I have never had a problem "finding my partner" with the grey shirts on. Usually there is nothing on the court that you can confuse with your partner. I do not know that is a problem with the shirts. If that is the case the NBA would always have that problem.

I understand that not everyone is going to gun ho about these shirts and I can see the reluctance to use them. I equate this to when it happen in baseball and we were wearing the completely buttoned up light blue shirts and changed to the dark blue shirts. Once the change was made no one even complained or made a big deal of the change. Of course there are going to be people are going to not like any change that is made.

I personally like the grey shirts. The grey shirts are not as heavy and they are a lot cooler when it is hot. I will say I have seen guys sweat through the grey shirts and that does not look as good. If you wear something underneath that should not be much of a problem. I have worn the shirts while working college ball and I like them a lot. If they change it will not bother me. I do think the shirts should be an alternative that you wear but not a requirement. I guess we will all see in a couple of weeks what the NF will do.

Peace

I'm guessing not too many of you guys are subscribers to GQ.

It's when you give a quick look when making eye contact. If the other official is on a sideline they sometimes blend in with fans. It's not like we have to send out a search party or anything to find them.

I've never had a problem knowing exactly where my partners are when they have the gray officiating shirts on. However, sometimes when they have the stripes on I get confused and think I am visiting the zoo.

Z

Interesting...still wearing a belt also?

What's wrong with a belt?!?!

(Just gotta bring up the belt/beltless thread again!)

Personally I like a belt or two after the game.

Actually, this whole thing is a conspiracy. The switch from "light" to white for the home team is to allow for the officials to wear gray, cause some schools wear gray as their "light" color, so this will get rid of the gray uniforms for players so that officials can get into them.

Why is it that in football, white is for the visitors, but for basketball, its for home?

In the NFL, anyway, I believe that the home team actually has its choice of white or dark. So in hot weather, the home team may choose white, to reflect the heat; and in cold weather, choose dark to retain heat.

I'm pretty sure this is true, b/c I remember at the beginning of last season (I think), the Broncos "accidentally" forgot their dark jerseys on a road trip to San Diego, forcing the home Chargers to wear the dark jerseys in the hot weather.

Yep. The Cowboys have always chosen to wear white at home so that the fans see a wider variety of colors on gameday. The Cardinals, like most other teams, wear their colored jerseys [Red] at home... unless they are hosting the Cowboys - in that case, the Cardinals wear white at home and force the Cowboys to wear their dark blue jerseys. You will rarely see the Cowboys play in anything other than white - in fact, only on the road when the home team chooses to wear white themselves.

I don't know what the original reason was for the Cowboys to wear white at home, but by the late 60s and early 70s, it was generally agreed that the blue jerseys were bad luck. The Cardinals, Eagles, and often the Redskins wore white at home for their games against the Cowboys for that specific reason, even though (except for the Redskins then, and the Cardinals now) they usually wore dark shirts at home.

LSU football has also had a tradition of wearing white at home.

OhioRef3:

Please read my post above. I was hoping you would answer my question as to why you are making a presentation to the coaches in your area regarding grey shirts. The OhioHSAA is the organization the tells us what we can and cannot wear in Ohio. I tried to private message you through Officiating.com but you didn't sign up for it.

MTD, Sr.

Very uncool. Hope you feel better about yourself.

High School Level (TX) - We have always used the traditional B&W stripes for high school here in TX. I don't know if our state official's association (TASO) or state governing body (UIL) has ever even considered using the grey shirts. My favorite is the newer tight-weave mesh made by Kliff Keen (polyester / nylon blend). Our state association and local chapter do not require us to display patches on our shirts so this is not a factor for us.

College Level (TX) - Our coordinator (for NCAA Div II & III, NAIA, & Juco) would have a heartattack if we even mentioned we would like him to consider going to the greys (my opinion). He seems to me to be fairly traditional in nature. And I seem to remember seeing a memo from the NCAA recently stating explicitly that grey shirts were not to be worn in any NCAA games.

ABA - In the ABA we use a very sturdy plain grey shirt (with blue trim) made of 100% polyester by Alleson Athletics. While its tight weave and thick construction holds up very well to patches and it drapes well, it is very hot because it does not breathe well.

Pro-Ams (TX) - The ProAm circuit has used the grey shirts in this area for several years now. I think they look great and they were pretty much the same from a maintenance & care standpoint. We used the plain grey shirts one year and the grey with black pinstripe another. I preferred the grey tight-weave (private label) with pinstripes myself. It was light weight, fairly cool, and held up well to sewn on patches.

League Play & Referee Camps (TX) - And all of the referee camps and nationally affiliated Spring and Summer leagues (AAU, BCI, etc.) require B&W shirts. Even the Hoop-it-Up (3-on-3 B-ball) events in this area require the B&W stripes. This is all the way up to the Top Gun brackets (men's and women's open bracket which includes many top college players and some that have played at the semi-pro level). So TX is pretty much a B&W striped shirt state in this category.

Appearance vs Comfort & Care- It has been my experience that both types of shirts (B&W and Greys) have some characteristics that are beneficial and some that are not. For instance, both can be found in 100% polyester or some type of cotton / poly blend. And both can be found in a solid weave or some type of woven mesh. The mesh shirts are generally cooler but some don't hold up very well when you start sewing patches on them. While the solid weave shirts (both 100% polyester & cotton / poly blends) hold up better to patches, they might not breathe as well and so might be hotter. My favorite material (disregarding color) is the tight-weave mesh made of 100% polyester (inside) and 100% polyester (outside) by Kliff Keen.

So, in my opinion, the bottom lines is...decide which color scheme you want to go with for your conference...then find a manufacturer that makes one that fits your needs. But that's just me... :o :rolleyes:

While I agree with you that he'd give a firm "no" to the idea, he wouldn't have a heart attack. He wore a solid grey shirt (no collar, but with a zipper if you can believe that) in the early '90s while working on the Southwest Conference staff. He might even still have those shirts.