Air Force finally got to wear awesome fighter plane shark teeth helmets

Air Force has an awesome uniform combination that we get to enjoy once more during bowl season. Air Force is sporting the awesome fighter plan shark teeth helmets in the Arizona Bowl against South Alabama.

This isn’t the first time we’ve seen these bad boys. In early September, Air Force played Georgia State. The Falcons won, 48-14and wore the fighter plane shark teeth helmets during the victory.

Check these things out, in action:

(USA TODAY Sports)

A close-up, from when Air Force unveiled them in August:

Aside from the general coolness of putting shark teeth on a football helmet, there’s a lot going on here. The Air Force Academy’s mascot is a falcon, but the U.S. military’s air warriors and the Air Force in particular have some cool history with this emblem.

During World War II, the United States and China combined for the creation of a group of fighter plane pilots called the “Flying Tigers,” and their planes’ nose art was shark teeth. It looked awesome and became an iconic piece of World War II imagery.

But though that’s a piece of American airpower history, the Air Force wasn’t technically involved. Instead, the exact reference is likely to the Air Force’s A-10 Warthog:

Lots of college football teams try too hard to look cool and new with their helmet designs. Some throwbacks are, frankly, sort of boring. This is a cross between historical, new and sleek, and it’s a fun nod to an important part of the past.

The service academies have done things like this before. Army has tried it, and so has Navy.

Kudos on a good idea, Air Force.