Football Uniforms: Cladding the warriors

Football has become America’s most popular sport in recent decades, outpacing baseball. It is often referred to as a kind of warfare. Indeed, the constant, hard physical contact that marks every play makes “war” a good metaphor for the game. Along with the excitement and strategy of a good match, goes no small amount of injuries. To make football as safe as possible, football uniforms are worn by every player, uniforms that provide protection for as much of the body as possible, while allowing for a full range of movement. Interestingly, the very uniforms that are worn to minimize injury contribute to the military look and feel of the sport.

Let’s look at some of the most conspicuous and important articles of the uniforms football players wear. The helmet is vital. It protects the head and part of the neck, as well as the facial features. Over the years, helmets have become bulkier and more sophisticated.  When a team sets out to buy football uniforms, there is no point looking to save money if entails purchasing helmets of inferior quality. Indeed,  high schools and colleges often have trouble supporting their football teams given the high cost of properly outfitting the team.  Helmets must also, while protecting the head and face, allow players a clear view of what is happening on the field.

Shoulder pads are as likely as helmets to pop into someone’s mind when they picture the uniform football players wear.  It is shoulder pads that give players that hulking, warrior look.  The pads are not merely there to impress fans and to give their wearer a electric current of boldness and courage. An essential part of football uniforms, they protect the shoulders, and part of the back and upper arm regions of the body. Without a decent pair of shoulder pads, the collisions and the not infrequent times a players lands on the turf would result in an awful battering.

There are other elements of the garb the warriors of the gridiron wear, both in practice and during games. Thigh pads help ease the battering players’ legs take. One of the most crucial items is shoes. The spiked shoes players wear need to protect their feet but also allow for the quick starts, stops, and changes of directions runners and wide receivers need to make.

Football uniforms tend to be custom ordered. If they do not have to specially ordered and made from scratch, there is always some degree of customization required by teams.  The name of the team must be printed on the jerseys. Many teams like for each player’s jersey to bear his name. Helmets are usually custom ordered so that the team logo is printed on it. To deal with the high cost of buying uniforms, many high school and junior league teams hold fundraisers and/or have their players sell candy or raffle tickets in order to raise funds. The advent of the internet has helped cash strapped teams buy football uniforms. It is possible to shop around and find bargains that were much harder to come across in the pre-internet era.