The beauty of a great logo or uniform

Sports fans like us can watch and read anything related to any sport, pretty much at any time.

Heck, I’ve been known to watch the same episode of Sportscentre three or four straight times in a single morning – only to flip to one of the other networks for the same news from a different reporter before coming back to Sportscentre for take five an hour later!

Yeah, I love my sports.

For many of us, however, it’s not only about what happens on the playing surface, but how the players look while they’re performing.

Now, I’m not talking about the latest in NHL mullets or what kind of rating the players would get on hotornot.com.

No, this is about how the teams dress their players – it’s about uniforms and logos.

My passion for uniforms and logos isn’t an isolated phenomenon. In fact there’s not one, not two, but dozens of sites and blogs dedicated to the beauty, or lack thereof, of the sports uniform.

Two of my favourite are www.uniwatchblog.com and www.icethetics.info when it comes to uni-analysis, and probably the best of the best for what’s-what in the world of logos in www.sportslogos.net.

All these sites are run by dudes who love uniforms and logos and aren’t afraid to admit it.

In fact, Uni Watch’s founder and main blogger, Paul Lukas, even writes a regular column about the latest in uniform news for ESPN.com which presumably reaches millions of readers in one shot.

The thing about uniforms and logos is that they encapsulate everything that is a sport in a stripe, image, pattern or typeface.

Think about what it means to wear your favourite team’s cap or jersey on the street. If you’re wearing the famous bleu-blanc-rouge of the Canadiens or an Alouettes jersey, you’re telling everyone who sees you that you are a proud Montreal sports fan.

When I pop on my tri-coloured retro Expos hat from the 1980s, I’m sending the message that Nos Amours may be gone, but I’ll never forget all the joy they brought me.

My favourite logo of all time is the stylized MEB that made up the ‘Spos cap emblem for the 36 years they were with us in Montreal.

The beauty was in the simplicity of it all for those of us who got it in one look.

It’s a big “M” for Montreal with a red “E” for Expos and a big blue “B” for Baseball… yeah, it’s that simple.

I can’t tell you how many chat rooms are filled with people – Canadians and Americans alike, and yes, even Quebecers – who for some reason can’t figure that out.

My favourite uniform?

Well, obviously I’m a little biased because I’m a Montrealer, but how can you get much better than the Canadiens’ red sweaters with the blue and white chest stripe and classic logo?

What’s your favourite uniform or logo? Tell me at noahsidel@gmail.com.