Michigan has unveiled their jerseys for the 2012-13 season. In the middle are the home whites, which are unchanged from a year ago. Then, starting in the top left and working clockwise: Road jersey, blue for the GLI, maize for the GLI, alternate jersey.
You'll recognize the road jersey as a blue version of the pseudo-throwback that they've been wearing at home for a couple of seasons. I absolutely love it. The block M is as unnecessary on that jersey as it is on the home white, but I think it works better. Maybe it's because I'm used to seeing a solid maize block M. Maybe it's because it doesn't have a stupid outline around it. Either way, I think that's one damn fine looking jersey.
The GLI jerseys are a throwback to the 70s and are a Michigan version of the jerseys that some NHL teams wore back in the day as well. My initial impression was to hate both of them. Upon further examination, I think I actually really like the blue one. I think the maize one looks like something you'd get from Steve and Barry's, but I'm willing to see how it looks on the players before I completely judge.
You're all aware of my affinity for the Big Chill jerseys that are coming back as the alternates for this upcoming season. Those jerseys definitely look better on the players than they do on the computer screen, and they also work better with a more dark-yellow maize, as opposed to the highlighter-yellow that Adidas uses on the replica version.
All in all, I'm pretty happy. The GLI jerseys aren't nearly as bad as the ones that Nike came up with a few years back. I love the new road jersey. The blue GLI jersey is growing on me more and more as I look at it. If they got rid of the stupid block M on the home and road jersey both of those would be absolutely perfect. The script maize is still going to be the best Michigan jersey ever, but I'm okay with the Big Chill jersey being a change of pace for a year or two. I get that the Wolverine on the front looks like it was designed in MS Paint, but there's a goofy charm about it.
