Minnesota Vikings Uniform Leak?? Maybe...(or maybe not)

Jeff Anderson of the Minnesota Vikings tweeted a picture from Nike's official NFL Uniform event today. If you look close, are the NEW Vikings unfiroms peaking out from behind the corner?? Take a look

At first peak, it appears there are light colored helmets and pants!!!........but relax, thats the reflection of the Cardinals uniform next to the Lions uniform. I think.

What potentially sucks, is that there's a strip in a similar spot on the shoulder if this indeed the Vikings new uniforms. Again, this would suck...as that could indicate minor changes.

We already know there appears to be a darker purple and maybe metalic gold lettering...which if done right, could be super rad.

Keep up with Twitter today in case someone leaks something and share them with us on Twitter if you see something - @UniForums

That's all for now.

UPDATE: Anderson tweeted another photo of Adrian Peterson in front of the current Vikings uniforms...so no juice to squeeze it appears.

Minnesota Vikings - New Uniform Nuggets

By now, you are most likely aware that the Minnesota Vikings are one of the teams to officially announce they are changing uniform designs for the upcoming season. Graphic design artists have been hard at work mocking up designs for fans to look at and judge. I, however, don't feel like doing that...

What I will do, is throw out some ideas/thoughts that I'd like to see when they officially unveil the uniforms on April 25th.

- There is no way the Vikings go away from the color scheme of purple/gold/white. I expect they'll go back to the retro purple and I hope they go back to the retro gold. Will they add black or grey as a secondary color? Perhaps. Grey has busted on to the scene in a massive way with college uniforms, so if they do this...they must do it right. Black? No thank you.

- Helmet Finish: I'd like to see them go with a unique finish that Nike has yet to use with other uniforms. There have been a lot of chrome finish helmets being unveiled recently, and we all know about the matte finish helmets that dominated uniform changes in 2012-13...so what else can be done? How about a dull looking finish? Not matte, not chrome...but in between (and not sparkly). Think of it as drip pans for your stove, or tin foil but not quite so shiny. Keep it purple, keep the horns...I think it'd be sharp.

- Face mask color. This can make a WORLD of difference in my opinion. Think of how different the Vikings current throw backs look if they took the grey off and put on purple...it'd look stupid. I say KEEP the grey face masks, even if grey isn’t a secondary color.

- Speaking of secondary colors...grey should get consideration. Chad Greenway has already stated that the new uniforms make the purple "pop", but pay respects to the old school uniforms. If they choose to go with grey pants, I'd be fine with that. If they choose not to...I won't be shocked if the old grey face masks find their way back to the uniform design.

- Stripes: No...we don't want them unless they are simple and clean.

- Numbers: Unless Nike gives the Vikings a badass, trademarked font like they did with the Gopher Football uniforms, I say make them bold/traditional...clean. No fancy ones that look like a minor league baseball team is using the same font.

- Alternates: I hope, I mean REALLY hope, they unveil a third/alternate uniform like Seattle did. It'd be dumb not to...fans love that. My personal vote would be all black...but that would almost require black as a secondary color, and I don't want that. If they go with grey...they'll be copying the Seahawks. Yellow has always been mentioned...but it just doesn’t flow....on anyone.

From here, there isn't much else to share. I'm probably more excited about the uniforms than I am the draft, but the Vikings are my team...and uniform changes make people giddy. Lets hope the Vikings don't disappoint.

You can follow us on Twitter - @UniForums

Typing Out Loud Vol. 1

winning design submitted by fans

A big reason for this blog is to have a place to put my mostly stupid thoughts on paper.......or a computer. I'll call it "Typing Out Loud" as that's exactly what I'll be doing. The grammar might suck, the flow of the thoughts may not be smooth, and I may not even make sense. Either way, some ideas may be worth discussion, who knows.

I'll start with today's news that the Milwaukee Brewers held a contest that let fans design a Spring Training uniform concept. GENIUS idea. I brought up a similar concept in a previous post for the NFL and Nike (read it here). It's a great way to express interest for fans that have creative ideas. 

Speaking of crazy uniform concept ideas, a colleague of mine and I were discussing a crazy cross promotion idea between the NFL and NBA. How crazy/rad/sad would it be if the NFL used the logos and color schemes of NBA teams for uniforms, while the NBA used NFL logos and color schemes for their uniforms?

Let me clarify. NFL teams that have a NBA franchise in close proximity would accept designs from fans. These designs/concepts would be influenced by the NBA team's logo. Example: The Minnesota Vikings would wear Minnesota Timberwolves FOOTBALL uniforms, while the Timberwovles would wear Vikings themed BASKETBALL uniforms. Seems crazy right? Check this very poor visual (I threw this together in five minutes)

NFL uniforms influenced by NBA uniforms

NFL uniforms influenced by NBA uniforms

It seems like a stupid idea...and I get that. But it'd be super interesting to see what sort of designs fans would submit. I'll continue to work on digital designs for this as I don't have the tools yet to make good looking rough draft designs. If you have ideas you'd like to contribute, email UniForumsDW@gmail.com and I'll post them. The cross promotion could go between the NFL and MLB too...but baseball has a lot of traditional color schemes and logos. The audience for the NFL and NBA are already in place, it'd be a great idea in my opinion.

New Orleans Pelicans' Logo

In other uniform news, the New Orleans Pelicans (yes, that's a real NBA franchise name) release their official logo. My reaction: I oddly like it...which I think most people have a hard time admitting. It's unique to New Orleans as the Pelican is their state bird, and that's important. The "Hornets" just doesn't make sense. In the past few years, NBA teams have been going back to a more "retro" look for their primary logos (see the Wizards, 76ers, Cavaliers, Jazz, Warriors...). I find this odd because the NBA was the first professional sport to embrace the "cartooney" and "teal" concepts (see Vancouver Grizzlies and Charlotte Hornets). 

Some NBA teams will never change their logo due to their history, nor should they (see Celtics, Lakers, Bulls, Trailblazers), but some have flat out swung and missed with their uniform designs. Specifically, the Bobcats. If you're going to start a new franchise, you should at least let the fans vote on the best concept for uniforms and logos. Look at the Oklahoma City Thunder. No one outside of OKC was happy to see that franchise leave Seattle. Like New Orleans did with the Pelicans, Oklahoma City chose a nickname that's specific to them...the Thunder. "The Thunder? Seriously?" was everyone's thought. Well, it stuck. They didn't go crazy with their logo or their uniforms. They went with unique ideas and kept it simple...and that worked. Congrats to the Pelicans for taking the same approach. DEAR SEATTLE: Take note...

Lastly, I'm working on a post that will cover the rumors of four NFL teams making changes to their logos for 2013. Those four "rumored" teams are the Carolina Panthers, Minnesota Vikings, Miami Dolphins and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. You can ready the story about this rumor HERE.

As the author of this story suggests (and has apparently seen each logo change), one change is great, one is hardly noticeable  one is awful and one is modernized. It's possible that the Dolphins changes were leaked (to see it, click HERE), and if true, that would solve the "modernized" myth.

My prediction for the other three? 

Panthers - LOVE it
Vikings - Awful
Buccaneers - What changed?

The author suggests that Buccaneers fans don't need to worry about the Creamsicle uniforms coming back, so my guess is they don't change much...maybe just clean the logo up a bit. As for the other two teams, I'm from Minnesota...we just can't catch a break with any of our teams. That will result in the Vikings trying to make changes in house, through Nike, and completely botching a "re-branding" campaign. That won't sit well. 

I won't be surprised if the Panther come up with a cool new design. The "Carolina Blue" (not THE "Carolina Blue") was cool in the 90's when the franchise started. They haven't made many changes and their team has been garbage the past 10 years. They have a new regime in charge, and it only  makes sense that they'll go for a new identity. If they were smart, they'd change their colors and their logo. We should know before the NFL Draft in April...I guess time will tell.

That's all for now. Thanks for reading!

You can follow us on Twitter - @UniForums

Should the Vikings go "old school" in Green Bay?

Everyone knows the traditions that go along with playing at Lambeau Field. You can bet NBC won't let us forget that during the telecast Saturday night, so why not have some Minnesota Vikings history in there as well?

The Vikings and Packers have great history. Yet the Packers have never beat the Vikings in postseason play. Heck, Aaron Rodgers has NEVER won a playoff game at Lambeau Field. The Vikings have worn their throwbacks at home vs Green Bay the past few years, so why not surprise everyone and make a statement Saturday.

My suggestion: AWAY throwback uniforms.

Minnesota Vikings Throwback Uniforms - Away

Adrian Peterson and co. would look rockin' in these uniforms. Plus, all of the Vikings fans who watched them in the 60's and 70's would love it.

Just a suggestion worth considering...

Follow us on Twitter - @UniForums