Itu2019s no secret that I\u2019m a big fan of the Jacksonville Jaguars\u2019 late-1990s uniforms. When I recently wrote about 10 NFL throwbacks I\u2019d like to see on the field, the Jags\u2019 late-\u201990s set was at the top of the list. As I noted in that piece, the team\u2019s original 1995 uniforms had standard block uni numbers, but then in 1997 they switched to \u201Ca very nice custom font\u201D (which is shown in the photo above). I loved that font when it was introduced and really wish they\u2019d bring it back.
The Jags wore their teal jerseys for their third and fourth preseason games that season. Did those jerseys also have the odd font worn in the first two preseason games? Nope \u2014 they had the \u201Cregular season font.\u201D
So was the \u201Cpreseason font\u201D initially intended only for the white jerseys, but not the teal jerseys? Nope \u2014 the preseason numbers were shown on both jerseys in that year\u2019s edition of the NFL Style Guide.
Here\u2019s the deal: When the preseason number font debuted during those first two preseason games, there were lots of complaints about its legibility. So Nike, which had the Jags\u2019 uni contract at the time and had designed the font, quickly redesigned it, creating the custom font that the team ended up using for the next decade. Nike was able to get the redesigned font done in time for the last two preseason games (it\u2019s just a coincidence that the team wore white for the first two preseason games and teal for the last two), but it was too late to change the NFL Style Guide, which had already been printed.
I\u2019ve known about the general parameters of this story for many years (maybe you have too), but I recently had the opportunity to interview Eric Bodamer, a designer who was working for Nike at the time. He filled in a lot of interesting details. Here\u2019s a transcript of my recent Zoom call with him, edited for length and clarity:
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Bordeaux 1997 and 2007 are so called classic years. A term used to describe an average year. However, our experience is that these vintages always show what Bordeaux can do just "on its own". ## Mouton Rothschild 1997 is a wine we haven't drunk much, just out of habit you always pick the more "special" vintages, Beautiful cassis, some blackberry, spices, typical Mouton terroir. A bit light styled, even though only 55 % of the harvest was used. We enjoyed the 1997 very much, but if you compare this to 1993 (same classic vintage) we prefer the 1993. BOW 7.5.
[This story originally was printed Aug. 8, 1997. Scroll to the bottom to find a question and answer session with Prince, wherein he talks about changing his name and what people might say behind his back.]
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