Mediocrity breeds uniform discussions. There, I said it. There is a psychological reason that uniforms become a hot topic at Georgia Tech, and that reason is that the team is perpetually mediocre. When a team is excellent, and maintains that excellence over many seasons, fans do not want the uniform to change. The uniform becomes symbolic of the excellence they see in performance on the field. You do not see fans of the upper tier SEC and Big Ten teams clamoring for uniform changes or quibbling over details. These fans will tolerate "special" uniforms on occasion, but the normal uniform should look very close to what they've seen for years. Yes, I know someone will point out Oregon. The west coast mentality is different, and you have to understand that culture. But for the rest of the country, what I say rings true.
Fans of teams that are mediocre subconsciously project their desire for change in the performance of the team onto the uniform. If the uniforms look different, they don't remind the fans of the history of disappointments. They symbolize a fresh start, an new beginning, an erasure of the past. Details take on an exaggerated importance. If the team could just get the shade of gold correct, they subconsciously believe, then the team would get its act together. If the stripes were angled just so... if the numeric font was tweaked just a bit... then the team would be hammering out championships right and left.
I have to chuckle every time I see a uniform discussion or hear a fan begin ranting about uniforms. I know what's going on in the mind of the fan, and in a way, it's kind of pathetic.