Arizona Sports Uniform Playoffs Day #2
Jul 20, 2016, 7:05 AM | Updated: 4:47 pm
It’s the first-ever Arizona Sports Uniform Playoffs!
Over the next several weeks, we’ll be polling you, the sports fans of Arizona, to determine the best-dressed pro team in the history of The Grand Canyon State.
We’ve ranked 48 different uniforms worn by major-league teams based in the Valley for voting purposes.
In the first round, we’ll feature four different matchups per day. Seeds 17-48 will be voted on in Week 1, with the top 16 seeds earning byes into the second round.
Without further ado, here are today’s four first-round matchups (voting closes at 7:00 a.m. Thursday, July 21).
(And, if you want a different look at each uniform, click the links in the paragraph for each.
#29 Cardinals current roads vs. #36 D-backs current road grays
The Cardinals have been wearing their current uniforms on the road (and occasionally at home) since 2005. While they may seem tame 11 years after their debut, at the time, they represented a radical new look for one of the oldest franchises in the NFL that had always worn what were considered to be conservative uniforms. At times, they’d rock this look with red pants, although that hasn’t happened in a while.
One of the criticisms of the D-backs’ new primary road uniforms is that they are too dark a shade of gray. That’s just one. While many outside Arizona have skewered this new, revolutionary look, they have proven to be popular among local fans.
#20 Cardinals current home uniforms vs. #45 D-backs current road alternates with turquoise
Much like their road cousins in the above matchup, these have been worn since 2005. These uniforms will always hold a special place in the hearts of Cardinal fans as they were worn in the franchise’s one and only trip to the Super Bowl in 2009. And again, much like their road cousins, they were occasionally worn with red pants — although even most ardent Birdgang members dislike that combo.
Actor Rob Lowe had a really good seat for a D-backs-Dodgers game in L.A. earlier this season, and he offered the most notable negative review on Arizona’s new alternate road uniforms. “The Diamondbacks’ uniforms make them look like futuristic maintenance men working on a trash truck in space,” he wrote on April 12. Ouch. These uniforms receive a lot of criticism from sports fashion critics, just like the primary road kit shown in the above matchup.
#21 Coyotes black alternates vs. #44 Suns sleeved Latin nights alternates
From 2008 to 2014, the Coyotes wore a black alternate uniform that featured a full Coyote body on the crest instead of the standard howling Coyote head logo. They were discontinued for the 2014-15 season, the last before the Coyotes changed their look once again.
In 2014, the Suns wore these sleeved jerseys on three different occasions. And hey, they worked pretty well — Phoenix went 2-1 in the ‘Los Suns’ jerseys.
#28 D-backs second-generation road grays vs. #37 D-backs second-generation home white
It’s an all Diamondbacks matchup to close out the left side of the bracket in Round 1.
The road grays get the higher seed because of the presence of the word ‘Arizona’ across the chest. These were introduced in 2007 and worn through 2015.
On the flip side, the home uniforms introduced that year were the first to ever feature the abbreviation ‘D-backs’ across the front of the jersey. While D-backs is a great nickname and convenient for headline writers, many fans never took to the use of that moniker on the uniform.
RESULTS FROM DAY 1 • #33 Suns Nash-era home whites def. #32 D-backs current black alternate – 51.5% to 48.%
• #48 Coyotes green alternates def. #17 D-backs current red alternate – 50.1% to 49.9% (margin was three votes)
• #41 D-backs original road uniforms def. #24 Coyotes roads with red shoulders – 53.3% to 46.6%
• #25 D-backs second-generation Sedona red alternate def. #40 Cardinals white roads with blue trim 57.7% to 42.3%
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