High definition paves the way for new Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game tradition

TigerNet Staff by

Fans attending the back-to-back games of the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game Weekend, and those watching at home, will experience a new tradition thanks to high definition television.

The four teams competing in the two Chick-fil-A Kickoff Games will all wear their dark-colored home uniforms creating a unique look rarely seen in sports.

Tennessee Orange, NC State Red, Auburn Blue and Clemson Orange will be on display on both sides of the field and in the stands as well for both the Friday night and Saturday night games. Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game organizers and the teams are encouraging fans to wear colors matching their teams’ to enhance the visual effect, saturating the Georgia Dome in the four schools’ traditional colors.

“This new tradition is going to create an even more electric atmosphere at a venue already known for being one of the loudest and craziest in college football,” said Gary Stokan, Chick-fil-A Bowl president and CEO. “It’s going to give both games a really unique look, and we know the fans will get behind this, to help create a great visual effect both in person and on TV.”

The general rule of one team wearing a dark-colored jersey and the other wearing mostly white is in part due to the early days of black and white television when you needed the added contrast to tell one team from the other on the screen. Today’s high-definition televisions with ultra-crisp pictures essentially take that away as long as there is enough difference in the colors of the jerseys. The dark and light uniform combinations have been adopted by nearly every sport and have been the norm for generations.

But on Friday and Saturday, the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game will break that rule.

“We’re looking forward to taking part in this element of the game and think both teams wearing their home jerseys will make the game unique,” said Derek Dooley, Tennessee head coach. “Any time we have an opportunity to wear orange, we will certainly do so.”

“Gary Stokan and his staff always have a lot of good ideas around their games,” said Dabo Swinney, Clemson head coach. “We were undefeated at home last year, so we are certainly comfortable in our home uniforms. I know both sets of fans want to make the Georgia Dome seem like a home game, so it follows that both teams wear their home uniforms.”

About the Chick-fil-A Bowl:

The Chick-fil-A Bowl is the ninth-oldest bowl game in the country and hosts the longest-running rivalry series between the ACC and SEC. Now in its 45th year, the Chick-fil-A Bowl has established itself as one of the nation’s elite bowl games with a string of 15 consecutive sellouts and has earned a reputation as one of the most competitive bowls in the nation. Fifty-five percent of its games have been decided by a touchdown or less. Chick-fil-A Bowls are three of the top 10 and seven of the top 25 most-viewed non-BCS bowl game telecasts in ESPN history. The Chick-fil-A Bowl has disbursed more than $110 million in team payouts over its 44-year history and has increased team payout every year since 1996. The Bowl also leads all other bowl games in charitable and scholarship contributions, giving more than $13 million to organizations in need since 2002. The Chick-fil-A Bowl has been an innovator in its creation of the Chick-fil-A Bowl Challenge charity golf tournament each spring and the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game season-opening game over Labor Day weekend.

Source: Chick-fil-A's Matt Garvey