Observing Oregon

One thing some of you may not know about yours truly is that I have always had an eye for sports uniforms. They fascinate me. I like to see the changes, I like to see which ones look cool and which ones look hideous. It is just an interesting part of the game. I enjoy that side, the more casual side, almost as much as I enjoy the games. (And sometimes, like in the case of the NHL, I enjoy the seeing the uniforms more than I enjoy the game.)

Anyway, as I was watching the Sweet Sixteen games this evening, something hit me. Nike's founder and CEO Phil Knight graduated from Oregon back in the day, and recently he has turned Oregon's football team into his pet uniform project. They have received new uniform combinations in just about all of the last four seasons. And they have grown more bizarre with each entry, but I do admit that some combinations look cool, and the set they had about four years ago was awesome.

What this relates to is the Oregon basketball team. I don't understand why they haven't had the same treatment as the football team. Is Knight just not a basketball fan? I don't know. Don't get me wrong, Oregon basketball still has some pretty snazzy uniforms, but, unlike the football team, they are not the only team with that template. Uniforms tend to go in a template trend, where there are a few patterns and team choose which one they like and the manufacturer puts the colors in the right places. No other college football team sports the same template Oregon does, but some college basketball teams do have the same one as the Ducks do.

What I am really surprised about it that Nike just unveiled a new type of basketball uniform, but Oregon was not one of the schools to receive it. Syracuse, Ohio State, Florida and Arizona were the four teams that were recipients of Nike's new "System of Dress" uniforms. You may have noticed, but these uniforms have very tight, Under Armour-like, tops combined with extremely baggy shorts.

I don't understand why Oregon wasn't included in this new Nike revolution. But I would keep an eye out for them to be wearing some snazzy new uniforms on the hardwood in the near future. Especially if their basketball team continues to win this March. Oregon is already in the Elite Eight. Would a Final Four berth be enough for Knight to have his designers drum up something special for the Ducks?

And this is a link to the new basketball uniforms incase you have not noticed them on TV. http://www.systemofdress.com/