ASU New Uniforms: Exciting Change, But Not Too Much Change

I was actually there on Saturday for the Sun Devil Club VIP shindig where Arizona State revealed the "It's Time" changes. As rumored, I was not asked to sign anything other than a registration sheet. No one took my camera phone and no one swore me to secrecy. Was it understood? Yes. That is why I haven't gone around sharing the changes with everyone -- just some in my own personal inner circle.

So how was it to see the new branding?

The university certainly pulled no punches. Adam Archuleta was the host. Danny White and Michael Haynes were there to be part of the reveal. There was an open bar and lots of food.

The new pitchfork? I guess technically it isn't a pitchfork. It is more like a trident. That also goes with the video that introduced it. "The pitchfork is the weapon of the gods." Again, technically a trident, but it looks cool. 

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The new logo? Goodbye, Sparky. But not goodbye from ASU, just from the uniforms. The new pitchfork logo looks strong, but also a little like a spaceship headed down. Still, cool.

The best part? The flat black helmets. They look very cool. 

There are maroon, white and black uniforms. There are gold pants that can be used with the maroon or white tops, but no more gold on top and no 

The helmets are gold or flat black with the pitchfork replacing Sparky. 

Sparky remains as the mascot. he just won't be on the uniforms now. 

The impression I got is that there will be more changes rolled out in phases. 

It was a good idea to not get rid of Sparky all together. It was a good mix of old and new. The new grabs attention and will attract the younger fan. The old (Sparky) keeps the older generation (that has the bulk of the booster money) connected to tradition.

My overall impression? Good changes, but not over the top. That was important. there were no Oregon-type uniforms with fluorescent colors or socks. They look strong. The best word to describe the black unis? Badass. That's all  I have to say. They look good.

What is left for me to wonder is what the fans will be asked to wear in the stadium. Do we go maroon or black, or do we still fill the stadiums with gold? A since deleted tweet from Gerell Robinson mentioned #blackout. Is that just the unis or the fans, too? I imagine we will know soon enough.