This year’s helmet…
- Thread starter RBB89
- Start date
That may just be the spring practice helmet.. Plus, when is the last time we stuck with one helmet design for an entire season?
I'm not in love with these helmets, but I'd take them over our official helmet. We've talked about why our regular helmets don't "work" before. I'm sure at some point they will fix them.
Pretty busy. Not a fan of the broad stripe feature. Sure wish IU would incorporate the color cream a little bit some where. Maybe the state emblem? Hell IU has had about every other combination on equipment and uniforms over all sports.
Looks like the 80's throwback we used last year but with the full IU instead of just the block I
Focus on uniform design by whom? Us or the program? Who cares about the average response. If someone isn't interested in the aesthetics of uniform design they don't have to think or talk about it. But some of us are interested. Others are free to ignore this conversation.
I think this is the helmet company or adidas not what the coaching staff is working on.
Nor a criticism. Just an observation. A few years back when the Hoosiers were pretty sad the many helmets were described as recruiting tools. Now recruiting is focused on the facilities and going to bowl games. Not what they are putting on their heads. Of course I could be wrong.
I highly doubt the coaching staff is spending much time with uniform design. It's probably mostly input or yay/nay. The time getting spent is more likely by someone who isn't a coach or even more likely by someone at Adidas.
It's neat getting to see new uniform designs but I think I would prefer less changes in the middle of a season. Maybe a main uniform for most of the season with an alternate uniform for the PU game would likely be my preference.
Not a big fan of changing the helmet to a different style every game but I'm guessing the players like it. If it helps recruiting, then have at it with the carousel of helmet designs.
The tendency seems to be that the better the program, the less uniforms seem to change so as to create an identity/look that is easily recognizable. It will be interesting to see if we slow down the changes if we can start building a better tradition of winning. That's putting the cart before the horse at this point given our last season so just hoping we can rebound.
Not a big fan of changing the helmet to a different style every game but I'm guessing the players like it. If it helps recruiting, then have at it with the carousel of helmet designs.
The tendency seems to be that the better the program, the less uniforms seem to change so as to create an identity/look that is easily recognizable. It will be interesting to see if we slow down the changes if we can start building a better tradition of winning. That's putting the cart before the horse at this point given our last season so just hoping we can rebound.
I think the helmet designs are just put on with tape and can be changed out pretty easily.
Most great football schools do little if any design changes on uniforms and helmets (tOSU, Michigan, PSU, Wisconsin in the big ten; Alabama, Georgia for example in the SEC; USC in the PAC 12). I think IU's helmets might look better with just a narrow stripe down the middle, with IU logo.
It would be interesting to see that process. But yea, it must be something they can change easily.
please please please make it stop.
did the administration learn nothing from helmet fiascos of a few yrs ago?
or from the Sam Wyche disaster?
or the Cameron helmets?
IU's classic red helmet design with the white pinstripes or even no pinstripes is great, (prefer the pinstripes), and while i prefer the interlock logo, the block I is fine as well.
i love that the Colt's unis look almost exactly as they did when i was a kid, (when they were Baltimore), and every yr since.
the St Louis Cards don't mess with the birds on the bat or the script.
the Yankees ain't messing with the pinstripes and logo.
sports in general is about tradition, as people associate the uni with the team, and adults like the uni looking like it did when they were kids and became fans.
with colleges, alums like unis looking like they did when they were in school, and reminiscing is a big part of coming back to visit..
no one is screwing every yr with the fight song or school colors or the "Hoosiers" nickname or logo.
the bball side has long ago figured this out, but the fball side just can't seem to.
only tweaks i would make to the uni the last couple yrs, is i thought the red in the helmets had an orange tinge to it in certain light i didn't like, and i would prefer a slightly deeper red helmet.
and i will never be a fan of any matte/satin finish, and much prefer a glossy finish helmet as most schools have, and IU has had down through the yrs until recently. (and who wants a matte/satin car. the whole reason for wax on a car, is the glossier the better).
while it's a subjective thing, and opinions do differ, i'd be willing to bet as a general rule, it's the newbie and young fans that are the least resistant to a different look, and the ones who have been around a while, (not just old timers), like tradition.
that said, even the newbies who have no emotional investment in tradition when they are newbies, will be invested after they've been around awhile.
and over the yrs/decades of being an IU fan, i have never once seen changing the basic look of the helmet or uni do nothing but piss off the vast majority of fans.
the bigger the change, the more pissed off they are.
are administrations just brain dead to the point of not being able to figure this out, or just arrogant to the point of not caring what the loyal base wants?
please make it stop.
it ain't broke, stop fixing it.
did the administration learn nothing from helmet fiascos of a few yrs ago?
or from the Sam Wyche disaster?
or the Cameron helmets?
IU's classic red helmet design with the white pinstripes or even no pinstripes is great, (prefer the pinstripes), and while i prefer the interlock logo, the block I is fine as well.
i love that the Colt's unis look almost exactly as they did when i was a kid, (when they were Baltimore), and every yr since.
the St Louis Cards don't mess with the birds on the bat or the script.
the Yankees ain't messing with the pinstripes and logo.
sports in general is about tradition, as people associate the uni with the team, and adults like the uni looking like it did when they were kids and became fans.
with colleges, alums like unis looking like they did when they were in school, and reminiscing is a big part of coming back to visit..
no one is screwing every yr with the fight song or school colors or the "Hoosiers" nickname or logo.
the bball side has long ago figured this out, but the fball side just can't seem to.
only tweaks i would make to the uni the last couple yrs, is i thought the red in the helmets had an orange tinge to it in certain light i didn't like, and i would prefer a slightly deeper red helmet.
and i will never be a fan of any matte/satin finish, and much prefer a glossy finish helmet as most schools have, and IU has had down through the yrs until recently. (and who wants a matte/satin car. the whole reason for wax on a car, is the glossier the better).
while it's a subjective thing, and opinions do differ, i'd be willing to bet as a general rule, it's the newbie and young fans that are the least resistant to a different look, and the ones who have been around a while, (not just old timers), like tradition.
that said, even the newbies who have no emotional investment in tradition when they are newbies, will be invested after they've been around awhile.
and over the yrs/decades of being an IU fan, i have never once seen changing the basic look of the helmet or uni do nothing but piss off the vast majority of fans.
the bigger the change, the more pissed off they are.
are administrations just brain dead to the point of not being able to figure this out, or just arrogant to the point of not caring what the loyal base wants?
please make it stop.
it ain't broke, stop fixing it.
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I don't mind "matte" but other than that I agree with the gist of your post...
My approach would be to pick two (an ultra reflective silver*** one, with a reflective interlocking IU [for high heat / intense sunny weather games] and a deep red one with whatever they want to add that they are planning to keep for the next 50+ years...
While I love the block I, we've allowed Illinois to take that for themselves, so..., the interlocking IU seems to me to best uniquely represent us at this point...
Personally, I'd be fine with the two types above: deep red with a white interlocking IU and an ultra reflective silver with a deep red reflective interlocking IU and leave the racing stripes off... but I'm a "less is more" kind of guy... 😉🍺🍺😎
***[and by reflective silver I mean something that almost looks white in high sunlight due to the reflective red interlocking IU overpowering the background]
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apparently you didn't get the gist of my post.
get that reflective silver crap outta here.
it's like that chrome total abomination we had.
i will buy white for intense hot sunny noon kickoffs. (which shouldn't really ever happen, but that's another thread).
keep it traditional.
our traditional uni and helmet have been great since at least the Rose Bowl yr, when the idiots didn't decide to f them up every few yrs, literally every time pissing off the fans..
bball gets it. (no doubt someone will eventually try and screw that up too though, but hopefully Woody will be a buffer against that).
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There was a video a year or so ago that showed the managers putting some striping or something on the helmets when they were making some kind of change. It was short but that is the sum of my knowledge on the matter.
Oh I got it, and I understand your angst with the reflective style (I'm just for taking the competitive edge anywhere it may present itself 😉, plus it would somewhat placate the youngsters who have little or no concept of traditions (evidently)...
White is my next choice for that type of gameday... That (white) is probably the best approach anyway, otherwise you'd have the part of the crowd who didn't bring sunglasses going home with what amounts to a "snow-blind" condition... Having had a mild case, trust me, you don't want it...
So we're in agreement...
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I agree changing helmets and uniforms each season doesn't allow for any branding for football fans to recognize. The reason top programs don't change is people recognize their uniforms and helmets something IU needs to develop.
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