The University of Illinois football team succeeded in honoring military veteran where Northwestern and apparel brand Under Armour failed.
Illinois unveiled its tribute to the nation's military, new helmet decals that feature the state of Illinois and 10 stars in the shape of an "I" in honor of the 10 former Illini football players who have died in combat.
The team will wear the helmets on Saturday against undefeated Ohio State (9-0 overall and 5-0 in the Big Ten). Illinois is 3-6 and 0-5 in conference play.
The understated tribute is in stark contrast to that of Northwestern, who tried to make a splash with its uniforms that have been criticized for having a blood-splattered appearance.
The uniforms have evoked so much negative sentiment that the school felt compelled to clarify the idea behind the design.
Northwestern spokesman Paul Kennedy said the design "was inspired by the appearance of a flag that has flown proudly over a long period of time" and apologized "for any misinterpretation," according to Americanhomecomings.com.
Wildcats coach Pat Fitzgerald said he felt the criticism was uncalled for, in the wake of some of the uniforms worn by schools last season.
"I'd looked at the design that a couple of other teams wore last year," Americanhomecomings.com quoted Fitzgerald as saying. "I didn't see anything wrong with them at that time, so I'm not quite sure why there's been such the negativity about it, especially when there was none last year."
Americanhomecomings.com went on to report that some veterans believe that the increased emphasis on honoring the nation's military on school campuses, which seems to include more extravagant uniforms every season, is getting to be too much.
"I'm as patriotic as anyone, but to me all this excessive flag waving, 'Thank you for your service,' and stuff like that is just over the top," Norm Linden, a Vietnam veteran and 1969 graduate of Norwich University, the oldest private military college in the country, told Americahomecomings.com. "Does every sporting event these days have to become a mini-Nuremburg rally? Honor the vets by giving them a discounted ticket or a free replica game jersey or something like that, but please stop dressing like clowns out there."
Which makes Illinois' tribute even more special.
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