Michigan State's new uniforms are loud, bold and maybe a little genius

Michigan State unveiled new alternate uniforms for the
2019 football season, drawing criticism.

Photo courtesy Colton Pouncy

Football uniforms are a sense of pride for a fan base. The right color combination, the precise line work and design. For some such as Alabama and Oklahoma, simplicity is key while for others, eye-catching is the name of the game.

Regardless of where you fall on that spectrum, the uniform of your college program can be a sense of pride. But when a program takes a chance and maybe gets a little too confident in their ideas, you can get wardrobe train wrecks that draw the ire and sarcasm all-to-well-known on social media and the internet as a whole.

Michigan State is finding that out, after images were released of an alternate uniform the Spartans plan to wear at some point in the 2019 season. Needless to say, it is a little more, bold, than what the typically more conservative uniform is, as seen below.

On a positive, the numbers are big, so you can see who is doing what from the nosebleed section, maybe even the international space station. Also, it is the right shade of green, mostly.

Let's be honest, this alternate uniform is a trainwreck but aesthetically and from a design standpoint. The 'STATE' is far too large a font, barely fitting on the front of the jersey, which throws the all thing off.

And the highlighter green name and pants, that might just be too much from a hi-def color TV to handle.

No surprise, this is a Nike design, a company known for there loud uniform colors, mostly due to Oregon and Baylor.

The Oregon Ducks.

But that is Oregon. Crazy uniform combinations, liquid metal helmets and ridiculously loud, bright colors are kind of that programs gimmick. But Michigan State?

Michigan State's alternate uniforms are bright, bold and dripping with the bright-dark color combo made infamous in the 1990's (which I hear is back in all its nostalgia). From the Spartans perspective, these uniforms are everything mentioned above and more, but they are also a little genius.

In the Big 10 Ohio State and Michigan are the two programs driving the ship, and the conversation. The Spartans are also behind Penn State, Wisconsin and Nebraska in popularity, and head coach Mark Dantonio is not an attention grabber like Minnesota's P.J. Fleck, Northwestern's Pat Fitzgerald or Purdue's Jeff Brohm (he is considered one of the best coaching minds in the conference, though.)

Add that with the fact Michigan State is coming off a 7-6 year where they lost 3-of-4 final games, including a 7-6 loss to Oregon in the snoozer that was the Redbox Bowl, and Michigan State was not getting much national attention.

Now, eyes are on the program, recruits are seeing this alternate uniform and Michigan State is getting headlines and attention (the irony of this post is not lost on me).

The old adage has been you don't want negative press, but in the case of big time college football, press is press. It is when no one is talking about you is when you need to worry.

People are talking about the Spartans now, at least until the games start.