Week in Review
Another week and yet another slow start for the Sun Devils that ended much more poorly than their previous two contests. A poor decision to take the opening kickoff out of the end zone after receiving it 8 yards deep ended in a lost fumble and BYU touchdown just three plays later. The Devils responded with a touchdown on the next drive but had little to no offensive production the remainder of the 1st half. The Devils made it interesting in the second half with many chances to tie the game or take the lead but were unable to do so and ultimately fell to the Cougars. The repeated issue was how Arizona State continually beat itself with penalties, turnovers, miscommunication, and apparent lack of preparation. The talent gap was obviously in favor of the Sun Devils, but the team cohesion lay in the hands of a very motivated BYU team that went home with a victory last Saturday. It was not the desired outcome but hopefully serves as a lesson going forward. Alright, let's take a deep breath, move on, and talk some uniforms.
Last week's gold helmet/black jersey/black pant uniform was an incredible rebuttal to the home team whiteout. It was made better by the black facemask and decals. There was a question as to how the white detailing on the pitchforks would match the rest of the uniform. But therein lies the genius of it. First, the white was needed to pop off of the gold helmet. Maroon on black doesn't have enough of a contrast. Second, the white played off the environment. As a uniform matchup, it worked. The opponent's uniform brought out the helmet decals even more. It makes me think that while most of us are playing checkers, Jerry Neilly and his team are playing chess.
The overall look made a statement. It was challenging and acted as a direct contrast to the team on the other side of the ball. For much of the game, especially the 1st and 3rd quarters, the defense embodied that toughness and made life very difficult for the BYU offensive attack. The team's performance might not have been as strong as one would hope, but the uniform rose to the moment. That leads to a third straight A grade.
Gold Helmet/Black Jersey/Black Pants: A
The Week to Come
Uniform
When the Sun Devils return home to right the ship against Colorado this Saturday, they’ll do so in a jersey color that they haven’t worn in 31 years. Arizona State will be wearing gold jerseys, a jersey color long scorned by some and long-awaited by others. There’s history to the scorn. The gold jerseys were worn twice before, once in 1989, once in 1990. Both games were losses on the scoreboard and in the realm of good uniform style. Each major element, helmet, jersey, and pants, were different shades of gold. One can appreciate the idea and effort behind this, but the material, color matching, and technology were not there to properly execute the ambitious attempt at an alternate uniform.
The gold “Valley Heat” Reverse Retro uniform has some elements old and new intertwined into a new, iconic look that boasts a gold helmet/gold jersey/maroon pant combination. The major template that is being utilized is reminiscent of Arizona State’s 1996 jersey, famous as the style that the Rose Bowl team and Sun Devil Pat Tillman wore.
There is a maroon plain text, all-caps “ARIZONA STATE” on the front chest of the jersey paired with block maroon numbers with a metallic gold border. There is a metallic gold Pac 12 shield with maroon font on the right shoulder and a maroon adidas logo on the left shoulder. The nameplate on the back uses the same classic text font as well. The shoulders boast a stylized Arizona state flag with maroon and metallic gold stripes, as well as a maroon star outlined with metallic gold. There are also additional maroon player numbers with metallic gold borders atop each shoulder.
The maroon pants have a miniature gold retro “ASU” letter mark from the 70s and 80s in gold print on the right hip and a gold adidas logo on the left hip.
Undershirt
The Sun Devils have an undershirt explicitly made for this Valley Heat Reverse Retro jersey. It is a gold Climalite shirt that features a stylized Arizona state flag that has a maroon star outlined in matte metallic gold and alternating metallic gold and collegiate gold sunrays to complete the flag. A larger version of the maroon plain text “ARIZONA STATE” that is found on the chest of the jersey is located underneath the flag; however, this time, it is outlined in the metallic gold.
Helmet
BIG news on the gold helmet this week. Sparky, who has not been altered on ASU Football helmets in any way, shape, or form since 1985, from the smudged Sparky to the crisper image that we all know and love today. That all changes this weekend. Sparky is coming back this season in a big way. Like, a massive way. An oversized Sparky logo will occupy the majority of the space on either side of the gloss gold shell. There is also a classic maroon center stripe. The facemask is maroon, and the front bumper has a chrome gold base and metallic maroon font that reads PT*42, also honoring the legendary Sun Devil, Pat Tillman. An added element to the PT*42 front bumper decal is that the star separating the PT and 42 doubles as the star in the Arizona state flag, with tonal gold rays rising from it in subtle detail. This ties together well with the matte metallic state flag on the jersey’s sleeves, lending to more continuity in the overall uniform.
The decals on the back of the helmet include a maroon Pac 12 shield, a maroon Warning label which is in the shape of the state of Arizona with a gold border, featuring maroon text, and has a small, maroon pitchfork with gold trim over Tempe. The decals on the back of the helmet are rounded by the American flag and maroon “Sun Devils” text on the helmet’s rear bumper.
Cleats and Socks
The Sun Devils will wear their gold cleats for the second consecutive week to match the color theme for this uniform. From left to right, there are three different cleats. The first pair is an AdiZero, the next is a Freak mid, and the last is a Nasty Fly. The AdiZero cleats are typically worn by speed position players (wide receivers and defensive backs), while the Freaks have a hybrid element and can be worn by mid-size players (fullbacks, linebackers, and tight ends), and the Nasty cleats worn by heavier players (linemen).
Beginning with the pair on the left, the AdiZero features a gold base and sole, a gold tongue, gold laces, three maroon adidas stripes near the toe on the outside of the shoe, and a prominent gold AdiZero logo with a digital ghost effect on the instep near the arch. It also has a repeating pattern of the Forks Up hand sign printed in gold throughout the shoe and a gold finger loop on the heel with the phrase “Forks Up” in maroon print.
The Freak Mid pair in the middle has a gold base and translucent gold sole, gold laces, a gold tongue with a maroon Freak logo on it, three reflective maroon adidas stripes on the outside of the cleat near the toe, and a prominent maroon adidas logo on the instep. Like the AdiZero, the Freak Mid has a repeating pattern of the Forks Up hand sign printed in gold throughout the shoe and a gold finger loop on the heel with the phrase “Forks Up” in maroon print.
The Nasty Fly is the final pair on the right. The second to last pair is the Nasty Torsion. It is a heavier duty cleat with a gold base and sole, gold laces, gold eyelets with darker gold accents, a gold tongue with a maroon Nasty logo on it, three maroon adidas stripes on the outside of the cleat, a maroon adidas logo on the inside of the cleat near the heel, a small plastic gold plate on the arch, and a finger loop that mimics the styling of the lace eyelets with “Forks Up” in maroon print. The repeating pattern of the gold printed Forks Up hand sign is featured prominently on the front half of the shoe.
Like with the cleats, in keeping with the theme of the Valley Heat Reverse Retro jersey, the Sun Devils will wear gold socks.
Gloves
The Sun Devils will wear maroon and white gloves, and as with the cleats, there are different gloves for different positions. The gloves on the top are AdiZeros which are typically worn by speed position players like wide receivers and defensive backs. The maroon gloves feature a palm design so that when the palms are placed together, there is an Arizona state flag featuring a maroon star and maroon and matte metallic gold sunrays. They also have a metallic gold adidas logo on the back of the hand, maroon detailing and a small “Z” AdiZero letter mark on the wrist strap, and maroon stitching along the wrist strap. The gloves in the middle are adidas Freaks, worn by larger skill position players such as linebackers and tight ends.
Like the AdiZero, the adidas Freak gloves feature a palm design so that when the palms are placed together, there is an Arizona state flag featuring a maroon star and maroon and metallic gold sunrays. On the back of the glove, the adidas Freaks also have some extra padding, a metallic gold adidas logo, and maroon and white striping, and the Freak logo on the wrist strap. Finally, for linemen, the gloves on the bottom are adidas Freak-Max, which boast extra padding on the heel of the palm meant to withstand all of the contact that linemen endure throughout the course of a game. They are plain white and black two-tone on the palm, and along with a maroon adidas logo on the back of the hand, they also have gold accents on the knuckles and wrist-wrap.
Reaction
All my life, I heard from my father and those of his generation that the gold “banana suits” that ASU wore more than 30 years ago were both atrocious and officially deemed bad luck, as the Devils lost both times they were worn. I was alive during both of those games, but at the ages of 2 and 3, each of the last times they were worn, I have no recollection of them. That being said, all it takes is a quick Google search to find the images from days past seen above. The longer tenured Sun Devil fans are right to have ill feelings towards those old uniforms. Those were atrocious. A travesty to our incredible school colors. Three different shades of gold? Yikes.
Fast forward to 2021: The materials and colorway matching is better than it’s ever been, and you have Jerry Neilly at the helm in his 10th season leading the Sun Devil Football equipment room. The time to try gold again is now. This iteration could not have been in better hands, and the things that I initially had pause about are now beginning to grow on me. The matte metallic gold on the sleeves created an immediate visceral negative reaction in me. But I always try to give these things a shot, so I did just that. So I really reviewed this gold jersey, and the more I look at it, the more cohesive it feels. The matte metallic detailing isn’t a sore thumb but an accent that works.
Now, I don’t want to step out and call this a success before I see it on the field, but doing a gold jersey right was the only way to do it if ASU was ever to bring it back. I think Jerry Neilly and the crew have done it. There’s not too much gold. There’s enough maroon present to keep it from being a banana look. There’s a little something extra to differentiate the Sun Devils from other teams that have gold tops in the maroon sleeves and matte metallic accents. That’s now uniquely ASU, and I’m excited to see how this uniform looks under the lights this Saturday night.
What Color Traveling ASU Fans Should Wear: Gold!
#Faniforms Presented by Cactus Sports
Welcome back to #Faniforms Presented by Cactus Sports! Uniformity loves to highlight your best gameday #faniforms that you wear to support the Sun Devils each week. As a reminder, with Uniformity’s new partnership with Cactus Sports, three #faniforms will be chosen at random each week, just like in the past, but this season, there will be a weekly Twitter poll to vote for which of those three #faniforms will become a contest finalist. At the end of the regular season, all of the finalists will be entered into a final vote, with the grand prize being a $100 gift card to Cactus Sports! Reminder, when posting to Twitter, remember to use the hashtag #faniform and tag the Uniformity Twitter account @ASU_Uniformity. Here are this week’s selections! Keep an eye out on Twitter for the fan vote! Cast your vote for the best #faniform each week!
Congratulations to @CraftyCreative on earning a finalist spot last week! And best of luck to @JpopASU, @asudbubba, and @ProducerWes in this week’s Twitter poll!
