Wednesday: Olympics Excitement is Starting!

Hey there everyone! A lot to get to today so let's get to it.

Since there's no contest this week, only one reminder for you.

COTW Aug 19-25 vote (ends Friday @ 11:59pm Eastern)

Photo: Nikeblog.com

So let's start today off by looking at 2 jerseys set to be used in the upcoming Olympics. Firstly, let's look at the host, Team Russia. First thing that I notice is the obvious difference between the two jerseys. The red is a very traditional jersey with the Russian flag on the arms in between two thin gold lines. Now, the white jersey is way out there. It's very very "Nike". It uses the top part of the normal crest and blows it up and is used as a major component in the design of the jersey.

Photo: Nikeblog.com

The red jersey is my favorite of the two, but who knows maybe the white will grow on me... doubt it... Something I'm noticing in the picture of the red jersey to the right, is that the jersey looks a lot like an actual sweater. I haven't seen anywhere on whether or not the jersey cut is the Nike Swift jersey or something new.

Photo: Nikeblog.com

The one thing about the white jersey I would change to make it a bit better would be to get rid of the wings on the shoulders. It took me a while of looking at it to notice the red at the end of the sleeves is actually the bottom of the two headed eagle wings. I'm really interested in seeing this jersey in action, but I'm hoping that we see the red jersey more than this one.



So a quick rating of the Russia uniforms would be 7/10

The red jersey is definitely the highlight of the set and is also definitely more than a 7/10, but that white jersey is bringin' it down.

Now let's get to the USA!

Photo: Nikeinc.com

First impressions, a bit busier than the 2010 US jerseys. The stars are an ok touch, it's something that I've seen done on a few concepts here on the site. The striping is still a bit boring for my taste, the blue jersey's striping is alright, I would like to see the stripes lower on the arms. But the white jersey is prety neat with the blue top and white bottom. But the arms and hem look very empty to me, A hem stripe would help both jerseys out. My favorite part though, is the crest. You might also notice the "Flywire" neckline, similar to the new NFL nike jerseys necks, the Flywire necks are meant to look like classic tie down jersey collars but it's kind of pointless.

Photo: Nikeinc.com

The crest is a huge improvement over the letters that have been on the chest of the US jerseys for awhile. These jerseys, including the crest, bring the Mens US Soccer team centennial jerseys to mind, which is good because, I might not be a soccer fan, but I am a huge fan of those uniforms. I'm considering buying a USA jersey with one of the Blackhawks' name and number.

Nike is also getting in on the "Hanger Effect" craze adding the years the US has won gold medals. But they've also added "Land of the Free, Home of the Brave" on the inside of the neckline, only visible when putting the jersey on.

So quick rating of the USA jerseys, 8/10

Very very classy, a good look for the Olympics, but if these were to be used more, I would want to see more interesting striping, or at the very least, hem stripes. 

Now to the concepts of the day!

Toronto Maple Leafs Alternate Jersey Concept - (Frank C.)

This looks like a cross between the Leafs' 2008-11 alternate and their current home jersey, and I'm liking it. The crest seems a bit oversized. And I'm not so hot on the darker shade of blue. You shrink the crest to a normal size and use the normal blue and I see a really good alternate jersey, but not better than their current alternate, which remains as one of my favorite jerseys in the league.

Rating: 8/10


Seattle Thunder Birds (WHL) Concept - (Matt M.)

Matt updates the Seattle Thunder Birds identity with this very solid logo and set of jerseys. The only things I'm seeing that I'd do away with is the number underneath the collar, and the busy pants striping. Speaking of striping, I'd try using no silver in the striping. The silver seems dull, so I'd make that blue so there's only 4 stripes with a gap in between them. That could make the pants look a little better too. The logo is solid though. I really like it. Also, silver numbers on a blue jersey doesn't seem right, I'd use white numbers with silver trim.

Rating: 8.5/10


New York Islanders De-Edge Series - (Steven G.)

These resemble the Penguins last Winter Classic Jerseys, but I really like it in these colors. I wouldn't mind seeing this set of jerseys edgified. This is also probably one of the best concepts in this series. The thing I'm liking about this is the nod to the Islanders dynasty (4 stripes - 4 championships) and how the jerseys look like throwbacks. If you look at it, you can totally see this being work 20-30 years ago.

Rating: 10/10 literally a perfect Islanders concept in my eyes. COTW nom as well. Please Edgeify these!


New England Whalers (WHA) Concept - (Ted N.)

First off, make the images bigger or save them with a higher resolution. It's impossible to see some of the smaller details because when blown up the image is very blurry. I've gone on record and said that the arm striping used here is one of my least favorites, so right off the bat, I'd rather see those stripes moved further down the arm. I'm ok with the "horned" template but it's pretty generic.

Rating: 6/10


Carolina Hurricanes Concept - (Jets96 - HJC)

Our Monday writer Jets takes a shot at the newly rebranded Hurricanes. He keeps the flag pattern while simplifying the arm stripes. He also uses the new font they use on their jerseys. I'd like to see the
Nike-esque yoke on these. I don't care for the white jersey's flag pattern being white. The alternate jersey could be better. Use white for the name and numbers and use the normal logo, not your recolored one.

Rating: 7/10


Chicago Blackhawks Concept - (Jets96 - HJC)

Jets also gives the Blackhawks new jerseys and he doesn't change a lot. The white jersey is virtually unchanged besides the solid black collar, which I don't like. The red jersey's arms now match the hem socks and also has a black collar, again, don't like the collar. The one place the collar is ok is the new alternate. I'd prefer a normal Blackhawks two-toned collar. The striping is decent on the black jersey but the pants striping now seems out of place. I also don't like the "C" logo on the arm striping. I'd rather see it on the shoulders.

Rating: 6.5/10

That's the post for today, let's get some conversation going in the comments today everybody!