Carmen’s Crew returns for another TBT
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July 26, 2021It’s been rumored for months, mockups have been making their rounds on Twitter, they were the worst-kept secret in the NFL after they were leaked on eBay in March, and, finally, just past midnight this past Friday night, the Cleveland Browns unveiled their alternate uniform for this season. The Browns were founded in 1946, and 75 years later, they are set to honor that inaugural team with similar jerseys they wore back then. And let me tell you, they’re pretty damn sweet (and super clean), with Baker Mayfield, Jarvis Landry, Nick Chubb, Denzel Ward, and Joel Bitonio showing off the jerseys for the fans to see.
#Browns 75th anniversary jerseys: pic.twitter.com/3qSpCaO21u
— Brad Stainbrook (@BrownsByBrad) July 24, 2021
“The Browns are one of those iconic franchises in all of sports, not just the NFL,” Browns executive vice president and co-owner J.W. Johnson said in a statement. “We wanted to give a nod to the past and the players that have paved the way for the team we have here today. It’s a way to thank them for everything they’ve done for this league, for this team, and for this city.
“We wouldn’t be here without the likes of Jim Brown, Otto Graham, Lou Groza, and Joe Thomas. We want to honor them. We want to respect them.”
With white pants, there’s just something about that icy-white look that looks so clean, right? It’s just enough change that it makes it different, but not enough to look completely different from their current uniform, either. It’s a happy medium. One that I’m happy with, honestly.
Now, I’m not the biggest fan of drop shadows on numbers on uniforms, but there’s just something about that orange drop shadow behind the brown numbers that makes me really like it. It looks super clean and adds a little bit more color.
Some fans don’t like them, which will always happen with any uniform change, big or small, but it seems as though the majority of Browns fans do. Then again, if they win in this throwback uniform, no one will really care which jerseys they actually have on. Just win, no matter what uniform you’re wearing, Browns. The Dawg Pound will love everything if that’s the case, I promise.
Two disclaimers:
- Although the helmet looks a bit different, it still complies with the NFL’s one helmet rule, a rule that will change in 2022. It’s still the same orange shell and gray facemask but just adding number decals and a different stripe down the middle. The team wore white helmets back in 1946 but due to the one helmet rule, they had to stay with the orange shell for the helmet this season. The helmet might not be a true throwback to 75 years ago but Cleveland did don single white stripe on its helmet from 1952-59 and numbers on the sides from 1957-60. They also were on throwback uniform from 2006-08. As far as the facemask goes, the Browns wore a gray facemask from 1961-74 and 2006-14.
- For those Bengals fans that seem to be thinking that the Browns are ‘copying’ off of the Bengals’ uniforms: These throwbacks are basically an identical replica from the 1946 jerseys. Cincinnati’s NFL team wasn’t founded until 1967.
“We spent a lot of time going back and looking at old photos and the history of the team and working with our friends at Nike and the NFL to put this all together,” Johnson said. “At the end of the day, like we said when we went back to the uniforms we’re currently wearing, we wanted something clean, iconic, traditional, and something that would honor the team and represent it appropriately.”
Not only will the team honor the 75th anniversary with their uniform, including a special patch on their helmets as well, ‘1946’ will also be seen throughout much of FirstEnergy Stadium this season too, including in each end zone.
https://twitter.com/BrownsByBrad/status/1418530453036883969?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1418530453036883969%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2F247sports.com%2Fnfl%2Fcleveland-browns%2FArticle%2Fcleveland-browns-anniversary-alternate-uniforms-168194133%2F
This season has the potential to be a very special one for both the Browns and Dawg Pound. The 75th anniversary uniform will just make it that much better.