New Candian Football League Uniforms!
The CFL will be sporting a new look in 2005.
The league's nine teams will all be outfitted in redesigned uniforms this season as a result of a five-year merchandise and apparel agreement reached last year with Reebok.
In 2004, Reebok provided the league with a wide array of sideline apparel like coaches' shirts, hats, t-shirts, sweat shirts, track suits and jackets.
According to two league sources requesting anonymity, the jerseys will look sharper and crisper as a result of bigger, thicker numbers and more detailed outlines.
And one team will don different colours in 2005. The sources said the B.C. Lions will wear orange home jerseys instead of black with white lettering. The Lions unveiled an orange uniform in 2003 to celebrate its 50th anniversary and it was very popular with fans.
The CFL will also follow the lead of both the NFL and NHL and have more of its teams using third jerseys this season for special occasions.
The Edmonton Eskimos (Green Bay Packers gold) and Ottawa Renegades (red) will both unveil alternate uniforms this season, joining B.C. (black), Montreal (dark blue), Calgary (black, red, white) and Saskatchewan (black, green).
The Toronto Argonauts will not add an alternate jersey while it's unclear if the Hamilton Tiger-Cats or Winnipeg Blue Bombers will have third jerseys, although there apparently have been discussions for both to add gold uniforms.
The Bombers, celebrating their 75th anniversary this year, are reportedly toying with the idea of wearing white pants with the third jersey.
"Third jerseys have been hugely popular and big-ticket items in the NFL and NHL," said one of the sources. "The CFL is definitely doing this for merchandising purposes and it's also another way to sell your brand to a younger audience."
But fans will have to wait to see their favourite team's uniforms. The new jerseys aren't scheduled for delivery until May 1 and the league is leaving it up to the respective teams to decide when to unveil them.
CFL commissioner Tom Wright declined comment about the third jerseys but he did say during last week's board of governors meetings in Palm Beach, Fla., that the league is looking at different ways to attract a younger audience.
Not surprisingly, the new CFL uniforms will have an NFL look to them. After all, Reebok also outfits all 32 NFL teams.
The Ottawa Renegades' colours will continue to be black, white and red, but their uniforms will have an Atlanta Falcons look to them.
Micki Rivers, the marketing manager for Reebok Canada, wouldn't provide specific details but did say the CFL's new uniforms have been re-designed.
"They have been and they are exciting," she said. "We have an NFL background, which means we have tremendous designers and have a pretty good idea of what does and doesn't appeal to fans.
"I think people will be excited about what they see."
Both sources said the Argonauts haven't decided on a third uniform yet and aren't expected to unveil one until 2007, when they're scheduled to move into a new outdoor stadium on the York University campus.
But the Argos will have a different look this year.
The club has removed teal from its colour pattern - leaving it double blue - and taken the helmeted warrior from its logo, which will now consist of a shield bearing the letter A to be featured on players' helmets. The Argos are also bringing back the old logo of a football, topped by a sail and oars protruding from the lacing.
The Hamilton Tiger-Cats will also feature a more streamlined tiger on its logo this year as well.
The league's nine teams will all be outfitted in redesigned uniforms this season as a result of a five-year merchandise and apparel agreement reached last year with Reebok.
In 2004, Reebok provided the league with a wide array of sideline apparel like coaches' shirts, hats, t-shirts, sweat shirts, track suits and jackets.
According to two league sources requesting anonymity, the jerseys will look sharper and crisper as a result of bigger, thicker numbers and more detailed outlines.
And one team will don different colours in 2005. The sources said the B.C. Lions will wear orange home jerseys instead of black with white lettering. The Lions unveiled an orange uniform in 2003 to celebrate its 50th anniversary and it was very popular with fans.
The CFL will also follow the lead of both the NFL and NHL and have more of its teams using third jerseys this season for special occasions.
The Edmonton Eskimos (Green Bay Packers gold) and Ottawa Renegades (red) will both unveil alternate uniforms this season, joining B.C. (black), Montreal (dark blue), Calgary (black, red, white) and Saskatchewan (black, green).
The Toronto Argonauts will not add an alternate jersey while it's unclear if the Hamilton Tiger-Cats or Winnipeg Blue Bombers will have third jerseys, although there apparently have been discussions for both to add gold uniforms.
The Bombers, celebrating their 75th anniversary this year, are reportedly toying with the idea of wearing white pants with the third jersey.
"Third jerseys have been hugely popular and big-ticket items in the NFL and NHL," said one of the sources. "The CFL is definitely doing this for merchandising purposes and it's also another way to sell your brand to a younger audience."
But fans will have to wait to see their favourite team's uniforms. The new jerseys aren't scheduled for delivery until May 1 and the league is leaving it up to the respective teams to decide when to unveil them.
CFL commissioner Tom Wright declined comment about the third jerseys but he did say during last week's board of governors meetings in Palm Beach, Fla., that the league is looking at different ways to attract a younger audience.
Not surprisingly, the new CFL uniforms will have an NFL look to them. After all, Reebok also outfits all 32 NFL teams.
The Ottawa Renegades' colours will continue to be black, white and red, but their uniforms will have an Atlanta Falcons look to them.
Micki Rivers, the marketing manager for Reebok Canada, wouldn't provide specific details but did say the CFL's new uniforms have been re-designed.
"They have been and they are exciting," she said. "We have an NFL background, which means we have tremendous designers and have a pretty good idea of what does and doesn't appeal to fans.
"I think people will be excited about what they see."
Both sources said the Argonauts haven't decided on a third uniform yet and aren't expected to unveil one until 2007, when they're scheduled to move into a new outdoor stadium on the York University campus.
But the Argos will have a different look this year.
The club has removed teal from its colour pattern - leaving it double blue - and taken the helmeted warrior from its logo, which will now consist of a shield bearing the letter A to be featured on players' helmets. The Argos are also bringing back the old logo of a football, topped by a sail and oars protruding from the lacing.
The Hamilton Tiger-Cats will also feature a more streamlined tiger on its logo this year as well.
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