In the interest of full disclosure, Nike paid for our entire trip to New York. That doesn't mean our opinions and reviews of their products has to be all sunshine and rainbows, but it does mean that we should let you all know we wouldn't have had the exclusive opportunity otherwise.
Needless to say, there was a lot of attention given to the release of Alabama's Nike Pro Combat jersey yesterday in New York (as evidenced by the 25+K hits the site got on Wednesday.) This special jersey will be worn one time for the game against Mississippi State in November. You all saw it in the open thread here and then Todd mentioned it some more in today's Jumbo Package here. The photos we sent back yesterday were taken with a cameraphone under less than ideal circumstances. Given the hectic pace of the day and our need to catch a flight back to Birmingham, we didn't have time to upload the photos taken with a real camera until today (and they would've been up much earlier but I've had all sorts of computer issues this morning with my photo managing software.) So, even though you've seen the overall uniform already, I wanted to provide some more detailed shots for you to enjoy.
As Todd mentioned earlier, a few Nike reps approached us and told us that they knew our fans wanted a jersey as traditional as possible and that they worked hard with the school to maintain the traditional look (which is obvious when compared with the radical departures other schools went with.) I told one of them, "It's not that we as Alabama fans don't like a lot of the more radical things y'all come up with for other teams, it's just that we wouldn't like them for us. They're great, they're just not great for Alabama."
With that said, here's some detailed images of the Alabama jersey as well as shots of the other teams' unis (with a little bit of commentary too.) Enjoy...
More after the jump...
Boise State: Their helmet is really awesome, though this photo doesn't show it. The other side has a huge Bronco on it and its an awesome shade of blue. OTS and I really dug their helmets. I also like the off centered numbers.
Boise State gloves:
Florida: I wish I'd gotten a detail of the alligator skin helmet, which is awesome, despite it being orange.
Florida gloves:
Miami: I like the emerald green helmets though I know a lot of others didn't. The palm trees on the sleeves were also a nice detail. Too much orange for my taste as an Alabama fan, but hey, it's their colors.
Ohio State: I really liked these though I saw some of y'all describe them as boring on the thread. The flat grey pants and the bold red look good together. Old school, but with a modern twist. The black shadowing on the numbers is a nice touch as well. I wouldn't have minded something like this at all (I know, I know, y'all would've come unglued...put your pitchforks and torches down.)
Oregon State: These were really simple. That's something I typically like in a jersey, but I wasn't too moved one way or the other about these (I do like the oversized numbers though.) Like someone said, it kind of looks like a black Cleveland Browns jersey.
Pitt: Another simple design, but I like this one. The font on the sides of the helmet is great as is the design of the numbers. The color scheme and design really remind of the jerseys of Mexican soccer team UNAM Pumas.
TCU: I'm sure y'all are going to vehemently disagree with me, but I loved the TCU jerseys. They are so far removed from anything we'd even think about trying. Perhaps that's why I liked them. I liked the color scheme, the wild pant design...I liked it all. I'm a sucker for black jerseys. This is the jersey I specifically mentioned to the Nike rep when I said I liked their radical designs, but just not for us.
TCU pant detail:
Virginia Tech: Despite what I just said about black jerseys, this one just didn't really do it for me. There were aspects of all of the designs that I liked, except for this one. This is the only one that really left me scratching my head.
West Virginia: They went the coal miner motif for WVU in honor of the area's blue collar past and in memory of the victims of the recent West Virginia coal mining accident. It's a white jersey, so there's only so much they could do with it, but the helmet and number designs are top notch.
