If you've turned on Monday Night Football's contest between the Patriots and Bills and wondered why Tom Brady is wearing red instead of that dark blue that brings out the sparkle in his eyes, it's because the NFL is celebrating the 50th anniversary of the eight original AFL teams.
To mark the occasion, they've designated certain "Legacy Games" in which the teams will wear their throwback jerseys and we'll all get a chance to talk about the good ol' days before Twitter ruined everything. (It also means you should expect to see the Jets wear those hideous Titans jerseys three times this year; coat your stomach with Pepto Bismol accordingly.) But they're not the only ones looking different.
No, those aren't T.G.I.Friday's waiters impersonating referees, those are the actual referees. Though you'd be forgiven for making that mistake, since the zebras are wearing some sort of hideous orange and white get-up (making the term "zebra" irrelevant, I suppose). They look more likely to deal out creamsicles than rulings on the field.
I'm not exactly sure why the league decided to do this. I just did a quick search through the Getty Images archives for photos from the 1959 season, and the referees are quite clearly wearing black and white. (Update: A commenter pointed out you can see a shot of an early '60s referee wearing the uniform here.) It probably wasn't until the late '60s and the league's attempt to market to acidheads* that these delightful outfits saw the field.
But the worst thing about this orange and white delight isn't the color choice. It's not even the inexplicable decision to make the numbers on the back of the uniform orange (nothing reads easier than orange on orange). No, the worst part about these outfits is obvious: not enough flair.
*Never actually happened
Comments (Page 1 of 1)
They should stick to their black and white stripes...
Of course most people watching the AFL in 1960 had Black & white TV sets only. Since most games had fewer than 20,000 fans not many remember these uniforms. How about the vertical stripes on the socks worn by the Denver Broncos back then.
I always thought they were red, but we had a crappy color tv and bad reception when I was a kid. From the AFL's 1st season, 1960 to maybe '67 the owners trying to be different had the refs wear those things. They probably haven't been seen since last AFL AllStar game
The Refs FOOKING SUCK no matter what color they wear. They just took a TD away from Oakland that they gave to New England an hour ago on the same exact play in the Inzone (Ben Watson)! Why do they kiss the PATSYS ASS??? They are two types of Head Referees in the NFL. Bad and Horrible...
Inzone? Never speak another word about football ever again. You're no longer allowed to have an opinion. Put your internets away and lock yourself in the closet.
They look like either Toys R Us or Baskin Robbins workers.
"I'm not exactly sure why the league decided to do this. I just did a quick search through the Getty Images archives for photos from the 1959 season, and the referees are quite clearly wearing black and white. It probably wasn't until the late '60s and the league's attempt to market to acidheads* that these delightful outfits saw the field."
There was no 1959 AFL season - that would be the National Football League, which operated as a different league until 1970. The AFL started in 1960.
Also, it wasn't hard to find a photo from the early 1960s that shows those uniforms, so you might want to actually do some research before posting.
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1359/660608770_1f72ec001f_o.jpg
Hey Billy,
I never said it was the 50th anniversary of the AFL, I said it was the 50th anniversary of the eight AFL teams -- the exact wording the NFL used in its press release.
And I looked for photos in the 1959 season because it is, well, the 50th anniversary of that season. I wasn't prepared to go through every campaign to find a picture of refs wearing red or orange or whatever. But thank you for your diligent work, now I know that they did in fact use those uniforms at one time. Just not the season they're celebrating.
Refs aside, the player uniforms looked outstanding. The Chargers, as usual, looked fantastic in their powder blue uniforms and white helmets. The Bills white helmets, white uniforms, white pants combo was absolutely amazing, particularly in contrast to their typical road uniforms which, quite frankly, rival the Bengals for worst in the NFL. The Patriots were passable in red, though their usual blue is definitely preferable. As for Oakland, while the thick black outlines around the numbers were a bit jarring, the rest of the uniform came together well. The simplified two-color silver and black helmet was a great touch.