"๐๐ฆ๐ต๐ณ๐ฐ๐ช๐ต ๐ธ๐ข๐ด ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ค๐ฆ ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ง๐ช๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ฃ๐บ ๐ธ๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ช๐ต ๐ฃ๐ถ๐ช๐ญ๐ต. ๐๐ฐ๐ธ, ๐ช๐ต'๐ด ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ง๐ช๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ฃ๐บ ๐ธ๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ช๐ต ๐ฐ๐ท๐ฆ๐ณ๐ค๐ข๐ฎ๐ฆ โ ๐ฃ๐บ ๐ช๐ต๐ด ๐ค๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ต๐ฆ ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ง๐ถ๐ด๐ข๐ญ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ด๐ถ๐ณ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ณ."
This is how the Detroit Lions introduced their new uniform.
Their Nike and NFL Rivalries uniform.
The uniform has a tagline, Defend the Den.
Every stitch of the uniform tells a story.
Every pixel of their app told the same story.
For yesterday's rivalry game, the Rivalries look took over everything in the Lions app, the home screen, schedule, team pages, the gameday preview. Everything in the app was darker, sharper, edgier. Tap on that modal on the home-screen, to get into a full-length description of the Rivalries uniform. At the same time, the familiar gameday shortcuts stayed right there: tickets, Lions Perks, the Game Day Guide, roster, Inside the Den, the Team Store.
On the design side, I love that lion's stare. The two blue triangles evoked a lion's implacable stare locked on its prey. They show up multiple times in the takeover. I also love the background of the stripes looking like they are moving, as you scroll down the home-page. Every card, every section header, screams, "Defend the Den." I love the neon-glow touch that makes everything stand out against the black jersey and background.
My favorite part of the uniform is probably the helmet, in a gorgeous, iridescent Honolulu-blue color (I am a sucker for iridescence) with carbon fiber woven into the decals, a quiet nod to Detroit's car and racing roots. The players carried what made Detroit ๐๐ฆ๐ต๐ณ๐ฐ๐ช๐ต, into the game with them yesterday.
A uniform is just cloth until someone tells you what it means.
A uniform is just cloth until it shows up with meaning in every (carbon) fiber.
The biggest reason that I love this takeover is Todd Marcy at the Detroit Lions. I've known Todd for over a decade, and there genuinely isn't a thing I wouldn't do for him. Todd cares deeply about the Lions fan experience. Todd has had many first-to-launch moments with us over the years, the most recent of which was the Food and Drink Digital Passport that other teams are now starting to adopt. Above all, Todd is just a genuinely good human being, and I am proud to call him my friend. Todd, this post is for you. Thank you to Hunter Leach for working with Aislinn Keenan and our team on this one. Hunter, Todd, here's to the next decade of working with you on many takeovers, moments, and innovations. I can't wait to see what we (continue to) build and ship together.
Image credit: Ana Baskinger