Oregon did it. Maryland did it too. Why not us?
That was the question on everybody’s mind as college football teams all across he country donned new team jerseys that were not only unique, but also said to enhance player performance.
While many were in favor of a new and better set of uniforms, there were some who felt the uniforms didn’t matter that much.
Hannah Mosteller , a sophomore in English, was one of the few who felt that football uniforms weren’t an important factor when it came to judging the reputation of a football program.
“I do not feel that the uniform is a top factor in the ability of the football team,” Mosteller said. “Our team is known for having talent, so a uniform is not what people need to think about when they think of our awesome football team.”
Hannah also felt that if it came down to a choice between color and comfort, she would pick the latter.
“I think comfort is more important,” she said. “The uniform does not matter if the players are uncomfortable. If they are not comfortable, then more than likely they will not play well.”
Eric Blair, a junior in industrial engineering, was from a different school of thought as he felt the football team uniforms were one of the more important components of the football program.
“I think the football uniform is very important from a branding perspective, because most people only see and identify universities through their sports program,” Blair said. “What the team looks like factors into how they view NC State, and that makes our appearance critical.”
Blair also critically reviewed the present set of uniforms and came up with some thoughtful observations.
“I like the simplicity and sleekness of the new uniform, although the text for ‘STATE’ could stand to be a bit bigger going across the whole chest.” Blair said. “I also have mixed feelings about the black trim, because a more classic look would only have red and white, with no black trim around the numbers, though the black does modernize it a bit perhaps.”
Blair also didn’t seem to care about which brand of uniforms the team was going to play in, as long it provided quality products for the players and fans. He also felt Adidas had done a shoddy job with the football team uniforms.
“Adidas seems to have been sub par in some respects, with the pants slipping down with this years new jersey, and the discolored red of the jerseys from last year,” Blair said. “I wouldn’t be opposed to a switch depending on the financial offers.”
Blair also offered an ultimate solution that would erase the problem of having to get new and different jerseys every year.
“The teams with the best uniforms are those timeless classics that will never go out of style,” Blair said. “All of these programs also have better history as a program than N.C . State, which is why their traditional jerseys end up being timeless. But if we go with a design based on these, or pull a design from our past that will never go out of style, we can create a better brand.
“Our current problem is that we change jerseys too often so the general public does not have something constant to identify N.C . State. We don’t have something that stays constant like those teams do.”
R.J . Mattes, offensive guard on the team, had a first hand approach to the whole football uniform situation and felt there were certain positions that looked good wearing the uniforms and some that didn’t.
“Our linemen don’t look too great in them because of the form and fit but our receivers look great in them” Mattes said. “For the linemen it shows their curves which is somewhat not flattering, so I mean they are tight jerseys but its good because it ensures no one can grab them.”
Mattes also claimed to like the Maryland football jerseys and admitted a lot of people were talking about them, but claimed to like the Wolfpack jersey more.
“It’s a change, they do what they gotta do, they got people talking about it,” Mattes said. “I kinda like them, I know a lot of people hate them, but I like our playing jerseys better than their jerseys.”
