Ohio State Sells Out, Will Wear Alternate Unis Against Michigan
Well, this is just horrible.
Ohio State--one of the most storied programs in all of college football--will ditch decades of tradition and wear utterly ridiculous "alternate" uniforms when they take on Michigan later this month.
As someone who grew up in Ohio, and as someone who believes rather strongly that you shouldn't mess with great uniforms, this announcement makes me, well, unhappy. Ohio State has some of the greatest unis in sports. So why mess with them?
Well, apparently, because Nike asked them to.
In a statement, Ohio State Athletic Director Gene Smith said the following: "During spring, 2009, Ohio State was invited by Nike to participate in its Rivalry uniform program with several other universities from around the nation. They offered us a chance to try a new uniform product featuring cutting-edge fabrics and technology; participation in the program also offered us a one-time opportunity to salute one of those great championship teams that have built the Ohio State football tradition. ...
"For this special program, we chose to recognize the achievements of our undefeated 1954 national championship team, winning the Big Ten title outright before capturing a Rose Bowl victory. These great Buckeyes celebrated their 55th anniversary with us at the Minnesota game, and this is another way for us to pay homage to their stellar achievements. ...
"Again, this is a one-time opportunity to honor a great championship team. We have no plans to make any changes to the traditional Buckeye uniform for the foreseeable future."
Oh, whatever, Gene.
You've already sold out. Just admit it.
Ohio State: It's the new Oregon.
Photo: Ohio State will not wear its actual uniforms when it takes on Michigan later this year. Great idea. (Jamie Sabau/Getty Images)
Comments
This is nothing like Oregon’s revolving wardrobe changes. It’s just two teams with a historic rivalry choosing to wear uniform styles of an earlier era. Chill out.
I’m willing to bet other rivalry games between Nike schools will be doing it too.
Cal – Stanford?
Pitt – West Virginia?
Kyle, Michigan is not a Nike school. They weare Adidas, thus will not be a part of Nike’s plans that day.
Ohio State sold out.
After Reading the OSU offical Website, they are adding black numerals on there sleeves to copy the unis worn in 1954, is that so bad?
Mike, Maybe it does feed into the rivalry theme – OSU vs. UM, Nike vs. Adidas… Just need Adidas to recognize the rivalry. You can also make the argument that Michigan sold out. Adidas offered them money, they jumped ship.
Joe, the 1954 jerseys didn’t have black numbers. Those were the 1968 jerseys and they already did this retro version around 1993.
The central issue is that Ohio State already has awesome uniforms. Some of the best. There’s no reason to change them. Except money, of course.
I’d hate to see college football go the way of the NFL, where new alternate unis are introduced each and every week.
College football is better than the NFL because tradition actually matters. If we lose that, we lose a big part of what makes the college game great.
I didn’t realize that Michigan has switched to Adidas; I guess that’s new for this season?
I guess I don’t understand how this is bad for college football’s tradition. Throwbacks to a championship team celebrate a school’s tradition. These aren’t garish alternate uniforms like the black versions of Tennessee or Georgia we saw earlier this season. It’s certainly not the mix and match clown suits of recent Oregon teams. Of course Nike is going to hype it up with descriptions of magical fabrics being used, but so what?
Pitt’s coach Dave Wannstedt has mention being approached by Nike for this program. No confirmation on whether it’s happing or for which game.
here’s a picture of what the buckeyes’ uniforms will look like during the OSU/MICH game.
http://images.sportsbybrooks.com/5/3/5383d8ea90c7cc6fa363ba5614c45d65_ohiostatethrowbackjersey.jpg