With Special Guest Judge, GoErie.com sports columnist and Marketing Manager Jeff Biletnikoff
We are halfway through the season at The Sharpest Point, and the sports editors seem to be getting into midseason form as the playoffs loom.
Darren Riethmiller was able to get off the mat last week by stealing both the judge's and fan's vote (you can vote for who you thought made "the sharpest point" in this article at spectrum.buffalo.edu). It's up to Jim Byrne and John Norman to regain their dominance and stifle the upstart Riethmiller now. The question remains however, when will Corey Griswold get off the schnide? Is this the week? There is only one way to find out, so let's get down to business.
This Week's Question: What team has the sweetest uniforms of all time?
Jim Byrne (5): I was thinking of choosing the Boston Red Sox' uniforms as my money choice, because honestly, has throwing a 72-year old man to the ground ever looked as sexy as it did on Saturday when Pedro Martinez tossed Zimmer head first into the dirt while flossing his Boston uni?
But, I had to stick with my guns and go with the classic of classics, the Cleveland Browns and their football-defining brown jerseys and plain orange helmets.
In this day and age where old school NFL teams have been ditching some of the better uniforms of all time to be replaced by rags that would make Stevie Wonder cringe (i.e. Buffalo Bills and Denver Broncos), and expansion teams have riddled the uniform landscape with the heinous colors of teal and purple (which do not belong in sports), the Browns have remained true to the original cause.
Football is all about pain, dirt, sweat and blood, and no outfit personifies those things like Cleveland's mud brown and fiery orange. When you think real football, not the dome garbage characterized by teams like the Falcons and Rams (who have both updated their uniforms to horrendously ugly to get with the times), you think Pittsburgh, Green Bay, and oh lordy yes, the Cleveland Browns.
John Norman (3): Although it may seem like pure partisanship, I am going to say that the Yankee pinstripes are the best uniforms in all of sports, because they are, not just because I'm a Yankee fan.
You know it's true. The Yanks' uniforms are the quintessential classic look that many have tried to duplicate with no success. The pinstripes have withstood the test of time since their debut in 1912. There is so much pride and history associated with donning the Yankee pinstripes. Some of the greatest players of all-time, Gehrig, The Babe, DiMaggio, Mantle, helped to make the Yankee pinstripes almost sacred to wear.
The uniforms themselves are simple, clean and classy. The interlocking "N" and "Y" combined with the pinstripes make the Yankees look formidable and professional every time they take the field. The Yankees don't need some dopey looking mascot like "Mr. Met" - they rely on their smooth look to stir up pride amongst the fans.
Darren Riethmiller (2): Unfortunately the Buffalo Sabres new school uniforms didn't make the cut, nor did the new Oregon Ducks football uniforms. A timeless classic uniform is too blah (sorry Yankee fans, which includes me) and those throwbacks from the late '70's to the 80's in MLB are going to be cool for about another 15 minutes. However, my pick for the best all around uniform is the Syracuse basketball uniforms.
Now let's take a moment to soak that in. Keep in mind I just didn't pick that certain uniform because they won the national championship last year and because I've been a fan of Syracuse in both basketball and football but because of the originality that it has.
The flavor of the uniform is radical and tasteful at the same time. The signature SU basketball logo that is on the shorts is probably the best logo in college and the best part is that it is just a logo for SU basketball and not for football. The "S" that overlaps a basketball is genius. Pure genius. What tops it off is that the SU basketball uniform is still sporting the old school jersey style and not the new muscle shirt style that you see with the L.A. Lakers.
SU sports orange for away games and white for home games with the white uniforms being the finest in the game. The home uniforms sport navy blue trim around the shorts and jerseys.
You've seen students around campus with 'Melo jerseys and SU shorts. They're selling for a reason.
Corey Griswold (0): I don't seem to be very good at joint editorials. I'm more of an individual player, yet I will continue to forge ahead.
The Montreal Canadiens have, by far, the best jerseys. In a way, they are much like the Yankees. Purely patriotic in spirit, and simplistic in its design, the Canadiens jerseys were forged in speed, power and dominance. The Rocket, Lefleur, Robinson and Roy. In the sport of hockey, the greatest have worn the red "C." Twenty-four Stanley Cup championships do not require good uniforms, they make them.
Pinstripes are overrated.
The Verdict (By GoErie.com sports columnist and Marketing Manager, Jeff Biletnikoff): Jim Byrne wins this argument by a whisker. All four writers made valid points for their picks, but Byrne was able to cross sports and different eras in explaining their uniform choice(s).
From Pedro decking Zimmer to the Bills horrid selection (among other teams) I really was believing at the end that the old school NFL jerseys we remember seeing through the 50's, 60's and 70's, such as the Browns, are still what is right about sports uniforms. Point well taken that new is not necessarily better.
This Week's Victor: Jim Byrne
