Thursday, August 30, 2007

UNIFORMLY DUMB, THAT'S THE NHL

Ed Willes of the Van Province went to town on the mentality behind the NHL's new jerseys, zeroing in on a priceless gem from Gary Bettman:

"It was time. Our basic uniforms haven't changed in 40 years."

As Bill Hicks once said, "Four questions: Yeah? And? So? What?" On the far right, there's a photo of Jim Lonborg was the ace pitcher for the Boston Red Sox 40 years ago in 1967, their Impossible Dream season. His uniform is virtually identical, not withstanding the high pants cuff, to what current Red Sox pitcher Jon Papelbon wears today. (True, the Red Sox had a different uniform in the 1970s, but it was the '70s and the lettering on the jerseys remained the same.)

It would be the same if you put a picture of a 1967 Yankee next to a picture of Mariano Rivera, of a picture of Bart Starr in a Green Bay Packers uniform from 1967 next to Brett Favre. The best baseball uniforms -- such as the L.A. Dodgers, San Francisco Giants, St. Louis Cardinals -- are the ones that keep the basic look the same across the years.

So yes, Bud Selig, who always looks like he forgot to take the hanger out of his suit coat, has more fashion sense than Gary Bettman.

(Over at Mirtle, they're up in arms.)

Related:
New look befits NHL money-grab culture (Ed Willes, Vancouver Province)

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