Uniform Reveal - Army Football To Represent The First Armored Division And They Nailed It

Let me start by saying, this is how you do a specialty uniform. I talked the other day about navy's uniform and why we do specialty uniforms for this game. These Army uniforms are spectacular in every way possible. Now, some of you are probably scratching your heads because you don't know what the heck the 1st Armored Division is and all you can think is that these uniforms are fire flames. Allow me to help. 

Army goes in a different direction than navy every year by honoring a specific unit and telling that unit's history through its uniform. For all those history buffs out there, it's a very cool way to highlight their story. 

The 2022 Army-Navy Uniform tells the story of the soldiers of the 1st Armored Division during World War II. This year marks the 80th anniversary of Operation Torch and the commencement of American ground operations against Axis forces in the European theater, which included North Africa. 

Operation Torch marked the 1st Armored Division’s entry into the crucible of combat. The resilience, grit, and commitment demonstrated by the soldiers ultimately resulted in the defeat of Axis forces in North Africa. In the harsh desert against a determined enemy, the members of the 1st Armored Division were forged into “Iron Soldiers” and learned the lessons that would guide them to success in subsequent operations in Italy and Western Europe.

I think this is an excellent method of honoring our past while looking sharp on the field. Also, it makes perfect sense to honor a unit that distinguished itself on the battlefield as opposed to, I dunno, a random civilian agency that your school sent a bunch of people to work at over the years. 

A few things I would like to point out. 

PhotoQuest. Getty Images.

General George Patton (West Point Class of 1909) was in this unit. Ever heard of him? 

The mud splatter from the pants to the jerseys and on the helmets is a very interesting touch. It signifies what the Soldiers and tanks looked like during the North Africa Campaign due to the rugged, harsh terrain. Details like this truly separate Army's uniforms and credit to Nike for figuring out inventive ways to make the uniforms unique. 

This is the coolest part of the uniform to me. Soldiers past and present can look on the field and see their unit represented.  Beyond WW2, the 1st Armored Division distinguished itself on the battlefield throughout history and as recently as the Global War on Terror in Afghanistan and Iraq. The immense pride felt by these Soldiers will be on display on Dec 10th. How awesome is it to see these uniforms on TV, turn to your family member, and proclaim, "That's the unit I served with." Wow. Chills city. 

Conversely, how many sailors can look at the NASA uniforms navy will wear and think, "yes, that reminds me of the time I went to the moon." 

It sort of makes me sad for navy to be honest. I received a text from a buddy at Barstool who said,

How is Army so much better at this than navy? I read your blog on navy/nasa. Navy has 250 years of history to draw from and they can’t figure it out

I don't understand why they can't figure it out or seemingly why they choose not to figure it out. Anyway, I encourage you to check out the website that goes into even more detail about the uniforms. Everyone is entitled to their opinion but thinking anything other than Army demolished navy with the uniforms is wrong.

BEAT navy

Overall uniform grade: A+

P.S. I would never conjure up this color combo in my head but it works well and I am pretty sure no other school has ever done anything like it - another point for Army.