Dear Logo/Uniform "Experts"...

We are 3 reveals into the big offseason of logo and uniform changes for the NFL. And what is supposed to be fun has turned annoying, frustrating and disappointing. It has been tiresome, overplayed, head-scratching and most of all, straight-up embarrassing. And no. I'm not talking about the logos or unis either. I'm talking about the people behind the screens.

Even though it can be annoying as hell, I expect the brainless comments to come from twitter, people who really don't know what the hell they are talking about. Everyone is entitled to their opinion, but when that opinion is bred from ignorance and intellectual laziness then it becomes worthless. Nothing but someone needing to sling insults trying to get the most "likes" on their comment. "Look at me! I'm funny!".

The most moronic comment I see EVERY TIME a uni is revealed is "they look like high school/arena league/XFL uniforms!". As if there were anything wrong with the XFL uniforms to begin with. It's just something you can say when you literally have ZERO to say but want to feel included. You can't go on a limb and say you actually like something. You have to WAIT until you see what other people are saying and then join in with a similar comment. God forbid you have your own opinion. They did the same thing when the Jets got their new unis, and the Browns, and the Bucs when they went to the alarm clock numbers. I didn't love the Bucs unis either, their fans hated that they moved away from the unis they had, the set they won the Super Bowl with. Everyone wanted them to get new unis. They finally did. They went back to those Super Bowl unis, just updated a bit. Oh... still not good enough? Now they are "boring". They "choked". "Trash". So it was bad when they moved away from their great look. And now it is still bad when they went back to them... "Falcons called, they want their unis back" was all I read that day. And once the Falcons showed off theirs a day later, I see comments like "Bucs unis are better", "The Falcons’ new jerseys made all the mistakes the Bucs didn’t". This is only 24 hours between uni reveals. The fact of the matter is, they just need something to bitch about. That is what it boils down to. It's just an insult slinging contest to see who gets the most likes. It doesn't matter what the unis, or logos, actually looked like.

But that just covers the brainless "know it alls" on their random twitter handles. The bigger deal to me is how the "experts", that I have read and followed for many years, became a mirror image of the brainless know it alls. Ever since the logo and uni culture went "mainstream" these experts, like Paul Lukas from UniWatch, have gone from taking in the logo/uni and writing something worth reading. Real opinions with solid points, to now making comments like "It’s a miserable look", and "it’ll look even worse on the field". Let's keep it going with "Cartoonishly bold and filled with needless little beaks and talons (oooh, very falcon-like!)" he says sarcastically. "Oooh, they’re repping the ATL — edgy!", another attempt at sarcastic humor. "They’ve gone full-on superhero video game with this set". Then continues on by saying "I mean, look at this shit". He then finishes with "Think I’m being hard on the Falcons?". No, I think you have gone from someone who's opinion actually mattered, to someone who would rather make stupid, quick, quotable remarks, like "train wreck", so other people can reference them in their articles to give some sort of validity to a logo or uni being bad. Just like the thousands of people in the comments fishing for likes, Paul is going the same route, just with his articles and a larger reach.

He also said, "Classicists like me are supposed to hate it (and I’m happy to do my part); kids who’ve never heard of Steve Bartkowski are supposed to think it’s dope, or fire, or whatever". I LOVE classic unis. The Raiders, Packers, Chiefs, the old Browns unis, you name it. I love classic. I love simple. But that doesn't mean I have to shit all over everything else just because it isn't what I want. He said he is HAPPY to do his part in hating everything that is not classic. Well, then you're not really doing your job as a uniform "expert" now are you? Because if it simply isn't classic, its apparently trash. It is nothing but watered down information with a ton of bias rhetoric.

What I don't understand is why EVERYTHING has to go BACK to something that was already done to be worth a damn. Everyone wanted the Bucs to go full creamsicle with these new unis. The unis everyone and their mother said was the worst unis in NFL history. Now they're great! Everyone either wanted the Black old school '90s unis for the Falcons or to take it back all the way to the red helmet days. Spoiler alert, they didn't do that either. LET'S ALL GET MAD! It is okay if teams WANT to do that. But if they don't and want to move on to a new look, I am not going to sit here, pound my keyboard, piss and moan, and attack them for not doing what I wanted them to do.

I want my readers, no matter if it's 20 of you, 10, or just one person, I want them to consume what I say in a way that gives them information to make up their own mind. I will tell you what I think of something. What I don't like, what I do, and with a valid, thought-out reason why. For example. In my article yesterday about the Falcons new look, I explained why I don't like the way the "ATL" is on the chest.

"The problem I have with it is simply the SIZE of it. I honestly think it is way too big. Make it about half that size and I think it's perfect. But they went more towards the way of the Browns with their "CLEVELAND" wordmark stretching across the whole front of the jersey. It just makes it a bit of an eyesore"

So even though I didn't like it, I didn't go and trash it. I gave an example of a way they could have made it a little better, for ME. I didn't say that IS the way it should have been done. I then added, "Maybe it will grow on me down the line". Sometimes you may see something and not expect it. You don't really get it. But if given a bit of time, you may come around to it. Then someday it becomes classic. You know, like those Bucs creamsicles everyone is dying for all of a sudden.

My point is that I try to let people know my thoughts and opinions in a way that gives them something to think about that maybe they didn't before. I try to bring out the positive and give some thoughtful suggestions. I am making it an open conversation, not a statement. I am not looking for quick, quotable, nonsense hoping for it to be clipped and shared after.

But a lot of these experts have gone from having similar practices, to basically TELLING you how it is. THIS is what the truth is. I am an expert in this field and I am TELLING you it's bad. "I mean, look at this shit". It literally feels like they are forcing you to agree with them by shaming you for thinking the opposite. They bring so much negativity down around the subject that anyone with just basic knowledge or interest in this field can be easily persuaded by those with a larger reach. And it's wrong.

Somehow through the growth and popularity of the uni and logo field, "experts" have gone from being humble to arrogant and a lot of the times ignorant. There are more out there than just Paul preaching like this. But Paul is one of the more well-known figures and his latest piece on the Falcons just made me feel the need to say something.

Everyone has the right to their own opinion (though many choose to have the same as the majority so they feel included), and the right to consume whatever content they like. I am in no way sticking up for the teams and their choices. I am standing up and shining a light on the way information is being spread in this field. Taking your time on what should be sharing useful and insightful information, is instead used to be no better than the average insult slinger in the comment section. It is disappointing to say the very least because good quality content is hard to come by nowadays and to see people I have followed for a long time catering to this type of audience is... well to use Paul's word, "cringe".

- Scott Summers

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