I arrived at home last night to find my roommate in front of the TV watching a college basketball game. “Who’s playing?” I inquired. “North Carolina and Virginia Tech,” he replied. I looked back at the screen and immediate recognized the familiar hue of Carolina blue, but I didn’t see same orange or maroon of the Hokies. Instead, they were wearing gray uniforms. The last time I checked, gray wasn’t an official color of Virginia Tech. But the Hokies appear to be the latest team to adopt a gray jersey as one of their alternatives on game day.This trend has been growing over the last couple of years and has exploded this season.
It used to be that only a few schools such as Georgetown and Colorado donned the color. Last year, Kansas State and Ohio State brought attention to it when they introduced them during the season and wore them for several games. All of a sudden, schools left and right possess a gray jersey in their aresenal. Michigan State, Texas, Alabama, Purdue, South Carolina, Wichita State, Kentucky, Oregon, Providence, VCU, and Akron have all at one time or another used gray on game day and other programs (such as Syracuse) are rumored to be considering it for use in the near future.
I have mixed opinions on this trend. On one hand, I like the programs that stick to their official university colors (Kansas, UCLA, and Indiana for example). It’s traditional and classy to showcase the school’s hues that way. On the other hand, I think that alternative colors can and do work if the scheme is right. The black digs that Duke and Florida have worn look great. Some of the gray jerseys look fantastic to me (Texas, Kentucky); others not so much (South Carolina, Oregon).
I came across an article that detailing more about the gray phenomenon and displays a few gray jersey pictures from this season. Take a look yourself and be the judge: to gray or not to gray?
Snapurly 