NIKE is the new uniform provider for the NFL. That's a statement not likely to dominate the dinner table conversation anytime soon unless you're at a sports pub and you've seen the artwork that's circulating the internet. The traditional look of your favorite NFL team is likely to undergo a major overhaul with the previews already getting mixed reviews. If you've seen what NIKE has done to Ohio State's football uni's the last two Michigan games, and the new look (looks) sported by the Arizona State Sun Devils and Oregon Ducks last season you have some idea what I'm talking about. It seems like NIKE's approach is change for the sake of change; a change that will more than likely prompt a majority of a given team's fans to spend hundreds of dollars to upgrade their own clothing collection.
The new NFL looks shown on jockpost.com (http://jockpost.com/nfl-nike-uniforms-2012-real-fake/) range from very litte change for the Browns, Bills and Giants to dramaticly new designs for the Bengals, Jaguars, Jets, Cardinals, Redskins and Raiders. Some of the new designes are, dare I say, pretty bad-ass while others look as though they may have come from a Transformers or Rollerball movie...or better yet look as if they were colored by first graders ad-libbing their way through a color by numbers book.
A second prototype sketch (top of the page) for the Browns has new shoulder striping, socks and Jersey/pant color combinations. Yet a third (above) gives the Browns White helmets with the "B" logo on the side. Frankly the only reason I would except any kind of upgrade to the Browns uni's is the expectation that a new look might lead to a new sense of pride and perhaps better play on the field. It's interesting to me that some other teams have introduced new uniforms and befoer you know it, they win a Super Bowl (Broncos, Buccaneers) or at the very least rise from the duldrums and make the playoffs (Lions).
It's possible that these space-aged new NIKE unis may be just for special occasions like the throwback unis worn in recent years. Or maybe NIKE is just testing the waters to see if they cause an uproar in any fan base.
If the BROWNS win, I don't care if they're wearing plaid shorts and tank tops. I do however care that a room full of marketing genius' with a new contract and a new box of markers is going to tell me that their new designs are official and the true fans will comply. All I know is I just recently completed my set of 32 team micro helmets that now adorn my entertainment center and I don't want to ask Santa for the upgrade.
The Food and Drug Administration announced yesterday that they'll investigate AeroShot Pure Energy, an inhalable caffeine product that's been on the market for a month. The Los Angeles Times reports B
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