New Cal Uniforms and Logo Are Here!

(Source: CalBears.com)

In the lull that is college football offseason, today is freaking Christmas come early. At least for me.

In a much hyped promotion campaign, Nike and Cal unveiled the new streamlined look for Cal Athletics wear, with much of the emphasis being on the new Cal uniforms.

Overall, I have to say I love the new uniforms. LOVE 'EM. I do have my share of gripes though. Check out my full reactions after the jump.

(1) Big Fan of the overall uniform
All in all, I'm digging the new unis. In terms of designing a uniform that's the right combination of old school meets new school, I'd say the uniforms are a smashing success. They look sleek without getting too gimmicky, which I thought the last generation of uniforms did with the introduction of the stripes.

I'm glad that the previously mentioned gold portion around the collar turned out to be a nice slick V-collar designs, and that the uniform doesn't deviate in its use of the primary Cal colors.

For as much as they wanted to pay homage to the past, the uniforms are unabashedly modern, and not anything close to being considered retro. I like it.

(2)The Cal script lives on!
My biggest concern going into the uniform overhaul was that the athletics department would ditch the Cal script. Thankfully this wasn't the case, and if anything, they've highlighted it even further, as it's much larger on this helmet this time around.

(3) Logo is ok, but not on the uniform
In addition to introducing the new uniforms, the Bears also introduced the new Bear logo. They really tried to emphasize the ferocity of the Bears. And you know me, I'm all about Bears with claws, or Bears with Fangs.

Well, this new logo, it's...it's....interesting.



Ok, let's be honest, it kind of looks like a vagina. And if you don't see it, then you clearly have never...nevermind.

I'm not a huge fan, nor do I see the need for a Bear logo. With that said, I suppose it looks better than the other "angry Bear" logos we've had.



Fortunately, though I'm not a huge fan of the logo, it's use on the uniforms is actually pretty slick. First, in the picture below, you'll notice that the Bear logo is actually in the uniform number itself. I barely even noticed it the first time I looked at the uniforms.



Secondly, it looks like they're stitching a 3D patch of it on the hip pocket, which actually doesn't look too bad.



I will say that I'm not a fan of its third use though: a tone on tone stich that will be hard to see from a distance, but visible close up.



It just seems a bit unnecessary, and I would have been completely fine with just the first two aforementioned uses.

(4) Like the Matte Helmet Look
The helmets are reportedly actually textured, though they have the matte look. I gotta say I dig it. It's sleek, with the times, it's just sharp overall.

(5) Return of the Banana Suit
Looks like I counted my chickens before they hatched because the photos seem to show that that the gold on gold look is still very much a possibility. I thought they'd stick with just blue-on-blue, or blue-on-gold, but the banana suit seems to be out in full force.



The blue accents don't make it seem as appalling as the previous unis, but I'm still not a fan of the look. At least this means we haven't gotten rid of the gold on blue look which is still the best color combination in my opinion.

Grey? GREY?!
The Nike press release just kind of threw this out there, but it looks like the Bears will indeed go the same route as schools who choose to ditch their primary colors for the grey look from time to time.

Conceptually, I don't like the idea. Never have, and never will. It just doesn't make sense, and I'm reminded of how dumb Stanford looked in their black unis. But then again, Stanford always looks awful.

I haven't seen an official photo of these, though I did find this photo on the BearInsider Forums.




If that uniform on the left is indeed grey, I've got to say this is a "thumbs down" from me. Insert sad face.

A win overall
Again, overall I'm a fan of the new uniforms. There are far more hits than misses, and more than anything, it isn't a complete faceplant of a brand relaunch. These uniforms are classy and slick. A hard line to balance.

Check out the reactions from the Cal team. They didn't quite explode, but their reactions tell you all they need to know. These kids are pumped.



Now go out and win some games in them fellas.

What do you guys think about the uniforms? Curious to hear your thoughts.