The Advantage of the Burgundy Jerseys

[JudgeJebus]

Maybe Coach Gibbs, who is known never to pass up on a possible edge, will decide to wear the burgundy jerseys more often.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/18/sc...nd-red.html?hp

The Color of Victory Is Red, Scientists Say

By JOHN SCHWARTZ
The New York Times
Published: May 18, 2005

Wearing red increases the chance of victory in sports, say British researchers who clearly do not follow the Cincinnati Reds.

"Across a range of sports, we find that wearing red is consistently associated with a higher probability of winning," wrote Dr. Russell Hill and Dr. Robert Barton, researchers in evolutionary anthropology at the University of Durham, in a paper that will appear on Thursday in the journal Nature.

The research began a year ago, Dr. Barton said in an interview, on a hunch based on observations in the animal kingdom, where red coloration is often associated with male dominance. Zebra finches that have been fitted with red leg bands, for example, tend to become dominant, while those given blue bands are more submissive. In humans, anger reddens the face, so the color may send subtle signals of fierceness.

The two researchers studied results of the 2004 Summer Olympics to eliminate the possibility of a home team advantage, and found that contestants in tae kwan do, boxing and wrestling were issued red or blue protective gear at random. "It's almost as if somebody had designed an experiment for us," Dr. Barton said.

Dr. Hill said the evidence of a beneficial effect emerged, with red-wearing contenders winning 6 out of 10 bouts in close matches. "Even we were surprised at how consistently the results have been coming out across the range of sports we have looked at," he said. They have taken a preliminary look at soccer as well, and found that in the Euro 2004 international soccer tournaments, the five teams that wore predominantly red shirts did better.

This does not mean that a bad team can reverse its fortunes by wearing red, Dr. Barton said. The research applies only to competitors who are closely matched.

"Unfortunately, if you're hopeless," he said, "then wearing red isn't going to make you start winning." (And when both teams wear red, as in last year's World Series between the Boston Red Sox and the St. Louis Cardinals, all bets are off.)

The researchers suggested that their work might help to explain the fashion statement made by executives and politicians who wear bright red "power" ties, but they sounded bemused when asked whether their work could shed light on the phenomenon of Republican "red states" and Democratic "blue states." Still, Dr. Hill noted that on British electoral maps, red is the Labor Party's color. And like the Republican Party in the United States, Labor is on a winning streak.

A consultant who advises corporate clients on the use of color applauded the report. "Red is the color of fire and blood," said the consultant, Jill Morton, chief executive of Colorcom, a company based in Hawaii. "Red speaks of extremes - heat, excitement, bellicosity, passion, intensity - and is perhaps the most powerful color of the spectrum."

In London, a representative of William Hill, a leading betting company, took the opposite view, calling the study "absolute rubbish."

"There is no such thing as equally matched opponents in any human activitity," and too many individual factors to pronounce a trait like color decisive, said the representative, Graham Sharpe, in an e-mail interview.

"Anyone who disagrees with us should immediately start betting according to this report's conclusion," he wrote. "They may be able to leave us 'red'-faced, but I doubt it!"

Dr. Barton acknowledged that the work might not hold up under further analysis. "All scientific results are a bit provisional, of course," he said.

[RedskinRat]

No mention of the Redcoats in the tussle back in 1770's?

That didn't work out so well for the Red team, did it?

[mooby]

hey i like that article. that was pretty good, hopefully it rubs off on the skins this season.

[DCopper04]

I have always thought that the burgundy is the best uniform color in football. But that's just because it's similar to the color of the football, perhaps making it more difficult to tell who has the ball on a play-action fake.

[Daseal]

I'm sorry, DCopper, but the best uniform in sports happens to be the oregon ducks uniform! Neon Green and Yellow -- can't be beaten!

[Riggo44]

It sure did work for the California,Anaheim,Los Angeles Angels. The first year we had red uniforms we won our first World Series. :headbange After waiting for 43 yrs!

[SKINS73]

The white jerseys are a tradition, we need to stay with them at home! I guess I'm a little biased though since my favorite college team is Penn State...

[PSUSkinsFan21]

Originally Posted by SKINS73

The white jerseys are a tradition, we need to stay with them at home! I guess I'm a little biased though since my favorite college team is Penn State...

I too am too much of a traditionalist to stray from the whites at home. We've got the fans for all the advantage we need at home, save the burgundies for the road.

[monk81]

Originally Posted by SKINS73

The white jerseys are a tradition, we need to stay with them at home! I guess I'm a little biased though since my favorite college team is Penn State...

We think alike Skins73..........I like white jerseys too.......they were a winner for my NBA Spurs in 2003...........

One thing I wasn't liking, was our "burgundy" jerseys weren't very burgundy and were turning into San Francisco 49er red......they've seemed to get back to the TRUE burgundy color the last couple of years..........

[Skins fan 44]

Burgundy Burgundy

Whenever I think of the glory days I think of Burgundy more than white. What color were the Super Bowl unis? To me white is just too plain. Even more when they wear white jerseys and white pants :vomit-smi

My favorite uniform would be burgundy jerseys and gold pants.

[dieselhog]

All of our superbowls were played in white jerseys.

I prefer the look of the bergundy ones but because they are our road jersey we only see them when the opposing team wears white at home... Dallas, Jacksonville in 99, Philly when they opened the Lincoln wore white at home for the first few games.

We just never get to see it.

I actually liked it when Marty brought it in.

I would prefer the retro uni but with the indian Joe logo and ditch the grey face mask.

[drew54]

Whites at home, whites on the road. That way we always feel like were at home.

Except in friggin Dallas. Those bastards stole our idea!

[irish]

I really like the burgundy jerseys and I wish they would wear them more than a few time a year.

Maybe its time for a new tradition, burgundy at home.

[BrudLee]

White early in the season for day games, Burgundy late.

The white uni reflects sunlight and disperses heat. The burgundy absorbs sunlight and makes the wearer hotter.

- Mr. Wizard

[MTK]

As long as Gibbs is coach I don't see us straying from the white jerseys at home.

I really didn't like the reds at home when Marty was here.