Arizona Cardinals uniform is a classic that needs updating

One of the classics that we see every Sunday in the NFL is that of the ARizona Cardinals white helmets, adorned with the red cardinal head.

It is one of the few white helmets left in the NFL and a nod to the teams history.

It also needs some work.

The SB Nation mothership took a look at some uniforms that needed updating the most the other day.

Friend of mine Charles McDonald, congrats on the new gig Chuck, invited an artist to discuss what uniforms in the league needed updating:

Enter my close personal friend and extremely talented artist, Nate James.

You may be familiar with Nate’s work from Nike’s Air Force 1 campaign last fall that utilized his abilities to make posters promoting their shoe.

These are Nate’s credentials if you will. He has worked with athletic campaigns, successfully, before and understands the nuances that some of us, me for instance, miss on uni’s.

Here is what Nate had to say about the Cardinals uniforms:

A wide variety of weird key lines and splashes of detail that look messier and messier every year. The white swaths on the armpits accomplish nothing. The combination of a red stripe and a red shoulder yoke on the away jersey is truly, truly awful.

That was always the concept with the Cardinals, keep as much of the past as possible while updating the design.

Yet, it is the helmet that cries for help and change:

Pairing a clearly outdated look that has to contort itself to the seams of new uniform technology with an ancient helmet that’s never changed is beyond nonsensical.

It is the biggest complaint I hear about uniforms every single year.

Will it ever change?

Unlikely, we see new and exciting helmet concepts all the time that are not white, but the reality is, the helmet is unlikely to change.

The black uniforms are the best, in my opinion, with enough different colors that it makes it unique, but also does a nice job with the white helmets.

So, how would you design a uniform around a white helmet?

That’s always the biggest question and one that seems to not be answered by most.

Do you like the Cardinals uniform or are you ready for an update?