I fall into a slightly different, yet entirely nerdy category. Ever since I was a kid, I’ve been obsessed with sports uniforms. 12 years ago, I came across a website run by a guy who shares my passion – along with a very large audience of guys like me.
Uni Watch is a daily blog that bills itself as “The Obsessive Study of Athletics Aesthetics.” It was created by Paul Lukas, a very talented Brooklyn-based writer who has been on staff for The Village Voice, ESPN and Sports Illustrated.
Paul constantly appears on TV and radio shows, as he has become the preeminent uniform historian and inside guy. (He gets invited to and covers the Super Bowl halftime Puppy Bowl!) He created a true community on his site, happily crediting guys like me who spot an interesting uniform quirk and let him know about it. (If you’re still not quite getting it, check out this column that Paul wrote for ESPN about the many oddities of the Dallas Cowboys uniform. You don’t need to love sports to find this fascinating.)
Over the weekend, Paul came out to San Diego to cover the Padres’ new uniform reveal. Whenever he travels, he tries to host a Uni Watch gathering party at a local bar. Sunday, it was Wonderland Ocean Pub in San Diego. I was so excited he’d finally made it to Southern California, I drove down to join in.
By the way, Paul, and many of his readers, tend to prefer classic looks, like the football uniforms worn by Penn State and Alabama, and Maryland’s splashy design is considered blaspheme on the site. Paul got a kick out of my jersey nonetheless.
Yeah, we’re nerds alright. But cool people, they didn’t name a candy after you, did they? Case closed.
