Thread: ASA Blue/Gray
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Old Thu Jul 27, 2006, 04:36pm
HawkeyeCubP HawkeyeCubP is offline
(Something hilarious)
 
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: These United States
Posts: 1,162
My 2 cents, just to get it off my chest

I'm breaking my silence on the uniform discussions that are occassionally on the forum. I've been hesitant because I've only been certified for 4 years, but I consider myself an astute umpire/official in all of the sports I work - and one who takes appearances very seriously - I despise wearing shorts, (I only work slow pitch), and internally cringe when I meet my partner who has the ASA-diamond logo on his jacket, or is wearing an earring, or a watch, or a ballbag as the BU. I'd also like to preface my post with the following: I would never even have the incllination of secretly rolling my eyes at my UIC's direction in choice of uiniforms for any league or tournament I have ever or will ever work, and I mean no disrespect at all to anyone on the forum who has differing opinions from mine. That being said:

Quote:
Originally Posted by AtlUmpSteve
We don't want to be like "all the others". We want to be clearly distinguished by the uniform we wear; and it seems to work here. Powder and navy means ASA; and that is considered the best.
Technically, I don't feel powder and navy "mean" ASA. It can also mean ISF, various little league sports, etc. "ASA" means ASA. So if I was wanting to distinguish myself, I'd wear stuff that says so, as there are a multitude of uniform combinations out there in baseball and softball. But I get your point for your area.

Now I realize I haven't been doing this for anywhere near as long as most members of the forum, and that I'm probably younger than most as well (I'm 31), and I'll admit I do not know much of the history, unfortunately for me (as I'm very into officiating and team aesthetics, uniforms, history, etc.) of ASA umpire uniforms, but I'll offer what may be perceived as my young, upstart, over-influenced-by-what-I-see-on-television opinion.

It seems to me that some resistance to uniform change comes not just from personal preference for the look of one over the other, but also from simple resistance to change (in this area), in general. I understand this, as I have already developed my own opinions in certain areas in this way. But my thinking involves not just softball, but other sports as well.

For instance, when I first got into officiating basketball, the big discussion had just basically ended and it had been decided that belts were no longer acceptable for looking like a top-tier official. There was resistance. I heard about it. But it has become accepted now, to the point where it's laughable if someone wears a belt to work anything above a 7th grade game. I agree with the powers that be, in that the uniform looks better without a belt. The decade before, the collared shirt was done away with. The collared shirt came from wanting to look more formal, I assume, and was a carryover from earlier uniforms. It is now gone, and the uniform looks better for the change, in my opinion.

Pleats are a touchy subject in softball for some reason, I've discovered. Just not acceptable. I don't quite understand why, beyond people's opinions that I've read on this forum (which I respect), and tradition. In basketball, pleats are sort of still an item of discussion, but not for anyone wanting to move beyond high school. It's now just accepted that pleats are the uniform for college, etc. I think they look great (and, if I may be so bold, I think they make my skinny figure look a lot better). I also think they look great on MLB umpires - I realize that it is borderline sacrilege to reference "that" and "them," but I think most of those guys look pretty good in their pants - and contrary to what others have expressed, I feel it looks more formal, and less like leisure-wear. As far as pants go in general - most softball umpires I see working college or youth tournaments - depending on their size, build, and we'll call it "shape," tend to look like their pants are just a hair too tight. The flat-front, form-fitting navys don't do much for people that have stuff hanging over the belt, in my humble opinion. Through my somewhat "younger" eyes, it looks very dated - even when there isn't anything covering the belt buckle.

As for the blue vs. grey pants discussion, I'm on the grey side as well - when I worked my first tournament, I must admit, I was a bit surprised to see some umpires show up with powder and grey - I had never seen it before - and didn't like it - I think most of my aversion, however, was for their lack of uniformity with the rest of us, and lack of following directions(as the UIC had directed powder and navy), but as time went on, they grew on me, and now are on me from time to time - whenever the assignment permits and I know that my partner will be wearing them, anyway.

Patent shoes/belts are another no-no in softball as of now, as well - unfortunately, in my opinion. The same thing happened in basketball. And it is now near the same as the way those previous basketball discussions ended. I've heard, as the primary argument against them, that they "take away from the game" and/or "draw attention to oneself." I disagree - beyond looking at someone's shoes and thinking, "Man, those look nice. He/she looks good out there." I'm certainly not trying to draw attention to myself in basketball, and have never heard anything to that effect. I'm also not trying to draw attention to myself in softball when I take the field wearing my Honig's patents ever since they came out, and I have never heard anything to that effect on or outside of the diamond, either - other than the multiple, sincere compliments I get from players each month on how nice they look. They certainly are easier to clean - rephrase - wipe off in between games - and the shine is fairly instant when doing so. For that matter, the shine, even when getting covered in dust, is durable throughout most of the games, even though somewhat diminished, depending on the playing surface. That certainly isn't the case with normal shoes with a shine in the dust - god forbid a fresh, wet one. Some military dress uniforms require patent shoes - I don't feel that the intent is to try to draw attention to oneself. It just looks snappy. We're after the shine, right? In the end, that's what we want? That's what my shoes accomplish. And it's 1 instead of 10 minutes spent preparing them every night/in between games.

I'm not advocating or even talking about "immitating the pros," but I think that the directors of those officials' associations probably have a pretty good idea, with rational explanations, about what looks as professional as the job will allow (most of the time), and that some can, perhaps, be learned there from time to time.

Softball uniform change: I do know that softball shirts used to be button-up short sleeves. They're not anymore. I'm pretty sure that the current shirt could be made as a button-up - but it's not. I have to imagine a possible reason for that is that it's no longer seen as necessary to uphold the integrity of the uniform. (The button-ups most likely came from when umpires wore suits, and suit-shirts, I assume.)

I won't even get into the football uniform, as it just makes me giggle, in and of itself. I do hope someday soon I'm no longer wearing a collared shirt. A collar? With the rest of that get-up? I just don't see the need. But then I don't see the need for knee-highs and knickers, either, I guess. But no collar on that ridiculous outfit would be a small, but welcome change/improvement for me. The sad thing is, with as much time as I spend devoted to thinking about this stuff, I can't come up with any real improvements to that thing.

Change happens. And I'm okay with the "one softball uniform for all" argument, I suppose. I let my umpiring/officiating speak for itself - but I certainly do like giving it a headstart with a sharp uniform.

Incidentally, I was lucky enough to receive an assignment at the Men's D Slow Pitch West National in Santa Clara, CA scheduled for 8/31-9/4 (I am ecstatic, proud, and very grateful) and we are wearing powder with grey.

Last edited by HawkeyeCubP; Thu Jul 27, 2006 at 05:16pm.
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