The Bears have made some course corrections under new GM Phil Emery and are making a minor one with the NFL and Nike unveiling uniform changes on Tuesday.
The changes, at least to the Bears uniform design, can be classed as minor, with good reason, since the Bears brand is not something to be trifled with or tweaked on a fashion whim.
Actually, the one thing that does catch the eye right awaythats the idea, after allis that the Nike logo is larger and more pronounced (strong color swoosh on white pants) than the NFLs well-known shield logo.
The St. Louis Rams, Seattle Seahawks and Pittsburgh Steelers were expected to make significant changes to their game apparel. But team logos arent being altered.
The overall has stopped short of turning the uniforms into advertising billboards. But the question here is probably just when that moves to a higher level than just the swoosh logo on articles of the uniform.
And that shouldnt be cause for any hand-wringing now any more now than it was a century ago when stadium walls were one billboard panel after another. Its a tradition carried on at minor-league ballparks now and ultimately is part of the ambience rather than an eyesore.
Wilson gets its name out there on every closeup of a holder putting the ball down for a field goal or PAT. Purists once decried putting names on the backs of uniforms when the AFL started that in the 1960s.
NFL
These latest modifications shouldnt be any more troubling. The game is the thing, after all.