Aqua On Aqua
By Matt Patrick
In case you didn’t already know, Nike will be the NFL’s new official uniform provider starting this upcoming April. For the past decade, Reebok has enjoyed their partnership with the NFL and this Sunday’s Super Bowl game will be the last time a Reebok jersey will be worn for a very long time. This “out with the old, in with the new” attitude will influence some NFL teams to finally make some logo alterations.
It’s important to know that logos and colors are controlled by teams and the NFL, not Nike. If a team wants to make a change, they need to first apply to the league for permission. In 1997, the Dolphins made their most substantial logo change in franchise history when they added navy as the trim color, simplified the sunburst circle, and darkened the Dolphin, giving it a meaner game face. With the new Nike deal starting up, expect to see teams make similar alterations to spice up their new look for next season. As for our Dolphins, CEO Mike Dee has already said there will not be any changes made to the current logo or colors for 2012.
All of this uniform talk got me thinking about one game in particular. Do you remember when the Dolphins wore aqua jerseys AND aqua pants at home against the Chicago Bears on Monday Night Football on December 9th, 2002? This was the first and only time in team history when the Dolphins wore aqua on aqua. This also happens to be one of my favorite games of all time. And for the former Dolphins’ RB, Ricky Williams, it was one of his best performances of his career.
Ricky was an intimidating force to be reckoned with, wearing that dark visor, running around like a wild man. On this special night, he was an absolute monster on a mission. If you don’t remember this game, well, shame on you. Let me just give you a quick recap to jog your memory.
The Bears could have played their entire 53 man roster out there on defense with stun guns and they still wouldn’t have been able to stop Williams. I remember losing my voice and couldn’t talk for two days because I was yelling “Run Ricky Run” all night at the top of my lungs. He had 31 carries for 216 yards and two touchdowns, one of which was a career best 63 yard touchdown run. His rushing yards that night was the most the Bears had ever given up in their storied franchise history.
The Dolphins went on to win that game 27-9. Williams clearly stole the show and was the unanimous “Horse Trailer Player of the Game.” That amazing performance made him second all time for rushing yards on MNF history, behind Bo Jackson’s 221 yards against the Seattle Seahawks in 1987. Just like many of you who remember this game that featured an “aqua-out,” I enjoyed every second of it.
Even though the Dolphins don’t plan to make any changes to their uniforms for next season, I would love to see another aqua on aqua showing. As you can tell, I have great memories from the first and last time the Dolphins wore this historic color combination. It worked out well for Ricky and the Dolphins the first time, so why not give it another shot? Who knows, maybe the aqua on aqua could inspire Reggie Bush or Brandon Marshall to have a career game like we saw almost ten years ago on that magical night on MNF. So come on, who’s with me?