Clothing typically doesn’t interest me.
I don’t like going to the mall, I don’t like trying on shoes and I certainly don’t like picking out wardrobes for other people.
But with most things in life, there is always an exception, and the exception in my view of fashion is football uniforms.
Why I care about what a group of 100 guys wear while playing a sport baffles me, but I care nevertheless. I mean, looking good is half the battle, right?
Come this fall, ASU students might just have a hand in what their Sun Devils will wear while running out of the Pat Tillman Tunnel.
According The Arizona Republic’s Doug Haller, the athletic department is considering letting students select the uniform combinations for three home football games for the 2012 season.
How awesome would that be?
Of course, the plan is probably in its early stages, but the novelty of the idea is phenomenal.
If students have a hand in picking out what their team wears, naturally that will encourage more of them to actually show up to the game. Any way to get butts in seats is always a good idea.
But how exactly will the process of deciding the uniforms work?
If there were just a poll on thesundevils.com with four possible combinations to choose from, that would be lame and uninspired.
The program should make even the process of selecting each week’s wardrobe a way to involve the student body.
Hold a rally at the MU, bring players dressed in different uniforms and have the students who come out select the winner by cheering. I’m sure coach Todd Graham could find a way to fire up the crowd — I hear he’s pretty good at that sort of thing.
I’m sure there are plenty of options, but my main concern is the students actually deciding the options to choose from. I don’t want to see the students choosing from options. I want the students to actually create the options. Let’s have some creativity in these uniform combinations.
If they turn out ridiculously ugly, so be it. It’s just one game, and it’s all in good fun.
A rainbow combination of black, white, maroon and gold would certainly be different. As long as there are no repeats, I’ll be happy.
Players care about what they wear, so they’ll be more inclined to interact with the fans as well. Imagine a Twitter or Facebook campaign run by redshirt senior linebacker Brandon Magee or redshirt freshman quarterback Michael Eubank imploring students to vote for their favorite jersey.
Or, to take it to an even further extreme, can you picture a high school-type election campaign with students handing out candy to those who promise to vote for their idea?
I like it. I like it a lot.
Kudos to the athletic department, the coaching staff and all involved who are considering this idea. Now get it done and let the fashion debate begin. Never thought I’d say that.
Reach the columnist at tyler.emerick@asu.edu
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