Georgia football has a massive recruiting weekend this past weekend and displayed some new all-white uniforms.
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"In the past, Smart has usually only turned to the alternative uniforms as a way to fire up the team when there aren’t championship stakes on the line."
I've floated this before and I'll put it out there again. I've always thought this was entirely the wrong approach to the black jerseys. If you use them as "juice," they'll always feel like a gimmick. Which is a shame, and a waste. Unlike the vast majority of teams that trot out black jerseys, black is actually one of our colors. The black Georgia jerseys look great and deserve a legitimate spot in the program.
Here's what I propose: give them a permanent setting. Decide once and for all under what circumstances they will be worn. I'd suggest home night games. If the game is at Sanford Stadium and kickoff is after sunset, it's a black jersey game. (Note, I'm not advocating for any blackouts, as that would run counter to the whole concept I'm presenting here. I suppose it could be done on occasion, I'm just not suggesting that a blackout be part and parcel of permanently adopting the black jerseys.)
This achieves two things.
First, it removes any stigma around the jerseys as being any kind of gimmick. If they're always worn under the same circumstances, no matter the opponent or how the season is going, then it's impossible to for anyone to write them off as some lame motivational tactic or stunt. And if we stick to this plan, regardless of on-field results, there will be no reason for anyone to swear them off just because a game was lost while they were worn. They'll just be a jersey, no different than the red or white ones.
Secondly, this approach will address any remaining backlash to using the black jerseys because they're not a traditional uniform. By setting a standard for when the black jerseys are worn, and sticking to it, then rather than arguably being a departure from tradition, they will add to the tradition of the program. Again, with black being one of our colors, I think, say a generation from now, it would be seen as one of the cool things about Georgia that a couple times a year they wear black jerseys to complement the red ones. I think it could become a valued tradition.
