The CFL has had leaguewide makeover in the form of a "change from reebok to adidas as uniform supplier," and the B.C. Lions "appear to have pushed the envelope further than anyone," according to Mike Beamish of the VANCOUVER SUN (5/13). In Vancouver, Scott Brown notes the Lions on Thursday "unveiled their new adidas jerseys," and while they have a "fresh new look about them, the team didn’t stray away from their traditional orange base colour." The club "has added black shoulder panels and changed to single-colored numbers (black) along with a move to black pants with orange accents" in '16. The road jerseys "are white with orange shoulder panels along with similar single-coloured numbers (orange), highlighted by orange pants and orange helmets with white decals complete with pearl-white face masks" (VANCOUVER SUN, 5/13).
SIGHT FOR SORE EYES: In Ottawa, Gord Holder notes the release of new Ottawa Redblacks jerseys should be "particularly welcomed by anyone who struggled to pick out Redblacks from the stands" at TD Place Stadium. White numerals "trimmed with red should make that task much simpler." The Redblacks away jersey, in white, "now reads 'Ottawa' rather than 'Redblacks' above the numbers, and the Twitter hashtag #RNation appears on the inside of the collar of both jerseys and the pant legs" (
OTTAWA CITIZEN, 5/13). In Saskatchewan, Murray McCormick notes a change from the Saskatchewan Roughriders' previous jerseys "is that the black trim has been removed from the jersey and the numbers to provide a cleaner appearance." The "cleaner look has been enhanced with the removal of the logos from the front and back of the jerseys." The release of the new Roughriders uniforms "was tied into the revamped logo that was unveiled earlier this year and the move into their new home" in '17. The new adidas uniforms "combine a look from the Riders jerseys" in '12 while "retaining their traditional green and white" (
Regina LEADER-POST, 5/13).
TURNING HEADS: In Edmonton, Gerry Moddejonge notes the biggest difference between the '16 Edmonton Eskimos shirts and last year’s championship garb "is changing the sleeves to be numberless, with two bold green and gold stripes that have been moved up high on the shoulder." As for away gear, the green strips running from neck to arm "has been removed to play up the traditional visiting white look" (EDMONTON JOURNAL, 5/13). In Calgary, Scott Mitchell notes the Calgary Stampeders "simply made some tweaks." The biggest changes were "adding the Western-style font that was previously only used on the black ‘Outlaw’ jerseys to all three, and changing the numbers on the white road duds from black to red." The horseshoe logo on the sleeves "was also ditched in favour of the standard white horse" (CALGARY HERALD, 5/13). In Winnipeg, Jeff Hamilton notes the Winnipeg Blue Bombers "have returned to the royal blue jerseys." Bombers President & CEO Wade Miller announced the color change "last month at the annual season ticket holders’ fan forum." There are a few "slight changes to give it a more modern look, most notably a more prominent ‘W’ on the sleeves and ‘Blue Bombers’ emblazoned across the chest above numbers outlined in gold" (WINNIPEG FREE PRESS, 5/13).
