Abnormal Penguins

In working to get over the disappointment of the Philadelphia Flyers' Stadium Series uniforms, I thought it might be a good idea to post their opponent's jerseys to see if that helped. I'll admit that I was hoping Pittsburgh would keep things simple and classy, but they went a little overboard with some of the accoutrements. However, the comparison between the Flyers and Penguins when it comes to their jerseys is really no comparison at all.

The image to the right is what the Penguins will be wearing, and it appears that they are throwing back to the yellow jerseys of yesteryear. The skating penguin logo is featured prominently on the yellow jersey, and the single yellow stripe on the black sleeves give a nice splash of colour to a black element. Unfortunately, the compliments will end there as there really isn't anything else to celebrate with these uniforms. In saying that, I'm actually disappointed when comparing the Stadium Series game to the Winter Classic game.

We'll start with this monstrous patch on the sleeve. In the 1970s, Pittsburgh was known as the "City of Champions" thanks to the multiple championships won by the Panthers, Pirates, and Steelers in this era. The Penguins, founded in 1967, were not part of that championship era, but it's a nice civic touch by the Penguins to incorporate the other pro teams in the city, especially when playing at Heinz Field where the Steelers play. The four stars at the top of the patch are representative of the four Stanley Cups earned by the Penguins since 1991 to reinforce the "City of Champions" theme. However, this patch is ENORMOUS on the sleeve! Why does it have to be so big? I'm sure this is the biggest patch ever worn in the NHL.

From there, we shift our focus upwards to the captaincy mark that is outlined in a golden triangle. The downtown Pittsburgh area is officially known as the Golden Triangle, and this area is bordered by the Allegheny River and the Monongahela River to form the triangle as they merge into the Ohio River. Again, Pittsburgh does a good job in bringing civic pride into the jersey, but the triangle looks out of place in outlining the captain's "C". While there are no images of it, the alternate captain's "A" will make that downward-pointing triangle look even worse.

What exactly were the designers thinking when it came to this font? Whoever thought of this font as a good idea and whoever approved this font to be on this jersey should lose their jobs. Immediately. With extreme prejudice. It's shocking how minor-league the Penguins look with this ridiculous font. I can't even begin to justify this design element as being civic-minded when it's not. Someone is trying way too hard to make these jerseys appealing to someone, but there has never been a time in the team's history where a font looked like this mess. This is just terrible.

Overall, I like the idea of the alternate yellow jerseys like the Penguins used to wear from 1981-84. I just don't like all the additions to the uniforms that weren't needed in any way. If they were going to add the "City of Champions" patch, I'm all for it in terms of honouring Pittsburgh's sports heritage, but it doesn't need to be the size of Pittsburgh. If they were going to use the downward-pointing triangle to honour the downtown area of Pittsburgh, I'm all for it but put it back where it belongs behind the skating penguin logo. And just don't use that font for anything. These "additions" are entirely subtractions.

I'm sorry to say this, but the Stadium Series game in Pittsburgh is certainly one to forget in terms of aesthetics.

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!