2008 Georgia Bulldogs Unveil Black Jerseys...go 2-0

SEC power Georgia is not known for their ridiculous uniform combinations like Oregon is. They stick to the basic red home and white away jerseys with the same color pants; however, in 2008 they increased their swag level and wore black jerseys for the first time ever. 

The first time the jerseys were worn were on November 10th, 2007 against the 17th ranked Auburn Tigers.  The Bulldogs won 45-20 in the game known as the "Deep South's Oldest Rivalry."  Georgia liked the uniforms so much they wore them again in Nokia Sugar Bowl against undefeated Hawaii. Georgia obviously won, beating the 10th ranked Hawaii Rainbows 41-10.  So that's 2 wins against ranked opponents by an average of 33 points.  Black wins games. 

Knowshon Mareno in the Nokia Sugar Bowl 

Oregon's Black Jerseys

Since this blog focuses on jerseys, what better school to talk about than Oregon?  The University of Oregon Ducks football team is best known for their awesome uniform combinations with a big thanks to "Uncle Phil" Knight.  A student can go to Oregon for four years and never see the the same uniform combination. 

Oregon's Uniforms (click to enlarge)

Oregon has worn black alternate jerseys on specific occasions since 2006, all resulting in wins.

11/4/06 Washington
9/15/07 Fresno State
10/27/07 USC
11/15/08 Arizona
12/30/08 Oklahoma State (Holiday Bowl)
11/14/09 Arizona State
11/6/10 Washington


You may say that they won these games because they were played in Autzen Stadium, known as one of the toughest places to play in the country, but since 2006 Oregon has lost 4 games at home wearing non-black jerseys.

home losses:
11/18/06 Arizona (Green Tops)
9/27/07 California (Green Tops)
12/1/07 Oregon State (Yellow Tops)
9/20/08 Boise State (Yellow Tops)

another game in which they could have worn black:
2010 Rose Bowl.  Lost to Ohio State. (Green Tops).

7-0 while wearing black.

Dixon in all blacks vs UW in 2006

Jonathan Stewart in black against Fresno State in 2007

J-Stew again with the black top in 2007

LeGarrette Blount in black vs Arizona in 2008

Blount, wearing black, jumps over a Cowboy defensive player...

...then continues to run for the touchdown

Jeremiah Masoli in black vs ASU in 2009

Darron Thomas in Black vs UW in 2010

What is The Black Jersey Theory?

The Black Jersey Theory is very simple.  Teams that wear alternate black jerseys for sporting events win games...it's almost a guarantee.  If a team's normal colors are red and white, and they whip out the alternate black jerseys for a big game, they're going to win.  The theory doesn't apply to schools who have black as one of their two primary colors because they would wear black jerseys about half the time.

Black jerseys have been very common in college athletics over the past decade.  Schools have been deciding to get more creative with their jerseys to attract attention and bring excitement to their programs.  Wearing different jerseys gets the players, along with the fans, more excited about games, resulting in wins.

Origin of the Theory: Chicago Blackhawks

The motivation for this blog all started, at believe it or not, my first ever NHL game.  We were sitting at center ice in the 300 level and showed up just in time for the national anthem.  The players took the ice after the anthem for their warmups, and I quickly made a ridiculous statement via twitter:

"The Blackhawks will win this game b/c they are wearing black jerseys #blackjerseytheory"


Even though "black" is in the name of their mascot, their primary jersey colors are red and white.

Of course, the Blackhawks beat the Carolina Hurricanes 5-2, and The Black Jersey Theory was official born. 

Black Jerseys > White Jerseys