The jerseys have received mixed reviews thus far, with many voicing that the extra red in the design (seen in between the red streaks on the helmet to the left) appears to resemble blood spatter. Under Armour, the designer of the uniforms, released a statement saying that, "the suggestion that these uniforms are depicting streaks of blood is completely false and uninformed." Instead, they are meant to feature an "authentic distressed pattern which depicts a flag that has flown proudly for a long period of time."Which seems like the more reasonable claim based on first sight? I'll go with blood.
I personally love these jerseys and the cause they are going towards. Northwestern will have absolutely no trouble selling these jerseys for big money, and making a substantial contribution to a fantastic non-profit organization. Be that as it may, it is very understandable that these jerseys can be portrayed as offensive. The pride that Americans hold for their veterans is undeniable, monuments and propaganda nation-wide honor members of the armed forces. But, sometimes we go over the top. Northwestern and Under Armour should have toned it down a bit, and I think after this attempt at honoring America's vets, franchises and teams will take a more conservative approach.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI think that it's great how the jerseys are being donated to the Wounded Warrior Project. As for the jerseys themselves, I agree with you in that Northwestern and Under Armour should have thought more about their design. They needed to make sure that their intentions with the splattered paint were clear to the public. By explaining the jersey or not putting the red paint at all, Under Armour and the Northwestern team could have avoided this conflict. I also think that when people are talking about or making a tribute to any specific group of people, the public tends to be more sensitive about events related to them.
ReplyDeleteThese specialty uniforms have become a contest better the major clothing companies and their playground is college football. I remember seeing some virginia tech uniforms that were absolutely hideous but that was the point, they generated an enormous amount of publicity and that was the goal. These uniforms are no different, we're discussing if they went too far. The uniform is the exposed and under armor has met their goal of drummed up views of their company. It makes uneasy to see the wounded warriors foundation used in this way for what amounts to an ad.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI'd like to adress the point that Guy makes. These uniforms could have been made more dramatic for publicity (although I doubt it because Under Armour only recieved bad press for this), but I wouldn't say that the uniforms only amount to an add. An estimated $100,000 will be going to the Wounded Warriors Foundation from game-work jerseys alone. That is 100% of the profits off of this type of jersey. Although, only 10% of profits from replica jerseys will be going to the foundation. Some people say that that's too low, but I would have to disagree. That's over $100,000 dollars of money going to the wounded warrior foundation that they didn't have before. I bet if you asked the Wounded Warrior Foundation if the appreciated the support they would most definitely say yes. Even if Under Armour was only looking for publicity in all of this, I have to argue that the Wounded Warrior Foundation wouldn't complain about this either. This "ad" has probably gotten more publicity for the foundation than any real ad before it. This brings more awareness to the cause, which means more donations, which means more help for our veterans which was the original purpose of the uniforms in the first place, was it not?
ReplyDeleteAdditionally, I think we should consider what the color red in the American flag stands for. It is a common-held view by many Americans that the red stands for the blood of America's fallen soldiers. So even if Under Armour did try and make it look like blood then I don't think we should be questioning them. These people who are upset about the uniforms should really be questioning this idea that the red in the American flag stands for blood (some take it as far as to say war itself). Historically, (from what I have found) there is no evidence that says that the red in the American flag was originally meant to represent the blood of the nations fallen soldiers. I wonder why people have associated the flag with the blood of our fallen soldiers when that doesn't seem to have been our founding father's original intention and what that says about what our country values.
P.S. I was at this game and heard plenty of angry fans discussing the uniforms, so you definitely picked a current and hotly debated topic! Lastly, I'm sorry for posting a comment of such an absurd length, your blog just really got me thinking!