2014 uniforms

Mack

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IEEEWreck said:
Eh, I think you have to understand the unique position of GT in history. In terms of brand equity, GT has Coke levels of history and buy-in. Erasure of the past is exactly why people get upset about uniforms. If UGA comes out with a modified red, or Florida puts gator leather patterns on their pants, no one really cares because there's no particular stable look at those places. The current team doesn't look like the '80 team, but neither did the '90 team. So what?

At GT, we have enormous mythology built on top of enormous history around the eras of Heisman and Dodd. If we have a slightly different old gold on our helmets,, well, that's a Problem because that's not the Right old gold (that Dodd's teams wore, usually.) I have a suspicion that while victories make people less inclined to criticism in general, the same folks would be as disturbed or moreso if we won a NC in hex pattern unis because then history would have to add something that breaks with the image of a GT team to the litany of glories.

Any folks old enough to have been active at the right times want to chime in? Were people still talking about uniforms in 90? Was there an epidemic of sartorial criticism when we were actually performing poorly?

My bet is that we're just really, really unusually invested in image here at Tech in a way that maybe three or four other schools in the nation share. For my two cents, my fiancee's extended family is full of ND fans, and they have a similar dissatisfaction at heretical uniform changes (however slight.)
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I remember 90 and since we couldnt wear white at home the navy was good pic..we were voted best uniform in ACC that year and to keep us old farts happy Bobby used our old home jerseys away...compromise was good .why not wear our old Dodd(VT)game unis away and a decent uni at home..........not a bad idea in my mind.
 
Whiskey_Clear

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2014-football-jpg.212


^These are the ones Mac....just the way you like them :)
 

Mack

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Supersizethatorder-mutt said:
I'm one "old fart" who still does not like the blue in our uniforms, whether as numerals, stripes, or complete jerseys. Black I would like, but I HATE BLUE!!!
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I can stand the Ross Blue unis without much problem but the stripes and slashes and stingers down the side of the pants and the honey comb mess is just too much......sure hope we just get back to traditional unis and soon.You would think after six or seven years we would get back to basics.Maybe we did this year ?
 
Lexjacket

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Mack said:
I remember 90 and since we couldnt wear white at home the navy was good pic..we were voted best uniform in ACC that year and to keep us old farts happy Bobby used our old home jerseys away...compromise was good .why not wear our old Dodd(VT)game unis away and a decent uni at home..........not a bad idea in my mind.
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IEEEWreck said:
Eh, I think you have to understand the unique position of GT in history. In terms of brand equity, GT has Coke levels of history and buy-in. Erasure of the past is exactly why people get upset about uniforms. If UGA comes out with a modified red, or Florida puts gator leather patterns on their pants, no one really cares because there's no particular stable look at those places. The current team doesn't look like the '80 team, but neither did the '90 team. So what?

At GT, we have enormous mythology built on top of enormous history around the eras of Heisman and Dodd. If we have a slightly different old gold on our helmets,, well, that's a Problem because that's not the Right old gold (that Dodd's teams wore, usually.) I have a suspicion that while victories make people less inclined to criticism in general, the same folks would be as disturbed or moreso if we won a NC in hex pattern unis because then history would have to add something that breaks with the image of a GT team to the litany of glories.

Any folks old enough to have been active at the right times want to chime in? Were people still talking about uniforms in 90? Was there an epidemic of sartorial criticism when we were actually performing poorly?

My bet is that we're just really, really unusually invested in image here at Tech in a way that maybe three or four other schools in the nation share. For my two cents, my fiancee's extended family is full of ND fans, and they have a similar dissatisfaction at heretical uniform changes (however slight.)
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I think you are 'spot on'. I have been one of the biggest critics of the 'Russell contract era' unis and the reason is because of the Russell design, which has been just silly. Whoever designed them (I think it was a woman) made them look effeminate, quirky, the colors clashed and they just did not look like a football uniform. In their (Russell and the GTAA brain trust at the time 'DRad') rush to be trendy they broke every traditional link (with exception of the helmet GT). For DRad, he was putting 'his 'brand' on Georgia Tech that would contribute to his upwardly mobile career path. For Russell it provided them with a design testing dream and a marketing breakthrough. I think the GTAA at the time knew there would be heavy push back, but thought in time it would calm down and finally fans would accept the 'whatever' attitude that so many young people have today due to their lack of awareness of history and its importance.

The GTAA has refused to say who is responsible for picking the uniform designs or the design requirements contained in the Russell contract. If you ask, as I have, they hem-haw and change the subject. Being a fan of a college football team requires being an Alumni or that team to 'capture your imagination'. Georgia Tech captured mine on September 30, 1961 as a 10 year old sidewalk fan and a big part of that is because they were a legendary football team. They wore White and Gold (Glorious Colors!), they looked like Football Players in their Football Uniforms, not clown suits.
 
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Lexjacket

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Atomic Jacket said:
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.
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Atomic you are so smart. Being 'pathetic' I bow to your superior intellect. :notworthy:
 
Supersizethatorder-mutt

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GT Man said:
Black? While we're at it, why not red and silver...
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How many yellow jackets have you seen flying around with blue stripes on them. I don't care if Georgia does have black as one of their colors, yellow jackets are black and yellow. Blue belongs to UNC, and I cringe everytime I see us in blue. Do you not remember the Black Watch and the uniforms we wore then? They were awesome !!! In fact, until Homer Rice insisted on blue, the numerals and trim on Tech's uniforms were always black.
 
GT Man

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Supersizethatorder-mutt said:
How many yellow jackets have you seen flying around with blue stripes on them. I don't care if Georgia does have black as one of their colors, yellow jackets are black and yellow. Blue belongs to UNC, and I cringe everytime I see us in blue. Do you not remember the Black Watch and the uniforms we wore then? They were awesome !!!
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Up with the white and gold. Down with the red and _______
 
Northeast Stinger

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White jerseys, gold pants and gold helmets were my fondest memories of Tech as a child. I do not mind the blue. It has been used, historically speaking, for quite a long time. I do not mind the occasional dabbling in mustard colors (but not helmets, and not all mustard) for exactly the same reason. Joe over there on the left of your screen has a blue jersey on. :sneaky:
 
Supersizethatorder-mutt

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Northeast Stinger said:
White jerseys, gold pants and gold helmets were my fondest memories of Tech as a child. I do not mind the blue. It has been used, historically speaking, for quite a long time. I do not mind the occasional dabbling in mustard colors (but not helmets, and not all mustard) for exactly the same reason. Joe over there on the left of your screen has a blue jersey on. :sneaky:
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Actually, blue was only used a few times prior to the 70s. Since the 70s, other than the Black Watch, it has been considered our tertiary color. That's not really "quite a long time."
 
Northeast Stinger

Northeast Stinger

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Supersizethatorder-mutt said:
Actually, blue was only used a few times prior to the 70s. Since the 70s, other than the Black Watch, it has been considered our tertiary color. That's not really "quite a long time."
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We disagree.

I do not mind a black stripe on a jersey, or black numbers on a white jersey or a black and white stripe on the leg, since all of those were part of my youth. But I do not like black jerseys for Tech. That is not our color.
 
Supersizethatorder-mutt

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Northeast Stinger said:
We disagree.

I do not mind a black stripe on a jersey, or black numbers on a white jersey or a black and white stripe on the leg, since all of those were part of my youth. But I do not like black jerseys for Tech. That is not our color.
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And BLUE IS OUR COLOR ??? Like you, I prefer white jerseys and gold pants, gold jerseys with white pants, maybe all white, but not all gold. And I much prefer the metallic gold helmets, although with the gold jerseys, the white helmets probably look better. I wouldn't be much of a fan of black jerseys, although those worn by the Black Watch teams looked great, but I just don't like blue at all, either for trim, numerals, or jerseys.
 
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