About the "Platinum" Uniforms

Weighing in on the silvery-hued unis that the Cats sported vs. Tennessee: not such a bad idea in my opinion, but let's not make it a habit.

We all understand that first and foremost, this is a Nike thing. And this is a money thing. So don't kid yourself. They definitely sell, and I'm guessing they sell pretty briskly, and they aren't all that cheap at something like 70-75 bucks a pop. (Kennedy's was asking $120 for pre-orders on the authentics.) So the profit motive is driving this deal from the get-go. Yay capitalism! No problem with that.

Recognize too that the idea of alternate uniforms is running all over the place from MLB, to the NFL, the NBA...it's everywhere. Hockey too, as far as I know. (Not a hockey guy. Sorry, eh... you hoser.) This is a widespread phenomenon and I'm pretty sure my son's youth league team will soon be clamoring for alternates when they take on their big rivals in the 8-9 year old division at the end of the month.

Consider: the local big leaguers, the Disastros, wear something called "brick red" on Sundays when they play at home. (It's some kind of a rusty/maroonish tone. Bricks come in all colors, you know.) The Texans likewise have a "battle red" home game every season. The Rockets? Well they even go so far as to break out a Hispanic-themed jersey annually...Los Rockets! Vamanos! So the train has long ago left the station when you could just figure on a basic "white at home / color on the road" set up. Again, there's too much money to be made.

So having said that, and with UK being in the Nike bed for a number of years now, I personally don't mind the idea of wearing a special jersey--only every now and then, especially if it's for what you might consider a rivalry game. Gives fans like us something to talk about, gives the players something different to look forward to, and hopefully it doesn't become THE story or outshine the athletes and the competition itself. Once a year? Fine with me. Might as well be the Tennessee game.

But let's also be clear that if you're gonna do something like this, it needs to be done right. Kentucky is absolutely BLUE to me. Through and through. That's the DNA. Blue and white. 100%.

Now I know the manufacturer rolled this out as a program, with several other schools involved, and used it to pimp whatever lighter, stronger, breathier technology that they've been working on. And sure, alternate jerseys probably call for an alternate color....I get that as well. I'm not even saying that the grayish tone was all that bad. Could have used a little more blue, that's all.

A bolder, bluer frame around the numbers for sure. Make 'em pop a little more. For visibility's sake. Or make the numbers themselves blue. Something. The whole setup just called for a little more contrast to my chemist-turned basketball blogger eyes. Even the "KENTUCKY" and player's names would have looked better in blue.

And really, other than that, I don't have too many complaints. Not that I'm going to rush out and buy one to wear myself. Heaven knows I already have more t-shirts, hats, sweatshirts, etc. than any reasonable UK fan needs.

So overall, I thought the unis were pretty well executed as these things go. Loved the shadowy interlocking "UK", and the championship years motif. They stuck with the Secretariat-inspired squares, which are okay I guess. And hey, it definitely wasn't like all the hot pink mess you see every October as the NFL does its best to fight breast cancer. They definitely could have been worse, if you consider what Nike does to Oregon's football team, or if you recall the Maryland/Under Armour disaster.

And supposedly, the kids seriously love them. The players, I mean. The recruits. And so it's one of those things where if you aren't trying to stay on top of the game, then you're falling behind. Kentucky should be on top of the game. So color us platinum. Just do it...rarely.