OK, let’s talk about the uniforms West Virginia and Pittsburgh are wearing in the 103rd Backyard Brawl. They’re both part of Nike’s Pro Combat uniforms series (obviously), originally unveiled Sept. 1. Both feature the lightweight Dri-FIT jersey and pants, as well as the Nike Vapor Jet Glove that form the school’s logo on the palms, but it’s the inspiration behind both that made them special.
West Virginia And Pittsburgh Debut Their Nike Pro Combat Uniforms
Pittsburgh’s uniforms are forged from the city’s steel history, featuring stenciling of numbers and a gold stripe atop their hard-hat inspired helmet meant to resemble a steel I-beam. And the numbers on the jersey are in “metallic team gold, representing the brilliant yet scorching glow of a blast furnace.”
To create West Virginia’s “coal dust” uniforms -- designed to honor those lives lost in the Upper Big Branch Mine disaster in April -- “Nike started with a clean white uniform and then envisioned what it might look like if it were to emerge from a coal mine.” The “smudged black” appears throughout the uniforms but is particularly noticeable on the Mountaineers’ helmets.
Perhaps most noteworthy is the yellow accent featured on the pants and bright cleats -- it “represents the canaries used long ago to test toxicity in mines.” The helmet also included a “thin yellow line running from the front to the back that represents the beam of light emitted by a miner’s headlamp.”
(Video via msnsportsnet.com)
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