Updated: Cool it on the Browns uni re-design fervor

This post originally written 1/28/2013.  Updated text in first section.

Much respect for the effort and love coming Handmade Uniform Designer. Welcome to the bro-hood of Browns fandom.

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I really don’t want to get busy with a uniform thing here but the above happened today.
I do say, God Bless You handmade uniform designer.  You care, you’re invested, welcome to the brotherhood.

But count me among the smaller and smaller number of people who see the uniform talk as a metaphor for form-over-substance talk.  It shouldn’t matter.  Team matters.  Winning matters.  Uniform is window-dressing and anyway, the issue should be buried.  Afterall, here is what we had.

But the Haslams went ahead and gave us Alec Scheiner focus-group uniforms with predictable results.  Here is what we changed to.

Packers, Bears, Cowboys, Raiders, Chiefs — they don’t have to have uniform debates online.  They have an identity and they honor their pasts.  Traditional is valuable.

Giants, Niners — they rectified their dabbling in nouveau marketing techniques that debase their history and now proudly wear the uniforms that their fans know and love.

It boggles the minds that the Cleveland Browns ownership would scramble to get with Jacksonville and Tampa and Atlanta and Charlotte.

The whole point of keeping the Browns name was to avoid appearing like the 1999 expansion franchise that they in fact were.  Yet after all that struggle to keep the name and uniform and colors all that remains is the name.  Christ, the Haslams’ hobbying interest in our identity-tweaking even murdered orange.

That ain’t orange, it’s red and as larger matter, what was gained?

Below is a post written in 2013 and a plea, now timely again in 2020, that if you’re going to re-do the uniforms, go back to basics and if you absolutely have to have a new look, there is an acceptable option.  We’re the Penn State of the NFL uniforms:  minimalist, spartan, recognizable.  It is a unique and treasured strength, use it as such.

Acceptable.

 

 

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Cool it on the Browns uni re-design fervor

Here’s where I’m at on this:  I love our uniforms.

We’re in an elite class with the Packers, Bears, and Raiders (although we did diverge for awhile in the 70s).  You can put the Cowboys and Chiefs in there too I suppose. That category reads: Teams that value tradition over the marketing pimping of this year’s jersey sales.

  

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If you think the current Rams’ unis are better, we can’t be friends.

Even the teams that screwed around with their old winning uniforms eventually smartened up and went back to basics (Niners, Dolphins, Giants).  Are the Steelers’ jerseys better now with the numbers delicately styled to match their helmet number decals?  I think not.  The Vikings change their unis every year when the blueprint is in their files.  And don’t get me started on the Rams.

Don’t overthink it, Vikes.

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The view from here is smarten up.

Embrace your heritage.  Safeguard your legacy.

My vote, if we were to change anything, is to go more Penn State (not Oregon, definitely not Maryland).

• • Remove the lines on the pants.
  • Seal brown socks with no stripes.
  • No white or any accent colors on the shoes.

Hell, I’m for taking the names off the backs.

UPDATE: Here’s one kinda where I’m coming from. From the 2/11 cle-dot-com post.

Mike Tyson cares not what Trevor Berbick or Phil Knight thinks.

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Think Mike Tyson with the white towel, no socks, black shoes.  Less is more.

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Kareem Hunt already on-board with Tyson-inspired socks/footwear.

 

Simple.
No frills.
Cleveland.
Browns.
Football.

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Because you know… screw around with a classic and things can go sideways fast.