Earlier this college football season we witnessed Maryland suit up in one of the most beautifully designed patriotic uniforms the sport has seen. It was just the latest offering suggesting Maryland’s football program has stepped its game up in the realm of uniform design. The shock over the 2011 introduction to the state pride uniforms has worn off for most, but college football fans continue to struggle to get over that look. However, a closer examination of Maryland shows the program has taken the idea, fine tuned it, and ultimately perfected the idea for its now-signature look. Of course, that will not stop Maryland from trying out other non-traditional uniforms.
This weekend Maryland hosts Michigan State in a Big Ten East division matchup. The school is organizing a full blackout of Byrd Stadium by asking fans to show up in black for the game. Maryland’s football players will be doing the same, with the return of the Black Ops uniforms.
It wouldn’t be a blackout without Black Ops #BlackOutSparty #MarylandPride pic.twitter.com/QuBWiG8ziz
— Maryland Football (@MarylandPride) November 12, 2014
Maryland broke out a Black Ops alternate uniform two seasons ago. It was nothing more than giving the updated state pride uniform an all-black color scheme. This appears to be the basic plan in place for this year’s design as well. It is hard to tell for sure, but in the image of the helmet (seen in the featured image to this story above), it looks as though the state flag design found on Maryland’s regular helmets this season can be found on the black helmet as well, although I am guessing it is modified. This is what the 2012 Black Ops helmet did, so it would make sense that trend carries over.
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A number of college football programs will be wearing some sort of alternate uniform or patriotic helmet decal to honor our nation’s military veterans, as Veterans Day was this week. To me, there is no wrong way to do a military tribute with the college football uniform. When reviewing special uniforms being worn around September 11 earlier this season, I wrote:
Some people will be turned off by the idea of turning a college football uniform into what sometimes comes off as a “We love America more than you” agenda. Not I. Sometimes, I may be as hardcore a traditionalist as there is when it comes to uniforms, but when it comes to using the uniform to pay tribute to this nation, I’m all for going all-out with the red, white and blue pride.
This thought can be extended to uniforms worn around Veterans Day as well. Go all out with it and honor those who volunteer to put their own lives in danger so that people like me can sit here freely and criticize college football uniforms… and you can voice your opinion about why I am wrong on the Internet. It is a great country we live in, and sometimes we lose focus of that.
What do you think of Maryland’s Black Ops uniform this weekend? What other military appreciation uniforms are you looking forward to seeing this weekend? Have you seen what Miami is going to be wearing? Leave your uniform-related thoughts in the comment section below and let us know what you think.
