Seattle Seahawks and the 10 Worst Radical Jersey Redesigns

Jersey redesigns are one of the unfortunate realities of the modern-day sporting landscape.

Merchandise is a huge cash cow for professional and collegiate teams. Sometimes changes are brought about for "performance" reasons, but most changes are made to make a few extra dollars.

However, this isn't necessarily a bad thing. Sometimes a little change is a good thing. It prevents teams from appearing outdated.

Imagine if the Anaheim Ducks were still playing with the same jersey made famous by a movie sequel released nearly 20 years ago. It would be ridiculous.

The problem with radically altering a team's jersey is that it is either a massive success or an epic failure.

When the New York Jets went back to the Joe Namath era jerseys, it was immediately embraced by fans. But the Islanders decided to rework their jerseys by adding some grizzled homeless man straight out of a horror film and are still lambasted for it.

The rules for this list are simple. It only includes jersey designs to a team's primary home or road jersey. This list will also ignores the Oregon Ducks, as they could probably fill up a top 10 list with their awful jersey redesign. 

Seahawks Switch from Forgetable to Unbearable

The Seattle Seahawks last jersey managed to be unique and unremarkable at the same time. In fact, the Seahawks have never really had a jersey design that was any good.

But Nike's redesign of Seattle's uniforms is terrible. Even the most ardent optimists would have trouble finding the positive in the team's new look.

Watching the Seahawks next season will be like watching the Oregon Ducks—but on a television from the 1980s with terrible contrast settings.

Everything about the look screams rejected Oregon jersey template.

The only thing worse sight in team history is Dave Krieg trying to hold onto a football or any play involving a pass thrown at Jeremy Stevens.   

Vancouver Canucks Go V-Crazy

The Vancouver Canucks' 1978-79 V-jersey is constantly picked as one of the ugliest in professional sports and with good reason.

What makes the jersey even more shocking is the fact the team ditched the team's fairly popular blue and green design.

Sure, the Canucks' jersey prior to the "V disaster" was not the most exciting look in the world, but it was a clean and sharp sweater.

The Vancouver redesign was like going from riding a tricycle to riding a wild mustang. If the team wanted a more exciting look, there were probably a few steps in the middle it could have chosen.

Instead, the Canucks went all out and have found themselves in the jersey hall of shame.   

Toronto Blue Jays Ditch the Blue

Canada is also home to another radical and awful uniform redesign.

For a few seasons in the mid-2000s, the Toronto Blue Jays decided to lose the blue and go with a metallic silver and gray home uniform.

The uniform that preceded it was not the most beloved in franchise history with its awkward logo, but it was still far superior to what replaced it. 

The hat logo looks very similar to that of the Flying J chain of truck stops with a bird's head thrown into the mix.

The betrayal of team history is what makes this one of the worst uniform redesigns in history. It also neglects an important aspect of designing a jersey. 

If your team name has a color in it, that color should be in the uniform.     

Tampa Bay Forces Bucco Bruce to Walk the Plank

Bucco Bruce may not have been everyone's cup of tea. Tampa Bay's decision to replace him was understandable, but they came up with one of the worst jerseys redesigns in the NFL.

The Buccaneers ditched the Florida orange jersey for a generic pewter and red outfit that looks like it was designed using the Madden create-a-team jersey editing feature.

Compared with the old uniforms, the new Bucs' look was an uninspired changed. Even the logo was suspiciously Oakland Raider-esque.

The worst part of the Tampa Bay jersey switch has to be the pewter pants which made the players look like they had poor in-game bladder control.   

St. Louis Cardinals Sign the Powder Blues

When St. Louis Cardinals decided to replace their grey road uniforms with powder blue ones, the move was nothing out of the ordinary. 

The Kansas City Royals and Milwaukee Brewers had also switched to powder blue away uniforms during the 1970s, so the Cardinals were hardly trailblazers.

The difference between the Cardinals and those other teams, however, was the fact their colors matched up better with powder blue. The clash of the red hats and logos on the powder blue uniforms looks awful.

It was a uniform redesign that was superfluous and atrocious all in one.

St. Louis' powder blue jersey would have repercussions well beyond the franchise. Every Little League team unfortunate enough to be named the Cardinals would be forced to wear these up until the 1990s when I was playing.   

There is a reason the Cards have not done any other radical jersey redesigns since switching back to the grey away uniform. It is hard to beat a classic look like the one St. Louis has maintained throughout its history—barring that one minor powder blue blip.  

US Men's Soccer Team Bingo Ball Look Scores Own Goal

The United States' uniforms at the 2002 World Cup were fantastic. They were simple without being plain or boring. It was arguably Nike's best template for a football shirt.

The USMNT delivered on all accounts in 2002 and with the right uniform redesign in 2004, shirts sales would have been massive. People wanted to buy USA soccer jerseys, and with several exciting players coming through the ranks, there were plenty of name and number options.

That was until Nike and the USMNT introduced this dud. Both the home and alternate kits are dreadful and the giant numbers and oversized sleeves are tough to look at.

A bomb in all aspects, this jersey redesign might as well been a threat to national security.  

The Detroit Pistons Went from Feared to Laughingstock with This Redesign

The Detroit Pistons managed to go from having one of the most feared uniforms in the league to this. People tend to forget this uniform was ever a reality.

It is no surprise the Pistons jersey redesign coincides with one of the darkest periods in the franchise history. It is amazing that Detroit managed to destroy their uniform in one foul swoop.

The teal just looks silly, and it's impossible to tell if the first letter is a P or a D. It also looks like the knight from a chess set is on top of this. 

The Pistons would eventually realize the error of their ways and return to the classic blue and red, but that does not absolve them from guilt. 

This redesign may have been the one with the greatest impact on the list.  

Nike Pro Combat Uniforms Have Ruined the Look of College Football

Any college football team that has switched from a traditional look to the Pro Combat attire has failed miserably at redesigning their uniforms.

There has been a grand total of zero times a college team has looked better by switching their old look for this "modernized" designed. 

The Nike Pro Combat series is designed to attracted the attention of teenage boys.

And if a teenager thinks something is cool, chances are it is not. We can all remember what we thought looked cool in high school and regret those decision now.

It is only a matter of time before college football teams ditch these hideous uniforms and go back to the more popular looks. That seems to be a trend for all of these redesigns. 

Washington Wizards Redesign Fails to Conjour Up Magic

In 1997, the Washington Bullets changed their name because it was too violent for some people. They became the Wizards and dramatically changed their uniforms.  

The entire change made little sense. Wizards are just as violent as bullets, and the team abandoned their popular red, white and blue look for this monstrosity. Bad colors, bad logo and a cheesy feel made this redesign an utter flop. 

Not even Michael Jordan coming out of retirement made people want to buy these jerseys. The Wizards had to bring out the Bullets throwbacks in order to get fans interested. 

One of the biggest arguments from ownership about the change was the franchise needing a new look and direction. 

It took the team 14 years, but they would return to their roots. Red, white and blue were back in the design inspired by the 1978 championship team.

The Wizards are still terrible, but at least they no longer look like some bad high school art project. 

Washington Capitals Bring Ugly Back to Capitol Hill

Two years before the Wizards dreadful uniform redesign, the Washington Capitals did the exact same thing.

Gone was a popular red, white and blue uniform, and in its place was another poorly colored number complete with goofy logo.

And much like the Wizards, the Capitals would switch back the uniform they replaced over a decade early.

The Caps made both their switches before the Wizards, so at least they are not guilty of being copy cats. Washington also won quite a few games in these, so that made fans forget about some of the ugliness.

The mid-90s was not a good times for uniforms in the District of Colombia.