What Just Happened? Lions uniform unveiling

It's finally here, Lions fans. Something exciting happened in mid-April!! After months of anticipation, the Lions released new uniform for the first time since 2009.

Like most of you, I've spent the better part of the offseason worrying that these things would suck, or at least hope they didn't change too much. Lions fans are a lot like house cats. We don't like change. We fear change.

Tonight the Lions released four new uniforms. A home, away, alternate and color rush. As always, I have thoughts on things like this. These are those thoughts.

Away

Right out of the gate, I’m happy. Back in 1999, the Lions temporarily had blue pants. Then they almost immediately got rid of them. Now they’re back. And it feels like for the first time ever, the Lions are beginning to go away from the old blue and silver look and trying something that I feel is much more sleek and appealing to the eye.

My concerns on the away jersey is this: Man, those things are going to get dirty fast. They may be the whitest jerseys of all time. It’s as if Rod Wood saw a Crest whitening strips commercial the night before and said “yeah, that’s what I’m going for.” Other than that, blue pants for life.

Home

Nothing crazy here. Slight redesign of the Lions current home uniform. If you haven’t noticed yet, the Lions have changed their blue. The Honolulu blue days are no more. Now it’s something called pantone blue. Which only reminds me of Playtone Records. The record company from “That Thing You Do.” Yeah, I have no life.

Here’s what I love: The arm bands. When the leaks came out a couple of weeks ago, all I could think about was that the Lions had hired the same guy that did the Browns’ recent uniforms. I‘m happy that, with a better glimpse, it’s much more subtle. What’s also great is that the William Clay Ford logo is no longer a patch. It’s a part of the jersey’s design now.

What I don’t like: Not a whole lot to hate here. I’m semi—and I mean semi—disappointed that there wasn’t much change here from the most recent Lions home uniform. But remember the whole cat thing. I want the catnip until I have the cat nip. Or something like that.

Throwback

Here’s where I get the most disappointed. I had really hoped that the Lions wouldn’t go back and do the same old throwback jerseys that they’ve always done. Does a throwback mean that you have to throw it back to the golden era of football?

What I was strongly hoping for, was a throwback to the 80s or 90s. The old jerseys Barry and Herman used to play in. Outside of the golden era, when the Lions were winning NFL championships, this was the other time in the franchise’s existence when the Lions were one of the most exciting teams to watch.

Now that I’ve stopped whining, They do look cool... But just not cool enough.

Color Rush

As the kids are saying these days, dat color rush jersey tho. This is by far and away my favorite uniform unveiled tonight. The Lions can now say that they’ve taken it to a place that they’ve never taken their look before, and it’s a place that I’ve always hoped they would go.

Take all of my money Lions. I want one of every player. Even Andre Fluellen. Just in case. Before I started writing this, I called my mom and reminded her that Christmas is eight months away and that she loves me way more than my sister. Cut out the “love you all equally” mom. We know who the favorite is.

The sad part is that this jersey will likely only be worn once in 2017. And Nike only has a deal with the NFL through 2019, so purchase at your own risk. I know a lot of you are sitting at home in your black color rush jersey just cursing at the heavens. It’s gonna be alright. Think of it as a collectors item. Like your Jon Kitna jersey.

The Helmet

We’re all spending so much time looking at the jerseys that we completely ignored the differences to the helmet. It’s not anything too crazy. The logo on the side appears to be larger than it used to be. The silver looks more crisp. And the stripes are completely different. Gone are the black stripes, enter the new blue stripes. Lastly, as our own Justin Simon points out, the facemask is now silver. But unfortunately, the officials still won’t be able to see it.

So that’s that. Those are my quick thoughts on the Lions’ new gear. I like them all, obviously the Color Rush more than others. But I want to know what the Lions fans think. Which one was your favorite? Be sue to cast your vote below.