Color Rush Reaction and Review

This morning, the Packers unveiled their "Color Rush" uniforms, which they will wear Thursday, Oct. 20, when the Chicago Bears come to Lambeau Field.

This league-wide promotion, introduced last year, involves the teams dressing in a single, defining color. And the Packers' defining color is... White.

And the #ColorRush color is...

WHITE!#Packers will wear all white uniforms Week 7: https://t.co/Eb7fDQg5pS pic.twitter.com/ZwJhDcBs2F

— Green Bay Packers (@packers) September 13, 2016

This is the first time since the 1950s that the Packers will wear white at home, with the exception of the first two games of the 1989 season.

Here's the whole lineup. Click to enlarge:

And a closer look at Clay:

The Color Rush promotion dresses players in a single color, shoulder-to-toe (nly the NFL's "one helmet" rule keeps teams from matching their shells to the rest of the uniform). That single color must be drawn from the team's existing color palette, either a current color or one worn in the past. That means the options facing the Packers were: navy blue, forest green, kelly green, dark sea green, gold, or white.

That means the Packers could have used this chance to wear a 1950s throwback; in that decade the team wore a variety of monochromatic uniforms; all-gold, all-green and all-white.

To top it off, the current gold helmets, stripped of their decals, would have been period-appropriate for either the mono=green or mono=gold throwback. But alas, the Packers chose to go in a different direction.

Instead of designing a total throwback, the Packers will be wearing their regular helmet and road jersey, only with a new pair of white pants to match.

On the one hand, I appreciate that the Packers aren't just cashing in with a brand-new jersey to sell, as almost every other team has:

On the other hand, I hate the Packers' road jersey. And I dislike pairing it with a matching set of white pants. It's a further watering down of Lombardi's classic uniform, but to understand that we must first talk about where the current white jerseys look the way we do.

In the Beginning...

Young Packer fans may not even realize that the Packers departed from Lombardi's road design decades ago. When Vince took over in 1959, he overhauled the Packers' uniforms and colors. On the road, his team wore white jerseys with alternating green and gold stripes on the collar, sleeves and socks.

Coach Lombardi later tweaked the road uniform slightly, abandoning the road socks and simplifying the pants stripes to the green/white/green "Braisher Stripe" pattern found on the team's helmets. socks and home jerseys.

But the jersey stripes remained untouched, three on the neck and five on the sleeve.

1960s Boyd Dowler Green Bay Packers Game Worn Road Jersey
(Mile High Card Company)

Through five World Championships and the first two Super Bowls, this road jersey was an important part of the Packers' classic visual legacy.

80's "Improvments"

It endured until 1984, when former offensive tackle Forrest Gregg took over as head coach, and put his own spin on Lombardi's uniform.

In addition to adding gold stripes and numbers to the pants, he overhauled the jersey, adding "Dad" Braisher's "G" logo to the sleeves and adding thin white stripes in between the green and gold.

1984-86 Gerry Ellis Green Bay Packers Game Worn Road Jersey
(MEARS)

This brought the road jersey striping pattern closer in line with the Braisher stripes found on the home jersey. But where the green/white/green is bold and unmistakeable even at a distance, the green/white/gold/white/green pattern is muddy and unclear. There's not enough contrast between the white and gold, so they easily blend together into a light-colored blob.

Forrest Gregg didn't last long as the Packers' head coach, but elements of his design are still with us today. The Packers chipped away at it over the following few years, bringing back many elements of the 60s design, but left his road jersey striping design in place.

...Which Brings Us to Today

These road stripes are the only thing I can't stand about the Packers' uniforms, and I'm very unhappy that they're expanding it. I'm further concerned that these white pants will make their way into the regular rotation; I don't want to see them with the green home jerseys.

What Might Have Been

Since the NFL gave them no choice but to participate in the Color Rush promotion this year, I wish the Packers had considered a throwback to Lombardi's original striping pattern. A slight tweak would have made it so much better:

Could have been a win-win. This would have honored the Packers' history within the Color Rush promotional confines, not to mention given the Packers a new throwback jersey to stock at the Pro Shop.

Ah, the road not traveled. With a little luck, this will be a one-off, as easily forgotten as those previous two games where the Packers wore white at Lambeau.

Uni Watch: "Packers Beat Rush to Mono-color Uniforms"

Last night, I remarked that the Rams' "Color Rush" uniforms reminded me of the Packers' gold-over-gold from the 1950s. Well, I wasn't the only one thinking along those lines; ESPN's Uni Watch has an excellent segment today as part of its "Friday Flashback" that all Packers fans will want to check out.

Uni Watch head honcho Paul Lukas reviews the Packers' uniforms of the late 1940s and 1950s to explore its relationship to Nike's modern marketing ploy:

Many NFL fans were surprised when the Green Bay Packers and Detroit Lions both wore their regular uniforms for their Thursday night matchup on Dec. 3. After all, the previous several Thursday night games had featured Nike's new "Color Rush" uniforms. Why hadn't the Packers and Lions gotten with the program?

The answer is that the mono-color uniforms are optional for this season's Thursday games, and the tradition-minded Packers decided to stick with their regular look. (Green Bay CEO Mark Murphy mentioned this at the team's annual shareholder meeting way back in July.) The mono-color uniforms become mandatory for next season's Thursday night games, so we'll presumably be seeing the Packers in either solid green or solid yellow in 2016.

But here's something that might surprise you: The Packers already have worn plenty of solid-green and solid-yellow uniforms. You just have to look back pretty far in the team's uniform history to find them.

According to the Gridiron Uniform Database, which is the definitive resource for NFL uni history, the Packers wore mono-green uniforms for parts of three seasons: 1935, 1950 (as you can see, they also went mono-yellow that year, among several other uniform configurations) and 1953. Color photos from those seasons are rare, but the 1953 squad wore the green garb while posing for its team portrait:

Packers wore solid-green uniforms for their 1953 team portrait. pic.twitter.com/r8bLA9j4Pq

— Paul Lukas (@UniWatch) December 7, 2015

Close-up of Packers' solid-green uni from 1953. pic.twitter.com/u7tIVnAtwM

— Paul Lukas (@UniWatch) December 7, 2015

Color photos of the green unis from 1935 and 1950 are harder to come by, but the 1950 design is acknowledged on the uniform timeline that appears at the Packers Hall of Fame at Lambeau Field:

Packers Hall of Fame at Lambeau has uni timeline showing solid-green uni from 1950. pic.twitter.com/czniLZCtad

— Paul Lukas (@UniWatch) December 7, 2015

As for going all yellow, the Gridiron Uniform Database indicates that the Pack went with that look -- complete with yellow socks and helmets -- in 1947 and 1948:

Ahead of the Color Rush curve: Packers wore this uni set, which included mono-yellow, in 1947 and '48. pic.twitter.com/9KoxiZeMEE

— Paul Lukas (@UniWatch) December 7, 2015

The solid-yellow look also was worn in the 1949 preseason and, as we noted earlier, in 1950. In addition, there were many seasons when the Pack wore yellow jerseys with canvas-colored pants -- not quite mono-color but pretty darn close:

Pack also wore yellow jersey w/ canvas pants many times, creating near-mono effect. Game photo is vs. Lions, 1952. pic.twitter.com/zLHzb1KIwU

— Paul Lukas (@UniWatch) December 7, 2015

Near-mono effect with canvas pants also visible in 1922 and '25 entries on uni timeline at Pack Hall of Fame. pic.twitter.com/Dho29H4b2d

— Paul Lukas (@UniWatch) December 7, 2015

Finally, it's worth noting that Packers actually wore mono-white on the road in 1957 and 1958. The solid-white look, which featured navy trim, even included a white helmet:

Bet you didn't know Packers wore mono-WHITE on the road in 1957 & '58. That's Bart Starr at far left. pic.twitter.com/mvsAN8fPr3

— Paul Lukas (@UniWatch) December 7, 2015

So no matter what the Packers end up wearing for a Thursday night game next season, they were way ahead of the Color Rush curve.

(Special thanks to William Schaefer of the Gridiron Uniform Database and Chance Michaels of the Packers uniform blog The Wearing of the Green (And Gold) for their research assistance.)

Kind of him to throw the shout-out; although I disagree with some of his conclusions (I don't think those 1952 pants are canvas-colored) I was happy to give him what I had on the 1950s Packers.

That period fascinates me, as the team flailed around from uniform to uniform trying to find something to stick, right between two iconic looks. A reflection of the coaches, the players, the team, what have you.

Turbulent times created a turbulent visual history. One which, it appears, was a little ahead of its time.

The Color Rush is Coming

Last night, on Thursday Night Football, the NFL unveiled the first glimpse of its "Color Rush" program. This is an attempt to make TNF an event of sorts by creating special uniforms to be worn for that one game only.



Details are still sketchy, but Jim Wyatt, Six-time Tennessee Sportswriter of the Year and senior writer and editor of the Tennessee Titans official website, revealed some new information about the program.

Wait, did you catch that? Look at the second paragraph:

Two things jump out:

• "Players' uniforms will be flooded with color as they are draped from jersey to cleats in one of the team's current or historic colors."
• "every club will have the opportunity to showcase its spirited fans and cities through color in primetime in 2016."

Monochrome. Ugh. And "opportunity"? Corporate marketing-speak or an actual option? We'd better hope it's the latter, because if not then we'll have to see our Packers in monochrome next season.

And now that we know this will eventually affect our Packers, let's take a closer look at the video. These are the four matchups in 2015:

More than just a clever graphic, those background colors tell us what the "current or historic color" will be for each club. And the quick uniform teases confirm.

BUFFALO BILLS

We can see the shoulder and back collar. It looks like a straightforward color swap from their regular jerseys, with the blue and red reversed. Even down to the charging buffalo logo above the name on the back.

The jersey probably won't look that bad, but it's going to be brutal with red pants and socks. "(F)rom jersey to cleats" in a single team color, don't forget.

NEW YORK JETS

Again, two views of the jersey. That appears to be the left shoulder, seen from the back and then front. This time we not only have a color swap, their original kelly green in place of the contemporary forest, but the Jets' white sleeves have apparently been replaced by green. So this one is likely both a color swap and a click-and-fill on their current template.

We don't yet know if that's supposed to be two shades of green or if Nike is still having issues producing the color.

The Jets are also making minor changes to the helmet, the only team yet known to be doing so. They teased this photo today:

Are those metallic helmet stripes? Or is it just a Photoshop filter for effect? Maybe the tweak will be lightening the green to match their jersey.

Serious question: my uncle is red/green color blind. Is he going to be able to watch this game? Two teams in white helmets, one clad in red shoulder to toe and the other in all green. Surely the NFL has considered this, right?

TENNESSEE TITANS

Hard to see what if anything is different about these jerseys. The Titans wore Columbia blue jerseys and pants a couple years ago, and these photos seem to match what they already have in their closets. Note the navy yoke on the jersey and the Braisher stripes on the pants.

Still, there has to be a difference somewhere, right? How are they going to sell additional jerseys if they don't have a special Thursday-only design?

JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS

The Jags' color swap has been getting the most press today, with their gold jerseys. Nike's proprietary matte fabric doesn't handle metallic colors under the best of circumstances. Their bright and vibrant gold is reduced to a dirty mustard color.

I'm also not sure how those oh-so-angular number font will look in white against gold. Even with two outlines, there may not be enough contrast for the numbers to be clearly read.

CAROLINA PANTHERS

Here's where things start to get a little interesting.

The jersey looks straitforward enough; it could even be their regular light blue third. And man, that silkscreened Panther logo looks as awful as the Packers' silkscreened sleeve stripes, which is saying something. Perhaps they'll tweak the jersey with black numbers or something to boost its merchandisability.

For the first time, we're seeing a glimpse of alternate pants. The Panthers have never worn blue pants before, and this is what the side stripes will look like when they do, matching the striping pattern on the shoulders.

DALLAS COWBOYS

Hmm. Only one look at the Cowboys' special "Color Rush" uniforms, unlike the other seven teams.

This could well be a return to the shoulder-star jersey worn by the Cowboys in 1994. Blue sleeves, large stars with double-outline on the shoulders. In order to conform to what we know of the promotion, they would have to pair it with white pants, perhaps the pants they wear withe their throwbacks, which have navy/white/navy Braisher stripes.

TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS

We do get two shots of the Buccaneers' jersey, but they're cheating a little bit; both are of the player's right shoulder. The gray yoke has been colored red to match the body, and the orange sliver between them is now black.

This will almost certainly be an improvement over their current mess, as the Bucs are among the teams most in need of a total overhaul. Let's hope they take the opportunity to do something about that awful number font, even if only for the one game.

ST. LOUIS RAMS

The Rams seem to be striving for a two-for-one, combining a color swap with their throwback jerseys. The lack of number outline would seem to give that away. If so, it's actually an inverted version of the jerseys they wore from 1973-1999 with gold bodies and blue numbers/horns.

It's tempting to read something into this, as the Rams are rumored to be adopting a throwback look if and when they return to Los Angeles. But perhaps we ought not.

So that's the eight teams for 2015. The indications are that all teams will be required to participate in 2016, provided the program isn't scrapped almost immediately. If that's true, then what would the Packers wear?

It seems unlikely they'd go navy-over-navy, so the options are green pants, yellow pants and jerseys or - what? White-over-white doesn't seem likely to jibe with the "one of the team's current or historic colors" dictate. The Packers did have an all-white uniform in 1957, but that seems outside of the spirit of the promotion.

I think another throwback is far more likely. The Packers did have a "jersey to cleats" single color uniform, remaining in the basic shades of their identifiable and classic palette. It looked pretty hideous, but then again do many of these uniforms. Perhaps the Packers are going to party like it's 1953.

It checks all the boxes, so far as we know, and re-introduces a throwback look.

This may be the best we can hope for, barring a change of heart from the NFL's head office.

Good as Gold

This beautiful photo, originally published in the photo section of the Milwaukee Journal on October 12, 1930, now hangs in a mens' room in the Wisconsin Club in Milwaukee.

The caption gives us a little context:

The Green Bay Packers
Champions of the National Professional Football League
FOR 1929

PRO FOOTBALL IN GREEN BAY dates from the time when the Acme Packing Co. put a team in the field just after the World War. For several years the team has been supported by the Green Bay Football corporation but the name Packers has remained—a name which all Wisconsin honors, a name which means top notch football in the National Professional Football League.

Front row, left to right; Woodin, Radick, Fitzgibbon, Zuidmulder, Bloodgood, Perry and Zuver. Middle row, left to right: Lambeau, Herber, Michalske, McCrary, O'Donnell, Lewellyn, Blood, Molenda, Dunn and Lidvig. Standing, left to right: Hanny, Sleight, Nash, Hubbard, Dilweg, Engelmann, Bowdoin, Darling, Earpe and Kresge. (Journal Color Photo)

Although the caption mentions the 1929 Championship, this is a photo of the 1930 club. Elbert Bloodgood, Merle Zuver, and Frank Hanny played only one season in Green Bay.

"Lidvig" is actually running back Carl Lidberg. I don't know who "Kresge" is; nobody by that name appears on the Packers' all-time roster.

The Packers would, of course, go on to win a second consecutive World Championship in 1930 and then a third after that; a feat which has only been equaled once since, by the Packers of 1965, 1966, and 1967.

I love the little pennant graphic filling out the space below the caption.

"The GBP". Very collegiate.

This is a beautiful ph

The Spirit of Curly Lambeau on the Sidelines

Along with the new throwback alternate jerseys, the Packers have started selling sideline gear and fan merchandise featuring the classic blue and gold color scheme and a new "GREEN BAY PACKERS" wordmark.

The lettering is obviously based on this 1949 sideline jacket, which I posted in 2009. With its unique three-line layout, it squares off the words and fits well across a cap, jacket or t-shirt.

What's also interesting is that they're treating this wordmark just like a logo, dropping it into the standard merchandise templates for the throwback sideline gear.

I wonder if this means the wordmark logo will make it to the Style Guide, and if the team will use it as a primary logo in connection with their annual social media rebranding. Two years ago I bemoaned the lack of a proper throwback logo they could use in place of the iconic "G" during Throwback Week; we'll see if this is their solution.