Wednesday, September 9, 2015

What the Heck is This Supposed to Be?!

This just appeared on the Packers Pro Shop site.

Green Bay Packers Classic Pump Fake Top

Item Number: 5102-298-019

$84.95
New!

Description:
Heavy-weight ringspun jersey top is 100% cotton. Has rib trim at collar, self-fabric shoulder yoke, quilted elbow patches, and side vents. Vintage garment-washed with embroidered jersey appliqued logo and embroidered felt patch. Mitchell & Ness woven jock tag at lower left hem.
What the hell is that supposed to be? Forget about "Pump", because "Fake" is the perfect description for this Frankenstein's Monster of a jersey.

It's more or less the template for the Packers' 1937-49 jerseys. But they've slapped the new "GREEN BAY PACKERS" wordmark across the front where the numbers should be.

This is especially disappointing considering the source. The last time Mitchell and Ness manufactured throwback Packers jerseys, in the early 2000s, they did a marvelous job recreating the classic construction.

In particular, note how the gold yoke sits high on the front of the jersey, revealing the gold collar ring. That's the way it was back in the 1940s.


That detail is one of the things the NFL got right with the reproductions for their "Evolution" commercial back in 2012.


Unfortunately, the Packers' 1994 and 2015 throwbacks drop the ball, lowering the yoke to the very bottom of the collar.


If they got the yoke right on this new "Classic Pump Fake Top", we could at least adapt it into a serviceable throwback jersey by replacing the wordmark with numbers. As it stands, it's neither terribly attractive nor useful.

2 comments:

Unknown said...

M&N has capitulated to the 'brand' marketing BS Paul Lukas recently discussed at Uni Watch. Too bad as they were once the leader in terms of accuracy, authenticity, etc.

Tory said...

Hey Chance,
I saw this the other day when I stopped at the pro-shop. So my thought is that is like a messed up piece of merchandise just to sell not unlike the Acme Packers Cornerback Jersey. Something that has the style of the original jersey but wrong and has the Packers name on it just to brand. One thing I did note was the behind the elbows it had a crosstiched cushion, something the green one lacked, and reminded me of the posted Canadeo jersey as they added just patchwork on the elbows. (The green one referring to a very similar looking "jersey" that has the GB logo and sleeve stripes.) And I was upset that Mitchel and Ness are still ignoring Don Hutson.