Instant Reaction: "The Shirt" 2016 Reveal

Earlier today, the 27th annual "The Shirt" was revealed at the bookstore in advance of the Blue-Gold game on Saturday. Sales of The Shirt, as always, will go towards the Shirt Charity and the Rector Fund to assist Notre Dame students in need directly.

The Shirt 2016! pic.twitter.com/cnpOzRt2VF

— The Shirt ND (@theshirtND) April 15, 2016

The shirt is royal blue, featuring a simple football with "Fighting Irish" on the front and emblazoned with the phrase "Surrender to Excellence: Rise Above Ourselves". The design on the back also features a banner for each historical National Championship. In addition, it was announced that this year's shirt would be offered in a long sleeve version.

Personally, I strongly dislike The Shirt for this season. It was always going to be a tough ask to match the success of last season's edition, and at first glance, it looks like they failed. First, since when is royal blue a school color? We recently have had a few "off-color" shirts, and they never do as well. (Yes, I know green technically isn't a school color). The other gripe I have with the shirt is the really plain design. It looks exactly like something that was pulled from the stock design bucket where you just add your own lettering. The real cherry on top of the melted sundae is the phrase chosen for this season. It has absolutely no roots in anything Notre Dame -- it may as well say "Be Good Like We Used To Be".

If I had to pick my favorite thing about The Shirt, it is that it is available in long sleeve also. I'm not impressed.

So readers, what do you think of The Shirt for this season? Is it everything you want in a shirt and more, or would you rather spend your bookstore cash on a plain ND polo?