Men of the old cloth
Imagine the New York Yankees without their pinstripes. How about
the Red Sox without, well, red socks? What if the Raiders weren’t
in Silver or Black or Dallas didn’t have its star?
Men of the old cloth
Imagine the New York Yankees without their pinstripes. How about the Red Sox without, well, red socks? What if the Raiders weren’t in Silver or Black or Dallas didn’t have its star?
It would be weird and it wouldn’t look right. Most of all, it would be a clear break from tradition.
The San Francisco 49ers – with five Super Bowl wins under its belt and umpteen playoff appearances – decided to fix something that wasn’t broke back in 1996 by changing the team colors from red, white and gold to garnet red, black and a darker, more-shiny gold pant leg that looked like something more akin to the garb worn at studio 54 during the disco era than the gridiron in any era.
I remember when the switch first happened. At the time the team also changed the helmets from having its traditional “SF” logo to spelling the word “49ers” on it.
The fans were in such an uproar over the look of the new helmet that the team quickly reinstated the “SF” logo but kept the new color scheme anyway.
At the time of the switch, the 49ers franchise was second only to Dallas in terms of annual team merchandise sales. In an attempt to edge the Cowboys in that department – out of shear greed – the front office opted for the current look in order to force fans all across the Bay Area and America to update their fall wardrobe, which, in turn, would force sales to soar.
Sales did soar, but what the 49ers ownership never factored in was that in tossing those colors out – the same ones that set the standard of excellence in the NFL for years – that a great deal of the winning tradition was lost the second the new uniform went on.
In fact, an argument could be made that the switch was the ground zero of the franchise’s slow and steady stumble from the top of the NFL to the basement.
Interestingly in the handful of times that the 49ers have worn their “throwback” uniforms since the switch to the new colors was made, they have won.
People may say it’s a coincidence. I believe it is much more than that.
Take an NFL rookie, for example. He walks into the 49ers’ headquarters for the first time. What does he see? He sees the trophy case with the five Vince Lombardi trophies surrounded by team photos of the guys he grew up watching, idolizing and hoping to play and be like.
In every picture he looks inside that case he sees theses same players wearing the old uniform – the one that his team doesn’t wear anymore.
Yet in the few times that he does wear the uniform of Lott, Young, Montana and Rice he instantly elevates his game to a higher level because he knows that there is a winning tradition to uphold – a higher standard to attain. And he actually plays like his predecessors played.
In Sunday’s 9-6 win over the Vikings the 49ers didn’t even score a touchdown and still won the game. If someone said prior to the game that the Niners wouldn’t find the end zone on Sunday, we would have all expected another blowout loss, especially since the 49ers had the worst defense in the NFL.
How does the worst defense in the NFL look like a playoff defense just by switching uniforms?
Linebacker Brandon Moore summed up the 49ers win best.
“Our guys just had an attitude today,” said Moore, who had his strongest showing as a 49er with 14 tackles, one sack, and three hurries. “We started up front and it continued in the back end. The guys had an attitude. We played on their side of the line of scrimmage. We played downhill and we hit them in the mouth all day.”
They had that attitude because they looked like the 49ers of old – literally. They had attitude because Joe Montana and Dwight Clark were in the house to relive the 25th anniversary of “The Catch” – the one defining play that put the franchise on the map.
They knew that they couldn’t let these 49er legends down wearing the same uniform that they wore.
Imagine a Marine without his dress blues on… He wouldn’t look like a Marine. He’d look like a civilian.
When you look the part, you feel the part, you play the part and you act the part.
It’s the same reason why we might all act a little different or feel different when we are in a tuxedo or a business suit.
The old uniform not only had a positive impact on the players, but even the fans expected more. Who knows, the Vikings might even have been subliminally intimidated seeing the colors coming at them that were once the most feared in the NFL.
If you think I’m going too far with my point, listen to what some of the players themselves had to say after the game.
“It was a great game to be part of,” said Defensive Tackle Anthony Adams. “It was alumni day and we were playing for the guys that wore our jerseys before.”
Quarterback Alex Smith relished the opportunity to put on the team’s most-storied colors, as well as meet the greatest 49er of all.
“Anyone who plays quarterback and gets the opportunity to meet Joe Montana, whether or not you play for the 49ers, is a big deal,” said Smith. “I never dreamt in my wildest dreams that the day would come when I would meet Joe Montana, walk out on the same field as him, and wear the same uniform that he wore. It was a pretty special moment. It will be something I will remember for a long time.”
Hopefully, the front office figures out the importance of these colors and what they meant to the franchise and opts to start wearing them again and again and again. At this point, a switch back would help revenue too. But more importantly it would give the new Niners a bit of the old swagger and tradition back.
You can reach John Bagley at jb*****@pi**********.com.
