The Seattle Seahawks unveiled their new uniforms for 2012 on Tuesday.
Many traditional fans were flipping their lids the past couple of years leading up to Tuesday’s launch of Nike’s NFL gear. When photos of NFL uniform “prototypes” were “leaked” last year, people were fearing for their favorite football team’s traditions.
Turns out, those images were just the work of some creative design expert who gets a kick out of scaring the NFL’s traditionalists out of their wits.
Tuesday’s reveal left many resting easy, showing no major aesthetic changes in the NFL uniforms with the exception of the Seattle Seahawks who unveiled an entirely new kit (whoops…wrong football).
However, the Nike’s devoted fan club was left waiting for something more.
Some of the NFL jerseys clearly could not be messed with, simply because of the tradition that surrounds them. Teams such as the Steelers, Packers, Raiders and Browns have too much history in their uniforms to make any major changes.
On the other hand, there are teams in the NFL such as the Bengals, Panthers, Eagles, Chargers and Buccaneers who could have made extreme changes to their uniforms to please the Nike contingent.
I don’t think Nike made the right move. Coming from a fan of the company’s work in NCAA football and basketball, there is a lot left to be desired with the unveiling of the new uniforms.
Images similar to this "leaked" last year revealing fake Nike prototypes for the 2012 NFL collection.
Yes, the technology is unprecedented. What Nike has done in the area of performance apparel is unmatched and that part of the new uniforms is what I enjoy. But Nike’s most recent success, or at least a hefty amount of attention, has come from the appearance of the uniforms themselves. The creativity behind the aesthetics of the Nike Pro Combat uniforms keeps people talking, at the very least.
I don’t think it’s in Nike’s best interest to make an underwhelming jump back into the NFL. Many people probably didn’t even know the switch was happening. Now that it has happened, people would expect to see a lot of what Nike does best as far as aesthetics are concerned. Nike didn’t exactly burst onto the NFL scene as I expected, but rather crept into the back door and quietly took a seat.
Nike is too daring to have the NFL stay stagnant. I predict NFL teams will unveil alternate uniforms, much like they did in the NCAA, later into the season. Nike must have been doing what it could not to send longtime fans into cardiac arrest at the sight of their wild uniforms. But, like I said, I don’t think Nike cannot stay this conservative for too long.
For now, Nike fans will live with the satisfaction of knowing that the folks behind the Swoosh are bringing all-new technology to the NFL. The Nike contingent can take solace in that, as history has told us, Phil Knight always has something up his sleeve.
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