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Date Posted: 03:38:17 11/28/11 Mon
Author: Andy
Author Host/IP: 132.178.2.63
Subject: Gray facemasks - a discussion

What are everyone's thoughts on teams wearing grey facemasks in this day and age? And I'm not talking about the teams who have grey in their color scheme like Ohio State or Kansas State. I'm talking about teams like Alabama, Syracuse, and the Arizona Cardinals.

Gray was originally the only facemask color produced, but somewhere between 1975 and 1980 facemasks were produced in a multitude of colors and most teams switched to an appropriate team color. But some teams, mostly those with "classic" uniforms, stuck with gray.

Grey can be seen as a neutral color to the eyes, and I think in the case of football helmets, many of us are so used to seeing gray that we don't think twice about how it doesn't match the colors of a lot of teams' uniforms.

On the other hand, having gray facemasks can be seen as an outdated relic to the past. Today's uniforms look nothing like those of the past - sleeves are practically gone, uniforms are tighter, and most helmets have all kinds of weird creases and air vents. So the question is why do teams still wear the unmatching grey masks when they could easily switch to a team color?

Many teams with classic uniforms have made a very successful switch from gray - Nebraska, LSU, Penn State, Michigan. So the question is why do some teams still take part? Even more baffling are the teams who switched to a team color and then BACK to gray - USC and UCLA being two of the primary culprits in college, and the Browns, Colts, and Niners have each done it it the NFL. I think all of their helmets looked better when they wore team-colored facemasks.

Obviously many of these teams are so tradition-rich that it's tough to let any little thing go. But if most teams are willing to sell themselves out for often hideous one-off Pro Combat uniforms, then why do they insist on keeping the gray relics? It's one of the oddities of football I'll never quite understand.

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Replies:

[> Re: Gray facemasks - a discussion -- J, 13:35:16 11/28/11 Mon (24.2.124.74)

I think gray facemasks only look good on gold, silver, or gray helmets.

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[> Re: Gray facemasks - a discussion -- Nameless, 14:39:06 11/28/11 Mon (38.100.120.10)

I think it could be either because of tradition that some of the teams with gray facemasks were more successful, or that there were cost-cutting issues with the gray masks back then. In this day and age, though, the latter may no longer be an issue, but perhaps the official reasons lie between each individual team.

>...and the Browns, Colts, and Niners have each done it it the NFL. I think all of their helmets looked better when they wore team-colored facemasks.

For the NFL teams, Cleveland and San Francisco had issued press releases in the past that they wanted to go back to their "glory days" (especially San Francisco, because they wanted to return to the Joe Montana/Steve Young days while keeping the newer logo). I'm not sure why Indianapolis decided to revert back, though.

The World Football League used to paint over gray facemasks with paint, but so much paint flaked off during games that there are shots where some players have the color while others have gray. Could it be because the gray color variety is the easiest to manufacture?

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[> Re: Gray facemasks - a discussion -- No name, 23:40:42 11/28/11 Mon (68.17.173.119)

>What are everyone's thoughts on teams wearing grey
>facemasks in this day and age? And I'm not talking
>about the teams who have grey in their color scheme
>like Ohio State or Kansas State. I'm talking about
>teams like Alabama, Syracuse, and the Arizona
>Cardinals.
>
>Gray was originally the only facemask color produced,
>but somewhere between 1975 and 1980 facemasks were
>produced in a multitude of colors and most teams
>switched to an appropriate team color. But some teams,
>mostly those with "classic" uniforms, stuck with gray.
>
>Grey can be seen as a neutral color to the eyes, and I
>think in the case of football helmets, many of us are
>so used to seeing gray that we don't think twice about
>how it doesn't match the colors of a lot of teams'
>uniforms.
>
>On the other hand, having gray facemasks can be seen
>as an outdated relic to the past. Today's uniforms
>look nothing like those of the past - sleeves are
>practically gone, uniforms are tighter, and most
>helmets have all kinds of weird creases and air vents.
>So the question is why do teams still wear the
>unmatching grey masks when they could easily switch to
>a team color?
>
>Many teams with classic uniforms have made a very
>successful switch from gray - Nebraska, LSU, Penn
>State, Michigan. So the question is why do some teams
>still take part? Even more baffling are the teams who
>switched to a team color and then BACK to gray - USC
>and UCLA being two of the primary culprits in college,
>and the Browns, Colts, and Niners have each done it it
>the NFL. I think all of their helmets looked better
>when they wore team-colored facemasks.
>
>Obviously many of these teams are so tradition-rich
>that it's tough to let any little thing go. But if
>most teams are willing to sell themselves out for
>often hideous one-off Pro Combat uniforms, then why do
>they insist on keeping the gray relics? It's one of
>the oddities of football I'll never quite understand.

I can't speak about other schools, but as far as Alabama, people think the gray masks are just the way it's always been. While tradition is big at UA the reason they never switched to colored masks when it became possible is to honor the university's history. During the Civil War, the school was used as a military academy training the confederate soldiers (who wore gray uniforms).

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[> Re: Gray facemasks - a discussion -- Jeff, 01:05:34 11/29/11 Tue (98.238.185.225)

Look at the Minnesota Vikings when they go throwback. The grey facemasks look soooooo much better than the purple they usually use.

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[> Re: Gray facemasks - a discussion -- charles arey, 08:43:22 11/29/11 Tue (74.60.209.109)

I am not sure why, but I sort of like the return of the gray facemasks. I wouldn't want to see every team do it, because then it would be sort of monotonous, but I think the helmets of most of the teams that have returned to using gray facemasks in recent years look really good (Bills, Colts, Browns, Southern California, etc.) - I want to use the word "classic". Maybe it's just nostalgia for the 1970s.

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[> Re: Gray facemasks - a discussion -- No name, 14:09:32 11/29/11 Tue (204.169.161.1)

>What are everyone's thoughts on teams wearing grey
>facemasks in this day and age? And I'm not talking
>about the teams who have grey in their color scheme
>like Ohio State or Kansas State. I'm talking about
>teams like Alabama, Syracuse, and the Arizona
>Cardinals.
>
>Gray was originally the only facemask color produced,
>but somewhere between 1975 and 1980 facemasks were
>produced in a multitude of colors and most teams
>switched to an appropriate team color. But some teams,
>mostly those with "classic" uniforms, stuck with gray.
>
>Grey can be seen as a neutral color to the eyes, and I
>think in the case of football helmets, many of us are
>so used to seeing gray that we don't think twice about
>how it doesn't match the colors of a lot of teams'
>uniforms.
>
>On the other hand, having gray facemasks can be seen
>as an outdated relic to the past. Today's uniforms
>look nothing like those of the past - sleeves are
>practically gone, uniforms are tighter, and most
>helmets have all kinds of weird creases and air vents.
>So the question is why do teams still wear the
>unmatching grey masks when they could easily switch to
>a team color?
>
>Many teams with classic uniforms have made a very
>successful switch from gray - Nebraska, LSU, Penn
>State, Michigan. So the question is why do some teams
>still take part? Even more baffling are the teams who
>switched to a team color and then BACK to gray - USC
>and UCLA being two of the primary culprits in college,
>and the Browns, Colts, and Niners have each done it it
>the NFL. I think all of their helmets looked better
>when they wore team-colored facemasks.
>
>Obviously many of these teams are so tradition-rich
>that it's tough to let any little thing go. But if
>most teams are willing to sell themselves out for
>often hideous one-off Pro Combat uniforms, then why do
>they insist on keeping the gray relics? It's one of
>the oddities of football I'll never quite understand.

i think the purple looks so much better than gray for the vikings althought the throwback uniforms look better than their regular uniforms. the purple masks ( all color masks) look like part of the helmet as oppose to gray masks that look like they suck on the helmets ( which i realise they are )

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[> Re: Gray facemasks - a discussion -- No name, 23:03:44 11/29/11 Tue (96.18.40.162)

Boise State switched to them a few years ago, and since gray has also become kind of a school color, but I think it makes them look great! I really wish they would have had gray facemasks on the white helmets they wore a few times this year. It would have brought out the gray in the uniform better and would have offset just how crazy white those helmet where.

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[> [> Re: Gray facemasks - a discussion -- No name, 12:29:21 12/01/11 Thu (204.169.161.1)

>Boise State switched to them a few years ago, and
>since gray has also become kind of a school color, but
>I think it makes them look great! I really wish they
>would have had gray facemasks on the white helmets
>they wore a few times this year. It would have brought
>out the gray in the uniform better and would have
>offset just how crazy white those helmet where.


of all the colors that i think a gray mask looks the worst on is a white helmet

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[> Re: Gray facemasks - a discussion -- MonkeyWrench32, 01:37:20 12/03/11 Sat (70.1.50.32)

Gray facemasks should never be used unless it is a team color. I've never seen a helmet from a non-gray team with a gray facemask that could be improved by switching to another color. Some "traditions" are ridiculous. Another one is having no names on the back. I wish every Division 1 school would be required to have NOBs like the NFL.

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[> Re: Gray facemasks - a discussion -- No name, 22:31:53 12/04/11 Sun (65.49.136.81)

It seems to me the gray facemask trend is related to the current nostalgia for oldschool/1970s fashions.

I would be willing to bet the preference for gray facemasks falls along generational lines - liked by younger generations, who weren't even born yet in the 1970's; and disliked by older generations who were around when they were pretty much the only facemask color option.

Personally I think they look just awful, with a very few exceptions (I fall into the older generations category).

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[> Re: Gray facemasks - a discussion -- No name, 00:18:39 12/05/11 Mon (108.73.110.11)

I dont think the gray facemasks look bad, per se, but I do think some teams could benefit from a switch to a team color, if gray isnt already a team color. For example, I think the Browns, Cardinals, and Colts would all look much better with white facemasks.

If gray isnt a team color, the gray facemasks really only look good on gold helmets. The only exception to that rule in my opinion is Alabama.

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[> Re: Gray facemasks - a discussion -- No name, 18:45:31 12/13/11 Tue (99.71.242.59)

For me, the sticking point is whether or not the team in question is still wearing the same basic uniforms they did before 1975 or whenever colored masks became commonplace. In other words, if the Packers switched to grey masks (which I wish they would've done when they went back to black shoes), I wouldn't have a problem with it. On the other hand, I absolutely HATE the Cardinals using grey masks with their ultra-modern uniforms. Obviously they should use red, but even black would be an upgrade from the grey.

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[> Re: Gray facemasks - a discussion -- No name, 14:02:22 12/15/11 Thu (204.169.161.1)

>What are everyone's thoughts on teams wearing grey
>facemasks in this day and age? And I'm not talking
>about the teams who have grey in their color scheme
>like Ohio State or Kansas State. I'm talking about
>teams like Alabama, Syracuse, and the Arizona
>Cardinals.
>
>Gray was originally the only facemask color produced,
>but somewhere between 1975 and 1980 facemasks were
>produced in a multitude of colors and most teams
>switched to an appropriate team color. But some teams,
>mostly those with "classic" uniforms, stuck with gray.
>
>Grey can be seen as a neutral color to the eyes, and I
>think in the case of football helmets, many of us are
>so used to seeing gray that we don't think twice about
>how it doesn't match the colors of a lot of teams'
>uniforms.
>
>On the other hand, having gray facemasks can be seen
>as an outdated relic to the past. Today's uniforms
>look nothing like those of the past - sleeves are
>practically gone, uniforms are tighter, and most
>helmets have all kinds of weird creases and air vents.
>So the question is why do teams still wear the
>unmatching grey masks when they could easily switch to
>a team color?
>
>Many teams with classic uniforms have made a very
>successful switch from gray - Nebraska, LSU, Penn
>State, Michigan. So the question is why do some teams
>still take part? Even more baffling are the teams who
>switched to a team color and then BACK to gray - USC
>and UCLA being two of the primary culprits in college,
>and the Browns, Colts, and Niners have each done it it
>the NFL. I think all of their helmets looked better
>when they wore team-colored facemasks.
>
>Obviously many of these teams are so tradition-rich
>that it's tough to let any little thing go. But if
>most teams are willing to sell themselves out for
>often hideous one-off Pro Combat uniforms, then why do
>they insist on keeping the gray relics? It's one of
>the oddities of football I'll never quite understand.

don't think a gray mask looks good on yellow gold helmet like green bay.

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[> Re: Gray facemasks - a discussion -- No name, 22:18:59 02/08/12 Wed (76.31.188.45)

Gray facemasks ONLY.

Do not let the children loose with their crayons!

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