Michigan Legacy Throwbacks Revealed

As if you hadn’t heard(!).  I’ll say what I said before—I wish they had more specific references to history.  The guy from adidas basically said that they trolled through the old team photos and found some stripes on the 1890s-era teams, and AD DB suggested that the stained glass (I think Ira has that trademarked now) design is indicative of stitching on the old block M uniforms.  Fine.   I would have had a design that pointed to specific elements from uniforms for a specific team or era of Michigan football history. 

That being said, I really like the helmets and the gray throwback facemasks.  And—the jerseys definitely look much better on the players and over the shoulder pads.  I think having Denard wear it for the unveiling helped—the dude can make anything look kind of cool, right?

And it’s not just that they look better on the players.  The shoulder-pad fitted “sleeves” are shorter on the actual uniform than in the version that the public can purchase.  Thus, there are about half as many stripes and it deemphasizes that aspect of the ensemble (as do Denard’s dreads):

Here’s RVB’s helmet:

those are RVB’s forearms, not mohair extensions on the sleeves

It’ll be interesting to see if those number decals stay on the helmet.  I’m guessing a few will be displaced during the game.  Remember the winged design is painted on, not a decal as many assume.  They certainly won’t go through the pain of painting on the numerals for a single game.

Other stuff:

* Man, the athletic department can put on a top-notch event.  Along with the media and U-M staffers, you had current and former players and various dignitaries and donors on hand.  If you’ve got a venue like that, why not exploit it?

* The podium was flanked by two other more traditional uniforms and yes, they will be used in the other home games next season.  Check out the back:

* It was also announced that Desmond will be honored in some form at the Notre Dame game.  I asked Brandon if they are considering retiring #21.   His answer was basically a ‘we’re looking into the matter’ and ‘we’ll get back to you at the right time’-type response:

“We’re considering a great deal the whole concept of retiring numbers, not just as it relates to the situation with Desmond,” Brandon said. “We have so many great players, and we’re always trying to figure out how to honor them in an appropriate way. We do have a tradition here of retiring jerseys, a policy and a program we’re taking a look at, and we’ll go forward.”

As Mark Snyder of the Freep suggested to me afterward, knowing the marketing machine, any announcements such as retiring jerseys would be a separate media event and marketing campaign.  Spot on.  I think it’ll happen.

* This is unconfirmed, but word on the street (HT: Mike) is that Elvis Grbac and Desmond may re-enact this as part of the game festivities.

* They passed out these throwback tees on the way out of the stadium.  (It has the under the lights logo on the back).  I really like it and I’ve seen this style logo out there somewhere—I’m trying to recall when and where:

* One more bit of scuttlebutt (HT: Mike).  Word is that the iconic maize Michigan stadium usher jackets are being scrapped this season for a new color (blue) and a new design.  You can panic for 1 hour then move on:

 

* Update:  I forgot to mention that Brandon announced there will be some special guests and some type of acknowledgment of the 10th anniversary of 9-11.   Also, he noted that the cheerleaders will be throwing back as well, maybe like this?