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Through four games, the Illini have worn two of their brand new uniform combinations. The White/Orange/White has been used three times, while the all-whites have been pulled out once. This is surprising considering the amount of hype that the athletic department generated around their recent rebrand. Why have we only seen a few components of the new uniforms? Who is to blame here? Should anyone even be blamed? Well, here's what we do know:
The seniors are the ones deciding on the uniforms each week--so it makes sense that they've continued to wear the white helmets (they're reportedly big fans of the white lids). Okay, we wore them game one and two that's fine. Then we decided to with the all whites on the road at Washington. However it was alarming that they again selected the same white-orange-white combo against Texas State. Why have they kept choosing the same uniforms? Well, there may be an explanation.
According to rumors swirling on Illini message boards, Illinois' blue and orange helmets aren't available. Supposedly, the blues haven't come in yet--which, admittedly, is a bit disappointing. The case with the orange was that the wrong shade of color was used. The team sent them back and were hoping to get new ones before last Saturday's game; they didn't and we were forced to use the white ones. Obviously, this is just speculation. For all we know, the blue/orange helmets are on a truck headed to Lincoln as you're reading this.
So let's assume that the team has all the new uniforms at their disposal--what do you think we should wear?
I hope we see the Blue/White/Orange combination. I actually want to see the Orange/White/Blue pulled out, but I think that they would be harsh on the eyes considering what Nebraska's wearing. All of our uniforms look better than that abomination; it looks the Cornhuskers' equipment manager spilled ketchup and tabasco sauce all over the uniforms.
I'm betting, and crossing my fingers, that we will wear a completely different uniform this week. Here's some input from some of the staff.
Jim: I've been hearing that we'll wear the all-whites again--I think that's the right move.
Trevor: Overall I’ve actually been kind of disappointed with the usage of the uniforms thus far. The unis themselves are terrific and look great both in person and on TV, but they’ve pretty much trotted out the same look all four weeks of the non-conference slate. I certainly hope to see more variations throughout the Big Ten schedule, but assume they'll go with the all-whites again versus Nebraska. Hopefully they'll light up in primetime, and maybe they can light up the scoreboard along the way.
Make sure to tell us what uniform you want to see below in the comments!
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