GT: Another Year, Another Uniform

 

Blah blah blah. Let's be honest. Tech has one "big" uniform tweak every year. I am so over it. Tech fans consider themselves such experts on everything. Doesn't matter the shade of gold, they hate it. Goodness gracious.

So like everyone else, here's my worthless opinion. Except I have been a student of uniforms for well over 50 years, and specifically Tech uniforms. So it's not like I am a newbie on this. Under Armour is paying much more for the privilege of outfitting the Jackets. First off, there's plenty to like about these uniforms. 

I'm happy with the darker shade of gold. More contrast. Call it what you will: old gold or whatever. Not really mustard, though I wouldn't mind seeing it. The shiny gold really never was a traditional color. And when I say traditional, I'm not talking about the years 2000-2026. I mean the 1940's, 50's, 60's, and 70's. 

What zero people have mentioned, but is such a big factor in the overall look of a uniform: no navy or black face masks. So much better to wear gold masks with gold helmets, and white masks with white helmets. Of course, we'll see what happened when they take the field. In every game there's a chance that ugly dark mask makes an appearance.

The thing about uniforms: for the most part tiny details can't be seen from the stands or on most TV shots. Thank goodness. Not sure what the deal is with the odd numbers, jersey stripes, and the single stripe on the pants. Supposedly they give tribute to a structure on the Tech campus - a relatively recent structure that isn't beloved or traditional.

If anything the numbers resemble a drop shadow look, a great design back in the 1950's that was revived in the 1990's. I seriously doubt the Jackets are on the leading edge of the next great fashion trend. Nice that the numbers are large. Not exactly block numbers, but close enough. At least fans will be able to make out what number a player is wearing, from the stands or on TV. In recent years that hasn't always been the case.

Not a fan of the large GEORGIA TECH wordmark above the numbers. Is it really needed? Whatever. I do like how in all these photos, you really can't tell whether there's contrasting color on the collar. As it should be. Don't need another detail. Simple is better. For years and years Tech had the ugly striped collars. An upgrade.

Nice that the gold GT helmet logo on the white helmet can actually be seen. Last year the logo was invisible, even on closeup photos. Would be more visible with a navy outline (like on the gold helmet), but you can't have everything.

Odd to have a single pants stripe. At least its relatively thick, so it will be visible. I liked the two stripes Tech wore last year. Players look ugly and slow with no pants stripe. A navy stripe would make the pants pop, but for some reason Tech is just hellbent to just have gold and white uniforms.

Not sure when navy or black became such a bad thing. For years and years the Jackets wore dark numbers, with dark stripes on helmets, sleeves, and pants. At least we aren't too similar to Vanderbilt or Wake Forest.  

Then there's the black pants. But no black jersey. Yet, anyway. I'm sure the players will want to wear them (so they can be like almost every other football team in American. Nothing at all unique about black uniforms. Want to be unique? Want to be special?  DON'T WEAR BLACK. I'm sure at some point the black jerseys will be unveiled for some special game, and everyone will be fired up - forgetting Tech's woefully bad record while wearing special uniforms.

Just noticed the ridiculous Under Armour cleats. Whatever. I doubt they'll stand out on TV. I'd rather have white cleats with gold trim, than navy or black trim. Looks better from a distance.

We'll see how these uniforms look once the Jackets take the field. Lots of unknowns, like the facemasks and cleats. Coach Key seems to make an effort to keep the uni combinations to a minimum. I hope that continues. Like the best uniforms, it's best to keep things simple.