Uniformity: Sun Devils Wear Sparky for Color vs Color Territorial Cup Game
Week in Review
A long road to the second game of the season ended much like the first game of the season did, in heartbreaking fashion. We as fans want to win, and it is never fun to lose in such a way, but this team is playing their hearts out in a bizarre 2020 season. After not playing for nearly a month, the Sun Devils came out against a UCLA team in full rhythm, playing their fifth straight game. Logic says that the Devils should have lost decisively, but not only did they challenged the Bruins, they also had a chance to win the game. Making one more defensive stand in a half where ASU had shut out UCLA would have sealed the game, but that was not to be. I, for one, am extremely proud of the heart this Sun Devil team showed and am ecstatic for the amount of talent that this team has currently as well as coming back next season. However, we’re here to talk uniforms, so let’s dive into last week’s look.
The 1975 gold sunburst throwbacks were, put simply, beautiful. This was so well executed by Sun Devil Football Equipment Manager Jerry Neilly and his exemplary staff. The gold sunburst decal was light enough shade that it gave a contrast off of the darker gold helmet, an important detail. Add to that the block numbers on the back of the helmet, as well as the gray facemask, and you have a very well done and accurate throwback helmet. In general, the helmet was a big factor in the overall success of this look, and it checked all of the necessary boxes.
The jersey stylization of the numbers and the classic typeface on the nameplate gave a great old school look, and the Sparky patches on the sleeve looked incredible in all of those close-ups on TV. The wide angle shots were magnificent, too, especially on the players that wore the compression shirt with the sleeve stripes. The simplicity of the gold pants and their stripes completed the uniform and really made it seem like the team had stepped back in time.
Fan reaction to this was about 99.9% positive, and how could it not be? It was a great look. I think I noticed two detractors. For someone who talks about uniforms often as I do, believe me when I say that is an insane success rate amongst the Sun Devil fan base. I wholeheartedly agree with the positive fan reaction. This was a fantastic uniform.
1975 Throwbacks Grade: A+
The Week to Come
Uniform
As of right now, it seems like there will be an ASU football game for a second consecutive week, and it just so happens to be for the Territorial Cup. In a season where nothing has been guaranteed, getting the contest for college football’s oldest rivalry trophy is a treat. Especially when the Sun Devils have the chance to win for the fourth consecutive year, a feat not achieved since the 1975-1978 seasons. The fact that this ASU team was able to get a very competitive game in a week before the Duel in the Desert is very beneficial as it gave them a chance to regain their legs and build some chemistry. On the uniform side of things, this will be the second straight year that the rivalry will be a color versus color game. With the Sun Devils being the away team this year, they will be the ones wearing their home uniforms on the road as they travel south this Friday. For the 2020 edition of the battle for the Territorial Cup, the Devils will wear a gold Sparky helmet/maroon jersey/gold pants uniform combination.
There are essentially three generations of ASU Football uniforms that will be represented in one cohesive look for this Friday’s game. The Sparky helmet represents the era 31 season era of 1980-2010, the jersey is the modern-day generation, and the pants are the 1975 throwbacks that were just worn last week. We will detail all of them in this article.
As a reminder, sublimation is a process in which heat is used to transfer ink into the uniform, providing a tonal effect within the color scheme of each jersey. The maroon jersey features a sublimated Arizona state flag in representing the sunset and the star across the chest in lieu of identifying text, which is now on the back of the jersey, keeping with a simplified style that is being seen more in both college football and the NFL.
The gold player numbers on the uniforms being worn this weekend are outlined in black on both the front and back of the jersey, as are the TV numbers on the sleeves.
The nameplate on the back of the jersey utilizes the gold Sun Devil Bold font and above the nameplate is a small, gold “ASU” outlined in black. On the front of the jersey, near the right shoulder, is a black and gold Pac 12 logo, and near the left shoulder, is a gold Adidas logo. Finally, at the base of the collar is the black PT*42 shield in honor of ASU Football legend, Pat Tillman. The players will also be given the option to wear a gold, long-sleeve undershirt to accent the overall uniform.
The gold pants have two-tone stripes on both legs. The stripes run vertically on the side of the leg from the hip to the bottom seam. The stripes have a gold center line with slightly thicker maroon lines on either side of the gold. There is also a maroon adidas logo near the left hip.
Helmet
The classic gold helmet features a maroon facemask, maroon chinstrap, Sparky decals with a white border, and for the second straight week, a maroon center stripe. The front bumpers on this week’s helmet are both 2D and 3D with a gold base and maroon font that reads PT*42, also honoring the legendary Sun Devil, Pat Tillman.
The maroon decals on the back of the helmet include the Pac 12 shield and the text in the Warning label. There is also a United States flag just above the Pac 12 logo. Players have the choice of adding a small Black Lives Matter decal of a fist holding a pitchfork as well. Another element in which multiple generations of ASU helmet history collide is the fact that the large block player numbers seen on the back of the 1975 throwback helmet last week will also be present on this weekend’s Sparky helmet. The decals on the back of the helmet are rounded out by small Sparky decals on either side of the helmet’s rear bumper.
Cleats & Socks
Maroon cleats will be worn for the 2020 Duel in the Desert. The cleats pictured below feature the adidas Adi-Zero, Freak, and Nasty cleats. The Adi-Zeroes are typically worn by speed position players (wide receivers and defensive backs), while the Freaks and Nastys are typically worn by heavier players (linebackers and linemen).
Beginning with the Adi-Zeros, which make up the three pairs on the left. On the far left is the mid-top Adi-Zero Primeknit. The base features a maroon base and gold sole, a maroon tongue, maroon and gold shoelace eyelets, maroon laces, gold heel strap. Three white adidas stripes near the toe on the outside of the shoe and a prominent white adidas logo on the instep near the arch finalize the details. The Adi-Zero second to the left is a new Adi-Zero Scorch which features a maroon base. It features a gold sole, maroon tongue, maroon laces, gold heel strap, three maroon adidas stripes near the toe on the outside of the shoe, and a prominent white adidas logo on the instep near the arch. The third pair in from the left is a standard Adi-Zero. It has all the same color features as the aforementioned Primeknit, but instead of a mid-top, it is a low-top and does not feature the Primeknit material.
Next in line is the adidas Freak. The Freak low-top features a maroon base and metallic stylized gold sole, a maroon tongue with a white Freak logo on it, and maroon laces. The front of the shoe is Primeknit and has three white adidas stripes near the toe outside the shoe. The back heel of the shoes is leather and has a prominent white adidas logo further back on the inside of the shoe near the arch. The pair on the right is part of a new product introduced this year called the Nasty line and is meant for the larger players. It is called the Nasty Torsion, and it is a high-top that features a maroon base and sole, maroon laces, and maroon tongue with a white Nasty logo on it. There are gold accents near the shoelace eyelets and on the sole underneath the arch of the foot. Three white adidas stripes are featured on the outside of the shoe, and a white adidas logo is near the ankle on the inside of the shoe.
A new pair of cleats debuting this season are the gold adidas UltraBoosts. The base of these cleats is a substantial blend, including a significant amount of Primeknit material. The sole is gold with black-tipped cleats. The tongue is gold and features interchangeable “ASU” and Pitchfork Velcro patches. There are three maroon adidas stripes on the instep and the outside of each shoe as well. Finally, to close out these outstanding details, the internal sole reads “Forks Up” when looking into the top of the shoes.
Maroon socks will be worn to match the rest of the uniform as well.
Gloves
The Sun Devils will wear both maroon and white gloves this week, and as with the cleats, there are different gloves for different positions. The gloves on the top are Adi-Zeros, which are typically worn by speed position players like wide receivers and defensive backs. After a departure from the gloves creating an image when the palms were placed together last year, this year’s gloves display an homage to an ASU and Tempe landmark. When the palms are placed together, a maroon and gold silhouette of A Mountain with a gold outlined A atop the famous butte. They also have a white adidas logo is on the back of the hand and gold accents on the wrist strap. The gloves in the middle are adidas Freaks, worn by larger skill position players such as linebackers and tight ends.
The adidas Freak gloves have pattern of small, repeating adidas logos that are gold in color on the white palm, along with a large maroon adidas logo that is completed when the palms are placed together. The adidas Freaks also have a maroon adidas logo on the back of the hand. 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
As is true every year since 2014 when Sparky was reintroduced into the ASU helmet arsenal, it’s great to see the classic and fan-favorite hit the field. I will never be unhappy about seeing Sparky on the helmet in a live game, and as I know is the case with many other fans, I am a proponent of seeing how else he may be used (on a white helmet, oversized, just his face). That being said, nothing ever really beats the class gold helmet with the maroon center-stripe and maroon facemask.
The 2020 iteration of the traditional gold/maroon/gold look with the Sparky helmet is definitely unique as it sports different elements from throughout the history of Sun Devil uniforms. It works though. The pants are basically a carbon copy of the pants from 1975 but could still be worn today and fit into the current style in college football. The large number of decals on the back of the helmet are a little out of the ordinary in this setting, but because of their history within the program and the fact that they don’t take away from the Sparky element, they work. They also add some extra maroon, and that’s never a bad thing.
This is also the first time since Sparky was brought back in 2014 that he will be on the helmet on the road in the Duel in the Desert. That game was the first of three straight losses for Sparky, so there are a few things the Sun Devils are could accomplish this weekend with a win:
1. Win their 4th straight in the series for the first time since the early ‘70s
2. Get Sparky in the win column down south in the “Pitchfork Era.”
3. Get Sparky back to .500 overall in the “Pitchfork Era.”
4. Win their third straight while wearing the Sparky helmet.
Here’s to all of those things being accomplished with a big win and keeping the cup home where it belongs in Tempe.
What ASU Fans Should Wear Your best Faniform. See Below!
#Faniforms
We began sharing our gameday gear, or “Faniforms” with each other on Twitter last. I invited you all to keep up with that tradition last week, and you all answered that call to action with a plethora of great looks! We’ll keep it going every week because what you wear to support your Sun Devils on gameday is a meticulous process chosen with the utmost amount of care. Maroon, gold, black, white, copper, and everything in the Sun Devil rainbow is handpicked and adorned from head-to-toe. Please continue to share that passion with your fellow Sun Devils. Use the hashtag #Faniforms and tag the Uniformity Twitter account at @ASU_Uniformity. I’ll do my best to give your #faniform the “Uniformity treatment” and describe it to the Twitter world. I will also post a few in the Uniformity article each week. They will be chosen at random, so keep on sending them in every week!
