Young Buckeyes top Gators and pass early season test
November 16, 2011That Really Cool Browns Play from Sunday? Yeah, that was Illegal.
November 16, 2011I’ve been having an ongoing discussion with National Football Authority’s Daniel Wolf this season about Cleveland’s choice of uniforms. I am the self-proclaimed site Uni-Nerd. I wear the badge with pride actually. Whether discussing my favorite non-Cleveland uniforms, or reviewing the best jersey numbers in Cleveland sports or just giving my opinion on sports fashion here and there, I love to talk about the laundry.
So this year, the Browns decided that they will wear the all whites at home. They did this for two reasons, according to Wolf’s piece here–
“The team is honoring Paul Brown, and his team’s, by bringing back the white-on-white uniforms for all home games this season,” said Gulkis. Fans have seen the Browns wear their brown jerseys with white pants at home, in seasons past, but they are going with the old-school look this year.
“We listen to our fans and they wanted white-on-white at home,” said Gulkis.
Now, I’m all for honoring the past with uniforms- to an extent of course. I wonder sometimes if some fans even know that the team is not named after the color, nor the great running back, but a former coach Paul Brown. It is also interesting that the team honors him by removing as much brown from the uniforms as possible.
The problem, and one that we saw coming on opening weekend, was that if the Browns choose to wear all white at home, they may just wear them all the time this season.
Home teams get to choose whether they wear white or their colors. The majority of the league goes with colored jerseys at home, with the most notable exception being the Cowboys, who wear the whites in Dallas regularly. Sometimes warm weather teams like the Dolphins will choose to wear white in the early part of the season to try and stay cooler. Chances are, that none of the teams left on the Browns road schedule will opt to wear white. Arizona, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh and Baltimore have all worn colored tops every home game this season.
So the Browns may be ‘brownless’ all season long.
So what you say?
I’m sure there are those who could care less about what combination of uniforms the Browns wear. Like every other fan out there, I would probably not care a lick if they were winning regularly. (Probably.) The fact is, they aren’t winning. They are for the most part a bit like the bland uniforms they are sporting all season- plain and uninspiring.
How about a little variety? How about some orange pants with those white tops? Now that was a look. Why not wear the Brown tops again for the remaining three home games? I’m sure Paul Brown won’t be dishonored.
I’ll say it. The all white look was great for a game or two at home as a novelty, but it is BORING for an entire season.
Ok, carry on arguing about Peyton Hillis, Shurmur, McCoy and handing off to fullbacks.
63 Comments
@gman I am thankful that it is not up to you. I happen to think orange and brown are a terrific combination, and that we currently have the best unis in the NFL. Believe me, a guy like Eric Metcalf looked plenty athletic in orange and brown–we just don’t have many athletic guys at the moment. The Brown jerseys just need to be on display more than they have been this season.
The Bengals? Those are without a doubt the worst kit the league has to offer, with that Halloween color scheme of theirs. And just wait til Nike gets hold of it. No thanks. Orange and purple? That’s borderline criminal. Orange and blue is reasonable, but the Broncos look doesn’t do a very good job with it.
The occasional throwback helmet could be cool, but otherwise I think we do just fine.
@B-bo: if brown is such a great color for uniforms why aren’t there many other teams in ALL sports wearing it? NHL/NBA/MLB/NFL combined have 2 teams with brown (including Browns). In all of Div I and Div I-AA college football the only teams who have even a hint of brown in unis are Bowling Green (gee, wonder where they got their colors from), Western Michigan & Wyoming and all 3 of those unis are heinous. As for orange–i can live with orange so long as it’s matched up with a better color (such as black or blue). Agree the Bengals are horrendous, but the color combo works. Certainly entitled to your opinion of Browns having the best unis in league, but you are more than likely in the minority–in fact most polls about unis indicate Browns at/near the bottom in terms of fan faves. Check out this link for 10 worst unis ever—http://www.toptenz.net/top-10-ugliest-sports-uniforms.php
I’m sure it’s just a coincedence that orange is involved in 4 of them…
@christopher–agree that the elf is not “athletic” but it is a unique logo that they’ve used in the past and would clearly brand the Browns as opposed to what they are now…most logos are not athletic per se, but they are identifiable with their team if done properly.
Well heck, let’s just change the colors to red, white, and blue and be done with it then. Nothing beats following the herd.
@Greg – I find it humorous that you are dissing the orange and brown color combination so close to Thanksgiving.
Love the Brown and Orange. Love the ‘no logo’. Go Browns!
The Browns will never win a championship until they adapt, go with brown tops, white pants, black shoes and put the elf on a white helmet with orange/brown stripes. It’s not 1964 anymore, it’s 2011!
White jerseys at home are a Cleveland Browns tradition. I was sorry when they started wearing brown jerseys at home, it meant the outsiders were taking over.
At my very first Browns game at the old Cleveland Municipal Stadium my father explained to me that by wearing white at home we get to see the colors of all the other teams.
Call me crazy but I think one of the reasons why the Browns always lose is b/c they have yet to commit to going back to their Kardiac unis of the brown on orange combo.
Cleveland needs to work with Nike next season on establishing the orange pants again with the stripes on the side. Every time there’s a conversation about the Browns unis the orange pants always comes up so clearly the fans want a change in unis and the all-white combo has rarely produced any winning seasons since the Browns returned to Cleveland in 1999.
I bet the Browns become a contender in the AFC North if they bring the orange pants back next season. When they bring them back the orange pants need to be worn most of the season.
I’ve mentioned before that EVERYONE has some form of the all-white look and it is BORING! Agree that we need to bring back the Brown tops with ORANGE pants and the ORANGE alt tops (go all orange when the squealers are in town!) and orange or brown pants on the road with white top. Pants will have stripes down legs and the tops need no change, helmets are classic, and BRING THE BROWNIE BACK! He’ll look great at midfield and in the endzone corners!
Agreed…Bring Back Brownie! We are the only team whose logo on the scoreboard shows is our helmet. Sometimes Ive even seen just the stripe….lame. The Brownie is a Bad-@$$
I don’t think i would mind the all whites as much if they would correct the pant stripes. There needs to be 2 brown stripes and one orange stripe in the middle. Can someone explain to me why they currently have the inverse? It annoys me everytime i look at them. This is all assuming they aren’t going to bring back the orange pants.
I too am a traditionalist of sorts and remember certain teams wearing white jerseys for home games during the 60’s, 70’s, and 80’s. These teams include the Browns, Cowboys, LA Rams,Saints, and sometimes the Eagles, and the St Louis Cardinals. In college football LSU and Georgia Tech always wore white jerseys for home games. Today only the Cowboys and Dolphins always wear white for home games, except for the Browns this year and in college football both LSU and Ga Tech still wear white for their home games. The Washington Redskins wore white at home for most of the 80’s and 90’s and the 00’s, but now wear maroon or burgundy at home. I feel the Browns should continue their tradition of wearing white at home, but I would also like to see some orange or even brown pants to go with them. Like the Cowboys who occasionally wear Blue, the Browns could always elect to wear Brown Jerseys at home for at least a couple of games for a Throwback effect.
Hate it when teams wear white at home. The Cleveland Browns should wear their brown jersies at home and white on the road. If they’re going to wear white on white for 16 games, then change the team name to the Cleveland Whites.
I love the ALL WHITE…