Bring the old Sixers uniforms back ! (S4G petition)

Dear Sixers marketing department,

please read these few lines by the first italian Sixers blog, to explain something that actually shouldn’t even be explained.

Thanks.

So here we go.

My point is that Sixers current uniforms and Sixers logo SUCK, they are damn ugly and that the franchise should go back to the “old” uniforms (1978-1991) and the “old” logo of its tradition.

Actually it would be more correct to call them “our” uniforms and “our” logo, because they are not old, or not just old. Anyway, you see them here left, in the picture (thank Andre Miller for modeling…). 

(Hey, on Sixers.com, you can find a brief history of the Sixers uniforms and the reasons for all the changes through the years)

Q&A QUICK SESSION

1) why do today’s Sixers uniforms suck, according to you?

Answer: they are anonymous, they have nothing to do with the long tradition of this franchise, they contain colours that were added in 1997 only for (idiotic) marketing reasons, such as gold and black (??).

2) are you aware that it’s pretty common for teams to change their uniforms through the years? Ever heard about “marketing”, “selling a product”, “trends”, “fashion” etc? Are you perhaps stuck in the 80’s?

Answer: Yes, of course, and it’s not that I would like to go back to the “Short Shorts Era” or something. I am not 60 y/o, I have some marketing knowledge and I can live with some changes or “updates” of our uniforms. Also I remember that the influence of the hip hop culture in the 90’s was huge and that was one of the reasons that led to our changes and the creation of the black unis. But… as far as I know now it’s 2008 and we should correct the mess that was made.

One thing is a nice restyling (example: the 1994-1997 uniforms were ok), another thing is to f’k the tradition of a STORIED franchise up. Those kind of “revolutionary”changes can be done by expansion teams, or franchise moving to another town or changing names (Bullets —> Wizards etc), not by a franchise like the Sixers. I’ve never heard about Celtics, Lakers or Knicks adding new colours to their uniforms and when they did it (Knicks put some black stripes on their unis) the outcome was a-w-f-u-l.

3) so what do you actually suggest?

It’s very simple. That Sixers go back to their tradition and wear FULL TIME the nice, cool WHITE-RED-BLUE uniforms showed in the picture, using the logo with the white basketball:

That Sixers dump every color not strictly Sixers-related (BLACK, GOLD and other crap) and that they use them only to produce t-shirts, sweat shirts, jackets, caps, keyholders and every other product you can think of, except the uniforms….

4) you are perhaps the only fanatic of the old unis, people don’t even care, why don’t you get a life?

Uhm, not exactly, I collected a lot of comments by fans that share my same thoughts, read this:

Thread “Sixers uni’s (and birds)” – Started Dec 6th on the Sixers board of Philly.com

(poster’s name) DCSuxghost:

“can i please have everyones support in asking that Ed Stefanski DEMAND that the sixers Uni’s be put back to the classic’s (from the Chuckwagon Days) as well as the court and Logo. We need the old round white basketball logo BACK!!! and we need our classic Home White Road Maroon as well. enough of this lame “futuristic logo/uni crap… we arent an expansion team and we arent a team like dallas who jus had flat out ugly unis and NEEDED a change…we are a storied franchise like boston and LA, and should have more self respect… please Ed…Bring back the old school…”

putnheadz2bed

“I’M IN !!!! Seriously, e-mail someone.Should we all e-mail someone.Who could we e-mail.I saw us in those uni’s and i got goose bumps.Those are our colors…not black,gold and whatever”

CDeib76ers

“i completely agree with you”

vabeach6

“you are correct on both sides… the sixers need to go back to the older jerseys and the eagles need to get the kelly green back. Those jersey’s are sweet and if the management thinks of it I am sure they can make more money by going back to those because everyone will buy the new stuff”

eagleasfan 03

“hey should go back, the Sixers colors aren’t black and gold. They are red, white and blue. Would be great to see the old red unis and just use blue as the 3rd jersey.”

Hawk3

“The Classic uniforms strike again. Bring them back…for good!”

SecretSmurf

“I agree with you 1000%. I LOVE that ’80s look, and maybe it’s just me, but I thought they looked more like a real NBA team last night in those unis. Plus, those uniforms are a reminder of when the 76ers were somebody. And I never have liked that new logo. Stating traditional has been good enough for the Celtics over the years, so why not the Sixers also?”

mikey 19107

“Anytime I see a team including black as their primary uniform color, I can’t help but think of how un-original it is”

sabotaj

“i’m down and by the way, this post sounds very similar to one i made a week or so ago called something like “what is happening to our sixers”. i talk about how everything is all cheesy and corny now having to do with this team, like we’re some kind of second-rate franchise. we need to bring that swagger back, that tradition.”

JIMI20

“I kinda like the old look…in fact I still have the old jacket…Red with blue letters…SIXERS….got it back in Oct.’82
Dug it out a couple years ago.It was upstairs in the hall closet….And it still fits…a small tear in the cuff,but I had it sewed up….Still have some old shirts from that era…The Sixers….with the little streak…their in a box with some old stuff…Ya can’t throw them away..too many good memmories….Anyway put me down for the Old Look…”

LostInBoca

“I agree with you completely. We are one of the old school classic NBA franchises, with a great history, present times notwithstanding. We should go back to our “real” Uniforms”

(LINK to the whole thread)

Blog “PASSION & PRIDE” – Recap Sixers Vs Celtics, “Tale of two halves”

(writer) Sean Watts

“For the Sixers though, hopefully the new Prez got a good look, because tonight showed all the good and the bad from this year’s Sixers team, sporting throwback jerseys in honor of the “Fo, Fo, Fo” 82-83 NBA championship team”

“I wonder where i can lay my hands on the throwback jersey they wore today? it looked awesome and i’m putting it on my christmas wishlist. so far, however, i’ve not been able to find it on eastbay, nba online store, amazon, or any online vendor i can think of. pointers, anyone?” (comment by reader “hanwayl”)

(LINK)

“Uniform note: Is it just me or do other people prefer the “Championship year” uniforms over the current ones? The natural colors are red white and blue. I know black is “edgy” and “hip”, but I’ll be happy to keep the block lettering and the old colors” (Doctor Him)

“Older Uniforms rock, Sixers have never had a good look since dropping the Charles Barkley Look. They should have ‘tweaked’ it and continued like the Bulls. Anyone remember those Shawn Bradley-era travestys with the stars? UGH” (Dan C)

Comments on the post: “Miller, Sixers picking up steam” by Marc Narducci (11th Dec 2007)

“Second that on the throwback uniforms. I love the simplicity in them” (Tyler, in response to Ricky-Sixers4guidos’ comment)

Comments on the post “A deflating defeat against Detroit” by Marc Narducci (23rd Jan 2008)

“Is there a rule stating that the Sixers can only wear the old school jerseys rarely,if not then I wish they went back to those jerseys ” (T)

Comments on  the post “A character win for the Sixers” by Marc Narducci (16th Jan 2008)

 

So I gave some food for thoughts, guys…

DO YOU AGREE WITH THIS CAMPAIGN? LEAVE A COMMENT BELOW AND SPREAD THE WORD AROUND !! SEND THE LINK TO THIS PAGE TO FORUMS, BLOGS, SITES… EVERYWHERE  !!! OR EMAIL IT TO YOUR FRIENDS !!!

More to come soon on this site about this topic, stay tuned.

UPDATE: I checked it and Sixers wore the throwback uniforms seven times this year: vs Grizzlies (13th Feb 2008), Pistons (23rd Jan), Pacers (21st Jan), Rockets (15th Jan), Lakers (21st Dec 2007), Rockets (11th Dec), Celtics (5th Dec).