1970s Retro Jerseys

I was planning on waiting until the Tiger-Cats decided to unveil them, but they've been listed on the CFL website for almost a week (and I saw a couple of people sporting them at the game on Friday), so here is what the 1970s jerseys will look like:

The Cats will wear these jerseys, at home, on August 7th when they face off against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. The team will also be honouring the 1972 Grey Cup championship team, and will institute 1970s prices on various items; which ones they are escape me at the moment.

When leaving Ivor Wynne on Friday, I was able (or more specifically, my friend Richard was able) to peak into the Tigertown store and notice that Kevin Glenn, Arland Bruce and Jamall Johnson were the players available in the 1970s uniforms. What about the players from the 1970s? If the team and the league are celebrating the 1970s, shouldn't the jerseys on sale by the team reflect that? Having said that, I'm still likely to buy one. I'm an absolute nutbar when it comes to buying merchandise, and even at 28 years of age, I still have a sickening fascination with jerseys.

RELATED: Retro Week

Retro Week

Just like last season, the CFL will be doing a Retro Week. Last season it was a great success when the league celebrated the 1960s. The league came up with a logo to commemorate the event, the TSN announcers dressed in stereotypical 1960s garb, and all the teams wore their 1960s uniforms in Week 3.

While Week 3 was the official Retro Week, the league had other Retro games throughout the 2009 season, of which the Ti-Cats participated in two: Week 10 (Labour Day) and Week 11 in their back-to-back games against the Toronto Argonauts.

The Ti-Cats finished 2-1 in their Retro uniforms. They won the Week 3 contest against the Blue Bombers and the Labour Day game against the Argos, but lost the rematch in Toronto in Week 11.

The Cats also wore two slightly different uniforms. In Week 3 against the Bombers the team wore a black helmet, but in Weeks 10 and 11 a gold helmet was worn. I personally preferred the gold helmet, but I thought the Retro unis were cool in all regards.

I love the idea of celebrating the past. It allows for new fans and young fans to learn the history of their favourite teams and of the entire CFL. Celebrating thee great players of the 1960s and remembering them for their contributions on the field is an important part of growing the Canadian Football League.

With the success of the 2009 Retro Week, the CFL has decided to once again "Go Retro" in the 2010 season. This year the theme will be the 1970s. In Weeks 6 and 7, teams will sport Retro uniforms that celebrate the 1970s. The league has yet to release the details on the 1970s theme, so I don't want to speculate on what the Ti-Cat uniforms and helmet will look like. The Cats sported a couple of different looks in the 1970s, and it would be foolish of me to proclaim which uniform and helmet combination they will use to commemorate the 1970s in 2010.

Last season Retro Week was a blast; it was nice for older fans to relive their past and for younger fans to experience the past for the first time. The CFL has done nothing but great things the past few years, and Retro Week is one of them. Keep up the great work CFL, and hopefully we get more Retro Weeks in the future.