I was just poking around the Hokiesports shop and found this gem. Have we officially announced blackout jerseys for the NC State game, or has that just been a rumor up to this point?
Forums:
DISCLAIMER: Forum topics may not have been written or edited by The Key Play staff.
Comments
Now who is going to clean up the throw up on my desk?
You?
I sure hope someone cleaned it up by now.
I've heard rumblings about a blackout. ...but dear god, not these jerseys.
It's how I've felt about the team recently...
Thanks for a better gif. I couldn't find this one for the life of me the other day.
I don't think those would fly. Not enough contrast for the numbers per NCAA rules. That's probably 'shopped. Either way, I think uniform selection has to be at the bottom of the list of shit to figure out with t his program. I would prefer it if Whit just kept it simple and worked on finding the next Head Hokie
Although I'm pretty sure this won't be the on-field jersey, I really wish I could see this one in person for the exact contrast. I like the color combination but the contrast in that image looks terrible.
I think it's funny how three years ago I would say things about Beamer needing to be on his way out, and I got outcasted as some non-Hokie fan moron. Now comments like these are the norm on this site. Maybe I had the foresight to see where we were headed and maybe I didn't like where we were headed? And now we're exactly where I thought we'd be with Beamer as head coach.
I'm glad people on this site finally learned how to accept constructive criticism and stop thinking every honest, negative comment is anti-Hokie. Also, glad people are finally seeing things clearly on Beamer. I hope he retires at the end of this year, he doesn't deserve to be fired. Also, Logan Thomas was a bad quarterback that started us down this path of mediocrity, right? Nevermind.
Ok, see you guys later #gohokies
Being that this isn't a Nike jersey, you're not going to see it on the field.
I should have caught that. You're right.
False alarm everyone.
Blackout is a brilliant move by Whit. If someone tunes into the game and sees us crapping the bed again, maybe they won't think its VT since the unis are black and it won't hurt our national perception anymore. Brilliant!
Damn he's right
On a side note: what I really want to know is when can I buy a #2 jersey. They still don't have them in the shops.
Campus Emporium
Edit: Apparently their customizable jerseys are out of stock. No #2 for you. For now.
Thanks. I meant just picking one up off the rack, though. Need to try it on and I've been checking the campus shops on and off..
Your chances are going to be slim because I read in an article a few weeks ago that the NCAA and Collegiate Licensing is moving away from "star" players numbers on jerseys. Whit was quoted in the article saying he wanted to spearhead the movement to move away from players' numbers on jerseys and only have the current year on new jerseys. So unless our star player is #16 you're out of luck. Seems like here lately all I've seen is 3 and 11 on jerseys. I haven't even seen a 12.
Edit: I see a 12 jersey. And a #1...but here's the article.
http://www.dailypress.com/sports/teel-blog/dp-teel-time-babcock-part1-po...
Yeah, the 12 jersey is currently one of the primary jerseys on sale inside Lane.
That's an interesting way to do jersey numbers with only the current year. I like it.
Any reason why you like it?
I can tell you why I don't like it. I really like supporting our kids as individuals. I really want a 46 jersey because I love Joey Slye's story and what he's about. I'm sure 45 jerseys would fly off the shelves. When I bought my first jersey, I bought #11 because Xavier Adibi was my favorite player. He lived downstairs from me and I saw him from time to time. Who wouldn't want a Darius Redman jersey? He's not a star athlete on the team but he's TheCalc! He's an interesting guy to root for. I think a jersey shows more than your support for the team. If you have a jersey without a number or even a generic number, then it's not as interesting.
Because in 2069 jersey sales will be off the charts! /s
I like supporting our kids as individuals as well, and definitely agree that a jersey referencing a particular player is far more interesting than a generic 01 or 00. I think one of the things that makes college football more interesting than the NFL is the stories behind both the school's traditions and of course the stories of the kids themselves. Cody Grimm, Macho Harris, David Wilson all have incredible stories that we love to share and repeat. Sharing and connecting with those stories are part of what makes me proud to be a Hokie.
I like the current year idea because it seems to be a decent compromise between the generic jersey you'd find at a local WalMart and putting player's numbers on it. If they are trending towards not having individual jerseys like #12 for Brewer or #45 for Sam, I'd rather see them sell something like a current year jersey, since at least you could have it as a memory of that particular season. I think of the 2010 season as one of heartbreak and overcoming adversity, but for our football team and my GPA in school that semester. Hence the memory.
Personally, I'd rather have an individual player's number jersey (I'd be helping Sam Rogers' #45 fly off the shelves), but if they get away from doing those I wouldn't mind seeing a current year setup.
They already don't have names on them. I think it's more fun to let people put whatever number they want, as the numbers of the most influential players change.
I do think it's kind of stupid that I have a bunch of jerseys with the number 3 on them. Just happens to be what was available when I purchased jersies to attend the Sugar Bowl against Michigan.
All of the Coastal schools sell them to represent the number of teams that could win the division going into the final week of the season. /s
I said it before and I'll say it again.... We should only be selling #32 jerseys. That number should be an honor for players to wear, and should go to the person each week who most deserves it on offense and defense. And from the jersey sales, a portion of every purchase should go towards a trust set up for the victim's families from 4/16.
And we should black out the 32 yard line hash marks on Worsham.
Love the idea, but instead of only selling #32 jerseys, why not always sell #32 jerseys, in addition to the rest?
And the rest, because it's a great idea.
Why is this not a thing?
Since all of my lucky shirts have run out of luck this season, I'm breaking out the #2 from the 04-08 era. Was Josh Morgan, now Lawson.
And Donovan Riley.
Ronyell Whitaker, Baby!
Toast!
I've been considering retiring my Ryan Williams jersey for the year, and pulling out my Eddie Royal
I think we've all seen enough #2 for one season...
Nothing says "Floundering 2-3 Football Team" like blackout jerseys.
It's call "Pulling a Louisville"
The font on those was horrendous. Adidas needs to do less.
I heard from multiple people last week that Tech would wear black uniforms against NC State. I haven't gotten a photo of them, don't think these are them because they aren't Nike. However, it's odd they be sold on HokieSports.com team store.
I feel pretty dumb about not catching that it isn't a Nike jersey, but there are some other non-Nike jerseys on the hokiesports store. I wouldn't say it's that out of the ordinary.
I think it's odd they are selling a "blackout" branded jersey though.
I'll give you that. There wouldn't be much of a reason to sell this one unless we were going to wear something similar in the near future.
Is it though?
EDIT: To add, I pointed out a couple weeks ago that the teams Instagram graphics have indicated the helmet to be used that week. This week has been the military appreciation helmets. VT may have a "blackout" planned, but until I see proof, I'm going to assume there isn't.
It's entirely possible they scrapped the idea. (I would given Tech's 2-3 record.) However, multiple people, who have given me nothing but correct information told me it's black uniforms against NC State. These are the same people who told me maroon uniforms to go with the orange helmet against Ohio State, even though Tech's social media accounts were trolling with the orange jersey and pants. I guess we will see what happens.
There was a push last year to do it against loluva since it was on Black Friday...so maybe it's a hanger-on from then?
They should absolutely scrap that idea. It's just ok if you win. However, if Tech comes bouncing out on Friday at 2-3 and lays another egg in black unis, it's just going to be another black eye for the program.
Pun possibly intended, not sure though.
Maybe they should wear black the rest of the year, until we see some improvement.
I'll be here all week.
I have seen pictures of black helmets (with no stickers on them yet) from the VT Equipment guys, so I think it'll happen sometime this year.
Its been said a lot but we really need to focus on the game itself rather than what we're going to wear.
Well, we as fans don't affect what happens on the field one way or the other*, so that gives us room to wonder about several things.
* ... unless we're going to Lane and being loud enough to cause opponents to commit false start penalties like back in the day.
It's also been said a lot lately that the coaches don't care what we are wearing. The coaches are not sitting in a room trying to decide what would look "cool" and what we should wear.
I can promise you, no time has been lost by the coaches in this aspect. They are focused on NC State, and preparing our players to win that game.
The only thing that looks "cool" is winning.
Exactly the point I'm making. The coaches are focused on that.
"What's with the black? It looks like you're going to a funeral"
"Maybe I am..."
Perfect for how everyone feels right now, just...perfect!
I don't care if we wear the ugliest uniform ever if we win.
If the Hokies play like they have the last two games....Insert blackout drunk joke here....
All maroon, all everything - I formation, double tight end sets - 1 featured running back damn it. NOBODY FREAKIN LISTENS. Sometimes I think the coaches think I type just to read my own words.
I would hope so, cause its not like anyone else read them
My drinking motto for the game will be #BlackoutfortheBlackout
So this is the change Beamer was talking about? Another fucking uniform change?
Not trying to single you out, but why do some point at the uniform changes as a part of why we aren't succeeding? If someone can show me proof that the coaching staff spends a single minute during a game week deciding on what the uniforms will be I'll eat my fencing mask.
I'm not including uniform changes in the reason for losing games (though, I do think that it is kind of a distraction), I'm just not a fan of all these new looks. I like Maroon helmets, maroon jerseys, white pants, black socks/cleats.
People need to remember that custom uniforms are planned way in advance. Uniform combinations have nothing to do with current record, fan angst, coach's personal preferences, or anything else. Schools offer multiple uniform combination because 1) 18-22 year old kids love it and 2) it creates additional merchandise sales and therefore additional revenue for the athletic department.
I wish they would use the same nike pro combat black jerseys they wore against Boise. Those were bad ass
Those remain to this day the most badass jerseys any team has ever worn. So sick
Those jerseys were so sweet and i hope we do see them again. But, we should wait until we're relevant again.
Those jerseys sucked. The numbers were unreadable in person.
I don't know that they sucked, but the numbers were bad.
I believe the NCAA instituted a rule claiming that numbers had to be a solid color with great contrast to the rest of the jersey. Don't think these would be allowed because of the "writing" within the numbers.
I liked everything about those jersey's except for the numbers. The motherboard design concept was pretty corny to me.
I'd love to see us in those jerseys again. Such a unique look.
... could we have Tyrod back for a game or two as well?
You aren't...fencing...these yourself, are you?
Beamer ball instagram has the white military helmets. Stop this nonsense.
we're undefeated wearing those lids....that can't be understated
I guess they have something against maroon.
It is going to be all black.
I see a ball team and I want to paint them black.
No colors any more, I want them to turn black.
I see the good teams dressed up in their brighter clothes.
I have to turn my head until my darkness goes
deja vu
Whoa...what a great song.
Just...
... seems right.
Sums it up pretty well...
This isn't direct at you, just a general statement, but goes along with wait you said.
I guess I don't see the sentiment against the Military helmet. We are one of TWO universities in the country that have military and civilian populations on the campus at the same time. We should embrace this. We have a military presence. Skipper. The Highty Tighties. The Cadets. The usage of the inscriptions on the War Memorial pillars throughout the football program...Brotherhood, honor, Leadership, Sacrifice, Service, Loyalty, Duty, and Ut Prosim. I like the fact that we even made these a thing, and feel they represent VT as much as any other helmet we have worn in the past few years.
To be fair, his comment could be in reference to the "Blackout" uniform conversation, and is instead saying "This is what we're wearing, not that."
We should be wearing just practice jerseys and helmets till we play better
They could even wear them in the games.
#consistency
Bring on some great Black out Jerseys!!!! Only game on for a nationally televised game, lets turn some good recruits heads with sweet unis....
Why not? We can't play any worse than we did last week with our traditional look..
I agree. If our coaches and players are mentally weak enough to let a new uniform distract them to the point of playing as poorly as we did last week (mainly the offense) then we are royally screwed for the near and long-term future. It is no secret that this game is essentially a make or break game. If we don't show up prepared to play we will get smoked no matter what color our jerseys are.
If we wear some sort of all black uniform with the military helmets it could look really good at night under the lights. But, at the end of they day if I am a recruit or a just an average Joe watching the game on TV the most impressive thing VT can offer is a dominant W.
Looks like no black jersey
At least we're undefeated in those lids.
I've never really kept up with the team attire throughout the seasons, but do we normally wear "special" helmets that many times a season?
The only other season I recall a lot of special helmets was 2012, when they had turkey tracks, Foghorn Leghorn, and the fighting gobbler matte finish helmets.
But this is the first time I've only seen us with the standard maroon helmets once during the first half of the season.
Pretty sure we had a helmet for every win at one point that season, like not even a joke swear to god. I think it was when we had four wins going to Boston College. They announced the Foghorn Leghorns and at that point we had that helmet, the regular maroon helmet, the white helmet with maroon VT, and the white helmet with orange VT. We were 4-6 at that point.
Don't think it's a coincidence that we've worn the maroon lids once when we have a pending rebrand for next year waiting to be revealed...
Agreed. I'm anxious to see the results of this rebranding. It's exciting, but very scary at the same time. I feel it will go one of two ways , either great or a complete disaster.
With Whit in charge, I think it'll be a homerun. The guy OBSESSES about the university's brand. Like, to the point where he forced the academic side to reign in and standardize the use of the VT branding.
That being said, regardless of how it goes, there will be a segment that abhors them.
As long as Nike doesn't mess with the square-root-of-1 VT logo (and I don't think Whit will allow it), the rebrand is going to be awesome.
They won't. Had a talk with some people in the licensing dept and.... yeah, that's not changing. In fact, they were a little peeved the 'for fun' prototype that Nike presented was leaked earlier this year.
Our equipment room tries some kind of trickery almost on a weekly basis. I'd say black unis are still in the cards.
I'd be disinclined to think that, since they usually stick with what they announce on the reveal post.
But....wasn't it Georgia or maybe Nebraska a few years ago, came out during warmups in red jerseys, and then either huddled up and took them off to show black, or ran out with black during intros.
Actually, come to think of it, I think we did something like that. Was it Miami last year that they were warming up in white pants, and then came running out to Sandman in all maroon everything?
We did. Clown move by us honestly. If we're going black I hope we don't change into it seconds before kick off.