The Big Reveal

 

Sorry, my intention was to post once we saw the uniforms yesterday....but I passed out in excitment/anxiety/elation as I was logging onto my computer.

I have really liked the uniform we've worn for the last year and a half so beyond hoping for a matte finish on the helmets I wasn't really sure I wanted to change.

That said, I really dig the new unis.  They're a modern twist on the 1970s/Emory Bellard style uniforms.

Helmet:

I've been wanting a matte finish on our helmets since I saw Mizzou first wearing it in 2009 against Kansas.  These new maroon helmets aren't quite matte but at the same time, they are certainly not the normal glossy finish - I would almost call it a candy finish. 

It's that candy paint, 84's,
Belts and buckles, chrome and grill.
Leather seat, stitch and tuck, TV screens and wooden wheels.
Suede roof, neon lights, four tires swang and bang.
Tops drop, blades chopped, fifth wheel just hangin mane.
White Tees, fitted hats, Jordans under dickies. (dickies)
That Swisher sweet, cigarillos filled up with the sticky. (sticky)
The 15's bammin' and the bass kick... kickin.
Cadillac doors slammin on them 44's, tippin.

Basically, they are awesome.

We also have a white helmet, similar to the one we wore in '09 (against Arkansas and OU).

I really like grey facemasks, but I'm a little surprised that there is so little grey elsewhere to go with it (like grey pants).  I think it looks much better on the white helmet than our maroon one did in '09.

The helmet also features an SEC pennent sticker on the back as well as one of the new block aTm outlined by the State of Texas (which I will refer to as aTm/SoT).

Tops:

Let's start with the biggie.  The SEC logo.  It is glorious.

The biggest buzz creator I think has been the beveled numbers.  I cannot stand our beveled block aTm logo so my initial feeling when I heard about the numbers was negative - but when I saw them they weren't as bad as I had imagined.  The bevel is grey on both uniform colors so it is much more visible on the white tops because it stands out more strongly on the maroon font.

We've got two stripes running from the collar down the sleeve that carries on down the undershirt sleeves.  This is a pretty clean retro look. 

It appears that our weekly 12th Man representative will have a 12th Man logo on his undershirt sleeves - it is a little cluttered and busy.  I orginally thought it was on everyone's sleeves and I wasn't really into that but since/if it is just on the one player's arm that makes it much more purposeful and actually highlights one of our coolest traditions - you and I both know that every single announcer will zero in on that on kickoffs and talk about it ad nauseum.

We did keep the small font size with TEXAS A&M on the front from last season, although the font is just slightly different.

I think what looks more odd than the bevel is the size of the numbers (proportionally) on the front of the uniform.  They look to be about 20% smaller than they have been.  The text above the numbers is the same size so if you compared it to one of last year's jerseys you can see how much smaller the numbers are.

On the back, just below the collar there is a block aTm logo.

Bottoms:

 

 
Nothing too crazy here.  There is a single stripe down the outside of the leg - and if you followed the two stripes down from the arm, the single pant stripe lines up between the two arm stripes.

At the top of the stripe, on the hip, there is the new aTm/SoT logo

Etc.:

From a performance standpoint they are apparently 30% lighter than the jerseys that were already 30% lighter when they were introduced 1-1/2 years ago and the cuts are supposedly better for the players.

THE MOST IMPORTANT THING: The recruits all gave glowing feedback - an overwhelming number were really high on the all whites combos.

Next Up: Actual football?

Got the Itch

July 10th, 2012 - I just got my annual itch for college football.

We're talking about fiending so badly that I'm squinting for 10 minutes stretches at tiny little teaser 200x200 pixel images trying to decipher what our new uniform is going to look like.....

.....only because my aging eyes can't squint at a screen any longer than 10 minutes stretches without my peripheral vision starting to go blurry.

They're releasing the new uniforms on Thursday.  Full size images.....I hope.

AAAAAARRRRRGGGGGGHHHHHH.

I think I'm going to have to go pick up my Phil Steele magazine today.

Early Summer Update

Who am I kidding, the only reason I'm posting right now is to celebrate.

Yesterday, July 1st, 2012, Texas A&M officially became a member of the most prestigious league in the land, the Southeastern Conference.

It has been a long, long road but I think that the fan base's excitement and enthusiasm clearly shows how much the wait was worth.  I think the buzz right now tops any other time I can think of since I started school.

Coach Sumlin is currently cleaning up on the recruiting trail which brings even more unbridled enthusiasm.  He has brought a flair of confidence back to College Station that we haven't seen since prior to our current commits were born.  He loaded up the staff with recruiters and has sent them out to do some damage.  Everyone loves to see his now famous "YESSIR" pop up on their twitter feed....because that happens when he lands another commitment.

Interestingly, Tommy Tubberville, who has to be the happiest guy ever to be on the hot seat, must be really surprised at Sumlin's success.

"I think there's a lot of kids that's going to want to stay in the state of Texas and play, and that's going to be probably 10-12 guys that could have gone to A&M that stay in the state, so you're going to see a lot more teams go to that area, which we already do," Tuberville said, "but you're going to see more of a presence there."

Huh?  Someone get that man a map. 

How far would a Houstonian have to travel to attend all of A&M's games?  3,534 miles.  How about to see all of the red raider's games?  5,989 miles.  I'll do the math for you tech fans.....it's a difference of 2,455 miles. Give it up Tubbs - even you are better than that.

Getting into our games?  That's going to be tough because tickets.....well, there aren't any.

We sold out our season tickets at Kyle Field and I was fortunate to be able to secure tickets to the game at Auburn.  What is the hardest ticket to come by?  The SMU game in Dallas.  Yeah, seriously.  The problem is that SMU isn't selling the game to the highest neutral site bidder and their stadium only holds 32,000.  Season tickets for the Ponies are only $100 a pop so that might be the best way to go.

All of this ticket commotion has pushed another issue to the forefront.  Expansion of Kyle Field.  They don't really know how they want to do it, but it's coming.  It looks like one of these three scenarios will play out:

• Build a new stadium off campus
• Knock down Kyle Field and build a new stadium in it's place (forcing us to play our home games in Houston/Dallas/or San Antonio for a season or two)
• Add onto the current stadium in segments 

I honestly haven't really done my due diligence and really read up on this like I feel like I should have....but I just can't wrap my head around having to travel to all of our home & away games.  That would suck.

This next topic is getting glossed over way to much by me but let me assure you that it is very important.  Bill Byrne announced last month that he was stepping down from his position with one year remaining on his contract.  His replacement was named on Saturday - former South Carolina AD, Eric Hyman.  This is a big move by our administration, going out and picking a big time guy from a big SEC school - one that has had tremendous success in the last few years.

I'm excited.  You're excited.  Let's bring on some Aggie football!  WHOOP!

Oh yeah.....ding dong the witch is dead.....the BCS is gone and in 2014 we will be going to a 4-team playoff to supplement the bowl games.  Finally!