Ranking the Ravens Uniforms
Some of the Ravens Uniforms Combinations are far, FAR better than others
The Ravens will be wearing their eight different uniform combination in 16 games on Sunday when they go purple over purple against the Los Angeles Rams. Though the do-or-die game will not be decided on aesthetics, some of the Ravens eleven (!) different combinations look better than others. Let’s rank them, from the bottom all the way to the top.
#11: Purple over Gold
This happened. It never should have happened. But it happened, even if it was only once. The pants were widely ridiculed by the fans, and for good reason; it looks just a little too similar to the Steelers for Ravens fans tastes. It also didn’t help that 1. the pants looked like brown mustard and 2. the Ravens got shellacked by the Kansas City Chiefs in Jimmy Clausen’s last NFL appearance.
#10: White over Black
Look, the black pants are boring. The black pants should be a good look, but most (but not all) of the time, when the team wears black pants it just looks so boring and pedestrian. It doesn’t help that the team’s record wearing this look has not been particularly great. But the team did win Super Bowl XLVII wearing this look, so that counts for something. Though not much.
#9: Purple over Black
The worst part about these two combinations is the fact that it looked lot better in 1996 an 1997 when the team only wore black pants . Those pants, however, had a white stripe on them. That solitary white stripe worked wonders.
#8: Color Rush
So here’s the thing about the color rush uniforms. I love them. I love the concept of them. I love the gold numbers on the purple jersey, which frankly should be worn all the time.
So why are they ranked so low? Because when you compare them side by side, the purple in the color rush uniforms is just different enough from the regular, traditional Ravens purple. If the purples matched better, than this would be near the top of the class.
#7: White over White
This is the traditional road uniform that the team use to wear as their primary road uniform regularly before the white over black took over. It’s historic, a look the team wore when it won its first Super Bowl. There is nothing wrong with it, per se, it is just a little more basic, a little more colorless than some of the better color options available.
#6: Purple over purple
There is nothing wrong with this uniform set, and I actually kinda like it. I’m a fan of the regular purple pants. But I tend to like contrast in football uniforms in most (but not all) circumstances. Purple over purple is perfectly cromulent, but there are better choices.
#5: Black over white
This was the first uniform set the Ravens branched out to when the introduced an alternate uniform. It’s actually a pretty good look for the team. Ravens, after all, black and not purple. The only problem is that so many other teams have black jerseys (including those Steelers) and a lot of other teams have a black over white uniform set, including the division rival Bengals. It’s good, not great.
#4: Purple over white
The traditional home uniform is exactly what I think of when I think about the Ravens. I think of winning teams, fantastic defense, and Hall of Fame names like Lewis, Reed, Ogden. Had other options not been introduced, this would far and away have been the top uniform combination. It’s a look the Ravens should probably wear with more regularity given
#3: Black over black
This is the only time that the plain black pants are appropriate. The all black look is a sleek look, and again is a color profile that a real Raven would look like. Here the lack of color on the black pants works for, not against, the combination. The Ravens play extremely well when using this combination, primarily because they often wear it for big prime time home games. If they wore this combination for every night game, I would be for it.
#2: White over purple
This look is fantastic. It’s a far better road look than the white jersey with white pants or black pants. The purple pants are just eye catching, and the white jersey provides a fantastic contrast. Since the only other team that wears purple is the Minnesota Vikings, you generally know exactly which team is the Ravens in any given game without knowing the context of who or where they are playing.
#1: Black over purple
Surprise! This is my favorite look for the team, even if they only have worn it twice. The black uniform is a slick look generally, and when you combine that with an appropriate colored pair of purple pants, you get a look that is unique to any other team in the NFL. No other team has ever worn black over purple and, unless the Vikings decide to wear a black jersey, no other team ever will. It’s a great look, and it’s what the Ravens should wear as their primary home uniform.