Behind the R: detailed look at Ottawa Redblacks’ new road uniforms

Photo courtesy of the Ottawa Redblacks

Almost two years ago to the day, the Ottawa Redblacks overhauled their uniform set by unveiling black home retro-inspired jerseys. Upon seeing how enthusiastically R-Nation embraced them, the team almost immediately set into motion a plan to create a matching road look.

When a team decides to change uniforms, it kicks off an 18 to 24-month process. First, there are technical consultations with New Era, the official outfitter and uniform supplier to the CFL. Teams approach New Era after they’ve brainstormed a creative brief with a presentation that explains the strategy of what they’re hoping to achieve with the new look. In this case, the Redblacks’ marketing department was keen to do something they hadn’t done before, tightly linking the team’s home and away looks.

As Redblacks kicked ideas back and forth — both internally and with New Era — the team working on the new look grew to about 20 people. Everyone from head equipment manager Drew McCormick, to team president Adrian Sciarra, to the owners, to front office staff like Shawn Burke had a chance to provide input.

Once the Redblacks’ group was happy with what they had settled on with New Era, the league had to sign off on and approve the design, as it does for all new looks. Following that, the uniform was TV tested with TSN, the league broadcaster, to ensure name and number legibility. Although TSN isn’t involved with the creative aspect of the design, they do play an important role when it comes to the functionality of a new look.

The Redblacks ultimately decided that they wanted a white road uniform that was a reverse of their current black home look. Not only because of how popular the black look had proven to be, but also because of the possibilities such a close association allows.

Where the black uniforms feature white numbers outlined in red, the new whites feature red numbers outlined in black. Where the names on the home uniform are in white, the roads are red. The shoulder striping is also similar in that it uses the same red, white and black, yet different colours are emphasized. The home shoulders have a thick white line sandwiched by a pair of thin red lines. The road shoulders have a thick red line between a pair of thin black lines.

One big difference between the home look and the road one is in the pants. In this writer’s humble opinion, the only blemish on the current home look is that the plain black pants are boring. The road uniform fixes that by having a long trio of stripes, matching the shoulder striping, that extend down the side of the leg. It also features a small notched black R near the upper right hip.

By having two looks that are similar yet distinct, Ottawa will be able to seamlessly mix and match the tops and bottoms of their home and away uniforms to create a variety of combinations.

While there are now plenty of parallels between the Redblacks’ home and away looks, there are also subtle differences. For example, inside the home collar is the year 2014 in Roman numbers (MMXIV). Inside the new white jersey is the word “R-Nation”. And while the word “REDBLACKS” is splayed across the chest of the home jerseys in white, the aways have the word “OTTAWA” in red.

What fans are left with is a sharp, contemporary look that harkens back to the days of Rough Rider glory while still giving the Redblacks their own unique identity. With so much rich history and heritage to pull from, it was important for the organization to strike a balance between honouring the past by pulling from tradition, while continuing to establish its own brand. It was a process that started when the team chose to fully embrace the iconic white R on their helmets, and persists with this latest uniform refresh.

Choosing to debut the road looks at home is a clever decision too. Although it’s rare for the Redblacks to wear white while playing at TD Place, by making it a “White Out” theme game, it’ll have a proper unveiling in front of R-Nation. Not only is that good marketing, but it might also provide an on-field advantage. With kickoff set for 1:00 p.m. EDT on Saturday against the Argos, the mid-day heat will be strong. Wearing white instead of black will definitely be cooler for players.