I just got certified for NISOA this past weekend. So now I have 12 jerseys. And I haven't purchased the new blue USSF jerseys yet like many of my compadres are already doing. It is kind of crazy. Sure wish all the powers that be would standardize on one set of jerseys. USSF Jerseys Gold long sleeve Gold short sleeve Black long sleeve Black short sleeve Red long sleeve Red short sleeve NFHS Jerseys Black long sleeve Black short sleeve NISOA Jerseys Gold long sleeve Gold short sleeve Orange long sleeve Orange short sleeve
Kev: what, no blue USSF jersey yet? It's starting to pop up everywhere here in PA. We also have to get the zebra stripes for NFHS games here. The back seat of my car looks like the clothing department of a sporting goods store! Paul
Like I said, I am trying to hold off on the blue -- because I knew I'd have to be shelling out for the NISOA jerseys. I'd REALLY prefer to wait until next year to buy the blue, but when I start doing National League and the showcase tournaments, I am probably going to run into crews that have them. When we were at Sun Bowl, I only saw one crew wear them at the site where we played. So maybe I can hold out for a bit.
You may be out of luck, Kev. The "freebie" that OSI gave out at National Camp this year was the Blue, so there's suddenly 250+ more referees that have them than before
But you know how these things work - once people start seeing them getting worn at tournaments over Memorial Day, or July 4th, or they see them on TV, everyone suddenly wants to wear them.
Yup. I'm probably only going to be able to hold out until the Memorial Tournament. The referees at our local Memorial Tournament is run by the SRA -- and he's also an OSI rep. So undoubtedly he'll have blue jerseys there for anyone to buy that "needs" one.
Blue is certainly more becoming of a referee than Red. Yellow -> Black -> Blue -> Red is my personal order of preference. The blues look very nice. With the money one makes from being a referee the purchase of the uniforms is but a small price to pay. You also can save the receipts as a tax write-off which helps. You can earn back the entire cost of the uniforms in two weeks of refereeing quite easily.
I do like blue too. But Red is my preference. I'd go Red -> Black -> Blue -> Yellow as my order of preference. Yes, normally, I'd agree with you that buying 2 new jerseys is of little consequence. But I just had to shell out $180 for a NISOA kit -- all of which is redundant except the yellow & orange jerseys and socks. I have also invested in some better under gear purchasing the Under Armour cold weather gear for the early spring / late fall games -- and that stuff aint cheap. I do work a fair amount and if I can just hold out until Memorial Weekend, I'll probably be able to justify getting the blues for that weekend.
Re: blue jersey Anyone else have the Olympus shirts, in particular the long-sleeve black? I have Olympus short sleeve shirts (good deal with my Eurosport Goal Club discount), but the picture in their catalog and web site shows the long sleeve black shirt with white collar and cuffs, which is incorrect. The black should be all black, except the pinstripes, right?