On Tuesday, the first batch of NFL uniforms created by Nike was revealed. Most of the league maintained the look of their uniforms from the Reebok era but the Seattle Seahawks decided to allow Nike to put their uniforms through a complete redesign. Not only did the redesign change the style of the uniforms that the Seahawks will be wearing this season but the colors as well. The Seahawks added grey to their color scheme, darkened the blue and changed the name of the green. This was in addition to a complete stylistic overhaul. The uniforms now feature the Seahawks name emblazoned above the player’s heart, a Nike swoosh on the shoulder and four groups of twelve feathers. They are different from anything the rest of the league is wearing. In fact the new Seahawks uniforms are different than anything the Seahawks have ever worn. Reading this article you could ask, “Just how different are the new uniforms?” If you were to ask me, I would say “Well thank you for asking hypothetical reader. I’ll use the rest of this article to explain just that.”
The Seahawks came into existence in 1974 with a look that was based on a lighter blue than is currently being used. The jersey featured three stripes on the sleeves below the uniform numbers. The original uniform also had a grey helmet. The helmet’s facemask was also grey. The helmet featured the original Seahawks logo on both sides. The home jerseys were blue; the away jerseys were white as is common. Most teams in the NFL wear colored home jerseys and unless the home team is wearing white, the road team is forced to do so. Both home and away uniforms featured grey pants with vertical striping. The socks of the original uniforms featured horizontal striping alternating between white and green over a blue background. These jerseys would last until 2002 with only minor changes. These minor changes included adding the Seahawks logo to the striping on the sleeves. The original uniform style lasted one year into the Reebok era.
The only major uniform redesign in pre-Nike Seahawks history happened in 2002. The original Seahawks logo died, but the rebirth wasn’t all that different from the original form. The Seahawk became fiercer and the bottom stripe of the logo changed from green to a light blue. The helmets, which throughout the history of the franchise had always been grey, became blue. For the first time, the Seahawks would have two different colors of pants. Both pants were based off the same template featuring vertical striping with two black stripes surrounding a green stripe and the major difference between the two was that one set of pants was blue and one was white. The Seahawks also had a blue home jersey and a white away jersey again but these jerseys were very much different from the originals. The blue home jerseys featured a dark blue sleeve with the Seahawks logo on the side and the white away jersey’s featured a light blue sleeve with the logo in the same place. These jerseys would last until this year with a green alternate jersey, based on the same template, being added for one game in 2009.
The green alternate jerseys were only seen for one game but now, three years later, the Seahawks jerseys that predated them have also been retired. With Nike taking over the NFL’s licensing deal the Seahawks opted for a brand new look. My initial reaction to the Seahawks new uniforms was shock and dismay but as I’ve grown accustomed to the fact that they exist I’ve come to like them just a little bit. I and the rest of Seahawks fandom need to get used to these new and very different uniforms because we are stuck with them for at least five years.
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