Why Are Dark Colors So Prevalent in Modern Sports?
by Eric Murtaugh on Jun 8, 2011 12:37 PM EDT
Email
PrintA while back when I posted the Notre Dame Uniform History Pictorial there were some rumblings. Once the 2011 version of The Shirt was unveiled it became a full blown discussion.
What color blue is appropriate for Notre Dame?
It's an interesting question and certainly one in which there really isn't a correct answer.
However, the talk about Notre Dame's jerseys being too dark, or not light enough, and the thoughts of some that the Madonna blue of The Shirt being a decidedly non-school color (despite actually being the official school color) brings up something I'd like to talk about.
Taking a look at some of these wonderful graphs created by The Sports Design Blog just reinforced my desire to get this out in the open.
Why has there been a trend in the past 10 to 20 years in sports that has caused so many people to equate dark colors with being classy?
Why is it when the majority of people bring up the current green uniforms worn by Notre Dame that they cite the darker green as being classy?
Does that mean the brighter green worn pre-2005 is not classy?
This is something that irks me.
I understand if you're buying a nice tailored suit you're going to gravitate towards a dark color. Same with your car or house. Some people will buy a bright orange automobile, but an overwhelming majority of the public thinks that a bit much and quite tacky.
But does it have to be this way in the realm of sports?
Obviously not!
Have you ever noticed how many sports franchises either came into existence in the 1990's-2000's or changed their colors during that time and ended up deliberately going to darker palettes?
Just about every single one did.
Odds are if you were one of those teams you became a member of the navy blue club, and if not that color, then turquoise or teal (which are not "dark" colors per se, but I digress).
Check out some of the changes in the realm of professional sports:
This list is not meant to be exhaustive.
In the NFL, Denver used to sport royal blue but now predictably wears navy blue.
Same with New England.
And St. Louis.
And Buffalo too (although the Bills are switching back to their old royal blue later this month).
The Chargers (despite wearing their powder blue throwbacks often) were one of the first teams in the late 80's to make the switch to navy blue.
Seattle used to wear a blue that popped on television but...no more.
Both the Eagles and Jets used to wear beautifully vibrant green on the field but have chosen to go with the dreaded dark green nowadays.
Tampa Bay had the opportunity to create an endearing love of orange in the same way the University of Tennessee has, but instead opted to change their colors to red, black, and friggin pewter.
The Houston Oilers used to have easily recognizable bright blue and red uniforms, but when the team moved to Tennessee...gotta add navy blue!
At least the Vikings wear a more vibrant purple than they ever have, although this is one instance in which the darker color of the past actually did look more classy...but that has more to do with the Vikings current uniform design which makes them look more Indoor League team than NFL franchise.
In all, 10 teams in the NFL have navy blue as a major color.
8 more use black.
In the NBA, the Atlanta Hawks used to mix it up with a bunch of different bright colors throughout their history, but now bore us to death with navy blue and red.
The Cavaliers re-branded for the LeBron James-era and chose navy blue and red as their primary colors.
The Nets used to have bright blue and red uniforms, but you guessed it...boring navy blue today.
Even the Jazz, who recently went back to a more old school look, could not pull the trigger and return to their original purple but chose navy blue.
Toronto used to be all about the purple, but now had replaced the color of kings with black.
The Dallas Mavericks used to have bright blue and green uniforms, but although they still feature alternate uniforms with those colors, their standard sets were redesigned with navy blue as the primary color.
Luckily there is hope in the Association, a league in which we generally see a lot of color changes and experiments.
Denver broke away from their navy blue days, Golden State recently did the same, while Philadelphia dropped the black for their original royal blue.
There are even rumors that Sacramento will drop their black and purple for their old Monarch red, white, and royal blue.
In all, 7 teams wear navy blue as a major color with 8 teams using black in the same way.
As proof that the NBA is the least monotonous (or is it least classy?) league out of the major sports in regards to navy blue, 12 teams use royal or light blue as a major color.
The MLB has 8 teams, the NHL 6 teams, and the NFL only a paltry 5 teams.
Baseball has its problems too.
Atlanta switched from a bright to navy blue...even if it was a long time ago.
Milwaukee got rid of their vibrant blue for a darker shade.
Seattle did the same.
When the Nationals came back into the Majors, yup...navy blue and red.
The Astros used to have orange as a dominant color, but then let navy blue take over and switched the orange to gold. Now, they wear black and red.
Arizona had very lively (but ugly) original uniforms and now wear the same colors as Houston.
Toronto had the gall to replace sky blue and red with black and gray.
In all, 13 teams use navy blue as a major color.
9 more use black as a major color.
The NHL is notorious for favoring darker colors in recent times.
The Sabres dropped royal blue and yellow in the 1990's for black and red. Then followed that up by bringing back the original colors, except navy blue instead of royal. Thankfully, the team wears a bright royal blue alternate.
When Minnesota moved to Dallas, they dropped the bright green and yellow for dark green and black.
Edmonton switched up their design in the late 90's bringing in navy blue instead of royal and copper instead of orange. Lately, they've added their brighter throwback as an alternate.
Nashville came into the league wearing navy blue.
The Islanders went through a couple uniform switches in the past that included making navy blue the dominant color over royal. They've since repented for their sins.
Pittsburgh can't be bothered to wear yellow, but opt for gold, although the powder blue throwbacks earn some bonus points.
San Jose moved away from the lively teal color and lets black dominate their scheme now.
St. Louis used to have some of the best looking bright blue uniforms in sports, but have settled for conformity in the navy blue section today.
Despite their beautiful throwback uniforms from this past year's Winter Classic, the Capitals are also members of the navy blue club as well.
Luckily there are still teams like Vancouver out there bold enough to sport bright blue and green, distancing themselves from decades of dull uniforms.
In all, 9 teams use navy blue as a major color, with 12 teams using black as a major color.
I like to hope that we're finally coming out of the era of navy blue dominance and teams are starting to embrace the power of brighter colors.
I think this specifically because of the prevalence of throwbacks from the 1960's and 70's when designs were not dull, often surprising people with the brightness, clarity, and sharpness of colors from yesteryear.
I guess I just don't understand why there's still a strong opinion that either consciously or subconsciously favors dark colors over bright ones in the world of sports.
Dark colors work for some teams, heck they work for many teams. But the past decade and a half has shown us that those who made a deliberate choice to jump on the navy blue or black bandwagon typically made a poor decision.
In closing, why did so many people not like the Notre Dame 1977 throwbacks from the 2007 USC game and regarded them as gaudy?
Yet, a uniform very similar in design like the Green Bay Packers is mentioned as one of sports' best?
I'm just going to take a guess that whenever the Irish throwbacks are unveiled (or the rumored uniforms for the USC game too), there will be plenty of criticism simply because the colors are too bright and not classy enough.
9 comments
|
0 recs |
Do you like this story?
Comments
Why one shade of color tends to be preferred over another probably has a lot of complex psychology behind it. What that psychology is, I have no idea. But as you mentioned in your post, people— especially men— tend to prefer darker more subdued tones. Go look at the colors on display at a car lot, or in a men’s clothing store.
I’d guess that sporting darker colors makes it easier to move team merchandise, because people are more likely to wear it. Boom! /thread
by Whiskeyjack on Jun 8, 2011 1:02 PM EDT reply actions
Definitely some credence to that theory.
I was reading a while back that one of the main reasons the Mets introduced black into their uniforms was because their hats were selling at a far lower rate than the Yankees, and they believed people didn’t like wearing the bright royal blue.
That’s kind of like Purdue changing colors because they aren’t selling merchandise like Notre Dame, but there’s still some validity to that argument.
I guess my point is that the sporting sphere is a place where bright colors CAN look really appealing and its a shame that many organizations shunned this idea in past years.
by Eric Murtaugh on Jun 8, 2011 1:28 PM EDT reply actions
I agree with you. I for one would love to see ND wear green full-time, since navy has become so common these days.
But as for the reasons behind this trend, I’d bet a large sum of money that it all comes down to the bottom line.
by Whiskeyjack on Jun 8, 2011 1:32 PM EDT reply actions
Dark colors are so slimming, big DTs and DHs need the help. Your merchandise argument has merit. Customers of size need the help…/snark
I think it also has to do with free agency. Unique unis, one that are easily identified, stand out. They likely stand out due to under used colors, bright colors, non-fashionable colors…colors the discerning athlete-model does not see himself wearing. I have nothing to base this one besides a hearty disrespect for the professional athlete and a belief that how they look is a large factor in FA decisions.
When The (hated by me) Buff Bills went to the red helmet during the Marv Levy/Kelly/Reed/Thomas era they did it for a defined football reason. Only the Atlanta Falcons sported a red helmet at the time and that made instant team/player recognition easier for the QB. When every team is sporting the same color, this makes it harder for that quick reaction, unconscious pattern recognition to happen. Making it seem less likely that an on the field/court sports reason is the cause.
by C_I on Jun 8, 2011 2:08 PM EDT reply actions
Count me among those who prefer darker colors to brighter ones. That’s not to say brighter colors can’t work, as I do prefer the Charger’s powder blues to the dark ones they wore during the ‘90s, and I don’t like the Sharks move away from teal.
But with some of the examples you gave, I definitely prefer the darker uniforms. I hated the Bronco’s and Buc’s orange uniforms, and am thankful everyday that they no longer wear those. I always thought those were an eyesore, and there was no way grown men should be wearing those. Grown men in creamsicle? No thanks. I also prefer the darker green that the Jets and Eagles now wear.
I guess I personally find brighter colors to be tackier. I’m not a fashion expert by any stretch, but there were very few examples you gave in which I thought brighter was better. I guess I just prefer a more subdued look, as brighter uniforms can be distracting. And as a fan buying merchandise, brighter colors draw more attention, and I think most people would rather fall back into the crowd rather than stick out, hence why most fans would prefer a simple darker color.
by Chris on Jun 8, 2011 2:14 PM EDT reply actions
C_I,
The Bills are going back to their 70’s white helmets! I like them, but you can’t discount that we are right in the middle of a white helmet craze, even if they are technically throwbacks for Buffalo.
Also, didn’t the Chiefs have a red helmet at the time too?
I won’t include the Redskins though….
by Eric Murtaugh on Jun 8, 2011 2:22 PM EDT reply actions
Chris,
Valid opinions, but I can’t get behind the Eagles and Jets green in comparison to their old hues…the Eagles much more so. Philly used to have a great design and color scheme and now its just 21st Century crap in my opinion. Black and turquoise green in contrast to what Cunningham wore??? Come on!!
I never thought the old Bucs uniforms were great, but I do blame the red trim as being a big part of the problem. Like I said, an orange and white or orange and black color scheme like Tennessee looks terrific.
by Eric Murtaugh on Jun 8, 2011 2:27 PM EDT reply actions
Generally, I think the change fits with culture’s view of “modern” colors. Everything from cars to paint colors, to polos trended toward darker shades over the last 20 years, making the bright colors look outdated. I think part of this change is simply whether the branding has broad appeal, which of course is tied to merchandise sales. Over the last couple of years, bright colors seem to be making a comeback, and it would not surprise me if the new trend 5 years from now is to change to brighter uniforms.
Specifically to Notre Dame, the vast majority of my Notre Dame memories even as a kid involve the dark blue and gold (and not much green). To change to a different or brighter color “feels” like it goes against tradition, when clearly that is not the case. I think my gut reaction however is informed by what I am used to seeing. I don’t like the color of The Shirt this year because a blue that light starts to remind me of UCLA. Even if it is technically the school’s color, I don’t remember seeing anything in that color for the years I was on campus.
by Jeremy on Jun 8, 2011 3:40 PM EDT reply actions
Good thoughts Jeremy. I agree about the cultural view of the colors. I hope brighter is making a true comeback.
I understand that the color of The Shirt reminds you of UCLA. However, one of my overall themes is that it doesn’t necessarily have to mean it’s “ugly” which is what a lot of people just box in bright colors as, unfairly sometimes.
by Eric Murtaugh on Jun 8, 2011 4:19 PM EDT reply actions
Comments For This Post Are Closed
Secondary Sidebar
User Tools
FanPosts
Community blog posts and discussion.
Recommended FanPosts
Recent FanPosts
SHOP THE ONE FOOT DOWN STORE
