I would like to comment on the Monday Night Football game on 9/14. When I turned on the TV to see how the 49ers were doing, I thought I had the wrong game. Who are the Vikings playing? Atlanta? Who is that all black team?

49ers?  REALLY?!?

I’ve been following football since grade school. I can’t say I really know all the rules or positions, just ask my high school varsity football player if I can “speak football.” It’s not much. I barely remember his positions and it’s taken me almost four years. I get the gist enough to enjoy the game no matter who is playing. And I do know who is playing; I recognize team colors and mascots.

VIKINGS!  No mistaking…

The 49ers were playing the Vikings all right. Minnesota is easy, still purple and gold as I remember from 1975 when purple was my favorite color. But San Francisco looked like they borrowed their uniforms from the Atlanta Falcons. Or maybe the manufacturer mixed up the Northern California order: black shirts from the Raiders with 49er-red numbers and matching red socks. This felt so wrong, like a friend you can’t take seriously because they drastically changed their hair color. BLICK!

Great with the RIGHT uniform combination.

The blackened uniform was crowned with the familiar 49er gold helmet, the best part for some fans as it reminded them of the old times. Who were these impersonators running around in super villain suits with stolen 49er helmets?   That’s how some of my friends describe the “alternative” look: bad a**, bad guy, intimidating, strong. Some of the players are bad guys, but on this night, the real crime was the stolen identity of the 49ers.

Too hard to see black from far away. Photo courtesy of my friend Kevin P.

I never liked the gold pants so I don’t blame anyone for wanting to get rid of them, but it IS one of the team colors. The gold should go SOMEWHERE besides the helmet. A tiny gold swoosh is hardly representative of the team roots, The Gold Rush not The Coal Rush, as the dominant black jersey would indicate. I get it was the season opener, a cause to dress up a little to celebrate. Black is great for formal occasions but this is going too far for a football team made up of red and gold. I’m not feeling it.

There are a million ways to make a football team look fancy, take the Oregon Ducks for example. The uniforms change weekly and I can still recognize them as the Ducks. In fact, Nike is responsible for making the Ducks’ swanky look and is now responsible for the entire NFL. So why couldn’t Nike make a red, white and gold version of “cool” like Oregon for the 49ers?

I took a small poll, talking to cashiers, athletic trainers, teachers and friends. The votes were split; all of the guys liked the tough-guy black and a couple of gals. One of my friends thought it was a nice change, as if football players grew sick of the same old thing in their closet like she and I do. Boy oh boy can I relate! I say keep shopping until a better jersey shows up; it just isn’t them.

The last guy I guy I talked to about the uniforms, didn’t really mind the change; he was more focused on the game and happy for the win. I’m all for cheering for the home team, win or lose; just make it easy for me to recognize them.