Ridiculous uniform angst

[PITTsburghFAN]

I saw on here (or maybe on TOS) this phrase from some self-loathing yinzer poster:

"... our current ND-ripoff colors...". Then more of the stupid bitching about the use of PITTSBURGH in the branding of the university's athletics... as if we represent Buffalo or Toledo or some other city!! "It's only PITT, it's only PITT."

How pathetic. Relative to the colors: Pitt was wearing dark navy blue and gold at a time when Notre Dame was wearing GREEN... which they still should as "The Irish". They also wore red and other colors at times (as did Pitt for a couple years... and the Pgh Pirates baseball team).

Pitt was in Gold and Blue YEARS BEFORE many teams that currently wear that combo (ND, Navy, etc.) were doing so. Why don't you check out your history and take pride and confidence in the fact that our current colors were ours, FIRST.

Instead, it's always a knee-jerk whine to go back to "our real, true colors". Did you ever visit the Pitt sports museum at The Pete? Look at the actual uniform there worn in a Rose Bowl (from the 20's or 30's... can't recall). Looks a lot like the combo we wear now.

Big babies.

The uniform combo now... with the soft-gold pants and helmet strips, the script with the white-outline... looks fantastic. If I could suggest any change it would be to change the helmet from a gloss/metallic paint to a non-shiny, matte that matches the gold pants exactly.

BTW - if you don't believe me, watch this highlight vid of Pitt vs. ND from 1930 at Pitt Stadium.



It's in black 'n white but the video's caption points out that Pitt's jerseys were dark blue... "almost black". ND was wearing GREEN. Go to the 2:45 mark when the camera zooms close to the field to see the great difference. Still feel that PITTsburgh is "ripping-off" ND colors??

 

[Pghfan]

Those uniforms look black or dark gray to me

 

[Pghfan]

Those uniforms look black or dark gray to me

Are you really using 1930 as a reference point? Should we go back to leather helmets while we are at it.

 

[bwh05]

This post makes zero sense. The reason the script and mustard colors are our brand is due to TV. No one saw the 1930 Rose Bowl.

 

[Pitt79]

Should we go back to leather helmets while we are at it.

That would likely reduce concussions since nobody would be leading with their head!

 

[HailtoPitt]

Navy blue and old gold are Pitt's official colors. That is what the football team should be wearing. End of discussion.

 

[bwh05]

I agree, wear the school colors and be done with it.

 

[DruidTM]

Pitt wears the school colors now....and as correctly pointed out by the original poster they were Pitts colors before Notre Dame and before Navy...

Also NDs colors today are absolutely not the same as Pitts today...look at the last couple of matchups...photos...video....they are NOT "the same"....at all...anyone working in any graphic design field would be fired over such an obvious misstatement of the facts in discussing colors....get your prescription for eyeglasses folks...

 

[deepelemblues]

No one saw the 1930 Rose Bowl? In 1930 college football was still the second-biggest sport in America after baseball. The NFL still wasn't much of a much. Basketball was in the fledgling stage at the college level. Hockey was still up in Canada almost exclusively. Now maybe not many people actually SAW the 1930 Rose Bowl live, but plenty of them listened on the radio or read about it in the papers or saw newsreels at the movie theater. It was a big event.

I've never understood the 'it was a long time ago so it doesn't matter' attitude.

 

[Joe the Panther Fan]

The funny thing is the number of people who are in the "it was a long time ago so it doesn't matter" crowd who yearn for Pitt to do things because that's the way we were doing them in the glory days of the mid-70s to the early 80s. You know, 35-40 years ago.

Pitt's uniforms should be Pitt's colors. Light blue and mustard yellow are not and, never have been Pitt's colors. Add that to the fact that it was kind of an ugly color combination and hopefully we never have to see that again, outside an occasional throwback game to milk the nostalgia crowd of a little of their money.

 

[bwh05]

Right, lots of people alive today saw the 1930 rose bowl.

 

[Dr. von Yinzer]

I like Pitt's unis and I'm not advocating a change. However, to dismiss the branding component of the mustard gold/royal blue uniforms is silly and demonstrates a fundamental lack of understanding of how branding works.

As the original poster stated, Notre Dame originally wore green. Penn State originally wore black and pink. Ohio State had radically different uniforms in the 30s too. All of those schools' fans recognize them based on what they saw them wearing when they first started seeing them on television every week. Pitt once had that too and somehow squandered it.

 

[Joe the Panther Fan]

Well the problem is that you think that anyone under the age of about 40, other than some Pitt fans, associates that butt ugly color scheme with Pitt. And the "brand" that that color evokes among many of the non-Pitt fan who do remember it is the stumbling, bumbling teams that wore it for the decade plus at the end of the run. That color scheme hasn't been relevant in the college football world for around 30 years. The notion that Pitt's "branding" is tied up in that particular color scheme shows a fundamental lack of understanding of how branding works.

 

[FourPanthers]

School colors, navy blue and old gold...period!

 

[Jpripper88]

Right, lots of people alive today saw the 1930 rose bowl.

Really? It wasn't on TV (obviously) and there were about 70k there. It was 85 years ago, so the youngest anyone could have been and remember (not accounting for advanced age memory loss) is about 90. The average life expectancy would have been about 57. Hopefully those 10-20 folks spread the word about Pitt uniforms. Do those jitterbug phones support Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook apps?

It doesn't really matter what Pitt's colors were or "officially" are. What matters is Pitt having a recognizable and marketable identity that translates into revenue and recognition. The "official" colors and block design obviously don't do that. Many think the script and some combo of the 70s/80s colors would. Hopefully those in charge make the right decision. Personally, I think the script and royal and light yellow like in the link is the ticket. Either way, I definitely hope they partner with some decent clothiers and make some nice polos and buttondowns. The current selection is pathetic for professional adults.

 

[UkiePanther]

Really? It wasn't on TV (obviously) and there were about 70k there. It was 85 years ago, so the youngest anyone could have been and remember (not accounting for advanced age memory loss) is about 90. The average life expectancy would have been about 57. Hopefully those 10-20 folks spread the word about Pitt uniforms. Do those jitterbug phones support Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook apps?

It doesn't really matter what Pitt's colors were or "officially" are. What matters is Pitt having a recognizable and marketable identity that translates into revenue and recognition. The "official" colors and block design obviously don't do that. Many think the script and some combo of the 70s/80s colors would. Hopefully those in charge make the right decision. Personally, I think the script and royal and light yellow like in the link is the ticket. Either way, I definitely hope they partner with some decent clothiers and make some nice polos and buttondowns. The current selection is pathetic for professional adults.

Um.. pretty sure he was being sarcastic.

 

[HailtoPitt]

How many other teams have changed their colors even once in the past 40 years? Pitt made a change in the early 70s, when many other programs were doing to same. Adding new logos to otherwise plain helmets is what teams did, and Pitt was no different. Since that time, there have been very few overhauls, because having an established identity that fans and players of multiple generations can identify with is a good thing, unless you are Steve Pederson; Then you want to establish your own identity as a project in vanity.

How many programs have changed their helmet logo and colors since the script was implemented in the early 70s. Not many. Pitt doing so simply because they were in a losing period was completely moronic.Now we have to deal with great player after great player wearing a different uniform. From Tony Dorsett to Curtin Martin to Larry Fitz to Lesean McCoy to Tyler Boyd. They all have different Pitt uniforms. Not too many other programs would be so short sighted.

 

[Joe the Panther Fan]

Oregon wears a different color scheme literally every single week and the kids all love it. Maryland has recently initiated their Oregon copycat scheme, and the kids love it. The notion that "not many" schools have changed their helmet logo since the early 70s is so absurd that it makes one wonder if you actually pay attention to college football.

 

[HailtoPitt]

Oregon wears a different color scheme literally every single week and the kids all love it. Maryland has recently initiated their Oregon copycat scheme, and the kids love it. The notion that "not many" schools have changed their helmet logo since the early 70s is so absurd that it makes one wonder if you actually pay attention to college football.

I suggested that there aren't many teams who have changed BOTH the colors and helmet logo. It becomes even more egregious that Pitt changed both at the same time. Admit it, the rebranding attempt was a failure, and with more competent administrators at the helm fans are actually getting what they want.

 

[Pitt79]

Oregon wears a different color scheme literally every single week and the kids all love it. Maryland has recently initiated their Oregon copycat scheme, and the kids love it. The notion that "not many" schools have changed their helmet logo since the early 70s is so absurd that it makes one wonder if you actually pay attention to college football.

Most of the really iconic teams probably haven't, like Michigan or USC or 'Bama, but look at Ohio State for example, they have, even Notre Dame has worn some variations of more modern type designs.

 

[HailtoPitt]

Most of the really iconic teams probably haven't, like Michigan or USC or 'Bama, but look at Ohio State for example, they have, even Notre Dame has worn some variations of more modern type designs.

OSU has not changed their helmets since 1968. And even before that, they have been consistent with their color scheme.

 

[Pitt79]

OSU has not changed their helmets since 1968. And even before that, they have been consistent with their color scheme.

But you gotta admit, the recent jerseys have been a major change.

 

[HailtoPitt]

But you gotta admit, the recent jerseys have been a major change.

Have they? I don't watch a lot of OSU games. They appeared to have similar unis compared to past years when they played against Oregon. What has changed in their normal uniforms?

 

[Pitt79]

http://www.dispatch.com/content/gra...football1126-art0-gd7ke6b4-1osu12um-kr-12.jpg

These aren't like the traditional tOSU uniforms.

 

[HailtoPitt]

http://www.dispatch.com/content/gra...football1126-art0-gd7ke6b4-1osu12um-kr-12.jpg

These aren't like the traditional tOSU uniforms.

Looking at some pictures of OSU's games in 2014, it looks like they usually wear their traditional unis and occasionally wear the special ones with the large stripe. I personally think that stripe is ugly, but it is definitely unique (at least from what I have seen). I don't think anyone has suggested that Pitt should never wear a special uniform, just that it is better to have a traditional look on most occasions.

 

[Jpripper88]

Um.. pretty sure he was being sarcastic.

Without a internationally sanctioned sarcasm font, we will never know.