Detroit Lions unveil new home jerseys (and they’re nearly perfect!)

Good Monday morning, University Observers. I hope everyone had a safe and enjoyable weekend.

The long-awaited home debut of the Lions’ new uniforms came on Saturday when Detroit hosted the Pittsburgh Steelers and gave us our first look at their (best) new kit on the field. Paul didn’t have much to say in his assessment, but it doesn’t take many words to describe the beauty of the new home uniform.

Is it a perfect set? No. But is it a big improvement? Absolutely.

…

Very, very solid. They look like the Lions again! No nonsense, no bullshit. The stripe pattern on the sleeves and pants is unique, but not tacked on – it works.

Yes, folks, the Lions look like the Lions again!

Let’s go through some of my observations at the university and then I’ll give you my assessment.

First of all, I LOVE the new shade Honolulu Blue. While the old blue seemed darker and “grimy”, this blue is much more pleasing to the palate – it’s amazing what a small change in palette can do. In case you’re lost, here’s the comparison between the old and new blue:

Please! pic.twitter.com/fyHqT84YJZ

— CS (@Sanchlinz) 19 April 2024

Much better. Almost everything about the new universities is an improvement (including one improvement that could have been much better, but we’ll get to that in a moment).

You can see how much more vibrant the blue is, even inside Ford Field (which, despite being one of the newer domes, still isn’t particularly well lit). You can also see one of the improvements and how it could have been better.

In their previous two games, we noticed that the blue of the Lions’ helmet seemed brighter than the jersey or pants. But inside the dome, the tones seem to match. I’m not a huge fan of the blue face mask, but it seems to go well with the blue jerseys and silver pants stripes.

The performance against a team with black helmets, white jerseys and gold pants was also a perfect contrast.

Another plus of this uniform is the unique helmet stripe, which is almost perfectly reproduced on the trousers.

The white block numbers also look much better in contrast to the Honolulu blue, and although the double border is not necessary, it is not a problem.

I also like that they were basically able to fit full-sized TV numbers on the shoulders (TV numbers seem to be dying out on football shirts these days). The white NOB is easy to read on the blue shirt.

And although there is no perfect Match, the silver metallic helmets and gray pants almost match. Under the lights of Ford Field, they match almost perfectly. And every player wore their blue Honolulu socks (thank goodness), making for a nice silver gray/blue/gray/blue jersey.

Man, that’s pretty! And hopefully they’ll wear that combo most of the time at home (yes, they have that blue helmet/black jersey combo shown at the unveiling with black and blue pants), plus their throwback outfits (hopefully worn on Thanksgiving). They have nine home games this year, so that means at least six will be in the silver/blue/gray combination. However, the team has not yet unveiled a “uniform plan” for the season, so it is unknown how often they will wear the new combination. They have white, black, and blue (all without stripes) pants, so let’s pray they never wear any of those with the blue Honolulu jerseys.

All in all, almost perfect. So what is not perfect? ​​As I mentioned above, the team improved a varsity element, but unfortunately missed one small thing that would have made it perfect. In case you haven’t noticed that one thing, it’s the stripes on the sleeve cuffs. They removed the “Lions” and “WCF” wordmarks, which is the improvement. But…

Even when shot very tightly, using white stripes to separate the silver stripes does not create sufficient contrast between the two colors.

If they had used blue stripes, the silver stripes would have been much easier to see. As it stands, unless it’s a very tight shot, they just look like one giant silver blob.

Part of the problem is the material – it reflects, which makes it even harder to distinguish white from silver.

You can also get an impression of it in the video.

The top 5️⃣runs of @henhook2 today 💪

Next: #LARvsDET | pic.twitter.com/pCKpkKfbxu

— Detroit Lions (@Lions) 24 August 2024

But honestly, that’s a relatively minor complaint. They got pretty much everything else about the new uniform right, and I’m sure that makes most of us very happy. Again, let’s hope they wear the silver/blue/gray for at least six of their home games. Their away look with the blue pants is also very good, and would be even better if the pants had stripes. If they wear those often (or better yet, pair the white shirts with the gray pants), the Lions should be a very good looking team for the foreseeable future. I’ll have to see their blue cap/black jersey – hopefully worn with blue pants – to make a judgement, but that’s also possible. And of course, with their throwback jersey to round out the set, the Lions should make a few appearances in the 2024 NFL 5 & 1 (or maybe just the 3 & 1 – I haven’t decided yet).

Well done, Detroit, well done. You look like the Lions again!

Your opinion?

Guess the game from the scoreboard

Guess the game…

…From the scoreboard

The current scoreboard comes from Rob Siergiej (Rob S).

The premise of the game (GTGFTS) is simple: I post a scoreboard and you simply identify the game depicted. In the past, I don’t know if I always has left you completely baffled (some are easier than others).

Here’s the scoreboard. In the comments below, try to identify the game (date and location, and final score). If anything notable happened during the game, please add that (and if you were at the game, bonus points for you!):

Please keep sending them to me! Feel free to send me any scoreboard photos (with replies please) and I will continue to post them.

Guess the game by the uniform

Based on a suggestion from a long-time reader/contributor Jimmy Corcoranwe have introduced a new “game” on Uni Watch that is similar to the popular “Guess the Game by the Scoreboard” (GTGFTS), except that here readers must guess the game based on the uniforms worn by the teams.

Like GTGFTS, readers are asked to guess the date, location and final result of the game using clues in the photo. Sometimes the game should be relatively easy to determine, while in other cases it can be quite difficult. It will normally There must be a visual clue (something odd or unique about one or both uniforms) that allows for a clear identification of one and only one game. In other cases, there may be something significant about the game in question, such as when a particular uniform was last worn (one of Jimmy’s original suggestions). It’s up to YOU ​​to figure out the game and the date.

Today’s GTGFTU comes from Franklin S. Tower.

Good luck! Please post your guess/answer in the comments below.

And finally …

…that’s it for the early post. I’ll have a ton more articles throughout the day and of course we’ll have Jamie’s Ticker too, so keep checking back!

I wish everyone a nice Monday and see you all tomorrow.

Peace,

PH