes them, Alex Anzalone likes them (seems solid to ND now, no rumors about UF will pop up now).

One game shouldnt break a tradition, if you want to get down to it, the shamrock on last year's helmet already ruined the pure Gold helmets for every game, and I am pretty sure someone on this forum has posted pictures of past ND with non-All Gold helmets. I dont think its as much a tradition as some of you think. As long as most of the helmet is Gold, its ND tradition.

 

[irishtrinity]

I am sure IrishTrinity will be along shortly.

Love the idea of it... Jerseys pants look good... For gods sake leave the helmet gold with white or blue leprechaun. I can live with it for a game, but really it would have been a 10/10 with a gold helmet.. I'd give this yrs style a 7/10 last years 9/10.

 

[jcun]

I LOVE the new unis..I'm also 22 and like that kind of stuff. Its unique, creative and spices things up. Makes us relevant and up to date with the young kids and recruits. Just for one game I think all you old timers can suffer through it for the bigger picture ya?
Heres a link to see the side view
Photo Gallery

BTW I would kill to have the under shirt like ASAP! That thing is to die for lol

Is it possible to be an "old timer" who fully supports alternate uniforms but happens to think this particular design/execution is embarrassing? Maybe it's just the lighting but this pic has like 4 different shades of blue in it... undershirt, jersey, pants stripe, and gloves are all slightly different.... oh helmet too... that's five shades of blue...

 

[Bluto]

I must admit I was surprised. Lol. I do have a pretty strong feeling that these razzle dazzle uniforms are going to go the way of polyester pants, white people with afros, hammer pants and Insane Clown Posse tattoos.

 

[bjohnmwc]

on October 17th? after the game it will be worn in? not trying to call you out or anything, but where did you see this?

My bad....I meant August 17. UND.com already has a bunch of stuff listed.

 

[bjohnmwc]

Somehow the jerseys don't seem to look like I thought they would....maybe I'm missing the #'s on the sleeves?

Product: I1203J1 Shamrock Series Replica Jersey: www.bkstr.com

 

[IrishMoore1]

After seeing the look on live video, it doesn't seem as bad as before, particularly with the helmet. I do like the jerseys tho.

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/12_Ri11qQXs" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

 

[Bogtrotter07]

Somehow the jerseys don't seem to look like I thought they would....maybe I'm missing the #'s on the sleeves?

Product: I1203J1 Shamrock Series Replica Jersey: www.bkstr.com

The real jersey is a two parter; the tech fit with the front and back designs and numerals and the under jersey with the sleeve numerals. When Jack Swarbrick was talking about letting addidas making coin off of the sub ser jersey, I wondered how they would do that . . . I guess they didn't. How disappointing.

 

[BleedBlueGold]

I had a creative moment this morning on the way to work. While thinking about the new gear, I realized that I'm not a huge fan of the leftrachaun. I honestly think it would've look a million times better if it was a gold flaked shamrock (to match the gold/pattern other side of the helmet). I also would've liked to see the "ND" logo on each jersey sleeve. If anyone has photoshop and can render this idea just for the hell of it, I'd appreciate it. I love the offset split of the helmet though. Most people say it's the worst part. I respectively disagree and to me, it's the best part of the whole uni. Anywho...just spittballin and trying to stall from doing any real work today.

Edit: If no one cares to do this, could you at least point me in the direction of which specific software I need and how to go about doing the renderings myself? Thanks.

 

[ndfi78]

I like them, including the helmet

 

[NDdomer2]

The only thing that bothers me is that all the blues aren't the same shade. Something so simple to achieve.

 

[woolybug25]

I am sad and pissed at the same time. How did this happen and why?

This is not going to help with recruits so stop with that bullshit.

There is no need for this. Yes I am a gator but I am also a fan of college football and would like for this to not happen.

I actually totally agree with Gator on this one. I would be interested on how you guys would react to a team like scUM losing the wings and throwing a pic of a wolverine on their helmet for a game. Or USC doing a white helmet with a trojan logo. I'm guessing the lot of you would be calling it stupid and a degradation of their brand.

I try to shoot it straight, good or bad. I truly hate this and will be echoing that in my letter to the university. Tarnishing our brand (even for one game) is ridiculous. So homer up, fellas! Tell me more about how a bunch of 18 year old kids love it. Those same kids have no understanding of branding and identity. They are too young to have that type of insight. A move like this makes us no different than the rest of college football. What's next? Join a conference? Lower academic standards? I bet 18 year old kids would like that too.

This is a bunch of Bullsh!t, if you ask me.

So pissed...

 

[Rhode Irish]

From Deadspin: Horrible New Uniforms Mean Notre Dame Can Finally Compete With the Marylands of the World

For the record, I love Drew Magary. He is probably my favorite (non-serious) writer around these days. Unfortunately I have to deal with him hating all the stuff I like (Boston sports teams and ND), but it actually kind of makes his stuff funnier to me. Like having a good friend who likes different teams than you - which I also have.

I don't totally disagree with him about the uniforms, and while I do disagree with his perspective on ND football as expressed here, unfortunately it does represent a fairly sizable group of football fans. It just reminds me of how F\/CKING AWESOME it is going to be when we finally break through. It is coming, and I cannot wait to watch about 50 million people simultaneously eat crow.

 

[bjohnmwc]

The real jersey is a two parter; the tech fit with the front and back designs and numerals and the under jersey with the sleeve numerals. When Jack Swarbrick was talking about letting addidas making coin off of the sub ser jersey, I wondered how they would do that . . . I guess they didn't. How disappointing.

Yeah, I hadn't really considered what the replica jerseys would look like to purchase. The sleeves just sort of look bare to me -- what differentiates this jersey from some "random" HS team with the same name? Seeing the numbers, the Leprechaun, a shamrock, or the interlocking ND on the sleeves would have been a cool addition.

 

[BleedBlueGold]

I actually totally agree with Gator on this one. I would be interested on how you guys would react to a team like scUM losing the wings and throwing a pic of a wolverine on their helmet for a game. Or USC doing a white helmet with a trojan logo. I'm guessing the lot of you would be calling it stupid and a degradation of their brand.

I try to shoot it straight, good or bad. I truly hate this and will be echoing that in my letter to the university. Tarnishing our brand (even for one game) is ridiculous. So homer up, fellas! Tell me more about how a bunch of 18 year old kids love it. Those same kids have no understanding of branding and identity. They are too young to have that type of insight. A move like this makes us no different than the rest of college football. What's next? Join a conference? Lower academic standards? I bet 18 year old kids would like that too.

This is a bunch of Bullsh!t, if you ask me.

So pissed...

This type of overreaction is borderline insane. It's for one game, Wooly. I've had plenty of anit-ND friends who are laughing but mainly because they think this is ND's new permanent unis. I agree, there are parts of the uniform that I don't care for, but it's minor details. The helmet is cool, imo. I think it could've been done even better however. Regardless, Jack said in an interview yesterday that they're trying to be better partners FOR Adidas. You don't have to be in love w/ the new look for a game, but at least acknowledge that it's done with marketing in mind. In no way does it tarnish the brand of ND. The people who hate it, you, will be replaced with the people who think it's unique and great and the universe will stay balanced. Sorry for the rant, but I just think you're blowing this way out of proportion. If this were a permanent replacement, then yes by all means go nuts and write letters. But it's not. It's one game...for fun. College football in fact a game. It's for entertainment. Lighten up a little.

 

[Veer option]

After thinking it about it last night, what did Notre Dame do to Adidas to deserve such a terrible helmet design? They should have went all gold, or all blue, not this 3/4 mix nonsense. At least those god awful 2007 ND vs USC uniforms had some history behind them.

 

[woolybug25]

This type of overreaction is borderline insane. It's for one game, Wooly. I've had plenty of anit-ND friends who are laughing but mainly because they think this is ND's new permanent unis. I agree, there are parts of the uniform that I don't care for, but it's minor details. The helmet is cool, imo. I think it could've been done even better however. Regardless, Jack said in an interview yesterday that they're trying to be better partners FOR Adidas. You don't have to be in love w/ the new look for a game, but at least acknowledge that it's done with marketing in mind. In no way does it tarnish the brand of ND. The people who hate it, you, will be replaced with the people who think it's unique and great and the universe will stay balanced. Sorry for the rant, but I just think you're blowing this way out of proportion. If this were a permanent replacement, then yes by all means go nuts and write letters. But it's not. It's one game...for fun. College football in fact a game. It's for entertainment. Lighten up a little.

What a bunch of hoo-ha. We need to be "better partners FOR Adidas"? F*** that, Adidas needs to start being better partners to us! If the best thing they can think of for alternative uniforms is change our helmet (which is the most symbolic and recognizable in all of college football) than they need to be fired. Saying "it's just one game" is posturing. This is the administration bending over and taking one for Adidas. You know that old saying, "give an inch, take a mile"? This is exactly what Adidas is doing.

College football might just be a game to you, but this game is the soul of the university that I love. I for one, am not going to just sit back like a lemming fool while they tarnish that brand.... even for "just one game"...

 

[Veer option]

Wooly is fired up! Digging it!

 

[GoldenIsThyFame]

I just keep asking myself, why the helmets? What is really gained by it? Does it really make more top tier recruits want to come to ND if we wear a different helmet for one game a year? Is that how we landed Tuitt, Ishaq, Gunner, Jaylon, etc? How many kids mention "tradition" when they are asked by reporters what they like about ND? Doesn't a game vs Miami in Chicago at night sell itself? It has gotten to the point where schools are now just the pawns in a much larger game between Nike, Adidas and Under Armor. All it is anymore is one trying to one up the other with a new uniform design every week of the football season.

/end rant

 

[BurningRiver]

I don't think people remember how bad those Maryland uni's were

Would I be neg-repped if I said I actually think those Maryland uni's are kind of cool?

 

[Bogtrotter07]

Would I be neg-repped if I said I actually think those Maryland uni's are kind of cool?

No, everybody would just "un-friend" you.

 

[Rocket89]

What a bunch of hoo-ha. We need to be "better partners FOR Adidas"? F*** that, Adidas needs to start being better partners to us! If the best thing they can think of for alternative uniforms is change our helmet (which is the most symbolic and recognizable in all of college football) than they need to be fired. Saying "it's just one game" is posturing. This is the administration bending over and taking one for Adidas. You know that old saying, "give an inch, take a mile"? This is exactly what Adidas is doing.

College football might just be a game to you, but this game is the soul of the university that I love. I for one, am not going to just sit back like a lemming fool while they tarnish that brand.... even for "just one game"...

Wait, are you really writing a letter. For real?

I want to be there when they open it up. Too funny.

What about the regular uniforms? Is the school "bending over for Adidas" with them?

This talk about the "soul of the University" is nonsense. Notre Dame has a wide and diverse brand and in football they have the regular uniforms (which haven't changed thank you very much and have actually been improved) and they now have a 1 time a year alternate uniform for the foreseeable future.

Fans' over the top, ridiculous, and anger-fueled rants over one uniform for one game do much more to damage the Notre Dame brand.

 

[NDinL.A.]

I am sad and pissed at the same time. How did this happen and why?

This is not going to help with recruits so stop with that bullshit.

There is no need for this. Yes I am a gator but I am also a fan of college football and would like for this to not happen.

I could give a rat's arse what a Gator fan thinks of our unis or anything else regarding ND for that matter. Go grow a pair and schedule a non-conference game out of state for the first time in over 20 years, and then talk to me about sad and pissed you are.

The recruits do notice, whether you want to admit it or not. They've already come out and said they love it.

The players love it, and they do matter. They took to twitter to rave about them. Manti Te'o, our leader, understated and about as great(/conservative) a human being as you're going to find, said he loves the unis ("Look good, feel good, play good"). To me, that's all that matters.

Personally, I don't like the helmets at all. But seeing the jerseys on the players, I like them much more than I did in those pictures they first showed. But even then, what I like means nothing. It's all about the players...and they like them and are hyped to play in them, then for me, that trumps everything.

And Wooly, I get that you don't like them, and write as many letters as your heart desires. Won't matter though. The admin will love the $$$ coming in, the coaches will love the players being extra hyped about them, and the players already love them...

 

[woolybug25]

And Wooly, I get that you don't like them, and write as many letters as your heart desires. Won't matter though. The admin will love the $$$ coming in, the coaches will love the players being extra hyped about them, and the players already love them...

I don't know how ugly jerseys and vomiting on our helmets create more revenue for the university. Nor do I care if a bunch of 17-18 year old kids think they have swag. I don't want to be a fan of Oregon, I am a fan of Notre Dame. The things that make us different make us special. This stupid helmet change is just another step in the university selling it's soul to the devil. Sacrificing our school's uniqueness to follow the rest of college football in the pursuit of glitter and glam. Changing our helmet for a game isn't going to help us get a single recruit, nor would I ever want our university to sacrifice their identity in order to get a recruit. We recruit well without all of the BS, so why start now?

I want to remind people that the culture of Notre Dame is what makes it special. We haven't done d!ck on the football field in 20+ years. The last thing we need to start doing is sacrificing our identity in order to gain short term love from 18 year old kids looking for schools with swag. I see this helmet change as just another step of turning the school into a second class football program. Schools like Maryland have to do childish crap like this in order to gain attention. We shouldn't have to lower ourselves to that.

 

[irishtrinity]

Wow adding a little blue and a leprachaun pisses ppl off!!! LOL.. Come on relax it's just showing the Tradition on the Leprachaun... Whats so bad about that?

 

[calvegas04]

hope they have better replica jerseys on their website than the one they have right now.

 

[GoldenIsThyFame]

When you first look at the hat it looks like a big middle finger.

Here is the jersey calvegas referenced:

 

[Rocket89]

Okay, here it is.

There are a lot of phrases being thrown around with these discussions.

"Sacrificing our identity"

"Selling our soul to the devil"

"Tarnish the brand"

Let's just assume that these phrases are true. So, what's the future going to look like? What are the repercussions?

Essentially what I'm asking is for those terms to be defined and then show the rest of us how the Shamrock Uniform proves they are true.

So, now Notre Dame's image is tarnished? What now?

Will the university start losing massive amounts of money? Are opposing fans going to laugh at us? Are ND fans going to stop going to games and supporting the football team?

Which of those options are going to occur?

It comes down to this: Notre Dame's "soul" and its "brand" and its "identity" goes way beyond whatever the football team wears on the field on Saturday. Are we supposed to believe because the football team is wearing a weird uniform for one game that all of a sudden we're just months away from the school dropping its Catholic affiliation?

Will the academics suffer? Are smart and engaging high school seniors going to stop applying?

Will the football players stop being student-athletes?

If anyone truly believes that Notre Dame has lost its way because of some uniform tweaks, you probably never understood Notre Dame to begin with. That signals to me that people are rooting merely for a symbol and not what that symbol is supposed to represent. That signals to me that people are rooting for a uniform and not the players inside the uniforms doing their best to win on and off the football field.

I see all these accusatory phrases being thrown around, and frankly, I think it's a bunch of BS and I really don't believe people who say it. And if they really do believe that, guess what...Notre Dame doesn't need that kind of people to be fans or supporters. In this sense, the alternate uniforms are kind of genius---they show who's willing to cheer for the team for superficial reasons, who's willing to walk away from the greater mission of the university, all because of some uniform that will be forgotten 30 years from now.

It may sound harsh, but it's true. This uniform changes the culture at Notre Dame by roughly 0.3% and any attempts to make it bigger than it is are misplaced.

 

[IrishGiant]

I can live with everything but the helmet, and its not because they changed the look of it, its because they changed the look of it into a hideous conglomeration of I dont know what. A real cool helmet wouldve been green with the Lep on both sides. THAT would been an awesome look!

 

[ShamrockOnHelmet]

my letter to the university.

You're acting like a spoiled little brat, and you know it.

You know the funny part; your letter will likely blow by one of the replica helmets you hate on the way to the trash can. Lets play a game of over/under. The number of seconds between the time Wooly's letter emerges from the envelope to the time it hits the trash can: 6. (HINT: take the UNDER).