Alternate Unis

For the first time since the team's colors were re-branded in 2011, the Washington Wizards will finally have an alternate third uniform which will be introduced during the 2014-2015 NBA season. How and when these alternate uniforms will be worn is still to be revealed, but there's no doubt there will be a third uniform for this coming season. And you know what? I'm not really happy about the design at all.

When I first became a Wizards season ticket holder, our uniforms sucked. Like really badly. I've offered the opinion before that the Wizards and Golden State Warriors got a package deal on their uniform rebrands in the late 1990s and that the resultant almost identical terribly designed uniforms were way less valuable than the discounted two for one pricing that the teams got on their new duds. Whether or not the two teams colluded on their rebrands about 15 years ago, the fact of the matter is that both team emerged with awful uniforms. Since then, both franchises have seen the error of their ways and redesigned their uniforms to critical and fan acclaim.

For me, the Wizards' 2011 redesigned uniforms were a positive sign that the franchise was abandoning the poor decision to rebrand the Bullets name into something waaaaay different and go back to the color scheme from the team's glory years, namely red, white and blue.  Our new uniforms are gorgeous. They harken back to the past with horizontal stripes like the championship team wore during the 1977-1978 season which cannot be anything but positive. They also included a home "Wizards" jersey and an away "Washington" jersey which in the world of professional sports uniform design is absolutely the correct way to go. And they included a spiffy new "Washington" and "Wizards" wordmark with a Washington monument themed motif. Very successful; very nice redesign. Two enthusiastic thumbs up!!

Just one stripe…Please add it back in!

I think our home white uniforms are hands down the best uniforms in the NBA: the colors are reflective of our nation and our nation's capital, the design simultaneously reflects the franchise's past and looks to future glory; and the Wizards name is perfectly proportioned with the horizontal stripes and uniform number.  Our road uniforms are almost as impressive, although fitting "Washington" across the front of the chest becomes a little much and the predominant color is red, which I don't really like much at all. I know Ted Leonsis loves the color red and wants all of his teams to wear that color, but I don't like it much at all.

So for the past couple of years, I've been longing for an alternate uniform. For the past three years, I've been wearing road Chris Singleton and Martell Webster jerseys to home games and every time I pull on my red uniform with pride, I secretly wished the Wizards would decide to create an alternate uniform that flipped the red and blue colors, creating an amazing alternate road jersey to match their home whites. I hate to write this, but I was looking for something the Cleveland Cavaliers did during the LeBron James (part one) years, adding a blue jersey to complement their wine and gold primary uniform.

Today, I almost got my way. A couple of weeks ago, someone got a hold of the upcoming 2014-2015 Adidas catalog which showed, among the gimmicky Christmas Day uniforms and the new gold patch on the back of the collar to signify franchises that have won an NBA title, a blank TBD spot for the new Wizards alternate uniform. This afternoon, the Wizards finally released some images.

Sure enough, the new uniform is predominantly blue. But it's also missing one key element that makes the 2011 rebranded uniforms so amazing. It sounds so trivial, but the white stripe across the chest makes all the difference. Without the horizontal stripe, the uniform loses critical visual interest and makes the finished product look like some kind of practice jersey, a cheap knockoff from the original if you will.

Now don't get me wrong, I may actually purchase one of these on October 1, the first day they are available, and it's likely to be a Marcin Gortat jersey. But make no mistake, I think the Wizards made a critical mistake with this alternate jersey rollout. Maybe the team will add the stripe on the front back to the uniform, much like they deleted the stripe on the back two seasons ago so the numbers can be better read.  Regardless of what happens from here on out, I think the Wizards dumbed down our uniforms for the current season. Maybe it will get a few poor saps (like me) to pony up some dough for the new design but I'm still not happy. Brick back the stripe!!!!