Sports: basketball uniforms, part 2

High school basketball playoffs are in full swing, and the uniforms and accessories keeping getting crazier.

The latest trend is for players, and sometimes entire teams, to wear knee pads. Considering how rough the sport has gotten, it is a good idea. It’s just that in order for the pads to stay in place they are so long that coupled with the modern over-sized uniform shorts, they look like tights under a skirt.

This year, I’ve also seen a few players wearing headbands – not the typical sports headband, but the single-strand type worn by girls. Another player simply went the pony tail route. I guess if you need to keep long hair out of your face, following the lead of experienced female athletes is a logical choice.

So what’s the next accessory we can sell to our young athletes?

I got it – gloves! There aren’t too many body parts not covered yet, so gloves that will help you grip the basketball and be a fashion statement should be a big seller.

These would essentially be the same gloves a wide receiver wears in football, but there needs to some distinction so that an athlete would have to buy both, not cheat the manufacturer by wearing football gloves on a basketball court. That would never do.

Sports: basketball uniforms

It just hit me: why doesn’t the NBA ever have games with throwback uniforms? (Or do they and I’ve missed it?)

You know, complete with the short shorts like from the ‘70s. Or is there something in the players’ contracts that protects them from having to do such a silly thing?

These days in high school, we now see players wearing long sleeves and tights to play basketball. And headbands. And knee bands. Shooting sleeves. Shooting sleeves worn on the other arm. Knee-high socks. No-show socks.

What other accessories can sporting goods companies come up with to sell to teenagers?

It’s one thing to wear a pad to nurse an injury, or even prevent a new one, but some of these styles are pretty outlandish – a scream for attention – like the fluorescent shoes instead of team colors.

Maybe the short shorts of decades ago aren’t so goofy looking compared to what players wear now.

Some of the baseball and football throwback uniforms are pretty awful. It sure would be nice to see an NBA team wear 1970s-style uniforms – just for one night, though.

Sports: baseball uniforms

Here’s an interesting question on the “controversial” topic of baseball uniforms from MLB:

My preference falls with the guy who says let the home team choose first, and then the visitors need to pick something contrasting.

Whites and grays are fine, but get old after awhile. I do like the occasional switch into some colored tops. But even though it doesn’t affect the game, when both teams wear the same colors, it’s just not as good to watch.

In any sport, it’s nice to have differing uniform colors. Once in awhile even in football or basketball, the “white” uniform will be so loaded with other colors, the contrast between teams is lost. Dominant red vs. blue, green vs. gold, or whatever is best whenever possible.

What I really dislike is the overdone “throwback” uniforms. They tend to be really ugly. Maybe if the home team wore them for an occasion honoring something, but don’t make the visitors do it, too! Once every three yeas or so, a throwback mixes it up a bit, but otherwise stick to regular uniforms and either put more talent on the field or lower ticket prices.

Sports: dark colored football pants

I’ve noticed this for several years now, and haven’t been able to get an actual answer, but why do so many high school football teams have dark-colored uniform pants now?

There are rarely any white ones any more, and most are not just gold or silver, but the darkest of each school’s colors.

The only reason I can come up with is that getting white pants white proved to be too difficult for too many parents who had to wash them, so the schools punted, so to speak, and chose dark uniforms that hide the stains a little better.