DCMP on 
Dana Porter on 
The Ohio State Athletics Department has decided to change the Buckeye’s uniforms on the week of their storied rivalry with Michigan. Early returns are that the uniform does not meet the Buckeye Nation’s approval.
School officials said a slimmer, formfitting design didn’t leave room for any gray. The two white stripes on each sleeve are set off by black stripes. In letters to the editor and an Internet poll on its Web site, The Columbus Dispatch has been besieged by fans upset over the jerseys.
I don’t buy the slimmer, form fitting design argument. You plan something like this change for a while. If that was true, why didn’t OSU use it earlier, let’s say against USC.
I would suggest one of four reasons for the uniform change.
First, Nike paid a helluva lot of money to design OSU’s uniforms. Wouldn’t changing them before an OSU vs. Michigan game make a lot of sense for Nike? (That’s the one that is probably right).
Ohio State has a six-year, $11.4 million contract with Nike, which provides uniforms and equipment for the school’s athletic teams.
Second, as the Common Man pointed out on 97.1 The Fan, this could be one of Tressel’s sly tricks he always comes up with before the Michigan game. (That one’s probably not right, there is a reason he’s the Common Man).
Third, they’ve already won the Big 10 championship and are going to the Rose Bowl. Still, they can’t win the national championship, so who gives a crap. (I hope that one is not right.)
Fourth, they really want to honor the 1954 Buckeye’s (That’s actually the one I’m rooting for).
this uniform has been in development way before this years showdown… or slaughter at ann arbor. The whole idea around Nike’s new Combat Pro uniforms revolves around 10 teams and a inspiration story for each…In this case it is the OSU Michigan rivalry history. So, to go along with the storyline they unveiled the new uniform before this years game. Here is the website:
http://www.nike.com/nikeos/p/usnikefootball/en_US/rivalries09?school=osu&tab=uniform
regards,
JD
joe D, thanks for commenting. Sorry approval and reply took so long. Just back from a four day weekend and am starting to post again.
I appreciate the link. Looks like one and four were right.
I’ve got no problem changing for one game. But you can have all those space age improvements built into a uniform that looks like the old design.