Even though I'm a stickler for using "well" in the necessary situations, I'm a big believer of the Deion Sanders mantra, "You look good, you feel good. You feel good, you play good. You play good, they pay good." Confidence matters, and looking good in whatever you do IMO leads to being more confident, i.e., more successful. The Patriots' new uniforms this season cost them at least a win. I'm convinced Cam doesn't fumble against the Bills or scores against the Seahawks if they kept the Brady jerseys.
Since joining the American Football League in 1968, the Cincinnati Bengals uniforms, for the most part, have not looked good, and as a result, they have not played "good" for nearly their entire existence; they have not won a playoff game since 1990.
From 1968-1980, partly because of pettiness, Paul Brown's Bengals wore these uniforms or a minorly tweaked version. The long sleeve look is actually almost swag and ruins my point, but...
...they were essentially Cleveland Brown uniforms with "Bengals" pasted on the helmet. It's like if the Mets wore old Dodgers uniforms with a crudely sewn-on "Mets" patch covering "Brooklyn". Bengals vs. Browns looked like an inter-squad scrimmage until 1981.
'81 was the year the Bengals gained their own identity by introducing their tiger-striped helmets and jerseys. Coincidentally, they won their first playoff game(s) that same season en route to the franchise's first Super Bowl appearance. They would make it to the Super Bowl again in 1988 in the same unis.
The Bengals kept those uniforms until 1997 when they brought an actual Bengal logo into the mix. Again, these almost hurt my point because I love these uniforms, but from 1997-2003 when they were the Bengals' primary jerseys, they never had a winning record, going 34-78 over that time period. I can understand why some people might not like them, but I personally am a fan of that look.
Since 2004 the Bengals have been one of the few teams who wear almost a baseball-t style uniform with a different color nameplate/shoulder situation—Major Arizona Cardinals vibes (another fugly uniform). The home and alternate are okay, but the away are puke.
I don't mean to pile on one of the league's cellar-dwelling franchises. It's lazy, but IMO their uniforms have historically been lower tier, and when you're historically a "loser" franchise, it doesn't help your cause. I fuck with the 80's and 90's look, but their stolen Browns unis and currents since 2004 have been gross. FTR, I LOVE their white color-rush uniforms.
I could talk uniforms all day, but I may be wasting my time here since what you're about to see are leaked uniforms that, as of 5:48 PM on March 8th, 2021, have not been confirmed by the Bengals. They look like the Texans and Bears got drunk, screwed, then continued to drink throughout the pregnancy, and these popped out:
Prior to Tom Brady's arrival, the Patriots were basically the same organization as the Bengals. With Joe Burrow, Cincinnati has their franchise guy for the next decade assuming he comes back healthy from his torn ACL. It's not 1974, but you never know with the Bengals.
This is their chance to rebrand and have a "winning" image going forward. They could rewrite their franchise's history over the next ten years and instead they go the double-stolen jersey route? Not only that but to steal from the Houston Texans and Chicago Bears! One is one of only four teams to never appear in a Super Bowl and current dumpster fire. The other is one of the most prestigious franchises in all of sports; if it was 1948. Take away 1985, and the Bears entire identity post-merger is gone. I have nothing against that team, but they've been run horribly since George Halas died. As soon as I saw them I immediately thought Houston Texans with the snoozeville generic font between the NFL shield and number. Same loser franchise energy.
The Bears uniforms are a classic look which makes them super easy to spot out when you've clearly taken bits and pieces from them. The numbers (and color scheme, but that's probably just the quality of the photo) look like a knockoff Bears jersey.
Much like the NFL's hatred of the arts when it comes to Super Bowl logos, there's plenty of fan-created uniform ideas that blow the actual ones out of the water.
I love uniforms, I'm always down to talk unis, but IMO these are lazy, stolen Wal-Mart jerseys. Most changes across the league the last few years have sucked. I don't like the Pats' new digs. The Jets' recent change is a disgrace; their old look was so timeless and clean. The Falcons and Rams are trying too hard. Honestly, the Chargers are the only wholesale changes of the last few seasons that I love; they knocked those out of the park. Maybe I'm in the minority here, but I think these (potential) new Bengals uniforms STINK. Mainly because they're a rip off of two other team's uniforms. Write your story. You've literally already gone down that road before.
What do you think about the Bengals (potential) new jerseys? Sound off in the comments!
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