🏀 KuBuckets Archive

I taped (DVR'd then) the KU - TT game on Saturday because I was at the lake fishing with my son. A really good day by the way.....

Anyway, I was encouraged by the way the game came across on the radio and thought I'd give it a look last night. I think we're close. Closer than we've been in at least 5 years anyway. Great hustle. Great enthusiasm. Pretty good game plans, not always executed properly, but that will come. In my opinion, there's only one thing holding us back from being a respected, good football team.

We've GOT to lose the foot tall Foghorn Leghorn chicken on the sides of our helmets. I'm a Jayhawk, and I LOVE the Jayhawk - just not that much of it.

Some artistically gifted person please come up with a PowerHawk.....

First off, calling it a chicken makes you come off as a Mizery or K-State douchebag, so...

Second, KU has struggled forever to find helmets that look good. I think we have finally got them.

Don't hate.

@MoonwalkMafia ouch!

@MoonwalkMafia Yeah - I think everyone on this site would immediately identify me as a hater.

In fact, I'm changing my name to nuleafhater.

Don't read the part that says " I'm a Jayhawk, and I LOVE the Jayhawk - just not that much of it".

Just pick out the "chicken" and immediately jump to conclusions. I identified it as a chicken in reference to the Foghorn-Leghorn cartoon chicken. It looks ridiculous to have a ginormous Jayhawk on both sides of the helmet and I was having a hard time finding another Jayhawk to compare it to.....

It's too bad that you feel the need to identify someone who disagrees with you, or says anything that rubs you the wrong way as a "hater".

@nuleafjhawk

First, you can understand that having "chicken" in the thread name will not sit well with many fans since we all see things differently; that is the beauty...and sometimes curse.. of any sports forum.

Next, I agree that the Jayhawk logos on the side are too big; the one on the "chrome" helmet is even bigger but only on one side. I too would like to see as smaller, meaner looking Jayhawk on the side of the helmet; maybe something like my avatar?

I think this is a generational deal. I feel the uniform designs are geared more towards what the recruits and their peers like. If you give them the choice of this:
!Old Helmet ↗

or these:
!Newer Helmet 1 ↗

!Newer Helmet 2 ↗

!Newer Helmet 3 ↗

I'd guess they're going to go with the newer ones. And I think KUs hopes are that these new, flashier designs catch the eye of some of their recruits and gets a foot in the door. Now if we had a winning tradition in football like Bama, ND, and OU or like our MBB then I would say we don't need flashy gear to get these kids attention but unfortunately we don't have that luxury. Anyone know the players and recruits take on the gear??

I mean it could be worse and we could have this Arizona State design...:
!ASU ↗

The smaller Jayhawk as shown on the white helmet would do just fine .. I think that's all @nuleafjhawk is saying.

Bowen is stuck with the big Jayhawk this season. But his decision to go to just one home and away look speaks volumes to his focus.

If Bowen stays, my bet is the big spattered Jayhawk is a thing of the past.

This stuff matters. It distracts from winning. And if kids are giggling about it in the locker room, or on the field, or are worried about which "look" they'll have, that's a distraction.

Win first, giggle later.

@HighEliteMajor pretty sure the players are not giggling about it! I thought Bowen brought back some plain uni's and some striped helmets??

!image.jpg ↗
I thought Bowen brought back the stripe, not positive.

@HighEliteMajor You're right. And so is @MoonwalkMafia and some of the others. I felt slightly Gregg Marshall-ish when I wrote it, but I really think the giant ones look silly.

@Kip_McSmithers - that first blue helmet with the KU lettering is my favorite by far. The smaller Jayhawks on the white helmets are pretty nice as well.

I'm sorry for the "chicken" reference. Does anyone remember *** WILLIE THE WILDCAT ***?

That's all I was getting at.

@HighEliteMajor

I agree 100%. I am in favor of traditional designs and colors. I never understood why schools (including KU) suddenly were using black uniforms, when black is not and has never been part of the school colors. I believe @Kip_McSmithers is absolutely correct that nowadays, uniforms are designed with an eye for what is popular with younger generation, such at the Oakland Raider "outlaw black" motif that seem pretty popular with the younger generation that think the "thug culture," talk about an oxymoron, is actually a good thing.

Having said that, I really like the black with blue piping Adidas track suit Coach Self wore in New Orleans in 2012; but then, it is not a uniform. I have not been able to find it anywhere and I imagine it was available only to the basketball team.

!KU black uniforms.jpg ↗

One of my best friends sees my facebook profile pic of the Jayhawk and always calls it a woodpecker. Maybe you should have called it a woodpecker @nuleafjhawk

Or I got a better idea, let's just get out our North American Field Guide to Birds, look up Jayhawk and make it look like a real Jayhawk, then we won't have these silly arguments.

Leave the Jayhawk alone. I happened to like the new Helmets. It lets me know there is sponsor money and they care about what's on the field.

I wonder if Adidas had anything to do with the firing of Weis. I wouldn't blame them.

All in good spirit @nuleafjhawk ! As someone who got a degree in history from KU (please withhold your history degree jokes) the history and significance of the Jayhawk is not something I take lightly.

But anyways. For as bad as our team is, it's funny how often we talk about our team's uniforms. I'm probably one of the biggest perpetrators too. I'm with @HighEliteMajor in that I don't really care what we wear as long as we can produce. And I would again agree with HEM that I loved how Bowen said we're not going to worry about uniforms anymore, just getting better.

All that being said, KU is a traditional school. We should wear traditional uniforms. The amount of times we've changed our uniforms says so much about the state of our program. Personally, I like the new helmets. But I also wouldn't care if we wore all pink uniforms if we could get bowl eligible.

@MoonwalkMafia Hmmmmmm. Hot Pink uniforms, with some chrome helmets? We could promote the breast cancer awareness cause every week and the helmets might distract the opponent......

And I have no history degree jokes.

@HighEliteMajor I'm with you. One for home and one for away. And trashcan black uni's. I hate them, and it don't matter who wears them. As far as a helmet, either with KU or just the head of a meaner jayhawk.

Where's Jaybate with his money angle on this?? I don't live in the prime Jayhawk apparel market so I can't answer this but do they sell all of the styles of jerseys and helmets in stores (KU Bookstore, Sampler, JN, Dicks, ect.)??? The more unique or collector jerseys out there the more money they can get out of us?? So instead of owning the home and away now people are buying the red, powder blue, and black so they stand out in the (in) crowd? Will going back to just blues and whites decrease the likelihood of a jersey sale thus decreasing football (athletic dept) profits?? I'm sure as long as we don't pay the next HC to coach for 5 when he only works for 2 we can take the loss on apparel....

@nuleafjhawk maybe we can go back to the leather helmets?

@DoubleDD

Retro is in, I can dig it.