Dark uniforms at home

[gtsully]

Ben Rocky '04 wrote:

Also, the team with the light uniform (for example, Cornell in the post season) is the home team, even if not technically at home: the team with the last line change rights, first on the ice, last of the ice, etc. rights for the home team which are all carefully laid out in NCAA rules.

That's a pretty good point, especially given the quality of ECAC refs, but I still think I favor wearing your colors at home, especially when half of the teams in the ECAC are somehow identified by a color (Big Red, Big Green, Crimson, Red Raiders, Golden Knights... you get the point).  It always seemed strange to chant "Let's Go Red!" when Cornell was wearing white and hosting a team wearing red jerseys (like BU last year).

The NHL is bringing back the colors-at-home approach for this season, and I'm all for that, so I'd like to see it in the ECAC.

[Jordan 04]

I still prefer the whites.  They just look sharper.

[rhovorka]

Well, if you want to talk "tradition" I guess you need to define what sport you're talking about.  Baseball has always been "home whites, road grays" dating back to the 1800s.  Recently, Sunday "color" softball-style jerseys have started being worn, but the majority of the unis are still "home whites, road grays."  I'm not well versed enough in the history of NFL/NHL/NBA jersey traditions to know anything about changes, but I've heard that the main reason home teams in the NFL wear dark jerseys are because the darker colors absorb more of the sun's radiation and keep the players warmer when the weather turns colder...actually important in northern open stadiums in Green Bay, Buffalo, Pittsburgh, New England, etc.

The NHL is changing to color at home for no other reason than to sell more merchandise, IMO (similar to the 3rd jersey phenomenon).  As far as I know, the NHL has almost always been white at home.  As has the NBA, for all I know.

Another thing to consider is the Cornell study that came out in the past 15 years that found that teams wearing dark colors became more aggressive.  Whether or not you believe that or not, you can make your own decision on where you'd like to exact that "advantage."
http://www.joeclark.org/basicblack.html

[Keith K \'93]

I was under the impression that in the really old days the NHL used colored jerseys at home.  The nickname "Broadway Blues" makes a little more sense if the Rangers were wearing blue when they played on Broadway.  I could be wrong though.

I strongly dislike the softball jerseys being worn in MLB now (and pray that my team never starts wearing them).  But this fad is better than the horrid uni's of the '70s and hopefully will go away like those abominations did (e.g. the black unis in Chicago, with and without shorts, or the McUniforms instituted by Ray Kroc in San Diego).

[Al DeFlorio]

Keith K '93 wrote:

I was under the impression that in the really old days the NHL used colored jerseys at home.

"Really old days" is a relative term, Keith, I suppose.;-)

Certainly through sometime in the 70s NHL teams wore their "colors" at home, just as college hockey teams did.  I frankly don't recall what caused the change to wearing white at home--for all I know it could have been to promote merchandise sales then as well.  

It's folly to debate which uni looks better--sort of like arguing whether 'Vettes look better in red or silver.  To each his or her own.  But to cite "tradition" for keeping the home unis white just doesn't work.

[atb9]

or not...they're nice girls and all but...  ::yark::

[jkahn]

The NHL changed from home colors to home whites for the '70-'71 season.  I attended the Canadiens home opener that year against Ned's red-clad Wings.   Since then, there was at least one half season when they switched back just for variety, and in recent years they have allowed home teams to occasionally where the darks at home as well as 3rd uniforms - although I'm not sure what the approval process or limitations have been for that.
Personally, I don't care which way it is.  Either way, we'll be cheering "Let's Go Red!"

[Larry72]

An SID (Sports Information Director) told me 25 or so years ago that the decision to wear white at home was that so the fans could get to see the "colors" of the opposing team's school.  I guess it's as good an explanation as any.  I must admit that in last year's Ohio State game with the "away team" wearing their "greys", it did get hard for these older eyes to tell the players apart!!  

It doesn't matter whether Cornell wears their white or red jerseys.  They have been, are still, and always will be "THE BIG RED"

Larry '72

[rhovorka]

Larry Baum wrote:
It doesn't matter whether Cornell wears their white or red jerseys.  They have been, are still, and always will be "THE BIG RED"

The one and only.  Despite what Nebraskans would have people believe.  I only refer to their school's nickname as the Cornhuskers, or their original name, the Bugeaters.

[Will]

Rich H '96 wrote:

Larry Baum wrote:
It doesn't matter whether Cornell wears their white or red jerseys.  They have been, are still, and always will be "THE BIG RED"

The one and only.  Despite what Nebraskans would have people believe.  I only refer to their school's nickname as the Cornhuskers, or their original name, the Bugeaters.

The University of Nebraska (presumedly at Lincoln) was founded in 1869.  Our school has a four-year head start on them. :-P Of course, I have no idea when the term "Big Red" started being associated with each school's athletics program.