- 8 hours ago
The Sports Junkies react to the Washington Commanders new uniforms.
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00:00I think people, for the most part, and we can get everybody's opinion,
00:03I think they mostly loved what happened as far as the uniform release
00:08and the new helmet upgrade and the new alternate logo on the black helmet.
00:14I really liked the entire setup because, one, you're just leaning into your past.
00:20I mean, how hard is it to go away from the awful uniforms of the last two and a half,
00:25three years
00:26back to the uniforms that everybody associates with pride and glory and winning and Super Bowls?
00:35That's super easy.
00:37Before we had this Keyshawn George Wizards non-signed jersey in studio,
00:43we had Jonathan Allen's jersey, which was signed.
00:47It didn't look like the Redskins jersey.
00:49This jersey, the main one, not the alternate black one,
00:53and I think the alternate black one, personally, I think it looks awesome.
00:57It looks like the old Redskins jersey.
00:59Right, and that's the point.
01:00When you have a great, iconic, timeless look, you shouldn't go away from that.
01:06But they went away from it.
01:08You don't see Penn State moving away from their uniforms.
01:11You don't see Alabama changing their uniforms.
01:14You don't see the Green Bay Packers changing up their uniforms.
01:18Those are the timeless classics.
01:19You do see it a lot in the NFL.
01:21I heard Booger McFarland on with Grant and Danny,
01:24or maybe it was B. Mitch and Finley.
01:26I don't know.
01:26I was listening to the station.
01:28And Booger pointed out the Chargers changed their iconic look.
01:31The Buccaneers, people kind of want them to go to the old school.
01:36They changed to, what is it?
01:39Pewter.
01:40Pewter.
01:40Pewter, yes.
01:41Some teams do.
01:42Some teams do.
01:44But I'm talking about the tier one uniforms that never, ever really get altered.
01:51Like, I don't know if the Redskins slash Commanders were in that tier, but they're pretty close.
01:56And I just felt like they, you messed with the product.
02:00You know, obviously with the most recent iteration of the Commanders uniform.
02:04One thing Klaus mentioned to us when we were just standing there was, and it seems pretty simple,
02:09that the burgundy is the same on all the jerseys.
02:11Yeah.
02:12And the burgundy is the same on the helmets.
02:14So there was no variance.
02:15When we looked at the burgundy of the prior versions, I'm like, it doesn't look the same.
02:20Right.
02:21Yeah.
02:21When we looked at the one that was in here, I remember looking at it and I was like, it
02:26does not look like burgundy.
02:27It looks maroon.
02:28And that was definitely something that was important to Klaus and all the decision makers
02:32with the Commanders.
02:33Here's Mark Klaus.
02:34I'm returning to the old colors on the uniforms.
02:37Right.
02:37Well, and you know, one of the, I think one of the most important moves in this is the
02:41return to what I would call true burgundy and gold.
02:45Sure.
02:45And, you know, as a brand guy, you know, one of the things that I think about all the
02:49time is the consistency of how you deliver your brand.
02:52So, you know, you're going to see that burgundy and gold as the foundation of what we do,
02:58right?
02:59You saw it a little bit on our website, our social media, certainly even integrating it
03:04into the black uniform, which I think is right.
03:06So your color palette is essentially the same and your alternative black just brings this
03:11kind of additional level of energy.
03:13I mean, it makes all the sense in the world.
03:15He's a brand and marketing guy.
03:18Like when he worked for Campbell's soup, if he went into a store and some of the labels
03:22are burgundy and the others are bright, like fire engine red, like that confuses people
03:28as to what your brand is.
03:30So get the colors right, have it across all of the different platforms, have it consistent,
03:37that's a smart way to approach it.
03:39My only slight pushback would be, to JP's point, that other teams have had changes.
03:44The Buccaneers for sure changed.
03:46The Seahawks have changed, like their color palettes.
03:50I think a lot of the resentment was the name change.
03:54That was the root.
03:55And so then we just hated everything else, right?
03:57The 49ers changed, the 49ers changed too.
04:00Yeah.
04:00I think as a standalone thing, sort of, the uniforms to me were not offensive, but it
04:05was because it was the commanders and they were trying to, it was just the whole thing
04:09about it just stunk.
04:11The totality.
04:12I don't particularly hammer them.
04:14They tried.
04:15The rollout was terrible three or four years ago, but this was the right move to get back
04:20to the basic colors.
04:22The fan base, I think, almost to a person, loves that aspect of it, where people quibble
04:28is, oh, you know, I don't like the W or the arrow looks funny.
04:32I think it looks good.
04:33But on the whole, the color thing, I think, is almost unanimous.
04:37I love the color, but when we saw the logo, when we were looking at it online yesterday,
04:41we said, ah, it looks cheap, and it's got to be something else.
04:44I think the two-dimensional part of it does look cheap.
04:46It looks much better this way.
04:48Right.
04:48When you put it on a helmet and you see it up close.
04:50When there's a little more definition to it.
04:52Yeah, yeah.
04:52I think it looks good.
04:53I agree with you.
04:54I think it looks good.
04:55I don't think it looks incredible, but I think it looks good.
04:59Drab, I know you're good with this.
05:01I was scanning my Twitter last night, but it was just too many things that was going on.
05:05I didn't click on it and watch it.
05:08Strober said there's a reason why, because of Florida State.
05:11Why the spear has to be somewhat limited.
05:15My interpretation was, he put on his Twitter that Florida State maybe has,
05:21they have some claims to the spear or something, right?
05:24They have some sort of rights to it, and so it couldn't be maybe as defined as some of us
05:29would like.
05:30That was my impression from reading it quickly.
05:33I'm guessing, I haven't seen the tweets, but just a spear on the helmet would be a trademark infringement on
05:39exactly.
05:39The stand-alone spear, right?
05:41Yeah, which a lot of people wanted.
05:42The stand-alone spear on the helmet, it would be a direct ripoff of Florida State.
05:46I was kind of guessing, I spaced on the fact that Florida State, that's their look.
05:50But he also said something about the look of the spear, too.
05:53Like, they kind of have a trait, like, it can't really look like that spear either.
05:57Even if you put it through a W.
05:58Well, they've got a feather coming up.
06:01It looks a little better, right?
06:03But it's fine.
06:04You know, there might be some reasons why it looks the way it looks, right?
06:08There's some limitations.
06:09But I agree with you, Jason.
06:11I did not like the two-dimensional image where it was just burgundy and gold,
06:14no definition to the spear at all, just very unimaginative.
06:18But when you see it on the helmet, it looks much better.
06:20A little more detail to it.
06:21I think the black helmet upgrade is huge because they went away from the glossy.
06:27They got rid of the terrible W at the front that looked weird.
06:31Now they've got the stripes coming down the middle
06:33and the enhanced logo with the spear coming through it.
06:37I think it's a solid look for an alternate jersey.
06:40I think it's great.
06:41And uniform set.
06:42It just sets off that black uniform.
06:44And they're going to be able to wear those for, I think they're maxed out.
06:48Is it four games?
06:49I thought it was three.
06:50It might be four.
06:51I mean, they'll wear it for a national televised game.
06:53I do want to just say.
06:54They just wore the black once, I think, last year against the Bears,
06:57which they did the year before against the Bears.
06:59I feel like they only did it once.
07:01And maybe they'll wear it when they go overseas.
07:03It felt like they wore them when the Seahawks gave them the business.
07:06You might be right.
07:07Maybe I'm wrong.
07:08I thought it was more than once, but it wasn't a lot.
07:09I will have to say, because I heard Grant Paulson say it was Udana's 100%
07:13that it's an upgrade, and maybe it is the black.
07:17I actually personally liked last year's black jerseys.
07:21So, I have to say I liked them.
07:23But I also like these.
07:25Like, it can be two things.
07:26It can be both.
07:26It can be true.
07:27You can like both.
07:28I liked last year's.
07:29These are a little bit.
07:30It's going to take me a little more adjusting to it.
07:32The helmet is a clear upgrade, for sure.
07:34The jersey itself, I know the people don't like commanders,
07:37so they just want to vomit when they see commanders on the jersey.
07:40I thought it looked kind of cool.
07:42So, they've taken that away.
07:43You'll notice that they've gotten rid of commanders on every single piece of the uniform.
07:47What I saw on social media, at least from our listeners,
07:51and we have a Surfside poll the day up.
07:53You can vote at Junk's Radio.
07:55With four options.
07:56Like it, love it, meh, or hate it.
07:59And I did that on Instagram as well.
08:02Sports Junkies Radio on Instagram.
08:03Give us a follow there.
08:05About 80% either love it or like it.
08:08So, about 20% unhappy.
08:10You can't get much better than that.
08:12Four out of five seem to at least like it.
08:15Pretty good number.
08:15And most of the unhappy, it's related to the W,
08:20or just that they didn't go all in and change the name.
08:23They're not changing the name.
08:25Some people think they are.
08:27Okay, quit talking about it.
08:28They're not changing the name.
08:30It's a waste of time and energy at this point.
08:32And I was a big, you've got to keep changing the name guy.
08:36I'm losing the battle.
08:36Yeah, am I winning some money on that at some point?
08:38Probably at some point.
08:40Let's go to another audio cut of Mark Klaus.
08:43This is him talking about bringing back the spear to the uniform set.
08:47Yeah, so, you know, obviously no secret, right,
08:51that the spear has found its way back into certain elements that we've been doing.
08:57But where it started from was really in the same idea
09:01of how do we look back at the heritage of the team
09:04and think about things from our past that could also be relevant in today.
09:10And the spear became a really obvious opportunity
09:14because, one, it's instantly recognizable from the past of the Redskins.
09:18People know that icon.
09:21They recognize it.
09:22But it also can live in the commander's environment we've been building,
09:26which is kind of this combination of the movie 300 and Game of Thrones
09:31and a little bit of Roman Greco in there.
09:33And the spear lives in that world as well.
09:36And so it became what we felt was a great device
09:40to kind of connect these two generations together,
09:44you know, make it relevant to what we're doing today,
09:46but also a clear nod to the past.
09:48So as we started to utilize it last year in different things,
09:52we also listened closely to how the fans were reacting to it.
09:55And I think for many, it was a great trigger to our heritage,
10:02but also I think people like the fierceness of it.
10:05And I got to tell you, you know, when you see it on the helmet, right,
10:09both of those points forward on the front of the helmet, it's pretty fierce.
10:12And we like that and like the integration of it.
10:16I have to tell you, J.P. Finley, you know, retweeted,
10:20I'm sure a million people were retweeting photos or he was at the commander's store,
10:26the unveiling or something, right, and he saw the merch.
10:29So they're like four foot, I'm sure Tailgate Ted and others were there.
10:32I'm not certain, but the black hat with the spear going through it,
10:36I got to have one.
10:37It's pretty good.
10:37Seven and three eighths.
10:39Okay.
10:39Seven and three eighths is my size.
10:41I got to have that.
10:42That black hat is hot.
10:46You like that?
10:47Yeah.
10:47I like it.
10:47I could wear that.
10:49Please, please.
10:50You sure you don't want me to get you on with Major Tutty breaking through the brim?
10:55I see that on Fanatics.com.
10:56No, I don't need anything to do with Major Tutty.
10:58And I guess I'm a little bit distraught.
11:00I guess I got to upgrade my Jaden Daniels jersey now because I can't rock one that says
11:05Commanders anymore.
11:07It's like a relic.
11:08It's vintage now.
11:09That's vintage product that you got hanging in your closet.
11:11I got to have the new black one.
11:13I feel like you probably might want to do that.
11:15Yeah.
11:16I might have to get one of those black beanies.
11:18What are they charging for?
11:19Like, honestly, I like the nice-
11:2050.
11:2150 bucks.
11:21For the hat.
11:22We're looking at it right now.
11:2350 for the hat?
11:2549.99.
11:26I need the one that's a-
11:27There you go.
11:27All straight flat brim.
11:29No, you got some of the curve.
11:30You want some dad hats in there.
11:31I got a flat brim and I curve it myself.
11:34I think, though, if you keep things simple, I was on with Grand Danny yesterday.
11:39And I said, if you just keep it simple, people are going to want to get this gear because
11:43it looks good.
11:44And I think Jason said that, too.
11:46Like, just keep it simple.
11:48For sure.
11:49I get the messaging about connecting the past to nowadays.
11:55But keep it simple.
11:57Do you like it?
11:58Keep it simple, stupid.
11:59And most people like it, and so you're going to want to buy it.
12:03You see something, you're not necessarily thinking, yeah, this spear really connects
12:08to the 70s and 80s and 90s or whatever.
12:12No, of course.
12:12You're just thinking, do you like-
12:13But they're explaining the rationale of where it came from.
12:15Right.
12:15No one's going to talk about it in a year.
12:16But I know Danny was upset that the black doesn't really connect to anything of the past
12:21and they're messaging this.
12:22Just let it be.
12:23Do you like it?
12:24The black looks cool.
12:26Everyone's got an alternate uniform.
12:27It's in that alternate uniform sphere.
12:29And by the way, the black is fire.
12:32It looks good.
12:33I know it's not traditional.
12:34We didn't win a Super Bowl wearing the black.
12:36But I sure would love to.
12:39I think the black is incredible.
12:43There's a ton of teams that don't have a black tie to their original uniforms.
12:48But it's an alt uniform.
12:50So they throw the black in there.
12:51Right, right, right.
12:52It's just something different.
12:52It's just cool.
12:53They also know it sells.
12:54It looks good and it sells products.
12:56Times are changing.
12:57You can throw black in there even though it's not your original color.
13:00I might dare say I like the black more than I care about the others.
13:03To be honest with you, it's just fire.
13:04More than the burgundy and gold?
13:06How dare you?
13:09Washington purist.
13:09Just being honest.
13:10It's okay.
13:11Just being honest.
13:12And it's cool.
13:12Obviously, the nod.
13:14But it seems so obvious.
13:15That's why I said even before they unveil it, they're going to hit a home run with the
13:18uniforms because you know they're going to add the stripes.
13:20They're going to add just sort of the simple basic elements.
13:23Go back to that Super Bowl era.
13:25People are going to like it.
13:26800-636-1067.
13:28Tell us how you feel about the unveiling of the Commander's uniforms yesterday.
13:33Let's get people fired up.
13:34Hold on.
13:35Let me get it fired up.
13:36There you go.
13:37The new U-N-E-S-R-A-X.
13:57Most people love them, but if you don't like them, you can weigh in on that as well.
14:01800-636-1067.
14:03We'll get your vibe on the release of the Commander's uniforms next.
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