USC jerseys complete with seemingly pointless Nike wire neckline

August 29, 2012 Football 3 Comments

USC jerseys look fine, just minor updates

It seems no team wearing the Nike swoosh on their uniforms will avoid a collision with the patented flywire neckline, including USC. This has become one of the staples of Nike’s newer football jerseys, first seen on their Pro Combat line of uniforms and now spreading to everyday uniforms around the country.

The new look neckline adds no real benefit to the uniform or enhances any on-field production by players wearing it around their collar. It is merely an aesthetic feature implemented by Nike so that their jerseys are even more easily identifiable to those with a keen eye for football uniforms. You know, because the trademark swoosh on the chest is not enough to tell who designed the jerseys, right?

Every artist has a signature, or recurring theme in their works of art. Some celebrities or national figures have synonymous character traits. Somewhere in the offices at Nike, this flywire neckline is some designer’s red golf shirt (Tiger Woods), hi-liter (Digger Phelps) or mascot head (Lee Corso).

USC defensive back Ryan Dillard tweeted a photo of his game day home uniform a couple of weeks ago but was just brought to our attention today. Other than the neckline, not much is noticeably different about the Trojans jersey. The yellow shoulder stripes remain with plain Trojan yellow numbering on the sleeve and front.

Have a look…