Quick reaction to Arizona State’s new adidas football uniforms

Full disclosure: I haven’t been a fan of too many adidas football uniforms in recent years.

I just thought for the most part, teams like UCLA and Louisville had sub-standard uniform looks compared to their Nike brethren.

So when Arizona State announced a new lucrative uniform and apparel deal with adidas earlier this year, I was certainly skeptical.

My fears were unfounded as it turns out. Arizona State rolled out their new look Thursday morning online, and all I can say is … phew! Adidas did a nice job in tweaking what was a very strong look by ASU’s previous provider, Nike.

I’m no fashion critic, but I am into uniforms. Here’s my thoughts on ASU’s new football threads.

• Adidas didn’t go overboard with their trademark “tire tread” jersey pattern. It’s there, yes, but it isn’t overpowering like it is on say, UCLA’s new uniforms (sorry to keep picking on the Bruins, but let’s face it, those are awful.)

• To me, a key ingredient in a great football jersey is a strong number font. Adidas carried over of the custom Sun Devil Bold typeface introduced in 2011 during the Nike rebrand. It’s unique, it’s easy to read and it looks really good on a jersey.

• I like the use of the bigger pitchfork on the left leg of the pants. I felt that the previous version of ASU’s pants didn’t have strong enough branding or decoration/striping. This takes care of that issue.

• My least favorite part of the Nike uniforms was the use of ‘ASU’ on each shoulder. Adidas did away with that logo, opting just to use the devil horn stripe. It makes for a much cleaner look, in my opinion.

• I’m not sure about the metallic trim on the number font on the jerseys. It does look a little strange, but I’m holding out final judgment until I see them on the field.

• Finally, I was holding out hope for a gold alternate jersey. We’re all in agreement, the last time ASU wore the gold jerseys, it was a disaster. But that’s only because they didn’t have alternate helmets or pants to offset the barrage of gold. A gold jersey would look pretty nice with white or maroon pants on occasion.

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