Who is "The Decider" re: uni x uni? USA x ARG

[Zé Bill]

I'm saying that the uni's in USA x ARG were too similar for the wide-view camera to distinguish the teams:

Who's the decider on uniform match-ups?

It should (YES) be someone watching on a low-res internet stream or a mediocre TV at the end of the broadcast chain ....

it should not be anyone (NO) right there at the venue....
it should not be anyone (NO) looking at a "state of the art" monitor....

UNLESS the goal is to make an exciting match look like dishwater.
Was that the goal the deciders had in mind?

But seriously: I'm sort of concluding that there is no "Decider"

Once on an ESPN2 broadcast, post WC'94 World Tour, the ref had Brazil change their shorts or socks at halftime, at South Africa, due to all the similar bright colors causing misidentification.

Whatever uniform-choosing process was in place yesterday for USA x ARG, that process failed, and that failure damaged soccer.

if some uniform manufacturer is being a stubborn, blind crybaby, then that manufacturer has to be slapped down by soccer leadership with vision.

Great crowd and everything, so many players and stadium and administrative people did their jobs well, yet... the final televised product.............................dishwater

[Nermalthecat]

I agree. You had a really hard time telling the teams apart on the wide shot. I was hoping the US would allow ARG to wear the classic white and light blue and was happy when I saw that they were, and then was shocked when I saw the US was wearing its white home jerseys. At least they wore the navy shorts, but that didn't help. I wonder if the heat had anything to do with the jersey decision...

[Zé Bill]

Well, as far as the heat having to do with the jersey decision [light-colored jerseys], wouldn't that be mostly an issue in bright sunlight?

Sunset tonight in NYC is 8:26 p.m., so with a 7:30 p.m. broadcast start yesterday, and more than the usual amount of pre-game ceremony... well...it was hardly as sunny and hot as, for example, FC Dallas' Pizza Hut Park for a 2:00 p.m. start.

I'm not saying the heat index wasn't bad at the Meadowlands. I'm just saying that, at that hour, sunlight is not gonna be heating up the jerseys and the players.

I am saying the broadcast would've been WAY ... WAY ... WAY ... etc., better if USA had worn solid red. for instance.

I could tell the teams apart on the field-level camera shots, 'cause ARG's mild blue came through as more blue-er than USA's white and mild blue.

One would think and hope that USA's dark shorts would suffice to differentiate the teams, but no.

[An Unpaved Road]

Argentina should have been explicitly told to wear their darker away jersey. From a distance the two uniforms definitely mixed together.

[Ringo]

Argentina should have been explicitly told to wear their darker away jersey. From a distance the two uniforms definitely mixed together.

yup, yup, yup. if it wasn't for the US dark shorts I wouldn't have been able to tell them apart and i have a new 37 inch HD tv ... even then it was tough. argentina should've gone dark.

[jamezyjamez]

Agree with all said above. I had a few heart-attack moments where I thought we had turned the ball over in a dangerous area...do we have a red jersey? I know we were home, but you need to see Argentina in their striped kit to get the full experience (although Tim Howard got more than his share of point-blank exposure to the Argies). We should have gone solid and dark.

[dsp87260]

Agree with all said above. I had a few heart-attack moments where I thought we had turned the ball over in a dangerous area...do we have a red jersey? I know we were home, but you need to see Argentina in their striped kit to get the full experience (although Tim Howard got more than his share of point-blank exposure to the Argies). We should have gone solid and dark.

Hell no! We were the home team! Argies should have worn their dark jerseys.

[rgli13]

as the home team we wore our "home" unis. the visiting team has the option to wear whatever kit they want as long as it doesnt "clash".

problem being- clashing refers to shorts and socks, not jerseys.

i dont have the first clue why thats how fifa mandates it, but thats the way it is. the socks and shorts were different colors so the jerseys dont matter.

...unless youre trying to watch the match.

[Prime Time]

It was a friendly. U.S. had to wear the white home kit as they wear the Home team, but to make the game even more memorable they allowed Argentina to wear their traditional/world-known Baby-Blue and White jersey.

Not only did they use different shorts, but Argentina had the dark socks, while USA wore white socks. And I was at the game, the teams didn't look too similar, but once I saw it on T.V. afterwards, I can see where people are coming from.

Don't give it too much thought. If this was a World Cup match, one of the teams would've been in their away jersey.

[Marko72]

I agree. You had a really hard time telling the teams apart on the wide shot. I was hoping the US would allow ARG to wear the classic white and light blue and was happy when I saw that they were, and then was shocked when I saw the US was wearing its white home jerseys. At least they wore the navy shorts, but that didn't help. I wonder if the heat had anything to do with the jersey decision...

The whole game I followed who was who simply by looking at their shorts. The semi kit-clash was distracting. One of us should've been wearing dark jerseys, I don't care who. (If it were me, as it was a friendly I'd pay Argentina the respect of letting them play with their classic kit and wear our away dark blues. And yeah, since that's an obvious gaffe, you have to wonder if Nike and Addidas contracts somehow played a role in that.)

[Blackbox]

Who's the decider on uniform match-ups?

I believe this man (http://youtube.com/watch?v=E2Zv1T4Qdv4&feature=related) is.