Scoreboards

• Football uniforms have evolved in recent years to have more striking colors and graphics
• The title of “Most Outrageous NFL Uniform” surely belongs to the Cincinnati Bengals
• In college football, the Oregon Ducks may have the most outrageous uniform

The Bengals’ Tiger Stripes

In 2004 the Cincinnati Bengals introduced a new football uniform. The team had long been famous for the tiger stripes on its helmets. The new uniform had three versions, and all three added tiger stripes to the shoulders. Tiger stripes on the pants had a more rounded look, and extended to just above the knee. Added to the black jersey and white jersey was an orange jersey that could be worn twice a year. The uniform also incorporated a second color pants, black, in keeping with best traditions of haute couture.

Unfortunately, the Bengals had one of their worst seasons in 2008, and their uniforms began to take on the look of jester outfits until they won their last three games to finish 4-11-1. One of the few interesting parts of their season involved a uniform number. A star receiver decided to change his name from Chad Johnson to Chad Ochocinco, a bizarre Spanish rendering of his uniform number, 85. Bengals fans are hoping they do not lose ocho games to start the season, as they did last year.

Outrageous College Football Uniforms

The Oregon Ducks have become notorious for their uniforms in recent years. Designed by Nike, which is headquartered in Oregon, the uniforms worn by the Ducks have some of the strangest looking football jerseys ever designed. The latest version, which debuted at Oregon’s Holiday Bowl appearance on New Year’s Eve, featured a black jersey with silver reflecting numbers on front and back and silver reflecting duck wings on the shoulders. The previous jersey had an equally bizarre metallic-looking diamond-plate pattern on the shoulders. It is said that the teams’ younger players have a hand in designing the uniforms, which makes sense when the final product brings a video-game avatar to mind. To their credit, the Ducks have had successful seasons more often than not since making the switch to bizarro outfits.

Another arresting uniform made its appearance at the annual Army-Navy game in December 2008. The Black Knights of West Point showed up with a digital camouflage pattern on their helmets and pants. The get-up seemed to successfully disguise any talent on the team, as Army lost to the Midshipmen 34 to zip. Nike again had a hand in the visual mayhem, dubbing the unis as something from its new “Enforcer” line. The Navy uniforms were somewhat more subdued, being notable mostly for their incorporation of Marine emblems into their traditional gold and navy blue design.

When the West Virginia Mountaineers took the field against the University of Pittsburgh during the 2007 seasons, it looked as if the players had been involved in some sort of bizarre pre-game fracas involving plastic squeeze bottles of yellow mustard. The yellow-clad Mountaineers were nationally ranked and a 26-point favorite, but somehow they hot-dogged their way to an embarrassing 13-9 loss that took them out of the title picture. The killer-bee ensemble has not been seen since.