Vanderbilt’s new 2012 football uniforms have been unveiled and three things stand out:
1. Vandy’s has incorporated a big black stripe on the shoulders of their gold jerseys, not unlike the jersey design of the crosstown Tennessee Titans.
2. The Commodores will now have a white helmet (to go with their gold and black helmets).
3. VU held their fashion store at a Barnes & Noble. Not sure why I find that amusing, but it beats a chemistry lab.
More details on the new unis can be found right here. (Did ya know that “Anchor Down” is stitched into the interior of each jersey neckline!?)
Video of the fashion show can be found here.
James Franklin says his players are happy with the new uniforms. “Our players will tell you the gold jersey went from being the worst to being the best.” Quarterback Jordan Rodgers said simply, “Look good, play good,” after descending down an escalator in VU’s new all-white uniform complete with the white helmet that was “hush-hush.” At the unveiling, only the seniors knew about the white helmets.
“We wanted to save one more as a surprise for (the players),” Franklin said. “We wanted our family, fans, the media, alumni and team to see them at the same time.” While Franklin said Vandy will wear its traditional gold helmet on most occasions, his players seem to have a different new favorite look.
“My favorite is the white-black-white,” Rodgers said of the white helmet, black jersey, white pants combo. “It’s awesome.” Linebacker Tristan Strong agreed. “Definitely the white-black-white.”
Franklin also used the opportunity to share his tough talk message with Commodore fans:
“You guys saw last year, we’re not gonna take a backseat to anybody. You come into Vanderbilt Stadium you better be ready for a fight… Change is happening. The culture has been changed.”
In the end, Vanderbilt becomes the latest school to feature umpteen mix-and-match uniform combinations. While this writer isn’t big on gold jerseys for any school unless they’re extremely shiny — hey, my story, my opinion — there’s certainly nothing too off the wall with the new design. They’re less a break from tradition than what we’ve already seen at Missouri and Arkansas this offseason.
Texas A&M will break out their new uniforms this afternoon. Here’s hoping they’ll go the VU route and tweak… rather than overhaul.
