Syracuse Football: Uni-watch says SU “finally got it right” with new uniforms

ICYMI the Syracuse football squad revealed brand new uniforms. The leader of athletic aesthetics, Uni-Watch, says SU “finally got it right”, here’s why.

For the first time in five years, the Syracuse football squad has updated their uniform look. The new digs were officially revealed at the “Orange Summer Kickoff” event at the Turning Stone’s Lava Nightclub.

This was a long time coming and Syracuse fans were “mostly” excited about the results on social media. Although the opinion that means the most on this subject is from the folks over at Uni-Watch.

“Uni-Watch is a media project that deconstructs the finer points of sports uniforms in obsessive and excruciating detail. It’s not about fashion — it’s about documenting and maintaining the visual history of sports design, and about minutiae fetishism as its own reward,” per their official site.

In lamens terms, Uni-Watch is the leader in the obsessive study of athletics aesthetics and have been since 1999.

Shortly after the Syracuse football uniforms being revealed, Phil Hecken of Uni-Watch broke down every detail of the uniform: what he liked, what he didn’t, and why ultimately Syracuse “got it right”.

• The latest installment was labeled “delicious” by Phil. Hecken also mentioned that SU had nowhere to go but up following the atrocious 2014 version.
• “They stripped the unis of all the Nike storytelling bullshit fonts and doo-dads, and went for a straightforward football uniform.”
  • Some fans have argued early on that the look is simple, but there’s nothing wrong with that. We were afraid that Nike would make SU’s uniforms too “Oregon-ish” and overdo it, but the results were the complete opposite.
• Here are some specifics on each of the design elements:
  • Helmets
    • The block S returning is great and out of the two helmets that were revealed (orange, white) Phil said the Orange is “a great looking helmet.” The only real complaint I’ve heard about the white one is it appears very “Miami-ish”.
  • Jerseys
    • “The jersey is new, but it borrows heavily from past uniforms.” While the numbers are a “semi-block custom job” and it’s outlined in contrasting colors which is the “perfect part”.

Here’s what he didn’t like about the uniforms (via his Uni-Watch report):

"“Unfortunately, the team has a fairly large “ORANGE” wordmark above the numbers and a giant contrasting collar (with an “S” at the midpoint). Not awful by any means, and certainly not a dealbreaker, but it would have been nice if the team/Nike showed a bit more restraint in these two areas. But overall, a great look.”"

This is where I disagree, the “ORANGE” being emblazoned on the front is one of my favorite parts of the whole look. They’re the Syracuse “Orange” after all, why wouldn’t you embrace the brand?

Although Phil’s point could be “S” at the midpoint on top of the “ORANGE” is a bit conflicting and it’s hard to argue with that point.

There are several things that weren’t included in the initial reveal but could come at a later date:

• Grey uniforms. or any gray involved in general.
• Colored facemasks alternating from the ones they revealed at Orange Summer Kickoff.
• The possibility of a one-off or a special uniform being revealed down the line is certainly in the mix, but no details are available now on that front.

Some final thoughts from Uni-Watch expert Phil Hecken:

"“After a good five (in their current set) years of looking like complete clowns, and several years prior to that with less-than-great unis, SU has returned to its roots with a beautiful new set — one that will look good in 25 years (even though you know they’ll be 4 new iterations away by then). Well done, ‘cuse. No more S’cuses. The unis are for real now.”"