Windy City Gridiron - Being who you thought we were since 2005!

Dogs to wear traditional uniforms
Coach Mark Richt promised his players they could wear the Nike pro-combat uniforms worn in the season-opener if they made it to the SEC title game. After losing to Boise State, the players wanted no part in the alternate jerseys. "Nobody even asked me," Richt said. The team will wear traditional red tops with silver pants.

Perception is reality. Good football teams follow tradition and uniforms are part of that tradition. Quick example: What will Alabama, USC (So Cal), or Oklahoma wear each week? Yeah, you can bet your life that these teams don't go off the map with their fashion styles. Thus, it is important to establish a recognizable brand. Otherwise, it hurts my eyes (and my heart) to show up at the stadium on Saturday or turn on my television and see this crap.

The most radical Tennessee uniform came with the "Halloween jerseys" of 1963, orange with black numbers, uniforms that weren't a big hit. They went gently into that good night at the end of the season. A 5-5 season and a new coach in town the next season helped make that happen.

"And for those of you hoping for an alternate third jersey next season. I'm hearing it's not going to happen."

3rd jersey: "I happened to see the helmet yesterday, and it’s a switch back to the traditional royal blue of the classic Islanders jersey. In the past, I heard the third jersey would be the same as the ones the team wore two seasons ago that had orange numbers. But that might not be the case."

If you read through the comments (which I’ve warned before not to do), you’ll get a nice cross section of Tennessee fans and their opinions on the subject. The idea of using black on the uniforms was posted at some point, and that is where we discover that unfortunately, the old adage of opinions being like assholes holds true to this day.

First off, you’ve got your traditionalists who don’t like any messing with the traditional uniforms that were traditionally worn by traditional players in "traditional" times traditionally… tradition. Nevermind the fact that the "Power T" that we know and love today has only been traditional since the 70’s, and also nevermind the fact that Tennessee has in fact, worn black as part of the color scheme for quite some time:

"They're young people," Fulmer said of the psychological advantage. "They like to be entertained. It's an Xbox generation.

"I'm sure for a few plays, it might make a difference. But usually once you get a sweat going and get your helmet turned sideways, the color of the pants don't have a lot to do with anything."