Poll: Tennessee's Base Color Scheme and the Use of Alternate Uniforms

[Volosaurus rex]

Anyone who has contributed to the umpteen thousand posts pertaining to Tennessee uniforms realizes that there is a rather pronounced divide regarding the use of alternate uniforms. I suspect that this divide breaks rather distinctly along generational lines but realize that a lot of people may not feel comfortable providing their ages in a public forum like this. Furthermore, the character limitations on poll options make it difficult to include both age ranges and sufficiently informative descriptions of opinions on this issue. In any event, it should be interesting to get empirical data on Vol Nation’s response to this question:

Which of the following most accurately describes your opinion of Tennessee’s color scheme and the use of alternate uniforms?

Please see details below for further explanation of the poll options listed above.

(1) They’re just uniforms; I don’t really care what colors they wear, so long as we win.

(2) I don’t really like Tennessee orange and would prefer a radical redesign, one that deemphasizes orange and I want multiple alternate uniforms. In short, we should follow the path established by Oregon. This will “update our look and make us more appealing to recruits.” I suspect that this position is most popular among the under-25 crowd.

(3) Tennessee’s base color scheme is OK but I would prefer at least one alternate uniform per season; these would be worn “for rivalry games or special occasions, such as games around Halloween.” Unfortunately, there is enormous variation in the type of alternate uniforms advocated by proponents of this position.

(4) Subtle stylistic change is part of Tennessee tradition. “Tweaks,” such as those already announced for this coming season, are fine, but I am opposed to any radical redesign or the regular use of alternate uniforms which do not emphasize our traditional colors.

(5) Tennessee’s color scheme is one of the most distinctive in all of college football. As Coach Jones has said, you can walk into any high school in the country, clad in Tennessee regalia, and they will know instantly who you represent. Consequently, Tennessee orange is a deeply entrenched expression of the Tennessee brand and I believe that use of radically different alternate uniforms, particularly multiple ones, would weaken that brand.

(6) Tennessee orange is not only distinctive, it is one of the prettiest colors associated with any college football uniform. I want it more heavily emphasized. Despite the logistical problems associated with matching it to other uniform components, I would favor orange helmets as part of road uniforms; I want orange pants to be a regular part of our road uniforms and I like the idea of using both orange jerseys and pants occasionally for big home games.

Note: This will be a public poll. If the results are statistically skewed, we will, at least, be able to cull the contributions of opposing fans.

 

[TucsonVol]

4 for me please...

 

[Rudy123]

I like the color scheme. There are many blue, red, white, black, green etc. uniform schemes in college football. However; Clemson, Oklahoma State, Texas and us are the only one's that come to mind that are orange. Of course, we are the only one's to have our exact shade of orange. Clemson, Oklahoma State & Texas have other shades of orange.

It is our namebrand!!!

 

[madbamahater]

5

 

[TNDRIVER]

1. It is all about winning, care less about uniform color.

 

[Rocky_Top_Vol13]

I thought I would be a 4, but I'm kind of leaning towards a 3...

 

[bigorange]

4, with some 3 and some 5 on the side.

Regarding my age...I was at UT for Peyton's sr. year and the NC.

 

[bleedorange0037]

I'm somewhere between 4 and 5. Some tweaks, like the possibility of removing the black accents in the away unis that would be an improvement. Others, like adding the school name to the aways is a downgrade and IMO makes us look like a mid major or high school team. All told, if what we've seen so far for this year is correct, then it'll be a wash of a step forward and a step back. For me, no colors other than orange and white should ever be a part of our uniforms.

 

[GlockVol]

2 2 2 2 2 2 2 and again 2. If we want to keep recruiting we need to update. Sorry to disappoint but I'm not in the under 25 group. Just turned 60. If we wore this uniform at Oregon, we would be all over ESPN win or lose and recruits would love it. I've been looking at those orange and white unis for over 40 years and they are getting boring. Remember we are trying to get a bunch of 17 and 18 year olds to commit to play for us and they don't know about tradition and most get their news from Twitter for Gods sake. Wouldn't it be great to have Tennessee referred to in a positive light in the national media for a change.

 

[ob79]

I've never seen a longer post to such a simple question in my life...

 

[mtowntim]

I'm old as dirt, like the traditional unis but think mixing it up would be cool. Loved the black halloween jerseys.

All black with orange lettering & black carbon fiber helments would be bad azz for a bowl game or homecoming.

Now, get outta my yard...

 

[Vol865]

Im 21 and LOVE Tennessee orange. With that said, it can be overdone and there is nothing wrong with a good looking alt uni using our school colors... or black or grey with orange

Btw, I am aware of UTs tradition and im just as proud of it as anyone but to suggest an alternate uni once a year is going to ruin our tradition is laughable

 

[Volosaurus rex]

I find it helpful to add explanatory text when poll options are strictly limited to 100 characters.

 

[Volosaurus rex]

Vol865, all of these options are characterizations of positions that have been advocated in uniform threads. "Ruin our tradition" is an exaggeration; it has been argued, however, that excessive use of radically different alternate uniforms could weaken our brand association, and it definitely is a defensible argument.

 

[LordVOLdemort]

Im 27 and I love tennessee orange. However, my stepson is 13 and listening to him and his friends, eh love Oregons unis. So based on that I picked 3. Give me orange and white most of the time, but throw in something fancy occasionally and surprise me. I like the black posted above, but don't ever make it look like that cheap black jersey in 2009. That was exciting but poorly done.

 

[UTChicagoV]

Orange & White ARE Tennessee. However, having alternate unis for big non-conference games or against a non-Alabama (the Orange vs Crimson is sacred) rival would be great for our brand, for recruiting, and general publicity. A matte black uni or something incorporating the chrome helmets we're seeing other programs use would be a nice change from time to time.

 

[11thCAVVOL]

Keep the traditional Orange and White uni's with 1 Alternative. Sounds cool to me. Just no power ranger uni like Georgia. That's all I'm asking. That was horrible.

 

[bleedorange0037]

2 2 2 2 2 2 2 and again 2. If we want to keep recruiting we need to update. Sorry to disappoint but I'm not in the under 25 group. Just turned 60. If we wore this uniform at Oregon, we would be all over ESPN win or lose and recruits would love it. I've been looking at those orange and white unis for over 40 years and they are getting boring. Remember we are trying to get a bunch of 17 and 18 year olds to commit to play for us and they don't know about tradition and most get their news from Twitter for Gods sake. Wouldn't it be great to have Tennessee referred to in a positive light in the national media for a change.

Alabama's 3 National Championships in the past 4 years blows a hole the size of a freight train in this argument. They've been less innovative than we have by only having one pair of pants that go with both home and away jerseys and can't stop winning right now.

 

[GlockVol]

So you can only win with old fashioned unis. Seems like the coaching and RECRUITING have more to do with it. We have to recruit nationwide but coach Nicky only needs Lower Alabama to field a team (exaggeration yes). But God forbid what if Tenn got a reputation as COOL! We have a damned fight song about moonshiners. Think 17 year olds who listen to rap can relate. Give me a break. We will never win like Bama but at least we can get our tradition soaked heads out of our orange butts and try something different or are you too scared?

See Clay Travis thread for reference. Maybe he spoke the truth about the fanbase!

 

[zreeves]

id be down for one crazy uniform a year, but i also dont mind the modern tweeks to keep it modern

 

[Catbone]

I'd be okay with a different uni on Halloween each year.

 

[Volshall]

i like the Orange/black combo, i think it looks bad a..

 

[volfanCLT]

4.

 

[daj2576]

Alabama's 3 National Championships in the past 4 years blows a hole the size of a freight train in this argument. They've been less innovative than we have by only having one pair of pants that go with both home and away jerseys and can't stop winning right now.

It isn't only that, but the blatant disregard for the very recruiting number/rankings that are so heavily relied upon in this, and similar, arguments.

You can't say that Oregon's uniforms help recruiting, then look at the recruiting numbers and realize they recruit the same as us, and then back out of that by saying that Oregon wins and we don't.

People confuse the recruiting numbers with Oregon's record. Oregon generally plays 10 or more teams a year whom they out-recruit (and they recruit the same as UT). That says more about the difference in the strength of the PAC v. SEC than it does about the strength of Oregon. When Oregon plays teams that they do not out recruit, they typically lose. USC is a glaring exception, but simply peeling back one layer of data and finding that Kiff is coach, and knowing that he is an exceptional talent under-achiever, should explain that away quickly.

It is like this: If you go to a new car lot and see a flashy new shiny red sports car, you don't need to make up some reason why your trusty old mustang doesn't work. Let's be honest, noone is getting to work any faster than you driving through town and being stuck in traffic because of the car they are driving. Just say you want the flashy new sports car because you are given to liking flashy new things. There isn't anything wrong with that.

 

[fade route]

Why do you have to sacrifice our hallowed orange in order to have some updated bad azz unis? Can't we have both? Just throw in some grey, black, change up pant colors, helmets, etc. You don't have to throw out orange to accomplish this...that's where I'm at.