Nike yesterday unveiled Oregon’s away uniforms for the school’s meeting with Ohio State in the National Championship Game, set for Jan. 12. The white, grey and silver getup was met with a collective “meh” from the Internet, mostly due to the noticeable lack of green or yellow, Oregon’s signature colors. And given the Ducks’ rich history of, uh, avant-garde uniforms, the simple greyscale color scheme feels a bit lacking.
There is one noteworthy feature, though: The “O” on the jersey’s collar is tilted 27 degrees, representing Oregon’s 27 bowl appearances, according to Nike.
That’s pretty cool. Nice touch, Nike! But there’s one problem. As pointed out by Deadspin, the “O” is not actually tilted 27 degrees—it’s tilted significantly less than that.
So maybe Nike messed up. That’s perfectly reasonable; even the big guys mess up from time to time, and Nike is no exception. But if that’s the case, then why did Nike change the caption on its Facebook from this:
The Nike Mach Speed uniforms feature a special fractal diamond color Swoosh on the front of the jersey and pant. Additionally, the Oregon “O” chest graphic is placed at a 27-degree tilt, representing the Ducks’ 27 bowl appearances.
To this:
The Nike Mach Speed uniforms feature a special fractal diamond color Swoosh on the front of the jersey and pant.
Bring on the conspiracy theories.
