Tomorrow, the Bucs will debut their new uniforms for the first time since a radical redesign this offseason. We sort of knew this already, but it's another thing to see it in action and you should be properly warned: the jersey numbers, on the front, back and shoulders, will glow.

Among those innovations is a reflective chrome border around the numbers on the front, back and shoulders. This revolutionary feature, never before incorporated into an NFL uniform, employs a reflective coating to add a unique glow to the numbers under the lights.


Expect the effect to be similar to removing your finger from the panel on a solar-powered calculator and watching the numbers fade back into existence.

We'll see the red unis tomorrow night, and the whites—also with reflective numbers—presumably at the Bucs' first home preseason game on Aug. 16th.


Reflective numbers seem like a terrible idea, one that won't help to overcome the initial stigma of these uniforms as af2 rejects. But maybe they won't look so bad in action! I'm willing to be patient. That still doesn't excuse the worst paragraph to appear on an official team site in some time:

The sun is due to set in Jacksonville at 8:15 p.m. on Friday evening, which will likely fall somewhere in the second quarter of the Buccaneers-Jaguars tilt. As the light of day fades and the stadium lights and flash cameras take over, a new era in Buccaneer football will begin. Fans who witness the first action under the lights for Tampa Bay's new jerseys and reflective numbers will see something brand new to the game of professional football, and yet another instance of forward-thinking innovation by the Buccaneers.

[Buccaneers.com]