All Jazzed Up
The Jazz are set to unveil their new uniforms at ESA today, and they’ll bear a striking resemblance to the old, old Jazz gear. The team has officially done away with any purple in the logo and dropped the “Utah” and/or “New Orleans” from from the mix.
While I wouldn’t mind if they used the traditional purple in the scheme, I’m not complaining. The franchise should never have switched to those homely mountain-themed uniforms in the 1990s. It was a slight improvement when they toned it down with the bland uniforms they employed through last season. But the plain lettering and blue-on-blue theme didn’t work for me, either. The Jazz looked like a half dozen other NBA teams.
Now they’re going back to the classic look and it makes sense. Most teams are.
For future reference, I’m including a list of things NOT to put on uniforms for fear of embarrassment, ridicule and plain old bad taste.
— Landscape/city Pictures. The mountains didn’t work on the Jazz uniforms and they actually didn’t work with the old Denver Nuggets skyline, either. NBA.com
I have to say it looks good with the retro Warriors uniforms but that’s a rarity.
nba.com
Normally, I say steer clear of any temptation to slap an identifying part of the landscape on your shirt.
— Futuristic lettering. That high speed lettering on the most recent Jazz uniforms, suggesting players were in a hurry, didn’t do much to inspire confidence. In fact, it made things seem…hectic. Parts of the lettering even looked a little western, which is seldom a good look. Just remember the Phoenix Suns of the 1980s and early ’90s.
— Busy backgrounds. Those ugly Houston Rockets uniforms of the late 1990s come to mind.
— Brown (or even copper.) It doesn’t usually work with suits and it certainly doesn’t work on uniforms. Otherwise, the Cleveland Browns would have a few Super Bowl trophies to show for their trouble. The Jazz’s black-and-copper uniforms were even worse.
— Stars. The Magic went through a phase when they thought having stars on their uniforms was a great touch. Hint: Unless your team is actually named the Stars – or the Dallas Cowboys – steer away from putting them on a uniform. It looks like a pre-teens dance concert.
— Cursive lettering. There has to be a reason nobody writes in cursive anymore. It seldom works on uniforms. Think Los Angeles Clippers. Need I say more?