Is This Jersey Nothing Special?

The season is halfway over and I am sure that many of you have noticed some jersey changes that have been happening around the country. Many of the top Nike teams across all conferences have been sporting the new slim fit jerseys that were introduced last year.

With the new season, the slimfit jerseys alone just wouldn't do. To up the ante, Nike rolled out their new HyperElite jerseys. Last night, Texas wore theirs for the first time when they played Kansas. On the Texas Web site is says that their jerseys are 70 percent lighter then older jerseys.

Introducing the new look to the University of Kentucky makes us the fourth school to receive the HyperElite jersey. The teams previous to us are Duke, Texas, and Ohio State all receiving them earlier in the season.

The HyperElite jerseys are all lighter, but that is not the main feature of the new look. The thing most talked about is the addition of a school specific design on the back. Each school has something that is specific to them on their campus, all of them being an important building.

That being said, we can now dissect the jerseys that Kentucky will debut sometime soon. The front says Kentucky in block letters the same font style that the football jerseys sport. Very simple and elegant, nothing that any Kentucky fan should have any problems with.

Now the back of this jersey is a whole different ball game. At the top their is a patchwork pattern with the National Championship years inside. Then down the middle there is Memorial Hall with the letters "RTL" on the building. There are roses flanking the building and a Wildcat with a star on its head below the building. 

The letters "RTL" means "Refuse To Lose" which I think is a kind of Calipari mantra. I say this because I found previous shoes designed for Memphis with the same letters. Memorial Hall is the land mark building on the campus, it is perfect for this jersey. The roses are paying homage to our racing heritage, and the Wildcat is there for obvious reasons. Only one thing really gets me and that is the star on the back. 

I actually like these new HyperElite jerseys a lot, but there are many around Big Blue Nation who despise them. They all say there too much like Duke's or they look like Ed Hardy jerseys. I may be in the minority, but the jersey pays great respect to the school and the state. It is something that I am excited to see on the backs of our players.