A uniform narrative...why we won't see orange pants again.

Oct 16, 2013, 9:56 AM

First, I was a fan in the 80's, I remember how special it was when we wore orange pants, what it meant. I watched through the Bowden years as that disappeared through a major over-usage of uniform combinations that were all over the place.

I like the different uniform combinations, but I like them when used sparingly. I like orange pants at home once a year, once every other year. I like orange pants on the road. I like purple jerseys at home on military appreciation day. I like all-purple once every 2 or 3 years, when the moment calls for it. I like different uniform combinations for several reason; 1) I think some of them look really good, espically all-orange. I think a recruit seeing it on tv once a year for a big game would be a factor in his decision. I heard Ricky Sapp say one of the reasons he came to Clemson was because he like the uniforms. Don't underestimate what style means to a 18yo kid. 2) I think they can give team an edge, and I'm all for any edge we can get in a big game. See Clemson v GT in 2006...we come out in all-purple and performed the best we performed all year. See TN v UGA this year...they had those grey uni's on and performed over their heads. When you keep the uniforms "special" they can have this affect.

But......the reason you won't see them here at Clemson again is simple, Dabo doesn't want to rely on needing that extra "boost". Dabo has taken that out of the equation because it got out of hand with the players. The problem with getting that extra boost, when you wear the standard uniform, you can tend to play down. I think Dabo wants our play on the field to be based on our performance and preperation during practice, not a gimmick uniform. He said something that I read on TNet yesterday (and I tried to find it this morning and couldn't), but it was to the effect of, we want to play every game the same, to be consistant. If some of you will recall the story, for the UGA game, he pulled out the new gloves the team wears now, the ones when you put your hands together, it forms a paw. This was a little gimmicky, but it wasn't major, like a uniform change. I think we've probaby seen the last of different uniform combinatons for a while...we've been winning in orange/white and that's the consistency that Dabo wants.

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A uniform narrative...why we won't see orange pants again.

Sorry, posted on wrong board***

Re: A uniform narrative...why we won't see orange pants again.

I love those new paw gloves!***

Re: I love those new paw gloves!***

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