Midweek Musing: On new uniforms and getting old

It was 2015 when I figured it out.

TCU Football had just played their spring game, held on a Friday night under the lights. But that wasn’t the main draw of the evening, as Frog fans geared up for the first big new uniform reveal of the Big 12 era, following a season in which TCU had gone 12-1 and won the Peach Bowl in convincing fashion.

All the build up, all the drama, and this is what we got:

Melissa Triebwasser

Most folks liked the purple, and the white were received in a mostly positive light. But they gray? Yikes. The sublimated frog skin was interpreted more as a gray camo, and as I perused the setup with some friends, all we could come up to say was “what were they thinking?”.

But, as we walked around the stage, the dozens of recruits in attendance — many of whom are probably suiting up for TCU Football now — were in awe. They snapped photos, tweeted and instagrammed their hearts out, and generally oohed and awwed over the new kits — especially the gray ones.

That was when I figured it out...

... I had gotten old.

On Tuesday, Frog fans were once again introduced to a new look, this one an alternate based off of the new jerseys released ahead of the 2019 season.

I seriously want a pair of those gloves more than I have ever wanted any TCU gear ever.

Reactions were mixed across social media, as some loved the unique look while others found them gimmicky or tacky. The red accent was either deemed a positive in that it threw to the notion that horned frogs spit blood out of their eyes when angry or threatened, or a negative that it wasn’t a school color.

The “it’s not a school color” debate is, to me, a bit tired... these are football uniforms, and It’s okay if they are different and fun and not totally on-brand. Frankly, their main job is to get people talking, get recruits excited, and fire up the players.

Check. Check. And check.

Mission Accomplished? I guess it depends who you ask.

Some folks were not so positive.

A familiar refrain commented on how “red and black aren’t school colors”.

Others understood the target market.

While still others liked them, but saw room for improvement.

But, most thought they were straight fire.

And the guy that matters most?

Oh, and one other thing for all us “old heads” - Gary Patterson does not care that folks are worried about what we are wearing. He doesn’t care that players are talking about it either. These are 18-22 year old kids, not robots. They should be allowed to get fired up for new uniforms (and that won’t effect their play one iota, I promise). Frankly, he’s probably glad that the media is focusing on the threads and not the 3-3 record.

We will get to see them in person Saturday against Texas at 2:30pm.