Mets Uni Changes

[bmfc1]

http://espn.go.com/blog/new-york/mets/post/_/id/32181/in-depth-new-jersey-blue-horizon

[Edgy MD]

I knew that shirt was a trojan horse
A trojan horse and it was, of course!
I knew that shirt was trojan horse
For more abomination

I knew that shirt was Pandora's box
Pandora's box with no stirrup sox!
I knew that shirt was Pandora's box
A fumbled cacluation

And "Los Mets" isn't Spanish!
Like "Les Mets" isn't French
How can I enjoy my Met games
With such nonsense on the bench?

That top portended things to come
Things to come both crude and dumb!
That top portended things to come
That'll last a generation

[Benjamin Grimm]

I like the look, although I'd rather see them wear white uniforms at home.

[Ceetar]

Why is there no love for all orange jerseys? *mutters*

[Edgy MD]

Ceetar wrote: Why is there no love for all orange jerseys? *mutters*

Because a secondary color is secondary color. It's meant to be complementary.

I'd hope this is a replacement for black. But I doubt black is going away.

The team wore blue pullovers for a few years there in the Bamberger era. It seemed they wore them only in April and May and shed them once the weather got warm.

It doesn't kill me. But I tell you, when the Mets roll into, say, Arliington, and the Rangers take the field in solid color home tops, I instantly think, "Of course the Mets are going to beat these chumps ---- they can't even be bothered to get rid of their warmup clothes before taking the field. The Mets are playing a softball team and we're going to win 17-3. Even if Pelfrey is pitching."

And you know, we pretty much did. And that was a good team.

So there's that. But what really does bother me is that this is supposedly the result of all this research and fan polling and what we end up with just the Mets version of what everybody else is doing. What a waste of time, staffpower, and the unparallelled creative resources that New York has to offer. I don't claim to know the answer to our national economic malaise, but I do know the courage to innovate is part of that answer. Why is my team such a bunch of cautious trend followers, Mr. Howard? Get your finger out of the wind and act like a man.

[Ceetar]

I like these changes.

And it seems like many bloggers/enthusiasts (and I'd be willing to bet this is a decent minority of Mets fans) just want them to go with some bland 2 uniform rotation from now until eternity.

I'd rather them go the other way and get completely crazy. Screw 'tradition' and 'this is how baseball uniforms' look. Follow up Mercury Mets uniforms with Mets from Neptune uniforms. Wear Orange tops. Wear tops that have a 3D Mets logo and give out 3-d glasses at the game.

[Edgy MD]

I don't believe there's anything bland about a two-uniform rotation, and I don't believe there's anything bland about the American flag.

I don't believe there's anything bland about the cover of Meet the Beatles, the lyrics to "Meet the Mets," or the content of Huckleberry Finn. I don't think there's anything bland about Shakespeare's sonnets or Vermeer's paintings, or James Brown on the T.A.M.I. show. You want to pimp out the uniform, do it on your own back. Make your own statement. Don't water down somebody else's genius. The result is inevitably a regrettable weaker parody.

[Guest themetfairy]

Ceetar wrote: Why is there no love for all orange jerseys? *mutters*

They hurt my eyes.

[Ceetar]

bland is probably the wrong word. the uniforms are nice enough.

I just don't see the need to stick to two, one home one away, always, for 162 games. And playing around with a stupid looking Mercury Mets uniform is more fun than pink bats or horrible USA caps. (Those caps are probably the only uniform thing I've ever hated about a uniform. )

Embrace creativity. Create a Mets/bridge logo to celebrate the anniversary of the Queensboro (Ed Koch) Bridge. Incorporate a unisphere into the 2014 uniforms to celebrate the Worlds Fair anniversary.(You gotta fit Shea into that design too obviously)

[Ceetar]

themetfairy wrote: Why is there no love for all orange jerseys? *mutters* They hurt my eyes.

One SB into second base and Reyes' jersey will be all muddied and dulled for you anyway. :-D

[Edgy MD]

I don't think an embrace of excellent uniforms is a rejection of creativity. I can think of hundreds of ways for the team to build creatively on it's past without painting over it. (I will type a dozen into the next post.)

One-time variations are also not the same as an addition to the rotation, which triggers a brand change --- a brand that a lot of people have an investment in.

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

Ceetar wrote: Why is there no love for all orange jerseys? *mutters*

[Ceetar]

Edgy DC wrote: I don't think an embrace of excellent uniforms is a rejection of creativity. I can think of hundreds of ways for the team to build creatively on it's past without painting over it. (I will type a dozen into the next post.) One-time variations are also not the same as an addition to the rotation, which triggers a brand change --- a brand that a lot of people have an investment in.

The Mets don't have a rotation anyway (I know, that's one of the complaints) All I'm suggesting is other available options to the SP. I'd prefer they don't have a rotation, and if they wear the road grays 30 times a year, that's still going to be the predominate 'brand'.

[Ceetar]

LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr wrote: Ceetar wrote: Why is there no love for all orange jerseys? *mutters* It kind of annoys me that they chose the Giant Orange for the American League when the All-Star game was in San Fran.

[Guest metsguyinmichigan]

Love the blue jerseys!!!

I think the pinstripes are the best look, and would rather they wear those most often. The cream pinstripes are nice, though I don't know if they are necessarily an improvement over the white version.

[TransMonk]

I'll root for any of the laundry.

My only wardrobe hatred is for those stupid red, white and blue caps they wear on Memorial Day/4th of July. Thanks, Fred.

[Ceetar]

TransMonk wrote: I'll root for any of the laundry. My only wardrobe hatred is for those stupid red, white and blue caps they wear on Memorial Day/4th of July. Thanks, Fred.

I don't know if you can blame Fred for that as it appears to be MLB wide. I still don't understand why they can't manufacture three caps and let teams choose red, white, or blue. Then at least the Mets could stick with a blue cap and not look completely ridiculous.

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

Blue is a nice color.

Dave Howard should go take a job with the XFL or something.

[TransMonk]

Ceetar wrote: My only wardrobe hatred is for those stupid red, white and blue caps they wear on Memorial Day/4th of July. Thanks, Fred. I don't know if you can blame Fred for that as it appears to be MLB wide.

It is MLB wide, but Fred was "instrumental" in the creation of the "Welcome Back Veterans" initiative that spawned the ugly things.

http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20080703&content_id=3058979&vkey=news_mlb&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb

I forgot that the wear them on 9/11 too. Fuck.

[Ceetar]

TransMonk wrote: TransMonk wrote: My only wardrobe hatred is for those stupid red, white and blue caps they wear on Memorial Day/4th of July. Thanks, Fred. I don't know if you can blame Fred for that as it appears to be MLB wide. It is MLB wide, but Fred was "instrumental" in the creation of the "Welcome Back Veterans" initiative that spawned the ugly things. http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20080703&content_id=3058979&vkey=news_mlb&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb I forgot that the wear them on 9/11 too. Fuck.

Well, the Welcome Back Veterans is a nice gesture. I don't know that we have to necessarily cheer one every game, but the general idea is a nice one. The hats take it to far. Probably the same with the pink bats, although I kind of like those.

yeah, 9/11 has the potential to be pretty gag-worthy this year. ESPN, caps, GBA..

[Edgy MD]

A Dozen ways for the Mets to Creatively Express Their Brand

1. Restore the tradition of city agency hats on September 11. Announce defiantly that you intend to do it in perpetuity, and whatever fine MLB gives the team, they will gladly pay it plus an equal amount to a September 11-related orphan scholarship fund. It's personal, MLB.
   
   
   
2. Have one-time only uniform variations, that are more about complementing the brand history rather than destroying it. Make these variations for noble purposes, like saluting a city institution, rather than goofy ones, like suggesting the Mets are going to relocate Mercury.
   
   
   
3. Move the unisphere (and other World's Fair attractions) to the stadium grounds and incorporate it them into the complex. Heck, have an army of architects and engineeers figure out how to mount it on the concourse behind the Pepsi Porch. You have to move the Pepsi sign somewhere, but let the army figure that out.
   
   
   
4. in a similar vein, move the magic hat (first you would have to place the magic apple back into a magic hat) to a perch behind section 339 to the left of the scoreboard. In it's place, carve out a rectangular void to reference to centerfield well at Polo Grounds. It wouldn't be anywhere near as big as that well, but the statement would be there. it would complete the theme of Citifield, referencing Ebbets on the outside fa�ade, and PG on the inside fa�ade.
   
   
   
5. Remove the excusivity of access at the stadium clubs.
   
   
   
6. Pay the city shocking amounts of money to trick 7-line subway cars out in team colors when running during the ballgame.
   
   
   
7. Have a promotions team member stop random people on the street who are wearing New York Mets colors. Thank them for their fealty, offer them tickets and shwag, and show the ambush and exchange on the scoreboard that night.
   Ramones night. "All in the Family Night." Jonathan Lethem Night. Celebrate the outer boroughs.
   
   
   
8. Trick out the left sleeves of players uniforms with regalia denoting their career accomplishments, a la my suggestion near the bottom of page one of this thread. (See below, also.)
   
   
   
9. In half inch embroidery on the right sleeve, sew in the number a man ranks on the all-time Mets roster. This will generate buzz about who will have the honor of being Met Number 1,000, and you can have him pose with Met Number One.
   
   
   
10. The flat finish on the helmets idea that Bucket came up with. It may be an idea whose time has come and gone, but it certainly spreads the idea that glamour is what the other team is about. We get the job done and that's hard work. Additionally, it makes the helmet more of just a harder extension of the cap, which it should be.
    
    
    
11. In that spirit, replace the painted insignia on the hat with an adhesively attached sewn insignia.
    
    
    
12. Publish a Mets Literature Reveiw every year, featuring original articles plus highlights of what has been published about the team that year. Recruit excellent writers for the task. Let kids grow up dreaming not just of being in uniform, not just of being in the broadcast booth, but of being the "The Review." Let them feverishly antiicpate the December pub date every year. Let them top their Christmas and Chanuka lists with it. (Are there Chanukah lists?)

Most of thse ideas are unworkable, stupid, shortsighted, garishly vainglorious, or some combination thereof. But they are all represent the energetic creativity you burn for. But creative opportinities are everywhere. But some things have been done and have been done well enough. More than well enough. The uniform, the skyline logo, the lyrics to "Meet the Mets." And well enough, if not left alone, whould be tampered with very carefully, very reluctantly, and very respectfullly. I say undoing on the work of our predecessors represents not a wealth of creativity, but a poverty of it. Certainly following a league-wide trend does, and that's what solid-color jerseys are. A lame jump on a lame bandwagon rolling through the league, picking up franchises far more desperate for a mroe meaningful identity than the Mets are. It's a bandwagon we should be embarassed to find ourselves sitting on.

[batmagadanleadoff]

The rare 1971-2 Brooks Robinson designed all orange Orioles uni.

I hate the Mets new blue uni tops. Blue works well as a subtle accent against a double-knit polyester palette of mostly white or road gray. But an all blue jersey is, to my eyes, just another pajama top for the kids. It's downright pimpish, and that most teams now dress this way is no consolation or rationalization. And this new blue blows. It's not the original sedate Mets blue, but a carnival neon version I find some irony in the timing of the Mets new uni announcement that's personal to me; over the last two days, while watching the last D-Back game and then yesterdays Padre game, where both teams wore dark colored uniform tops, it finally sunk in after many years, that baseball's tradition of home teams in white tops and road teams in gray tops is no more and that, perhaps, it's time for me to accept this not-so-new way of dressing.

[batmagadanleadoff]

Ceetar wrote: TransMonk wrote: I'll root for any of the laundry. My only wardrobe hatred is for those stupid red, white and blue caps they wear on Memorial Day/4th of July. Thanks, Fred. I don't know if you can blame Fred for that as it appears to be MLB wide.

Between these new blues and our ridiculous black hats (And black shirts. You need black shirts to go with the black hats, natch) the effin MFY's are laughing at us.

Edited August 16, 2011 by Guest

[Ceetar]

Most of thse ideas are unworkable, stupid, shortsighted, garishly vainglorious, or some combination thereof. But they are all represent the energetic creativity you burn for. But creative opportinities are everywhere. But some things have been done and have been done well enough. More than well enough. The uniform, the skyline logo, the lyrics to "Meet the Mets." And well enough, if not left alone, whould be tampered with very carefully, very reluctantly, and very respectfullly. I say undoing on the work of our predecessors represents not a wealth of creativity, but a poverty of it. Certainly following a league-wide trend does, and that's what solid-color jerseys are. A lame jump on a lame bandwagon rolling through the league, picking up franchises far more desperate for a mroe meaningful identity than the Mets are. It's a bandwagon we should be embarassed to find ourselves sitting on.

Yes, most of those ideas are ones that I would approve of and think would be awesome. Send the Mets your resume or something.

I've been saying for years the 7 train Mets game-day express should be renamed the Jose Reyes. How more perfect could it fit? And there's plenty of precedent for it, at least inside the cars, if you've ever ridden the Times Square Shuttle. Extremely workable.

Solid colors may be gaining popularity recently, but it's not the newest thing in the world either. when you're an entertainment company, sometimes you gotta go with what's popular. At least consider it.

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

If the MFYs and their fanbase are laughing at us, it isn't because of the unis.

[Ceetar]

batmagadanleadoff wrote: Ceetar wrote: TransMonk wrote: I'll root for any of the laundry. My only wardrobe hatred is for those stupid red, white and blue caps they wear on Memorial Day/4th of July. Thanks, Fred. I don't know if you can blame Fred for that as it appears to be MLB wide. Yeah, because they put a gun to Fred's head and threatened to pull the trigger unless he went with these blue jerseys. Fred had nothing to do wit this. Between these new blues and our ridiculous black hats (And black shirts. You need black shirts to go with the black hats, natch) the effin MFY's are laughing at us.

the MFYs are laughable scum. Let them laugh. It's like Craig Carton laughing at you. or Michael Kay. They think they're better than everyone else when they're simply 1 of 30. Meanwhile other teams are donig interesting things and they're trying to find a third sponsor for the starting lineups.

They preen about two uniforms and pinstripes and no names on the back of the jersey even though half the fans need those names to identify the players because if it's not Jeter or A-Rod, who is it.

[Gwreck]

Edgy DC wrote: Pay the city shocking amounts of money to trick 7-line subway cars out in team colors when running during the ballgame.

This actually is a fantastic idea. The MTA is more than happy to "wrap" a subway car with your advertisement (they need the cash) and they do so regularly on the 42nd Street shuttle trains and a few other ones too.

I don't know if it's affordable for an entire season but certainly a few times a year they should do this.

[Ceetar]

Could it really cost that much more than the other advertisements the Mets do? They already advertise in thet MTA stations, so they already have a relationship. the MTA is desperate..

Or is it too much "preaching to the choir" to advertise trains already going to the game? (and I don't know how easy it is to plan which 7-trains are going to be on the gameday express service though.)

[HahnSolo]

Ceetar wrote: And it seems like many bloggers/enthusiasts (and I'd be willing to bet this is a decent minority of Mets fans) just want them to go with some bland 2 uniform rotation from now until eternity.

Give me bland. There's something comforting in knowing I can flip to a game and immediately know which two teams are playing.

[Edgy MD]

Ceetar wrote: Could it really cost that much more than the other advertisements the Mets do? They already advertise in thet MTA stations, so they already have a relationship. the MTA is desperate.. Or is it too much "preaching to the choir" to advertise trains already going to the game? (and I don't know how easy it is to plan which 7-trains are going to be on the gameday express service though.)

Well, I really don't want to hijack the thread with these notions (maybe in another thread), which were really meant to express that expanding the Mets brand doesn't have to be done by destroying and rebuilding the thematic foundations of it.