(Update: Since publishing this article, many of you have brought to my attention that the Ravens’ alternate black jerseys are on sale at NFLShop.com, and the letters are indeed in white. So it looks like the Madden guys are the ones who goofed – well, them and me. Whoops.)
Upon the much-anticipated release of Nike’s NFL jerseys, a lot of news was made about nothing. While teams like the Seattle Seahawks received a complete makeover, most uniforms around the league didn’t receive noticeable changes.
Nike along with the NFL left the option open to teams to release the designs of their alternate jerseys. Some teams like the Ravens appeared to decline that offer while others – prepare to laugh – like the Steelers decided they wanted to make every football fan in the country laugh (Link).
Throughout the preseason, Ravens fans have only seen the usual purple and white jerseys – with so little changed on them, most assumed that the alternates would receive similar alterations – or lack thereof.
But not so fast!
With the widely anticipated release of Madden 13 yesterday, the game just might have provided clues to the alternate jersey changes that the Ravens opted not to reveal.
E.A. Sports has worked closely with the NFL and Nike to create the most accurate experience for fans of the most popular video game series in history. Nike, whose past college uniform creations show little regard for the color wheel and often feature contrasting colors, is apparently bringing that same unorthodox mentality to Baltimore.
The usual white lettering on the black alternate jersey seems to have been substituted for purple, at least according to the new game. While this move may be a nightmare for anyone watching the game in the stadium – especially the announcers – it may look really good on TV.
It may not take long for the Ravens to show off any changes made to the alternate jersey because they’ll probably wear them on September 10 when they host their first home Monday Night Football game since 2007.
It’s not a guarantee but the Ravens typically save their black alternate jersey for prime time games.
Changing the nameplates from white to purple isn’t a major change as much as it is a bold decision.
For now we can only judge how it looks on a video game.
But under the bright lights of a prime time stage, the move could get some push back from fans who haven’t already memorized the roster from top to bottom.
Keep your game day programs handy.
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