Rockets new uniforms

[JeeberD]

Probably no one here except for SI and myself will care, but the big news on Houston Rockets fan sites the past 24 hours is that the new Rockets unifoms have been accidentally leaked on NBA.com. The new uni's weren't supposed to be unveiled until September, but on the Korean portion of NBA.com there's a picture of Jalen Rose, Amare Stoudamire, and Cuttino Mobley in full uniform answering telephones in an office setting (I'm not sure why they're doing this, I can't read Korean). Cuttino is wearing the new Rockets jesey in the picture, and it has created quite the uproar.

Here's the orginal picture from NBA.com slighty enlarged:




And here's a close-up of Cuttino in the jersey:



As y'all can tell, you can't tell much from the picture. Looks like a red jersey with white or silver swooshes down each side. Specualtion has it that on the front it says "Rockets" and has the players number underneath, while the new logo will be featured on the shorts.

One of the interesting thing about this is that the fan site that scooped this (ClutchCity.net) had the picture on it's front page but has since removed it and all links that posters on the message board have posted to it. Some people think the NBA is forcing the site to remove the picture, while others think it's a favor to the Rocket's VP of Marketing, who posts fairly often on that board. Either way, it's an interesting situation.

And yeah, I know that we Rockets fans need to get a life. But when you haven't made the playoffs for five years and you get shut out in free agency (except for Eric Piatkowski ) you have to start making your own news...

[sony]

Is the hat behind CAT the new logo?

[JeeberD]

The new logo is...

[Anrhydeddu]

Not a bad logo at all. But the uniform needs something.

[sony]

I actually like the Rockets uniform theme of RED/WHITE - It is the same color as the football uniforms for my school. No that that matters. haha

[JeeberD]

The uni looks kind of collegiate to me. Pretty simple/not overly flashy. Someone else compared it to IU's uniforms. I guess we need to see the whole thing before we can tell for sure.

But the more I look at the picture, the more I like it...

[tucker342]

I agree, it doesn't look like an NBA uniform at all, but we will have to wait and find out what the whole uniform looks like...

[dawgfan]

IMO they'd have to work extremely hard to make an uglier uniform than their current one. It's hard to tell from that picture, but it already looks much better.

The current Rockets uni and logo are the poster-children for me of the recent trend of uni and logo design I hate in the major sports.

[Kodos]

It looks like a SportsCenter commercial - but where are the mascots?

[JeeberD]

Wow, I find the mystery and intrigue of all this fascinating. The original thread (on ClutchCity.net) where the picture was posted has disapeared. All new threads about the uniform picture are deleted. All links or even descriptions of where to find the original picture are also quickly deleted.

There is one thread still open now concerning this, and someone posted this over there:

off topic

Apparently, were not the only site that has them now. Fanhome.com's sports logo section has them and it looks like it will spread like wild fire from there judging from this post by user by "NYCdog" below.


-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
NYCdog
Registered User
Posts: 23
(7/28/03 5:36:09 pm)
Reply | Edit

Fans of the free internet world

This is your chance to make a difference. The NBA and the Houston Rockets are apparently trying to get this photo off the net as soon as possible. They are already trying to get it off of Clutchcity.net, a Rockets fan site that broke the story according to Rockets VP of marketing Tim McDougall, who is trying to do damage control. But according to Tim, if there is too much damage done, they will be FORCED TO UNVEIL THE UNI'S MUCH SOONER THEN EXPECTED.

GET THIS PHOTO OUT TO EVERY OUTLET POSSIBLE.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I have found this post in THREE different locations on the site. And since then I have noticed that the pics have popped up at various other sites ranging from Dallas-mavs.com to niketalk.com to *********************.

So if the NBA is going to try and bully CC.net around to get the photos off the net, they now have there work cut out for them. Cuz now we dont have them, but a whole of of other sites do and its spreading. Clutch, maybe you can use this as leverage to get them off of your back. Just a suggestion. Good luck

Someone else then said that one of the Houston channels news reported that the Rockets are claiming that the jersey pictured is just a prototype. If so, why are they worrying about it so much?

Weird, wild stuff...

[JeeberD]

Dola-

And now this has been posted by Tim, the Rockets VP of Marketing...

Heh. This has been pretty funny reading and catching up.

Here's what went down:

My staff saw the picture on cc.net and nba.com this morning. I was out of town for meetings with the league in New York, and unreachable. They contacted Dave(one of CC.net's Mods), told him the uniform that is glimpsed in the picture wasn't the final one (which is true; it's an early prototype), and asked Dave if he could take the picture off because they didn't want an incorrect version of the uniform out there. It wasn't a threatening call at all -- we have a great relationship with Dave and know as well as anybody how much work he puts into this site, and we just wouldn't ever approach him that way. It was just a request. (I talked to Dave once I got back in Houston. He confirmed this.)

They then contacted the league, had them pull it off their sites, and contacted Taiwan, who was going to pull it off their site as soon as the admin got in. Time zone differences, go figure.

All in all, my staff acted exactly as they should have.

Sometime in the middle of the day they got hold of me and got me in the loop.

When I landed in Houston and found out that other news outlets were going with it, I called Dave and told him that there was no sense in him holding back anymore. We joked about the conspiracy theories on the board (I can only wish I was clever enough to plant a leak on a Taiwanese site and have it make this big a splash), both our kids were crying in the background, and we made plans to talk more tomorrow.

The photo is an official NBA photo that the league asked not be posted, and Dave was cool with that. I'm under no delusions, though; I know there's a bunch of copies floating around in cyberspace.

And for what it's worth -- if we had actual copies of the final uniform in house tomorrow, we'd hold a big launch event for it tomorrow. We're really not trying to hold out on this ... we just need to get the goods before we can show them. If all this means we'll get the uniforms a few days sooner, great -- we'll move up the release date.

Tim

[mckerney]

What is wrong with their old uniforms? Back in my intramural basketball days (even if it is less than a year ago) I wore an old Hakeem Olajuwon jersey and I was fantastic.

[JeeberD]

Man, I would have swatted your crap so hard if you had tried to take it inside on me...

And yeah, they should have just gone back to the original uniforms. But unfortunatly neither you nor I own the Rox...

[mckerney]

Maybe we could pool our money to buy the team. I just got paid on friday, so depending on how much money you have we may have enough.

It'll be awesome. We could be the Mark Cubans of Texas!

[JeeberD]

Mark Cuban is my hero. I want to work at Dairy Queen too...

Hmmm. Bills are due soon, my girlfriends 21st birthday is coming up (so I gotta get her something, I guess), and her apartment complex just found out that my cat was living with her, so now I owe them a $100 fine...

I figure I can throw in about $50 for the cause. I sure hope that you get paid really well selling the hooch...

[mckerney]

Mark Cuban is a hero of mine as well. I was considering working at Dairy Queen because a girl I know who works there said I should apply for a job there, but it turns out liquor stores pay better.

[korme]

Hey, I kind of like that look! Just red and white, no outlines it appears. Very simple and nice as it seems.

Go clutchcity!

[mckerney]

Jeeber, being the Rockets fan you are wouldn't it be interested to see, say, maybe Joebarry Carroll play in one of those uniforms?

[JeeberD]

You trying to get me thread shut down?!?!?!

[RendeR]

Originally posted by Shorty3281
Hey, I kind of like that look! Just red and white, no outlines it appears. Very simple and nice as it seems.

Go clutchcity!

Dude, Shorty, are we fans of ALL the same teams? I've always liked the Rockets, even though I think basketball SUCKS...but still...if you tell me you are a Buffalo Sabres Fan I'm going to pass out....

[korme]

Originally posted by RendeR
Dude, Shorty, are we fans of ALL the same teams? I've always liked the Rockets, even though I think basketball SUCKS...but still...if you tell me you are a Buffalo Sabres Fan I'm going to pass out....

Haha, well I think hockey sucks, but if I root for any team it is the Ducks or the Red Wings (thankyou NHL '94 for Sega).

But I've always liked the Rockets.

[Easy Mac]

If the unis are just prototypess, why whould they let them be used in an ESPN commercial?

[JeeberD]

And the jerseys have finally been released...



I'll give them a thumbs up. They're much, much better than the old pajamas...

[JeeberD]

Dola-

Looks like the big change from the "prototype" shown in the first image is that the stripes on the sides were changed from white to gray. Other than that, from what can been seen from the first pic, not much has changed....

[sturmie]

go Buckeyes, er, i mean Rockets!

[cuervo72]

That's right....I forgot about Buffy the Basketball Player!

Hmm, for some reason they remind me of the Chicago Blitz...

[Vince]

I like them...simple. I still think the new logo looks like something the jacked from Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

[sterlingice]

A little plain, but I'll have to see them in action before I decide. That said, 100x better than the old blue things (pinstripes?!? someone needs to be shot for that idea) and much better and classier than almost any recent NBA outing. I give it an 8.

(Now, if only the Astros could go back to that navy and gold that I liked, then I'd be happy. I like black and red, but it's just not them... the navy and gold was nice and classy and could have become a nice trademark but those red and black will be gone and forgotten in a few years)

EDIT: Here's the Chronicle story, about it, btw:
Rockets New Unis

SI

[JeeberD]

Cool, thanks for the link SI...

[mckerney]

Originally posted by JeeberD
Looks like the big change from the "prototype" shown in the first image is that the stripes on the sides were changed from white to gray. Other than that, from what can been seen from the first pic, not much has changed....

"Shit, they got a picture of the new jersey design. Now we have to come up with something else so they can't accuse us of lying when we said they were just prototypes."

[Logan]

I don't know if its because of the connection with Yao, but when I look at the letters on the front of the jerseys, it just reminds me of letters that would be used on a Chinese restaurant sign.

[MissionComplete]

I personally think the logo is pretty sweet. I am usually laughing at how ridiculous the new uniforms attempt to be, but these are actually really well done.

[JeeberD]

Originally posted by Logan
I don't know if its because of the connection with Yao, but when I look at the letters on the front of the jerseys, it just reminds me of letters that would be used on a Chinese restaurant sign.

I think the Rockets did that intentionally. They're trying to corner the huge Chinese market....

[JeeberD]

[cuervo72]

Originally posted by JeeberD

Why didn't they just go all the way with the Chinese look and make their mascot a panda?

[JeeberD]

Someone one the Rockets board said the same thing...

[JeeberD]

Some pics from media day (as if y'all weren't tired of me posting these)...

[JeeberD]

And just a few more....

[CamEdwards]

I confess to being out of the Rockets loop, but can someone please explain to me what the hell a cartoony bear has to do with a team called the Rockets?

That has to be the single gayest mascot I've ever seen.

[mckerney]

I'd think a better mascot for the Rockets would be a space monkey. A really badass space monkey.

[JeeberD]

The Marketing guy for the Rox says the kids love it, and if the kids love it then parents usually like it...blah blah blah...

I'll see if I can find his exact comments.

And yeah, I agree with you, it's a pretty silly mascot...

[mckerney]

Originally posted by cuervo72
Why didn't they just go all the way with the Chinese look and make their mascot a panda?

I think to corner the Chinese market they'd need a panda that played DDR during halftime and timeouts.

[JeeberD]

OK Cam, I found Tim's (the Rockets VP of Marketing) exact comments on the subject when some of the guys at ClutchCity.net were bitching about the bear (whose name happens to be Clutch)....

Originally posted by Tim
Ummmm ... I think some of you need to unwind a little bit.

We have plenty of kids at Rockets games. They love Clutch. So do many of the non-kids. We get more fan mail for Clutch than for anything else we do. He's one of the more popular mascots in the league, and he does a damn fine job.

If he doesn't float your particular boat, then ignore him and let the ones who get a kick out of him enjoy that part of the show.

For the person upstream who said that the Rockets need to realize that not all their fans are kids -- you're missing the point.

The rule isn't that everything in the arena needs to appeal to one particular type of person. It's that there should be something in the arena to appeal to every type of person.

Tim

[sterlingice]

You know, I don't mind that so much. People who are 25 don't go to the game to see the mascot, but if you have a kid friendly one, you can get lifelong fans by having one they love.

I kindof like the white jerseys now after seeing them in action- plain but classy. As for the reds... well, they're red. I think I'll try to get me a white Yao or Stevie Franchise when I'm in Houston at Thanksgiving.

SI

[JeeberD]

I'm kind of confused though. The uniforms that the players are wearing aren't the uniforms that that were released a couple of weeks ago. If you look at the picute that I posted on 9-22, they're different (and Tim, in the thread that they were released in, assured us that they were the real uniforms). In the one picture the road uniforms have silver stripes instead of the white stripes and the numbers are larger as well. As a matter of fact, I think I like the uniforms in that one picture than the ones that the players were wearing yesterday. The road uniforms that were being worn yesterday in fact look quite a bit like the one that Cuttino Mobley is wearing in the very first pics that I posted here, the uniform that was supposed to be just a prototype....

Interesting...

[heybrad]

The Lakers used to have a Dancing Taco at their games.

[JeeberD]

Gotta love Jeff Van Gandy. Look at that face...

[cuervo72]

Originally posted by JeeberD
Gotta love Jeff Van Gandy. Look at that face...