I don't see it so much now, but a couple years ago (when I was much more interested in checking out all the new gear that could be had), the uniform guys were pushing the grey with unbridled gusto. The uniform guys are definitely one of the driving forces behind it; they're trying to pry a few bucks from the clenched fists of the "if it ain't broke don't fix it" crowd!
There will always be a certain percentage of the population for whom changing fashion trends are important. And who doesn't like the feeling of showing up in the latest gear?
As fashion goes, basketball is behind the curve. Look at what's happened with baseball. What have they got now, like 14 approved colors? Razzle dazzle shiny fabric? That's a pretty radical change from a wool suit and tie, even from the old Elbeco mailman shirts that used to hang in my closet.
And soccer refs get even wilder. Long gone are the black with white cuffs there. I've seen some with what look like designer jerseys.
Wild and crazy for us was transitioning to pleated slacks. Innovative was inventing a whistle without a pea. Bold and daring is not having entirely black shoes (or maybe just those hideous rubber toes!). Let's really go for broke and try wearing shorts. Heck, if players shorts get any longer, we'll have to adopt the old short shorts just to be different
Now the guys who are really stuck in a time warp are the football officials. The only change I've noticed there in the past couple decades is a new style of stirrup.
The grey shirt seems destined for widespread, if grudging, acceptance. It's a fashion thing. But in five years, I don't think it'll be back to the stripes. I think it'll be on to other colors. I do think the stripes will always be an option, maybe even the least common denominator, like the powder blue in baseball.
That's my prediction
Wed Apr 12, 2006, 12:02pm
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