Shooter: Gophers football program still hasn’t figured out Minnesota’s colors are maroon and gold, not the black uniforms the team wore against EMU

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short ornery norwegian said:
tried to do a little research-

if I'm correct - in the last 74 games played by the Gophers under Fleck -

they have worn Gold Jerseys 4 times and Gold Pants 15 times. there was one game where they went Gold Jersey- Gold Pants.

so 18 out of 74 games with either Gold Jerseys or Pants. that's 24%. (none this year to date)

for a team that is nicknamed the "Golden Gophers."
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What about gold helmets?
 

PMWinSTP said:
What about gold helmets?
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12 games with gold helmets - 4 where the helmets were the only Gold worn, and 8 where they wore gold helmets along with either gold jerseys or pants - including 1 glorious Full Banana game.

so if my math is correct, in 74 games under Fleck, there have been 22 games where they wore either Gold Helmets, Jerseys and/or Pants, and 52 games with No gold.

74 games under Fleck - most frequent combos (key: Helmet - Jersey- Pants)

Full Maroon 13x
Maroon-White-Maroon 8
Chrome-White-Maroon 7
Maroon-Maroon-Gold 5
Gold-White-Gold 5
Full White 5
Chrome-Maroon-Maroon 4
Maroon-White-White 3
Chrome-Anthracite-Anthracite 3
Maroon-Gold-Maroon 3
Gold-Maroon-Maroon 2
Gold-Maroon-Gold 2
Maroon-Black-Black 2

12 different combinations 1 time each, including
Full Gold 1
Full Black 1

total of 25 different combinations used

(info taken from Twitter account @gopheruniforms)
 


This whole thing is so dumb. The fact that our team name is the Golden Gophers does not mean that gold has to be a primary color on the jersey or helmet.

The school colors are Maroon and Gold and I can guarantee that every single jersey/helmet we have worn under Fleck has had either Maroon or Gold or both in it somewhere.

I get that some people get all bent out of shape by alternate color jerseys but good lord these are commonplace across all levels of sports professional and college.
 

The offense has scored 51 points in three games, with a dearth of explosive plays. The special teams play has been, generously, pedestrian.

It is right and appropriate, therefore, for fans’ focus to be on uniform color schemes - especially given the players’ reactions to them.
 

Our colors are Maroon and Gold. Maroon is the first color listed and is the dark color for our uniforms. Gold is an accent color. Teams by default have to have white as a color for home or away. People are passionate about Gold because it's in our name and basketball had it for primary home uniform unil the NCAA enforced needing a white uniform.

The black uniforms are something that many schools do because it goes with almost anything. We've had maroon in nearly every combination.

Fleck, Grimm, and JG had some good laughs about it on the radio show today. They were talking about Henderson and getting kids to transfer. They joked about whether he came because he would be able to wear a black uniform. Fleck said he would go with a new uniform every game if he could.
 
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disco said:
When was this?
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Few years ago the NCAA pushed for home team to have white as first option. Not sure on timing and how enforcement works. Might be home team has to wear white in NCAA tournament. Gophers always wore gold at home until the last 5-10 years
 

MaxyJR1 said:
Few years ago the NCAA pushed for home team to have white as first option. Not sure on timing and how enforcement works. Might be home team has to wear white in NCAA tournament. Gophers always wore gold at home until the last 5-10 years
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Thanks!

I know we went to see the Gophers play a game at Target Center maybe 20 years ago. I don't know why they played there. I could swear the Gophers wore black that day, predating the whining about black jerseys today.
 

MNfootballfan said:
I am so over the uniform discussion. For the last 10-15 years in all levels of football from HS - NFL uniforms are not very consistent. Black is now part of almost every school's color scheme.

Do I hate the black uniforms? No
Do I love the black uniforms? No
Do I understand that once, maybe twice a year they are going to wear black? Yes
Do I let it affect my day? No
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This is the best take I've seen. I don't understand all the angst over the black uniforms. Of all the things to spend time getting annoyed about it's like 200th on my list. I agree with PJ's comments about this being about the players and what they want. Get over it and move on.
 



My dad complains about this too! big time boomer gripe. I don't care for non traditional color combos either but it seems to be a common thing for non blue blood programs. The kids want to be "black hat" on the field.
 

99Gopher said:
This is the best take I've seen. I don't understand all the angst over the black uniforms. Of all the things to spend time getting annoyed about it's like 200th on my list. I agree with PJ's comments about this being about the players and what they want. Get over it and move on.
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Agreed. I enjoy the weekly uni watch chatter but don't really care about the outcome. I would like to see the ROW come off the helmet.
 

Swaggerson said:
Agreed. I enjoy the weekly uni watch chatter but don't really care about the outcome. I would like to see the ROW come off the helmet.
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To take it a step farther... I don't even know what a "traditional Gopher uniform is." We aren't Penn State, Alabama, or USC who have had the same uniforms since dinosaurs roamed the earth.

In my lifetime (39 years) I can distinctly remember 6 different uniform styles and for those that care about colors - I've seen different shades of maroon and gold. I am sure I am missing some but I remember the 80's with the M's on the sleeve, the M&M, the shiny gold in the dome, the Mason era, Brewster era, Kill era, and now the Fleck era uniforms.
 

MNfootballfan said:
To take it a step farther... I don't even know what a "traditional Gopher uniform is." We aren't Penn State, Alabama, or USC who have had the same uniforms since dinosaurs roamed the earth.

In my lifetime (39 years) I can distinctly remember 6 different uniform styles and for those that care about colors - I've seen different shades of maroon and gold. I am sure I am missing some but I remember the 80's with the M's on the sleeve, the M&M, the shiny gold in the dome, the Mason era, Brewster era, Kill era, and now the Fleck era uniforms.
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And just because you have the same uniforms for a million years doesn't mean they don't suck.

I think LSU's unis - their helmets specifically, are hideous.
 

Programs that are trying to sell a brand need to change up their uniforms a lot. Only 1 program that is really top notch does it. That's Oregon. And that's their brand. Different uniforms all the time.

Just looking at the current top 25 besides Oregon and Oregon State pretty much every other team has a dominant uniform/helmet that they wear and sprinkle in alternates from time to time.

I think Minnesota needs to pick and combo and stick with it.
 

Xerxes_ said:
Just looking at the current top 25 besides Oregon and Oregon State pretty much every other team has a dominant uniform/helmet that they wear and sprinkle in alternates from time to time.

I think Minnesota needs to pick and combo and stick with it.
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Finally someone has identified the real reason that Minnesota football has been wandering around in the wilderness the last 50+ years!
 

disco said:
And just because you have the same uniforms for a million years doesn't mean they don't suck.

I think LSU's unis - their helmets specifically, are hideous.
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Agree with that also. I was a big fan of the Kill uniforms. Simple, classic, with a touch of modern to them. Mason's were fine... I like Fleck's - similar to Kill's.

Brewster's I've never given a fair shot to because I just associate those uniforms with the product on the field.

I would absolutely die to see the hideous M&M uniforms for a throwback game. They were so bad that they would actually be kind of cool to see again.
 

2nd Degree Gopher said:
Finally someone has identified the real reason that Minnesota football has been wandering around in the wilderness the last 50+ years!
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Who knew the solution was that easy....just pick a uniform and stick with it....sad to think of all the years wasted trying to find that perfect uniform combination when all they had to was just pick a single look.....if only they had known......but can't get those years back....
 

2nd Degree Gopher said:
Finally someone has identified the real reason that Minnesota football has been wandering around in the wilderness the last 50+ years!
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I don't really think they've been wondering around in the wilderness. I guess we'll just have to agree to disagree there.

They've had some good teams. 4th best winning percentage in the B1G over the last 4 years. PJ has done a great job there. 1999, 2003, 2005, 2016 were solid to good teams as well.

I just don't think they need to change their jerseys each game.
 

Gophers uniform dust-up: Some fans tell coach P.J. Fleck they don't like the all-black look​

The Gophers wore black helmets, black jerseys and black pants for their Sept. 9 game against Eastern Michigan. That look didn't sit well with some fans who prefer the traditional maroon-and-gold attire.

Coach P.J. Fleck explained the reasoning behind the decision.

"I get the tradition. I'm here to uphold that tradition,'' he said. "OK, we haven't changed the mascot. We haven't changed the name. We haven't changed the colors. We're adding a little flavor to it. That's because it's all about the players. . . . The student-athletes love it. Our student body loves it. The young people love it, and I get it. That's why every week we do something a little different for everyone.''

Fleck added that players have input on the uniform decision and that the alternate look is popular with recruits.

"Our players get to have a piece and a voice to what we wear,'' he said. "… They get a meeting with me and our crew manager, who lays out all these combinations.''

Fleck pointed to the black uniforms that Ohio State and Florida have worn as examples of traditional powers testing the boundaries.

"I had a lot of emails about it, and I feel it,'' he said of those opposed. "But I also got just as many, if not more, about how much people liked them.''

www.startribune.com

Gophers uniform dust-up: Some fans tell coach P.J. Fleck they don't like the all-black look

The team's black helmet, jersey and pants look, which it wore against Eastern Michigan, didn't sit well with those who prefer the traditional maroon-and-gold colors.
www.startribune.com www.startribune.com

Go Gophers!!
 

MNfootballfan said:
Agree with that also. I was a big fan of the Kill uniforms. Simple, classic, with a touch of modern to them. Mason's were fine... I like Fleck's - similar to Kill's.

Brewster's I've never given a fair shot to because I just associate those uniforms with the product on the field.

I would absolutely die to see the hideous M&M uniforms for a throwback game. They were so bad that they would actually be kind of cool to see again.
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I loved the metallic helmets of the Wacker era, but yeah, those M&M jerseys - yikes.
 

Xerxes_ said:
I don't really think they've been wondering around in the wilderness. I guess we'll just have to agree to disagree there.

They've had some good teams. 4th best winning percentage in the B1G over the last 4 years. PJ has done a great job there. 1999, 2003, 2005, 2016 were solid to good teams as well.
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I don't really want to get into a debate with you over how best to categorize the Gophers' level of mediocrity over the last 5-6 decades, but if i did I might point out that you have identified eight Gopher teams that you describe as "solid to good" over those 50-60 years. I might also mention the lack of any division or conference titles since the 60s.

The point of my response was to tweak you a bit for your post suggesting a link between teams in the top 25 and teams that have a history of more static uniform choices. Correlation is not causation. Indeed, even as to Minnesota, half of the "solid to good" years you singled out have occurred during the period of time when PJ has had them changing their outfits more often than Cher during a concert in Las Vegas.

Xerxes_ said:
I just don't think they need to change their jerseys each game.
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That's totally fair and an opinion shared by many.
 

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