Monday: Jersey Fouls

Howdy again everyone! Hope you enjoyed your weekend as well as the new HJC podcast. For those of you that didn't give it a listen, take an hour out of your day or have it play in the background while you do stuff, we talk about our hockey jersey collections and of course trail off into other fun topics.

Before I get into what I wanted to talk about... let's get some stuff out of the way.

COTY-November is this week, only one more month before we can figure out the COTY 2014... 

We also have the first weekly vote for December, so vote for those.

And get those COTY 2014 logos in!!!!

COTY-November vote (ends Friday @ 11:59pm Eastern)
COTW Nov 30-Dec 6 vote (ends Friday @ 11:59pm Eastern)
COTY Logo Comp (Ends Saturday, December 13, 2014 @ 11:30am Eastern)

There was something I wanted to post about regarding something we talked about in the podcast but I can't for the life of me remember what it was, so I'll bring up something I know we talked about... Jersey Fouls.

Thursday night, after we recorded I posted some pictures to my Twitter of some "fan jerseys" that we also talked about. I refrained from the jersey fouls as I could go on for days about the subject. So I'll try to keep it short. 

I don't know about you guys, but every game I go to, whether it's an AHL or NHL game, or even just going out to bars to watch games, I can't escape the jersey fouls, most of which are Chinese knockoffs.

Here's a good one I see quite a bit, a black Marian Hossa jersey.

Here's the thing, besides the large amount of errors in the jersey that is to be expected with knockoffs, the biggest is Hossa never wore this jersey. The only alternate he's ever worn is the 2010-11 Winter Classic inspired alternate. This type of jersey foul is by far, the most common one I see.

I also see this one a lot too, jersey patches that don't belong. I came to a crossroads in the summer of 2013, the Blackhawks had won the Stanley Cup and I was buying a jersey to celebrate. I wanted a red Andrew Shaw as he is one of my favorite players on the team, and wore that jersey for arguably the most exciting goal in the whole playoffs with a triple OT deflection. I wanted a Finals patch as well... but wait...

I could get a Champions patch too, that looks exactly like the Finals patch and is official. Thing is, my mind couldn't get over the fact that the patch was never, and would never be worn by the team on a jersey. Here's a few terrible examples that make me cringe every time.

That's a Chinese knockoff of a jersey that was worn for warmups and auctioned off for charity, so if you buy this you are a double terrible person. The Champions patch only makes it worse.

Here's another bad one. A 2013 Champs patch for a player that had been retired for many years by then. Not only that....but the arm stripes are swapped....UGH

Ben Eager Champions Patch Jersey. Ok, He did win a cup with the team....in 2010...

This is good right? 2013 FINALS patch, not champs, but wait.... Kris Versteeg won in 2010... Versteeg was in Florida in 2013... and the black jersey wasn't worn in 2010... just...ughghgh...

So what do you guys think? Am I too anal about this? Should I let it go? Or do you feel the same way? Share some jersey fouls you've seen.

Now that I posted all of those pictures, I'm going to go take a shower because I feel dirty for even looking at them... Here, look at some concepts to get your mind off of them.

Quad City Mallards Alternate Jersey Concept - Vaughn R.

The duck foot is front and center. I don't really care for that logo for anything other than a shoulder patch. The shoulder patches here are too close to the collar as well. I don't feel like the colors in the striping work well with the dark green jersey. There should be some white to add some contrast. The black gets lost, same with the name and numbers. The color balance in the jersey is off, the stripes, name, and numbers are all dark, while the collar, yoke outline and cuff/hem trim is all white.

Rating: 6/10

Quad City Mallards Alternate Jersey Concept - Alan H.

Alan wants to see the Mallards in orange. Can't blame him. The jersey definitely pops. Overall good look too. Only thing that sticks out for me is the one color yoke. I'd add at least a white or dark green outline. That duck also isn't my favorite logo they have but I'm ok with it here.

Rating: 8/10


Quad City Mallards Alternate Jersey Concept - Caz W.

Our own Caz suggested a stripe heavy alternate for the Mallards. Pretty good vintage look that would look great. I'm interested in what some of the other color combos for those stripes would look like. Personally I'd like to see more orange, but I'm sure Caz played with it and this looked best. I trust Caz.

Rating: 8/10


Pittsburgh Penguins Concept - Jake88

Jake's black jersey here looks like your run of the mill Penguins concept. Based on the team's past, a popular move. But oh hey, that white jersey looks slightly more unique. It's basically their Stadium Series jersey with stripes that go all the way around the arm. What sells it for me is the yoke. I really like that Stadium Series yoke here. I wish the black jersey was a little more like it, but still, overall, this is a good looking set.

Rating: 8.5/10


Dallas Stars Alternate Jersey Concept - Tyler G.

I'm assuming that in the next year or two we'll see some rumblings about a Dallas alternate jersey now that they finally have their identity nailed down. This resembles the first dark jersey that the team wore in Dallas (complete with DALLAS wordmark on the pants) AKA the last dark jersey worn in Minnesota before the move. Only difference is of course the logo and lack of ANY gold anywhere and the stripes go all the way around ther jersey...and the font... It's almost like they knew 20 years ago they would look good in black/green/white. I like that the Texas logo even goes on the shoulders just like the old ones. I'm not sold on the Dallas wordmark on the pants but this would be a solid alternate.

Rating: 8.5/10


Washington Capitals Alternate Jersey Concept - Justin C.

Well, here's 2-Time COTY winner Justin with a really fantastic ugly jersey that perfectly crappily uses an eagle logo found on some current Winter Classic merchandise. The yoke looks fantastic bad and the jersey as a whole is great...The only thing I am not sold on I like is the empty hem.

Ok but seriously. Great look here. Seeing this logo on a jersey makes me wonder why it wasn't featured on the jersey. I hope it was at least considered. I already have a COTW nom picked for today otherwise this would get one, but I'm sure one of you will fix that.

Rating: 9.5/10


Victoriaville Tigres Concept - Colin M.

There's a very slight and subtle curve to Colin's CCM/Reebok template on the sleeves that really hammers any of his concepts home for me. It looks phenomenal. You know what else is phenomenal? These jerseys. They utilize the stripes that you expect for a team named the Tigers...or Tigres... but they don't overdo the stripes. The color balance is great. I think Black/Yellow/White may be the best color scheme in hockey when it comes to color balance.

Rating: 9.5/10 and a COTW Nom!


And there you have it. I'm glad Ryan sent me a fantastic batch of concepts. Definitely gets that terrible "Knockoff Jersey Foul" taste out of your mouth doesn't it?