Donovan Smith: Ditch The Unis

April 17th, 2019

Speaks out.

Bucs left tackle Donovan Smith cannot stand it any longer.

Each Sunday during the NFL season, Smith, a very large man at 6-6, 338 pounds, has to look like a clown. A clown the size of a steer.

Each gameday, Smith must wear a giant, moving advertisement of all that is wrong with Nike, as well as a fundamental problem with the NFL because it craves nickels so bad it is gladly willing to sell its soul to look like color-blinded fools who dropped ‘shrooms.

Joe’s talking about the Bucs uniforms, embarrassing the franchise nearly as much as its play since the beginning of the reign of terror by inept Lovie Smith, with its alarm clock font numbers and CFL-inspired pewter shoulders.

In the wake of the news that the Los Angeles Chargers will reach back to their early glory days in San Diego and wear their powder blue jerseys as their primary home jersey, Smith couldn’t hold back any longer.

Smith wants a new uniform for the Bucs. Now. And if Team Glazer is wise, Smith prefers the return of the Creamsicles.

Well now. “Group of people.” You don’t suppose Smith is referring to his teammates, do you?

Oddly enough, former Bucs wide receiver Antonio Bryant saw Smith’s post and retweeted it with a photo (photoshopped?) of him wearing the Creamsicles writing “RT if you want the @Buccaneers to bring these back.”

Smith coming out of the closet about the garish unis comes on the heels of Dave Bernreuther of Football Outsiders completely trashing the Bucs uniforms as the “worst set in the league,” among other things.

In 2018, after their closest geographic neighbors wisely ditched the two-tone helmets, the Buccaneers assumed the title of Worst Uniform in all of Football. For my money, it’s not even close. While I dislike the Nike-fication of Seattle and most college teams, which has gotten to the point that on Saturdays it’s often difficult to even know who the hell is even playing when you first look, most of that is at least coherent and/or based on an idea or theme that makes sense.

The Bucs, on the other hand, took one of the most unique uniforms in sports, one that was almost universally well-regarded, and for no reason whatsoever replaced it with a ridiculous alarm clock motif that looks like they accidentally submitted a third grader’s first computer graphics project. Their mandate to Nike may as well have been “hey, let’s see just how much worse we can make this.”

Who likes these things?

Are they actually selling that many Bucs jerseys that Nike likes them?

Joe agrees with Bernreuther in that there was no need to change from the classic reds. Joe’s a classic uniform kind of a guy. And if one must change a uniform, shouldn’t it change for the better?

And this dumb (yes, it’s dumb) second-helmet rule in the NFL has killed any chance of a return of the Creamsicles unless it is full-time thing, which honestly wouldn’t cause Joe to lose an ounce of sleep.

Joe’s two biggest issues with the uniforms are the pewter-colored shoulders that are different than the color of the jersey (those things just scream “CFL!”) and the alarm clock font. Call Joe a geezer if you wish, but numbers are on uniforms for one reason: identification. If one struggles to read the numbers, the jersey is a massive fail before the ball is kicked off.

The Bucs embarrass themselves enough on the field of play. Why add insult to injury with these things, year after year?

85 Responses to “Donovan Smith: Ditch The Unis”

  1. Buccaneerscotty Says:

    You finally found something we can all agree on! We can’t stand the uniforms!

  2. martinii Says:

    Hate the uniforms, but who cares what I think, This post will be on moderation until Saturday afternoon.

  3. Elita Vita Says:

    These uniforms are losers and represent the poor recent performance of our beloved Buccaneers. You want to start to change this culture? Start the change with new uniforms. There is a saying “the clothes make the man”. If this is so let’s get uniforms the players can be proud of. Seriously!

  4. Max Says:

    One of the rare times i’m in agreement for something Donovan Smith did.

  5. Howard Cosell Says:

    glazer franchise is pathetic

  6. DanBucsfan Says:

    Going back to the creamsicles for this season (100th Nfl season) would be kind of cool. And then would give the owners a year to pick new uniforms for next year. It would actually be a profitable deal for team Glazer as most would buy merch this year in creamsicle colors and then next year with the new uniforms coming out. Hope this idea that smith proposed catches on, but I highly doubt it will. Maybe JOBUCSFAN can start a petition or something lol

  7. Not there yet Says:

    Oddly enough it doesn’t seem to matter, the owners you know the ones who never wear the jerseys decided this looked good somehow. They can’t even come up with a uniform no wonder they’ve been horrible at picking managers and coaches

  8. Buc1987 Says:

    Keeeeeeeep the sucky uniforms..

    UNTIL the team EARNS better ones…

    Crappy team crappy uniforms….

    Same with Creamsicles to red ones…..

    Earn a better uni!

  9. westernbuc Says:

    Donovan just earned his paycheck in my book

  10. lowercaseg Says:

    Ugliest uniform in the NFL right now. #GLAZERSKNOWNOTHING

  11. TampaTown Says:

    I do agree with Donovan but since I was a kid I’ve always thought the Steelers have the ugliest uniforms. Yuk. But we do need a throwback game with the throwback helmet. Enough already make it happen

  12. Jean Lafitte Says:

    better keep what ya got cause I ain’t about to drop more cash on a new jersey.

  13. Eric Says:

    I despise the damn uniforms.

    And the emblem on the helmets are ridiculously big.

    Can’t we just go back to the super bowl unis. Or even the cresmsickles.

    Just get rid of the current horror show. Plesse.

  14. Barack's Crack Pipe Says:

    “And this dumb (yes, it’s dumb) second-helmet rule in the NFL has killed any chance of a return of the Creamsicles.”

    This is turning out to be a stupid rule. The latest research is suggesting that athletic activity is not connected to CTE. They are finding non-athletes with similar numbers of CTE-positive brain tests.

  15. Barack's Crack Pipe Says:

    DanBucsfan Says:
    “Going back to the creamsicles for this season (100th Nfl season) would be kind of cool. And then would give the owners a year to pick new uniforms for next year.”

    This cannot happen this way. According to agreements currently in place, any uniform change has to be kept for at least 4 seasons. I don’t know for sure, but suspect this rule is designed to protect consumers from being pressured into buying new jerseys every year.

    Then again, does anyone really look out for consumers anymore?

  16. SappAttack Says:

    Our all red color rush unis are some of the best in the NFL, just wear those and make an all white version for home games and an all pewter for alternates. BOOM, problem solved.

  17. Barack's Crack Pipe Says:

    Eric Says:
    “I despise the damn uniforms. And the emblem on the helmets are ridiculously big.”

    Those 1982 digi-flip alarm clock numbers are the worst idea ever. And you are right about the jumbo helmet stickers. The only thing I would keep is the chrome face masks (if the helmets stay pewter).

    I would expect that any normal company would have fired that design team. But then, Nike has sucked themselves for a while now. Plus, the Bucs’ unis aren’t the only ones they have ruined recently.

    Nike is just another cog in the big wheel destroying American culture by design.

  18. Pete I Says:

    Yep the uniforms really are awful. But its like everything else since the Glazier babies took over from their dad. Awful! That’s what you get when you allow owners who are more fans of soccer design and run things…
    And the color rush uniforms look like Red long johns from the 1930’s. Equally or even more awful.

  19. Maddog Says:

    Creamsicles Dammit!

  20. Magadude Says:

    Most folks don’t remember the jokes and criticism brought by the original Bucs uniforms–especially the orange and the complicated logo that no kid could draw. That is why the second version with the priate flag logo was so popular.

    Keep the newest logos and newest red color, but modify the jersey design, and start anew. They should keep the helmets as is and ditch what they call pewter in the jersey. Change the font on the numbers (lose the “chrome” color) but keep a tinge or orange in it for heritage.

    I liked the old pewter color better, but something else most don’t remember…the owners didn’t like how sweat looked on the pants because that color showed every bit of crotch sweat there is…even during warmups. Marketing.

  21. BucsFanSince1976 Says:

    Unis look like something designed by an acid dropper from the 70’s , they are by far the worst in sports.

  22. AKickInTheBucNuts Says:

    I’m sure the uniforms had to get the OK from the Glazers, this is proof positive that they have no clue what they are doing…..at all.

    The fact they would OK these trashy uniforms speaks volumes that they can be led around and swayed by other stupid peoples opinions and not know the difference between good or garish and have the balls to do something about it.

    This mind-set spills over to the operation of the entire franchise.

    Glazers have NO CLUE what they are doing.

  23. Rossta 61 Says:

    What’s wrong with you all ? Creamsicle! Now that that was the worst uniforms in The NFL ever! We were the laughing stock of the NFL. Go back to the super Bowl colors. They should have never change those colors

  24. Bird Says:

    Shame on the owners for not doing something about this sooner.

    The fans hate them
    The players hate them.

    Oh but Nike says they are cool.

    Joes – start a petition to get 25,000 signatures or something like that …I ll sign it …others too…shoot get some players signature …viola …and we will deliver to one buc before preseason starts.

  25. Bucsfanman Says:

    It’s time. It’s time to change the culture and the attitude. It’s a perfect opportunity to start fresh and bring back some G-D dignity to this organization!
    Not now, RIGHT NOW!

  26. Morgus the Magnificent Says:

    PUKE!!!

  27. pok Says:

    I wish they would run a fan-base survey. Maybe if they realized 80-90% of the fans detested the uniform, they would change it. The SB winning version was great, this is garbage. Hey at least the putrid unis cut across this divided nation and we can all be as one is trashing them!

  28. Ndog Says:

    I actually like them as it makes us unique.

  29. Bruce Blahak Says:

    Back to the orange is the proper way, in this 100th year at least!

  30. Bucnjim Says:

    I don’t know this type of thinking by the players is why we so desperately need a culture change. Are they going to make you faster, stronger or a better player? Nope I sat through 20 years of losing with players wearing those exact same uniforms. How about they worry about why the are terrible year in and year out and improve their games? Instead our guys are worried about how they look in front of the camera. Right McCoy?

  31. Badger Says:

    Whereas I’m not thrilled with the current uniforms, I absolutely DESPISED the creamsicle orange ones. THEY were the worst uniforms in the league. Just go back to the unis from their superbowl days.

  32. Buccaneer Bonzai Says:

    I have not bought Buccaneers products since they addopted these uniforms, and I won’t until the real pewter and red returns.

    Btw there is no pewter on these unis…it’s charcoal. And the old red was bloid red, not basic red.

  33. DooshLaRue Says:

    Couldn’t we start by switching our helmets to this:

    https://images.app.goo.gl/Hb7J5KYRP4DA7pbM7

  34. Pickgrin Says:

    Current uniforms SUCK!!!!

    Glazers – change them NOW!!!

    And for God’s sake – this time let the fans decide between 2 or 3 designs if a new design is preferred instead of going back to the Super Bowl era look that I think most everyone would be just fine with…..

    Whatever you do about this – please don’t just choose another terrible design yourselves leaving players and fans feeling stuck with a look that nobody likes or wants…..

    I said 5 years ago that I would NEVER buy a Burger King uniform looking jersey and have stuck to my word. Guarantee you that I am not the only one abstaining from spending any money on wearing this hideous design.

    I’ll just keep rocking the half dozen or so Super Bowl era Bucs jerseys I have until the Glazers wise up….

  35. Larry D Says:

    Go back to the red jerseys! Very professional. You don’t see the Cowboys, Steelers or Packers screwing around with goofy colors. Stay professional.

  36. DooshLaRue Says:

    Ndog probably still wears Members Only jackets and Jordache jeans.
    Ya know…… cause it makes him unique.

  37. K2 Says:

    Agree…uniforms suck.

  38. Phil Says:

    Nike sucks. Bring back the Adidas uniforms. They looked great. It was stupid to change to the ugly Nike uniforms.

  39. Dewey Selmon Says:

    Not much of a Twatter, what is RT? Is Bryant suggesting Smith move to right tackle?

  40. BringBucsBack Says:

    The Glazers probably thought this design would be attractive to the Millennials and lure younger fans, more than building a winner.

    Small improvements: Make the sticker (lame) smaller; change the #s
    OR
    Wholesale improvements: Keep the Pewter; return to the classic red uniform design however, replace the red with Burnt Orange (red is overused) create a logo more dissimilar to Oaklands’.

    The Creamsicles are cool occasionally but, nearly everyone hated them when the team wore it. Folks associated losing with those Creamsicles, even blamed them. The colors were not masculine enough; Busco Bruce is winking, remember?

    A “Jefferey” and a winking pirate intimidates no one!

  41. BringBucsBack Says:

    Why am I in moderation, Joe? I said nothing about your man-child QB this time. “Your world, boss.”

  42. Ateonetree Says:

    Go with the color rush uniforms those look amazing

  43. OneBuc55 Says:

    Love the helmet, Hate the uniform…

    Also not a huge fan of the retro creamsicle unis either; that said, I could tolerate them a once a year…

    Imo, keep the current helmet and redesign the current uniform…and for crying out loud, please get rid of the digital clock number font…

  44. #1bucsfan Says:

    Change em plzzzzzzz hater them since they changed them plzz go back to the classic red or even the creamsicles plzzzzz lol go Bucs

  45. Loyaltotheend Section 312 Says:

    If they win the uniforms will look better

    Seattle’s neon jerseys are worse so are the Steeler throwbacks and Aqua and teal Dolphins are worse

  46. TBUC North Carolina Says:

    Agree with OneBuc55. Go back to exact Super Bowl uniforms and keep current helmet!!

  47. jjbucfan Says:

    Creamsicles were and are the best uniforms we had. Everyone is trying to associate them with losing-that is a joke. Us losing associates us with losing- who cares which uniforms we were wearing. When we were in the playoffs in the late 70’s early 80’s they awesome. We even made an appearance on What’s Happening! because Dwayne picked us over the Raiders because he liked our uniforms better (we lost by like 50, LOL)

  48. SchlomieBarmitzvahCircumScissorStein Says:

    Orange, white and silver! Bring back the pirate logo!

  49. D-Rome Says:

    The reign of terror that Bucs fans have had to endure is the one led by Backstabbin’ Jason Licht. It’s been 5+ years of nightmares and sleepless nights.

  50. Cannon Says:

    Our Red and Pewter uniforms were some of the best in the league. I honestly don’t know why we switched to the crap that we have now.

  51. Jmarkbuc Says:

    Ndog

    The unbridled Jameis worship was one thing, but seriously, now we all know for sure that you’re deranged.

  52. Bandwagon Says:

    Are you guys serious?? A few months ago you guys tried writing on Twitter that you don’t care how the uniforms look. And now that you guys see that most fans, AND PLAYERS, don’t like it you guys now want to stand on the side of hating the uniforms. Must be convenient to be able to make money on articles when you can always flip flop your stance on issues with this organization.

  53. Hodad Says:

    The best part of the new uni’s for me was the helmet. The jerseys sucked. I would like to see us don the old cream color for awhile. I wouldn’t put Bucco on the helmet tho, I’d keep the same flag loco making the red flag orange also.

  54. Joe Says:

    Bandwagon:

    Yes, in the grand scheme of things, Joe would take victories over any uniform design. Wins, at the end of the day, matter. A uniform doesn’t win or lose any game.

    That doesn’t mean Joe likes those things the Bucs currently wear.

    Not sure how much cash Joe can make off a uniform article. Possibly $4?

  55. Reach87 Says:

    Magadude good post. Appreciate the perspective

  56. Darin Says:

    He is asking for a large group of people. Cmon Donovan take that straight to the owners office. Be awesome if they brought back the orange. Those red ones were Ok but lets get back to the originals. Those were Awesome.

  57. Joe Says:

    Cmon Donovan take that straight to the owners office.

    He should have thought of this *before* he signed his contract.

    What Donovan Smith does have the power to do is influence his player’s association to do away with the dumb second helmet ban when the new CBA is negotiated. That is preventing the Bucs from using the creamsicles as throwbacks.

  58. Cobraboy Says:

    Pewter and red, and to hell with those gawd-aweful “color rush” abortions.

    I despise the current Buc unis. Despise.

  59. 813bucboi Says:

    i like the current unis and the throwbacks….i dont see what the problem is….lol….

    #REALISTKNOWSNOTHING!!!!!…GO BUCS!!!!

  60. 813bucboi Says:

    lowercaseg

    lol….

    #REALISTKNOWSNOTHING!!!!!…GO BUCS!!!!

  61. Armando Says:

    Go back to the SB uniforms – when we were winning. Couldn’t hurt.

  62. Bucsdelight Says:

    The numbers are what kill me. Like a digital clock, time to unplug them.

  63. Red86 Says:

    Follow these steps carefully to prevent injuries.

    Step 1) Stand up when appropriate and convenient.

    Step 2) Clap your hand in agreement.

    Step 3) Proceed to do the activity you doing before you read step 1.

    I think the old Orange uni does looks better than the current unis. I think the pewter and red are the best.

  64. Arian Nation Says:

    Love the helmets, despise the uniforms.

  65. Siege the Bay Says:

    The all red unis are slick

  66. ToesOnTheLine!!! Says:

    Amen! Ditch those things for game days. Maybe save them to be pulled out if the team is having a charity cookout and the players are volunteering to flip burgers? They can then sing “hold the pickles, hold the lettuce, special orders don’t upset us…have it your way, at Burger King…” and look the part. 🙂

  67. ToesOnTheLine!!! Says:

    Agree with others above though, the number font is probably the worst part of it…go back to the SB era number font as a cost effective compromise. The red/red color rush abominations almost make me pray the team has no Thursday night games. If they want eye popping gaudy then why not go full creamsicle jerseys and pants with the current design…that’ll keep em up on a Thursday night and tie in to the classic uni roots.

  68. Anonymous Says:

    I hate the current uniforms. Awhile back someone posted this helmet design, with the idea that it would work with the current color scheme, as well as with the throwback uniforms. I’m sure opinions will vary, but I like it. You will need to copy and paste into a search bar to see it.

    https://www.bing.com/images/search?view=detailV2&id=DCD52BEC3614E958AF1A35AF8C953A22D9ED5F33&thid=OIP.O43gqafQfmN8aMUdIrSOmAHaFj&mediaurl=https%3A%2F%2Fi.pinimg.com%2Foriginals%2F5f%2F6a%2F20%2F5f6a208f5b122638ebd54fbfd8530c64.jpg&exph=375&expw=500&q=buc+helmet-charles+sollars+concepts&selectedindex=0&ajaxhist=0&vt=0&eim=1,2,6

  69. JameisAlmighty! Says:

    All hail Mr Smith!

  70. DBS Says:

    If they wanted to go back to the original colors the helmets would still be able to have Bucco Bruce on them . The flag fits so there should be plenty of room. And be the original color. I just never liked them but like the Super Bowl era. But please get rid of this current garbage.

  71. Buccfan37 Says:

    The present uniforms are uglier than the Bucs play on gameday.

  72. Dan M Says:

    I’m not opposed to a modernization of the Creamsicle

    http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j169/pcola_playa82/NFL%20Revolution/TBbuccaneers_NPC.png

  73. Buccaneer Bonzai Says:

    Phil Says
    “Nike sucks. Bring back the Adidas uniforms.”

    It was Rebok, not Adidas that was Red and Pewter.

  74. Buccaneer Bonzai Says:

    @Anonymous

    I was the one who posted that.

  75. mdsbuc Says:

    @Bonzai

    Yes, I remember that now, and I’m “anonymous.” I think the one you posted was more pewter colored in the top front. This one looks black. I prefer the pewter, but either one would be OK.

  76. Anonymous Says:

    Everyone hates the new uni’s

    Some might not the creamsicle and have to do something with helmants

    Absolutely no reason to not bring back SB reds with the our helmants we have now. NOW!!!

  77. SOEbuc Says:

    Other problems when it comes to creamsicle and new uniforms.

    No reason what so ever to not bring back SB reds with the same helments as we have NOW!!!

    How do these people not realize they’re losing millions in Bucs outfits all around.

  78. Pugs&Bucs Says:

    The Bucs uniform looks like there were 15 people in a board room who all had “ideas” and they tried to get a piece of everyone’s ideas on the jersey so no one would be unhappy.

  79. tnew Says:

    Donovan Smith is a genius….. He took the side of the one issue that would make him a fan favorite!!

  80. SullyMcgee Says:

    Larger decal on the helmet is an improvement… keep them and go back to the red and pewter! immediately!

  81. Lonnie Patrick Says:

    Man, the classic red & pewter uniforms were the best in the league. I would be stoked for these or the creamsicle to comeback. These are absolutely atrocious, one of the most disgusting uniforms change I ever seen…

  82. BucEmUp Says:

    That would be sick to bring them back full time for the home games…hell bring them.back for the entire SEASON !!!

  83. John Says:

    What a shocker, Mr. instagram is worried about how he looks in his uniform. Glad we have a tough o line. It’s all about mentality and guys that have problems with things like uniforms definitely don’t belong in the trenches

  84. LongSeason Says:

    Okay. I just became a Donovan Smith fan. If he can help bring back the creamsicle orange with such an eloquent argument then that is a guy I want on this team.

  85. BucStew Says:

    In the history of sports, no team has voluntarily downgraded their uniform the way this franchise has