The big day is finally here! The Washington Commanders unveiled their new alternate uniforms that they teased last week. Meet the new Super Bowl Era uniforms! Let’s not waste anytime and dive into these new uniforms and grade out Josh Harris’ effort to reconnect this fractured franchise to their storied past.
Super Bowl Era Helmet
This is my least favorite part of the new Super Bowl Era uniforms. Now, my disappointment is not because the helmet does not rock the spear logo that the Redskins used on their helmets from 1965-1969. I never thought that was an option. The Commies made that abundantly clear in the teaser image from last week that showed the new uniforms shrouded in shadows but you could still clearly see that the helmet had the generic “W” Commies logo on the side. This was done on purpose as Josh Harris and company wanted to squelch any fan hopes of Washington bringing back the spear logo. So, I knew we were getting the boring Microsoft Clipart “W” logo.
If the Commies were hellbent on using the “W” logo then they should have kept the white circle with a gold outline and two feathers hanging off the circle from the Super Bowl Era helmets. Then they could have removed the Native American head from inside the circle and replaced it with the “W.” That would have looked infinitely better than just slapping the boring “W” logo from the primary helmet on the side of these alternate helmets.
I mean, seriously! The Commies even released the exact logo I am suggesting in one of their promotional photos! See that logo in the right corner in the photo above? That is nearly what I am talking about! I would have kept the “W” fully inside the circle and I would not have had the white part of the circle extend past the yellow line. But, other than that, this is what I am talking about. What a missed opportunity.
My other big criticism of this helmet is that it is matte red. The Redskins helmets during the Super Bowl run in the 1980s and 1990s were glossy red. This new Super Bowl Era alternate helmet absolutely should have been in glossy red. That would have made these uniforms look just like the Redskins that we used to know and love. There is nothing about matte red helmets says “Redskins” to anyone.
This was such an obvious detail to deliver that it makes Josh Harris and company look lazy for not doing so with this alternate helmet. It is like Harris and company did not realize that the NFL now allows teams to have alternate helmets that are a different color from their regular helmets.
Setting aside my two criticisms of this helmet, I have to admit that the Super Bowl Era helmet is vastly superior to the regular helmet that the Commies rolled out in 2022. First, the Super Bowl Era helmet brings back the iconic Redskins helmet stripes. Gone is the hideous singular mustard stripe of the regular Commies helmet. Instead, we get the proper center gold stripe flanked with two slender burgundy stripes which are then flanked by two wider white stripes. Fantastic. This is a gorgeous look that makes me think “Redskins.”
Second, the Super Bowl Era alternate helmet brings back the iconic gold facemasks. Thank the football gods! This is far superior to the burgundy face masks of the regular Commies helmets. This is such a wonderful look. The gold facemask provides the necessary color contrast to the red helmets. This also immediately makes me think “Redskins.”
Lastly, it seems to my eyes in these pictures that the Super Bowl Era alternate helmet is more red than the deep burgundy of the regular Commies helmets. Even though the team colors were burgundy and gold, the color scheme of the 1980s and 1990s Redskins was more red and yellow. The Redskins helmet was always red rather than a true burgundy. It looks like the Super Bowl Era helmet is a shade of red much closer to the old Redskins helmets. These new alternate helmets do not look to be the same dark burgundy color of the regular Commies helmets.
If my eyes are not playing tricks on me then this is a massive upgrade. The dark burgundy of the Commies regular helmets never worked for me. I much prefer the red from the old Redskins helmets. I would love to see a photo of the two different helmets next to each other and in good lighting to clearly show any difference in color.
All in all, the Super Bowl Era alternate helmets are good looking and a massive upgrade over the regular Commies helmets.
Helmet Score: 7 out of 10
Super Bowl Era Jersey
I am not going to beat around the bush or try and tease my opinion on these jerseys. The Super Bowl Era jersey is pure fire! I love these jerseys. This looks like the iconic Washington Redskins. The Redskins always preferred to wear white during Joe Gibbs’ tenure so it makes sense to pick the white jersey for this new alternate uniform. On top of that, the Redskins wore their white jerseys in their three Super Bowl victories.
NFL rules for modern jerseys and the improvements in jersey materials and technology prevent the Super Bowl Era alternate jersey from being a complete duplicate of the old Redskins jerseys from the 1980s and 1990s. But, damn, this is about as close as you can get!
The Super Bowl Era jerseys have the same red V design around the neck of the jersey. The Super Bowl Era jerseys have the same red stripe above a yellow stripe at the bottom of each sleeve and the same red jersey number outlined in gold on each sleeve as the old Redskins jerseys. The font for the jersey numbers on the front, back, and sleeves of the new Super Bowl Era jerseys is identical to the number font for the old Redskins jerseys. The shade of the red and yellow on the Super Bowl Era jerseys both appear to be identical to the shade of red and yellow used by the old Redskins jerseys, too.
The Super Bowl Era jerseys Godzilla stomp all over the Commies regular white jerseys. And it is not even close. The regular white jerseys look like hot steaming garbage. They were trash when the Commies first rolled them out.
The white jerseys were hated from the start due to them using the completely wrong shade of red and unnecessarily introducing black to the away uniform set. The Commies white jerseys have always looked like a jersey from either FSU, University of Louisville, or the Arizona Cardinals. Whenever the Commies wore their white jerseys it really drove home the feeling that you were watching an expansion team rather than your beloved Redskins.
Honestly, I do not know what more a die-hard Redskins fan would want from this Super Bowl Era jersey. This is the iconic white Redskins jersey from the 1980s and 1990s. Pure perfection!
Jersey Score: 10 out of 10
Super Bowl Era Pants
The Super Bowl Era pants are burgundy with a thick yellow stripe and a thick white stripe on the sides of the legs. This is the identical design to the burgundy pants that the Redskins wore in the 1980s and 1990s. Nailed it. This is all that a long-time Redskins fan could ask for!
The Super Bowl Era pants blow way the ugly burgundy pants from the regular Commies uniform. Those are simply red leggings that have no stripes at all. The Super Bowl Era pants are a massive upgrade. I cannot wait for the Commies to replace their lame red leggings with these beautiful pants as a part of their default look.
Pants Score: 10 out of 10
Overall
Josh Harris and company hit it out of the park with the Super Bowl Era uniforms. But, not only that. Harris and company also crushed it with the entire rollout and presentation of these new alternate uniforms. This was a far cry from the clown show under Dan Snyder that was 2/2/22 and the embarrassing rollout of the Commanders new uniforms.
I am blown away and impressed with how Harris and company were able to keep the Super Bowl Era uniforms a secret. There were zero leaks. Again, a massive contrast to all the leaks that came out under Snyder when they were going to roll out the new name and uniforms for the Washington NFL franchise.
I was further impressed with how Harris and company packaged and delivered the Super Bowl Era uniforms. It was professional, classy, cool, and embraced the long history of the Redskins. This was a complete opposite from what we got under Snyder with the 2/2/22 Commanders brand unveiling.
Just feast your eyes on that glorious picture of the Washington football players in their Super Bowl Era unfirms and standing in front of RFK stadium. You think Harris and company are trying to send a message to the Washington, D.C. City Council? That photo should give any long-time Redskins fans goosebumps. Watch the video unveiling the Super Bowl Era uniforms. That will get any die-hard Redskins fans both a bit teary eyed and pumped up and ready to run through a wall all at the same time! It is all brilliant. Just a massive win by Harris and company.
Overall Score: 9 out of 10
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