via www.cubuffs.com
A grey suit is a staple of any good man's mayor's wardrobe.
Last night, as confirmed on this very website, your Colorado Buffaloes defeated non-rival Wyoming. The real story behind the win (Yay! We're 2-1) was of course the debut of our newly designed home alternate uniforms. These are a little different than what we are used to seeing, so let's take a quick history lesson before we dissect.
Even the casual Buffs Basketball fan should not be surprised seeing non-white jerseys at home every now and then, as for countless (we won't try to count) years, CU has donned some version of silver at home, since all the way back to the early 90's.
#24 Donnie Boyce (My favorite!)
We've gone with gold for a few seasons here and there, too.
via www.cubuffs.com
via www.cubuffs.com
via www.cubuffs.com
via www.cubuffs.com
Sorry, but had to include this one, since the only time our football team has ever won while wearing black helmets came when they also wore gold jerseys.
Silver, or grey, or as Nike has called this look the past couple of seasons for other elite teams: platinum. I know that many NCAA teams seem to have alternates every other season in black or silver, even when neither are part of their school colors, so it is nice knowing that this isn't just some random color jersey or bizarre alternate. I'm not saying CU was the first to wear silver at home or have 3 different jersey colors, but we certainly have a rich history in using silver as a uniform color, so I'd think that we can call that a solid Colorado basketball tradition.
Full disclosure - I like both silver and gold alternate jerseys. I like them so much that I have one of each in my collection.
And you thought I only collected pocket schedules.
What sticks out most, and should to you, too, is that this is the first time in a few generations that a basketball jersey of any color for CU has read "BUFFS"
via www.cubuffs.com
The women's team has used "BUFFALOES" on the road...
...while the men's team has held steady with "COLORADO" for a looooong time, much like the football team and many of our other athletic teams. Seeing 'BUFFS" on a men's basketball jersey is a pretty big change and some might say a cool one. But, it's not unprecedented, as this year alone, our women's soccer team...
via www.cubuffs.com
and our inaugural women's lacrosse team...
Via - Teresa Lee Photography
...both have "BUFFS" on at least one of their jerseys. Is this a new trend for sports teams at CU across the board? Is this a throwback or perhaps even a tribute to the late great Cliff Meely?
via www.cubuffs.com
Even if not, the timing is sure apropos considering Cliff passed away earlier this year. In case you missed it, there was a nice honor at the home opener.
I'll let you take a breath...
As for our new alternate, the collar is gold and there are two thin gold stripes on each side that extend to the shorts, which also include a Ralphie logo near the bottom.
via www.cubuffs.com
The back of our new alternate jersey is similar in style to the white and black Nike hyper elite jerseys we have looked at and seen on court this season, with names returning to the back and a print of a basketball net with an oversize Ralphie logo behind the last names and numbers.
via www.cubuffs.com
It's been over 7 seasons since we have had a men's basketball uniform overhaul, so we have had a lot to look at over the past few weeks. I'm happy that our tradition of an alternate has continued and though seeing "BUFFS" on these ones specifically might take a couple of games getting used to, I think it helps set this set apart from our other two new jerseys. The shade of grey is also a little different from our alternates in seasons past and "BUFFS" on the chest fits in perfectly with our favorite cheer of "Go Buffs!" Of course, in the social media age, the Twitter hash tag #GoBuffs gets a whole lot of use, too, so perhaps this is some type of coordination on being hip and trendy. I'm old, so I'll just go with the flow. I'm sort of also wondering if Nike made the call on "BUFFS" or just made it an option for the first time in the '13-'14 sports season for all of our teams. It's rare to see a nickname and not a school name or school team name on a jersey, so this is pretty unique. I'm going to say that "BUFFS" is on our 3rd jerseys this season because it's a tribute, albeit possibly indirect, to Cliff. That theory makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside and also makes for a nice way to end this post.
We are currently 1-0 on the season in the Buffs Silver/Throwback jerseys, so enjoy perfection..
More alternate jersey, eh-hem, game photos from last night here.