It’s been an interesting 8 year relationship between Adidas and Cincinnati. Adidas brought flash and what they believe to be “New-age” fashion to school that had previously worn only simple, clean designs. For Bearcat fans, a world of cat scratches, chain male, and stretch marks is a world that would rather be unseen. Rejoice! Under Armour is here.
Before trashing Adidas and their previous screw-ups, let’s take a look at what they’ve done right. Here are the top 5 Adidas uniforms worn by the Bearcats:
5. 2015 All-White vs Toledo – Simple and Clean. The stretch marks and chain male were almost invisible on the white uniforms. The Cats scratched a chrome logo concept on the white helmet for a nice all-black logo. This was done for the sake of visibility on TV but ended up looking much better, in general, compared to the potential chrome logo.
4. 2008 Black on White vs Syracuse – For the first time since the switch to Adidas, UC wore black on white. Hopefully, this brings back great memories for Bearcat fans as the cats clinched their 1st Big East title that day.
3. 2013 Black on Black with Chrome Decals vs Louisville – In the last game played at Nippert, the Bearcats broke out some special chrome helmet decals (as did Louisville). It was the only time all year that the silver numbers didn’t look ridiculous.
2. 2009 White on Black vs Pitt – This pick had more to do with the game rather than the actual uniforms. Although, they were nothing special, their look will be engrained in my heart until the day I day along with the words “To the end zone it goes…. Caught!” These uniforms capped off the perfect season.
1. 2014 All Black vs ECU, Houston – These uniforms were perfect (except for the claw scratches). This was easily Adidas’ best look for the Bearcats. The change back to white numbers was much needed. After a long season of mixing up the uniform combos, it was nice to see the modernized, classic look.
See, that was fun. A little nostalgia never hurt… Not so fast! Time to remember why we’re so excited about leaving Adidas. Here are the worst 5 looks from Adidas:
5. 2012 Black on Red vs Virginia Tech – I appreciate the effort in the attempt to mix things up but, this just didn’t work for me.
4. 2010 White on White vs Louisville – This was the game where Adidas debuted their new Tech-Fit jerseys and UC was the guinea pig. My biggest problem with these is that the jersey and pants do not match. Adidas had yet to “perfect” the Tech-Fit pants, so the Cats were mix-matched for most of the season. Not the best work by Adidas.
3. 2008 The Black Jerseys That Almost Happened – When Adidas originally unveiled UC’s new uniforms in 2008, these were the black jerseys that were presented. Those red side panels looked terrible. It is a VERY good thing that those were removed. the all-black look is much cleaner.
2. 2013 Black on White – As I mentioned before, the silver numbers in 2013 were not pretty. Typically a good combo, the 2013 version was terrible. The contrast between the silver numbers and white pants drove me insane. Throw in the pink accessories worn that day and it looks even worse.
1. 2013 Black on Red with Red Helmets vs UNC – This is one of the worst combos I’ve ever seen. Uniforms are supposed to match and flow together well in some form or fashion. With this combo, there was no hope. The Red and Black on the helmets and pants didn’t work with the Black and Silver on the jerseys. SILVER IS NOT A TEAM COLOR (for good reason). 
I would love it if i could erase some of these from my memories. Hopefully, Under Armour doesn’t try to pass off any train wrecks on the Bearcats. The new uniforms will be unveiled soon (August). It should be interesting to say the least. There is a lot of hype and the fans don’t want to be disappointed/embarrassed.
The Aesthetic: A Sports Blog 