On Saturday morning, I was sent some fresh images of the newest additions to the Purdue Jersey family; our basketball team has finally got the long anticipated Nike Aerographic Hyper Elite Jersey.
As seen before on Duke, Sparty, Oregon, Gonzaga and Memphis, Purdue has been teased with information on them before. I've heard rumors about Purdue getting them since 2010, but no one had a date. Originally, I had found the artist's site and he listed off schools he was working on - naturally that article has been taken down.
So, what does the space age wonder look like?
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| Sexy. |
We'll show off the back in a second, but here is what we know about the front.
In general, we know that we have three jerseys. The leaked photos were old gold, Black has been assumed a must due to contrast issues in the NCAA, and the above image clearly shows white.
The team name is displayed in one of two colors depending on the kit - Black or Old Gold. The letters form the semi-traditional 'cow catcher' logo. The collar is there in again, black or old gold and still features the motion P instead of the train - matches the new floor nicely, yes?
In true Purdue fashion, we are retaining the American flags. Anyone remember how much flack they got when they took them off in 09?
The shorts don't look like they have changed much, but the thin piping on the jersey has been replaced with a thick band that goes around the back, you can see this below. Traditionally the piping has been the same size and lined up down the jersey through the shorts.
The shoes for the other Aerographic kits have had some sort of school love on them. Either Nike gave us black on black graphics or Hummel is too much of a traditionalist beast to stoop to that level.
Now, why the hell are these special? The backs, now stop interrupting me.
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| Sweet baby Jesus, that's a fountain. |
The idea behind these jerseys is performance and pride. The back graphic allows for better 'breathability' and also gives a chance to show off a bit.
Our graphic features the brand new Mackey Arena in the center with the Engineering Fountain reaching up to the heavens. There was originally rumors that the Paint Crew or Paint splotches were going to be added, sadly this didn't make the final design.
The rarely used cowcatcher logo makes an appearance in full form on the back surrounded by the even rarer Hammer logos. Not really sure what the artist was thinking when he designed it, but they definitely dug deep into Purdue lore for this one.
There isn't a lot of information yet because of the early release photos. University Spirit already has them in stock, but they are not releasing them until the order goes live; the above photo is from one of their warehouses.
Well, what do all you old folks think about this jersey change? I've got to go sell myself on the corner to afford yet ANOTHER Hummel Jersey.
(Seriously though, I had a Hummel shirt when he was a freshman, a real jersey when he was a Sophomore, they only had White Hummel's Junior year so I had to get a CK3, a new Hummel Senior year, and now this. I CAN ONLY GIVE SO MUCH!)