A Great-Looking Game

Last night's matchup between the Packers and Kansas City Chiefs was a great-looking affair. And I don't just mean the 38-28 final score, or the fact that it doesn't at all reflect the game action. It was a beautiful night for football, with two classic uniforms playing in a heavy Wisconsin rain.

Clouds encroach Lambeau Field Prior to the NFL football game between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Green Bay Packers on Monday, September 28, 2015 in Green Bay, Wis. (Todd Rosenberg/NFL)

Check out what they're playing on the scoreboard: an historical look at the club, going all the way back to 1919.

Nice to see they remember.

The Chiefs have one of the nicer uniforms in the NFL. I'm not a huge fan of red pants themselves, but the overall effect is a good one.

Green Bay Packers' Aaron Rodgers runs for a first down past Kansas City Chiefs' Marcus Cooper (31) during the first half of an NFL football game Monday, Sept. 28, 2015, in Green Bay, Wis. (AP Photo/Mike Roemer)

Excellent. A great look, all around.

Green Bay Packers running back James Starks (44) heads down field during the first quarter of a NFL football game between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Green Bay Packers Monday, September 28, 2015 in Green Bay, Wi. (Todd Rosenberg/NFL)

Green Bay Packers' Randall Cobb runs during the first half of an NFL football game against the Kansas City Chiefs Monday, Sept. 28, 2015, in Green Bay, Wis. (AP Photo/Mike Roemer)

These are two teams that have managed to keep their classic looks more or less unchanged since the 1960s, when they met in the first Super Bowl.

Kansas City Chiefs defensive tackle Andrew Rice (58) takes on Green Bay Packers’ tackle Forrest Gregg (75) and fullback Jim Taylor (31) during Super Bowl I. (Photo: WireImage)

The Chiefs have made one significant change to their uniform since then, although it's traditional in its own way.

Kansas City Chiefs' Travis Kelce gets past Green Bay Packers' Ha Ha Clinton-Dix (21) after a catch during the first half of an NFL football game Monday, Sept. 28, 2015, in Green Bay, Wis. (AP Photo/Matt Ludtke)

Check out the patch on Kelce's chest; that's a memorial for Lamar Hunt, founder of the Chiefs. It was added to their jerseys following his death in 2006 and made permanent before the 2008 season. I'm not a fan of permanent uniform tributes in general—the Packers would run out of room—but I do like the design of this patch. It's based on the logo of the American Football Legaue, which Hunt co-founded when he was denied an NFL expansion franchise.


It's a nice tribute to the defunct league. Always good when teams honor their history.

Goodbye Curly, Hello 1919.

Rest in Peace, Curly's Pub.

The Packers have unveiled renderings for Lambeau Field's new atrium restaurant, the 1919 Kitchen & Tap. Located on the main level of the atrium, it replaces Curly's Pub, opened in 2003 as part of the extensive stadium renovations.

The interior of the restaurant looks amazing, to be sure.

A contemporary feel and massive improvement over the general TGI Friday's vibe of the old place. I love the clever touch of play diagrams burned into the wood tables.

But if the decor itself is an upgrade, what about the name?

On the one hand, I can't really argue with having an ever-present reminder that the Packers were founded in 1919, no matter what the NFL wants to believe. But on the other, I think it's a shame to lose the really unique "Curly's Pub" branding. "1919" is sterile and gerenic, while "Curly's" was welcoming and had some personality. And when choosing a place to hang out, I'll pick a "pub" over "kitchen & tap" any day.

The logo for 1919 is even worse than the name. It's bland and corporate, lacking all character. It has that sort of general inoffensiveness ad agencies love. This logo would be more at home in a corporate commissary, or a stadium with multiple-tier overhangs and plastic seats.

They couldn't even be bothered to use a font with any relevance to the Packers' own brand: no stencils? No jersey block numbers? Weak sauce.

Not only did Curly's Pub have a better name, it had a fantastic logo:

Flickr/warmheartcold

There's the man himself. Squinting in the sun, master of all he surveys.

It looks even better in monochrome green:

Yelp/Jana H.

Given the general æsthetics of Lambeau Field, that would have been much more appropriate than the regular two-tone version.

So raise a glass to Curly's Pub: you may be gone, but you won't be forgotten.

Yelp/Ricky J.

The Acme of Mistakes

This really shouldn't bother me as much as it does. But I can't help it.

This is the new "Acme Packers" logo for 2014. You may infer that it's an old logo from 1921; they're certainly trying to imply it. But it's all balderdash. This logo was created sometime over the past year, possibly by NFL Properties or a private design firm. I guess the previous design didn't sell.

It's better-designed than last year's version. The layout is good, not overly-detailed. But the "AP" monogram doesn't make much sense. Worse yet, it compounds the "1921" problem with the flatly-inaccurate "FOUNDED 1921" slogan. No, they weren't, no matter how much the NFL wants to pretend that they were.

Of course, they're ready to slap this mess across any manner of merchandise:

If you really like the logo, you can buy a massive 3 foot by 3 foot version to slap across your wall.

And heck, they'll even through in last year's inaccurate fauxback logo as part of the package.

A clear case of subtraction by addition. Not even a bonus "Holstein Heisman" logo can redeem it.

Getting the Message Across

My brother sent me this photo of today's page in his 2012 Green Bay Packers Desk Calendar:

Now if they would only tell the NFL...

Taking Stock, Part II (UPDATED)

At 8 o'clock this morning, Central Standard Time, shares in the Packers went on sale.

In a press conference this morning, Mark Murphy, the Packers' president and chief executive officer, posed with copies of the four previous certificates.

Packers.com

Vice president of finance Paul Baniel then gave us our first look at the new stock certificates:

File/Press-Gazette

Packers.com

Overall, a fantastic design.

I particularly love the sublimated picture of Lambeau Field in the background. This is a great choice. Lambeau Field is inseparable from the team, a symbol of its connection to the fanbase. I loved that the Packers included a rendering on the Super Bowl XLV ring, itself a callback to the 1965 World Championship rings.

In my review of previous stock certificates, I wondered if the Packers were going to replace the photo-negative logo with Dad Braisher's classic (if subsequently tweaked) logo. I'm pleased to see that they have.

I also like the collection of old Packers logos along the bottom, but they jump right from 1921 to 1950, ignoring some blue-and-gold beauties from the 1940s. With all respect to Mr. Murphy, it's hardly "every one of the logos that the Packers have utilized over (their) history." I understand that this late-1940s wordmark might not have made the cut:

Certainly this mid-1940s beauty, used during the Packers' sixth World Championship, would have merited inclusion.

Shame that Curly Lambeau's æsthetic contributions are largely absent from this little gallery of Packers history. Other than that omission, it's a sharp design.

---

UPDATE 12/7/2011: There's a small-but-crucial detail that I didn't notice until now. Check out the lower-left corner:

Yep. There it is:

Est. 1919

O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay! Obviously I'm not the only one who cares about this.

Nice to see that the Packers themselves remember, even if the League sometimes forgets.

The Fight Goes On

A host of new caps have hit the Packers Pro Shop, including the 2011 sideline caps. You too can wear the look that Rodgers and Company will be wearing on the bench:

Or maybe not. Not so good.

But that's not the worst of it. Reebok is chiming in again with this "Est. '21" fashion cap:

Come on, everyone, say it with me:

"The Packers weren't established in 1921."

Ugh. We're going to be fighting this battle for a while, I suspect. Maybe by the Centennial we can get the NFL to acknowledge the entirety of the Packers' history.

Pack This.

Apparently the Packers have decided that they need a logo to go with the throwback alternate uniforms. And this is what they came up with.

What a mess. It's pretending to be a vintage logo, but it's a brand-new pretender. Worst of all, it's incredibly ugly. The "AP" monogram is nonsensical, the layout is awkward, and the "We Pack It" slogan is nothing short of cringeworthy.

At least "1921 FOOTBALL" doesn't quite repeat the bogus claim that the Packers were established in 1921, but it walks right up to the edge.

It's worth noting that the Packers haven't released a flat version of this logo, nor do they use it online. It's only for merchandise.

I guess that actually makes the ugliness relevant. Anything this crass and openly commercial should be ugly.

2010 Shareholder Ring

We've seen the 2010 player World Championship rings, and now we have our first look at the shareholder rings.

The bezel looks good. Bold, clean, with "WORLD CHAMPIONS" and "SHAREHOLDER" surrounding the "G" logo. The stones are available in cubic zirconia or diamond.

On one shank, we have the Lombardi trophy under the classic Packers stencil wordmark.

This looks good. Similar to the player rings.

The second shank has a customizable name (up to 12 characters), the Shareholder logo and the year.

Here's where they lost me. It seems a shame to trade Lambeau Field for the shareholder logo. The logo, introduced a couple years ago, has always struck me as fairly pointless, and the "Est. 1923" is problematic. While it might be technically correct, in that 1923 was the year the Packers were re-formed as a public company, the Packers already use a different establishment date.

If the Packers really wanted an establishment date, 1919 is the best choice. For either 1921, the year the Packers joined the NFL, or 1923, the year of the first stock sale, "Since" would make more sense. Pet peeve of mine.

These rings start at $399 for White Lustrium^® and cubic zirconia, and go up to $2400 for 10k white gold and diamonds. They are available only to shareholders, and only through the Packers Pro Shop.

Ring photo credit: Jostens

Making National News

The Packers' new throwback uniforms were a topic of discussion on ESPN's "Pardon the Interruption" last night, guest-hosted by columnists Dan Le Betard and Bob Ryan of the Miami Herald and Boston Globe, respectively.

During the "Report Card" segment program of the show, the sportswriters had this to say:

Host Tony Reali: The Packers' new uniforms, or alternate uniforms, let's get a grade on that.

Bob Ryan: Now, I don't usually care too much about this stuff. But this, these are uniforms that probably they wore in the 20s. And it's the Green Bay Packers, who have been in existence since 1920, I give this an A+. If they wear these uniforms - I hope they do it actually against the Bears, and make them wear it too - I think this is sensational.

Dan Le Betard: They're doing it against the Niners. I wish they would do this also, just keep going with this, what else can they do? Leather helmets, no facemasks, what else -

Ryan: Nah, stop it.

Le Betard: What?

Ryan: Stop with this. But this is good.

Le Betard: No. Why? You like the old throwbacks.

Ryan: I don't want any people getting hurt with leather helmets.

Le Betard: Keep going! This is all a profitable gesture, right? This is all about making money, is it not? So that's the only - I guess that would be the only negative.

Ryan: I give it an A. A A A A A!

Le Betard: A-minus.

Ryan's slightly shaky history aside (although "1920" is an improvement over the NFL-approved 1921), I have to agree. Sure, this is about making money. Virtually everything the NFL does is. But if raising awareness of the Bays' rich sartorial history is merely an unintended side-effect, I'm all for it.

ESPN.com subscribers can watch the clip here.

You Don't Look a Day Over Eighty-Nine

Today, the Packers released a logo to commemorate the team's "90th Birthday" (hat tip: Ryan):

From the press release:

Team Turns 90 Aug. 11; Logo, Contests To Mark Occasion

As the story goes, George Calhoun had a chance meeting with Earl 'Curly' Lambeau on a Green Bay street corner in the summer of 1919 and the two discussed starting a football team. A few weeks later, on Aug. 11, the two called a group of young athletes together to organize a team...the gathering marked the beginning of the Green Bay Packers.

This summer will mark the 90th birthday of the Packers, and the organization will celebrate the occasion with a "90 Years" logo, an online trivia contest and other fan activities.

"As the team marks its 90th birthday on Aug. 11, we look forward to celebrating nine decades, 12 world championships and several generations of Packers fans," said Craig Benzel, Packers director of marketing and sales. "We have a number of ways for fans to participate throughout the season."

The online aspect of the birthday celebration will feature a special page on Packers.com that will greet fans and invite them to participate in a trivia contest with questions that will span the 90 years of the team's history.

This summer's Packers Family Night will help celebrate the occasion with a 90th birthday party theme. The night will feature a special fan giveaway item, birthday-related activities and on-field promotions that incorporate the birthday party theme. More details about Family Night, including the date of the event and ticket sales information, will be announced this month.

Among the other team areas that will feature the logo include game tickets, Curly's Pub and the Packers Hall of Fame. The Packers Pro Shop also will offer a number of items that feature the logo.

More highlights of the team's birthday celebration will be detailed in the coming months.

The article doesn't say, but if they're going to market merchandise with this logo I'm presuming that it will also see service as a jersey patch. We'll see.

There's some real good in this logo. I've long been an advocate of the Packers promoting (heck, acknowledging) 1919 as the date of founding. Few things bother me more than the stupid "Est. 1921" that they put on merchandise. The Packers have a long tradition that pre-dates the NFL; why pretend otherwise? So that does my heart good to see.

On the whole, the design is pretty good. Clean and easy to read, team logo prominent, no superfluous elements. It's not perfect - I'm not a fan of multiple outlines around anything, and three outlines around the numbers is way too much - but it's not bad at all.

Presuming that this will become a patch, it provides us with an excellent excuse to look at the way the Packers have honored other milestones on their uniforms.

The first milestone to make the uniform was the NFL's 50th Anniversary. For the 1969 season, all players wore a commemorative patch on their left shoulders:

A long uniform-patch drought would follow: the next anniversary to be so noted was the Packers' 75th Season, which was celebrated in 1993.

The 75th Anniversary logo was too complicated to embroider, so the jersey patch was a simplified version of the logo, minus the banner:

For the first time, the patch was worn on the left breast (television numbers had moved to the shoulders in the years since 1969, fleeing from the players' arms in advance of the retreating sleeves).

I really like this one. It's simple and elegant (although the Starter-jacket-ish speed lines above the diamond do speak to the era in which it was designed). Again, we wait for details on the 90th Birthday patch. But I'm guessing that the logo was designed to be simple enough to translate on a jersey and won't need another version.

The following season, in 1994, the entire league celebrated its 75th Anniversary. It was commemorated with a patch just slightly less elegant than that of the Packers' diamond anniversary:

This one was also placed on the left chest (click for larger):

I suppose it could have been an attempt to put them over a player's heart, like a soccer team's crest or police officer's badge. Or maybe it could just be the only couple square inches of real estate left on the uniforms.

The NFL 75 patch was also featured during the special League-wide throwback uniform promotion, on my own personal favorite Packer uniform:

Which means, of course, that the patch lives on with throwback jerseys you can buy today:

And after tribute patches in consecutive seasons, that would be it until the NFL added Super Bowl logo patches, beginning with Super Bowl XXXII in San Diego:

About which game I have nothing more to say.

The next commemorative patch would worn for the first two home games of 2003, marking the rededication of Lambeau Field following a three-year, $295-million renovation.

Four years later, in 2007, Lambeau Field celebrated another milestone: its 50th birthday. That inspired another logo:

and another jersey patch:

This time, the patch was only worn on the green home jerseys, not the road whites. When the Packers travelled to Dallas for their Week 13 matchup, the Cowboys elected to wear their own navy throwbacks, meaning the Packers would dress in their road whites (unlike most games in Texas Stadium, when the Cowboys' white home jerseys force visitors to wear their colored jerseys). Had the Packers worn green in that game, the Lambeau Field patches would have been removed and sewn back on for the next game in Green Bay.

We've already discussed the over-the-top Gene Upshaw memorial patch from last season. And that rounds up the list of commemorative patches on Packers uniforms.

If this "90th Birthday" is any indication, it looks like they're sticking with this new honoring scheme, years instead of seasons, which results in nice round numbers (1957-2007, 1919-2009).

Let's hope the Packers have something special planned for 2019.