And unless the state dictates where and when they can be worn, crews could theoretically retire their knickers entirely. Don't know how warm the pants would be in early September, though.

Of course.

We were told they were for cold and bad weather. In other words, if we are wearing long sleeves, we are wearing these pants likely. But we have not been told when or how to wear them specifically and this is a crew decision. I guess we could wear them in September, but we have not been put in that position yet. Stay tuned. :D

Peace

They were approved in Texas. We've had crews wear them throughout the playoffs, mostly. I'm sure some of these crews wore them late in the season -- like JR's, its been VERY wet down here this year -- its just those games weren't in our area so I don't know for sure.

Supposedly, we are supposed to wear them only with the long sleeves. I can assure you that if I have another rainy or muddy game next year, we will wear them and we'll pick the shirt independently. Considering the other mechanics that are often ignored, this one can't rank very high.

We wore them all three rounds of the playoffs and about the last 4 or 5 weeks of the regular season (9 week season).

Peace

We wore them the last 3 weeks. They are great in the rain and wind. I saw one crew wear them with short sleeves and didn't care for the look.

My local association is wearing them for next year HS season. I like the pants a lot, but the cost in Canada is outrageous: the price here is more than double than found in the US. Guess who's contributing to the US economy next year?

Us guys in the UK want them too. We go all year round and can expect to do games on muddy rugby fields from November thru to April which can be 18 games, excluding double-headers and Saturdays.
It's not so much the cold but keeping them looking clean and good and white is the most impractical colour when you think about it.
I hate to admit it but the soccer refs (all black) in this country have got it right! Those guys can do 3 games in a weekend.

Plus, I'll bet when they do get mud on them they are a lot easier to clean!

I was averaging three washes for my knickers after Friday night. Invested in some Oxi-Clean and that certainly helped.

If you soak your knickers you will not have to wash them that many times with the OxyClean. Then again, with the black pants you do not have to worry about that anymore. :D

Peace

Bad weather pants?
 

Why did the officials wear the black pants for the Raider/Ravens game (in Oakland) this past weekend? The weather was sunny and 75 degrees. It looked silly!!!

Didn't they wear long sleeves?

I think that might have been the reason.

Peace

Where did you hear it was 75 degrees? The recorded temperature at kick off was around 53 degrees.

They were wearing long sleeves but most of the crew I saw had pushed the sleeves up their arm a bit. Must have gotten warmer than they expected.

My guess is that they like the black pants so much that they'll sacrifice being a little toasty with the long sleeves in exchange for the comfort of the black pants.

I didn't get to watch much NFL this year but last year I saw the pants worn in a dome with short sleeves.

Frankly if the pants are more comfortable (which they are for anyone with big legs or a larger build) you ought to be able to wear them in any weather. I look forward to retiring my knickers because for me.....knickers suck.