[SpfldZebra]

Had black pants been available 10 years ago, my crew probably would have been wearing them already. White knickers, along with the Northwestern hose, as traditional as they might be...well...they suck!

I attended the Illinois High School Association (IHSA) Officials Conference in Peoria on July 17-18. Gerry Davis Sports (GDS) was present at the conference, and among many items of apparel and equipment were samples of their football black pants on display. They are not yet listed on the GDS website, so it you want to pre-order now, you will have to call their 800 number.

These pants are very similar to the GDS baseball pants. They come in even sizes, un-hemmed pants legs, zippered front, with belt loops, and yes, with the white strip down the side of each leg. I tried one of their samples on and found them very comfortable. They have a heavy duty adjustable buckle on each side of the belt-loop waist band, making the size adjustable for about 1½ inches on each side (3 inches total). This is a great feature for those of us whose uniforms seem to shrink from one year to to the next. The pants are constructed so that that if you need to adjust them in, they won't pucker along the side.

GDS has these pants listed at $47.15. But if you are an Illinois official, GDS will offer a 7.5% discount to all IHSA registered officials on all there apparel & equipment, bring the cost of the pants down to $43.61 + shipping. I was told by a GDS representative that they would be shipping them sometime in the 2nd week of September.

Yes, my crew will be wearing them just as soon as they arrive.