The Steelers unveiled their new throwback jerseys for the 2012 season, and judging by the comments on Twitter and fan message boards, the fans aren't happy with them.
This is the NFL where most teams change their jerseys every few years so that fans spend more money buying the latest versions of the jersey in their neverending quest to be "the ultimate fan."
While the Steelers haven't drastically changed their main uniform much over the last two decades outside of the number font, they do alter the throwback jerseys every couple of years. I kind of liked the version they've used the last few years, but these ones. I dunno.
The jerseys are replicas of the uniforms worn in the 1934 season. The shirt features black and yellow alternating stripes with big rectangle blocked numbers with a white background. I guess those fans who have been wanting the Steelers to go back to block numbers got half their wish at least. The pants are khaki/tan and the socks mimic the shirt with alternating black and yellow stripes.
My first opinion on these jerseys are that they are ugly. I walked away to reset my eyes and came back. Yup…still ugly. So ugly you need the double paper bag method. For those unfamiliar with that double paper bag method, that means one for what you are trying to hide and one for your head in case the other bag falls off.
I understand the nostalgia trends in the league and lord knows we'll see some people buying these and wearing them proudly, but you could achieve that sentiment without wearing something as hideous as these.
I think out of the 300 comments I've seen regarding these I've seen maybe ONE positive reaction and even it seemed tongue in cheek.
Odds are good they'll wear these for one of the Ravens games this year. Maybe they should wear them against Cincinnati. Call it the "Stripes Bowl" or something. You could even get Bill Murray or Harold Ramis to be the ceremonial coin flip guy.
The only problem with Cincy would be all the felons and thugs on their team getting confused by the prison stripes. Maybe the refs should wear solid shirts for that one. Otherwise we'd have a whole lot of stripes going.
I think I speak for 99% of Steeler Nation when I say throw back the throwbacks please!