This weekend Nike will introduce a new line of uniforms for a select group of schools across the country, with TCU being one of the chosen ones. I’ve perused the pictures on the Internet, and, as you might expect, the uniforms are outlandish and ridiculous.
But let’s ignore for a minute the fact that TCU’s new pants look like denim biker shorts, or that the timing for introducing a totally new identity couldn’t be worse for the Horned Frogs, who will play their last challenging game of the year against Utah on Saturday.
The most concerning element of the new uniform line is its name: “Pro Combat.”
Nike’s militaristic misnomer and constant comparison of athletes to soldiers doesn’t just show poor taste, but a total lack of respect to people who are actually involved in meaningful combat.
The thousands upon thousands of young men — real soldiers — who find themselves in terrifying situations on a daily basis, all in protection of our country’s freedom, simply deserve better.
This is not the first time athletes, or in this case companies that cater to athletes, have made the connection between the playing field and the battlefield.
When he played for the Minnesota Timberwolves, Kevin Garnett let his mouth run wild in an interview before a decisive playoff game.
“This is game seven. This is it,” Garnett said. “This is for all the marbles. I’m sittin’ in the house; I’m loading up a pump. I’m loading up the Uzi. I’ve got a couple M-16s and a couple 9s. I’ve got a couple joints with some silencers on them. I’m just loading up clips. A couple grenades. I’ve got a missile launcher with a couple missiles. I’m ready for war.”
Once again, this was before a basketball game.
Another notable instance is current Tampa Bay Buccaneers tight end Kellen Winslow, who extolled his credentials as a soldier to all within earshot after an especially physical college football game a few years ago.
“All y’all take this down, I’m pissed,” Winslow screamed. “We don’t care about nobody except this [university]. We don’t. If I didn’t hurt him he’d hurt me. They were gunning for my legs. I’m going to come right back at them. I’m a [bleeping] soldier.”
Garnett and Winslow were rightfully hammered by the media for their actions, but they are far from the only ones who use these types of metaphors. How many times have you heard a player in a post-game interview say something like, “It was a tough game, but we really battled out there ... ?” Using war symbolism in sports is an unfortunate habit among athletes, coaches, journalists and fans.
Nike’s Pro Combat Web site is rife with that symbolism. One paragraph reads: “… in 2009, the athletes who fight for the hardware are bigger, stronger, faster and more battle-ready than ever before. Today’s game of football is performance redefined. ‘Athletes literally sacrifice their bodies to make plays …’”
While the sacrifices athletes make to play at a high level are real (they wake up early, work out a lot, balance a busy schedule and often put themselves at risk for injuries), they aren’t the same sacrifices soldiers make, in any way, shape or form. And while football is no doubt a physical game, it’s foolish to compare it to the realities of war.
Athletes, and those associated with athletics, need to find a little perspective as to their place in the greater scheme of things. One example of an individual who did this is University of Texas coach Mack Brown, who, along with several other coaches, visited troops in the Middle East over the summer.
“We have no clue how difficult it is for our troops,” Brown said in an interview with ESPN after he returned from the trip. “I learned that war is different. We shouldn’t compare football games to war. We say ‘battles’ and ‘war,’ and it’s not. These young people are getting into helicopters and going out to work every day, but may not come back.”
While Brown gets it, Nike continues to show that money is more important than the message it is sending.
And that’s unfortunate.
Feeds 
Get a life dude I hope this is not what you plan to do for a living. Weak!
I agree with the post below, bad all the way around. Find something worth while to write about.
This was a poorly written article and a poorly conceived opinion. After seeing the uniforms on the TCU players Saturday it's pretty hard to be critical. In fact everyone seems to agree they were a hit. To compare the pants to denim jeans is just plain dumb. Also, please get a dictionary and look up the definitions for words like "war" and "battle" before writing an article filled with so much drivel.
Regarding the "Nike Whiffs with TCU's New Uniform" article- A lot of the comments being made are about how BYU fans are just bitter that their team lost to BYU. I don't think this article has anything to do with that.
I think the article has everything to do with using war analogies for sports.
That being the case, I don't think I completely agree with the article. I don't think that using war analogies in sports detracts from the respect that people have for soldiers and their nation. I think that most people can separate the two things.
I think that they associate the feelings of camaraderie, planning and tactical execution with similarities in sports. I hope that coaches try to teach their athletes how to bond as a team, how to plan in order to win and how to best execute those plans. I think that is why the war analogy is used. They are trying to create a "Band of Brothers."
Having said that, I think this was a very well thought out article. I think that Matt Payne did a great job expressing his opinion and I think it was a great subject to write about. I'm glad that the Daily Universe wrote an article to get me thinking about a social norm and whether it was morally acceptable or not.
Matt Payne whiffs with latest article..sort of like when Gameday came to your town
Denim biker shorts?? Struggling..
Get a life dude I hope this is not what you plan to do for a living. Weak!
"C'mon man."
I googled Nike Pro Combat, and unfortunately stumbled upon this article. This is one of the worst sports columns I've ever read.
Is this technically even a sports column or is it a "I strongly dislike the use of military analogies" column?
Merriam Webster
Main Entry: com·bat
1 : a fight or contest between individuals or groups
2 : conflict, controversy
3 : active fighting in a war
Good grief... Lighten up, Francis
This is rediculous, everyone knows that everyone uses war analigies. To critisize people for using them is stupid. They do it to give a better meaning of what they mean, and how much they care for the game, everyone realizes that ay sport is no REAL comparison to actual war. Stop being a whiner because there uniforms look good and yours dont, be a real fan
...looks like someone is just a little bit bitter that they got whooped by TCU! Try not to give BYU fans a bad name, you guys have a good program; it just so happens that it hasnt been as good as TCU's in the past couple of years. Try being a good loser for once
waste of time...come on Matt. Everyone uses war analogies, or solider analogies. Your article sounds like someone who is whining and complaining because someone has a nicer dress then them for prom.
Get over it... Some people think they look pretty cool, not to mention the new protective padding they've added to this uni.
BYU fan,
You lost fair and square. Get over the loss, and support your fellow MWC team.
Also, the uniforms are pretty sweet!!!
Good point, Mack, and several other coaches went to Iraq last summer. A couple whose teams are participating in the the "pro combat" campaign. By the way there are ten of these teams. Next week you might want to tear apart Florida State's new uni.
If you can't beat em, complain that Nike likes them more than us. Also, the KG example? Do you really Boston-fan soldiers watching in Iraq cared?
Come on... dumb article... get over the loss, nobody thinks you're cool because you ragged on a team that blew us out. The uniforms are sweet and you're just jealous that we're not cool enough for Nike to do something like this for. I hope TCU goes all the way and kills Utah this weekend. The Oregon uniforms from a few years ago were ridiculous. But for you to try to compare Pro Combat in football as being demeaning to soldiers in combat at War is complete and total ignorance.
Matt Payne, I always find myself disagreeing with the articles you write. You sure hold a high opinion about your subjects. The last article I had a problem with is the one about athletes and the gear they recieve. I am not an athlete but know many of them. It is basically a job for them. They spend hours every week training hard. They get what they deserve. You may be bitter because you seem to see that they get a free pass by what they get. But if you look at how hard they work and what they get it isn't very much. Also if you look at what the university gets in benefit it doesn't compare. It is like getting after an honor student for getting free tuition plus more for getting good grades. If you are good at what you do you deserve what you get. You had a chance to work hard as well but it seems you spent most of your time writing and complaining about others to make yourself athletically successful.
Just checked out the uniforms. I think they look awesome, especially the helmet!
That BYU didn't beat the Horned Frogs a few weeks ago. Then the new Combat Unis would have been a fierce Cougar design instead, as we aimed for loftier goals. But the Nike TCU uniform looks snazzy-great job.
Mack Brown's Texas Longhorns will also be wearing Nike's new gear in their Thanksgiving rivalry game (which is also kinda big) against Texas A&M.
Thought that was worth mentioning.
Funny that you're so quick to compliment Mack Brown, since the University of Texas is also one of the schools participating in Nike's "Pro Combat" uniform program.
Besides, since when was combat an exclusive term to the military? I think you're being incredibly oversensitive to the naming of Nike's program.
Matt- next time before you write a story you might want to do your research. While Mack Brown's comments are very true and you would not find a Horned Frog to disagree with you, what he was talking about in context had nothing to do with the Nike uniforms or were made anywhere close to the same time frame. As a matter of fact, Texas is wearing the exact same new Pro Combat uniforms as TCU. You forgot/nelgected to mention that. They are styled a little differently, however the same Pro Combat technology.
Second, I have a feeling that if BYU had crushed the Frogs two years in a row, you somehow might have a little different "spin" on these uni's. The fact that BYU is now the third best program in the MWC is a tough pill to swallow, so we'll let this one go. Falling from the perch hurts when you land.
TCU's new uni's rule almost as much as we have ruled the cougs. Sorry bout' that!
You're all class, man. Here's some truth that may be hard to swallow: Those uni's look like puke.
Second, if you lose to Utah there could easily be a three way tie for first.
Third, we'll see how your senior-laden team fares next year with a bunch of nobodies. I'll be impressed if you get past SDSU.