The NFL will reportedly be adding to their "Color Rush" program in 2016, giving every team on Thursday Night Football an alternate uniform to wear. As every team plays a Thursday Night Football matchup, the Bengals will be among the teams wearing the Color Rush jerseys.
Please don't do this, Roger. And no, this is NOT an April Fools joke.
The bold, colorful uniforms presented in the NFL's Color Rush matchups drew mixed reviews last year. Many fans liked the NFL's efforts in making the uniforms flashier, though others argued that the colorful uniforms were too much for the eyes.
In the NFL's first Color Rush game, the league gave the Jets bright green uniforms and the Bills bright red uniforms, which made watching the game unbearable for those with colorblindness who couldn't tell the difference between the two jerseys.
heres what the bills jets game looks like for red green color blind people pic.twitter.com/TAjoQpOfCj
— kurt (@kurtwearshats) November 13, 2015
Others, however, were receptive to the idea of brightly colored uniforms, including the Giants' Odell Beckham.
These unis are sick. #Swaggy
— Odell Beckham Jr (@OBJ_3) November 13, 2015
The Jaguars' mustard yellow uniforms also drew negative reviews, though Chad Henne's awesome mustache made up for the disgusting unis seen on the field.
Chad Henne will win this game. Mark my words pic.twitter.com/MAW6uOwfNp
— Will Brinson (@WillBrinson) November 20, 2015
The Buccaneers-Rams matchup was dubbed "Ketchup vs. Mustard," and fans loved making fun of the NFL for the ridiculous uniform selections.
Who wore it better? #CondimentBowl #ColorRush pic.twitter.com/zyJmjMXjkm
— Sports on Earth (@SportsonEarth) December 18, 2015
If anything, the uniforms will give Thursday Night Football fans something to talk about. Thursday Night Football has been notorious for extremely lopsided matchups and boring football games, so being able to make memes about bad uniforms could be a nice reward for those who watch Thursday Night Football.
The Bengals' two most recent TNF matchups took place against the Browns and were both blowouts. If Cincinnati faces Cleveland on a Thursday night in 2016, or plays a home game on a Thursday night, there's a good chance the Bengals will wear bright orange jerseys. Based on what I've seen so far, I'd have very low expectations for the uniforms, though seeing Cincinnati play in something other than their typical black and white uniforms could be a nice change.
However, I fear analysts like NFL Network's Dave Dameshek, a proud Steeler fan and self-proclaimed uniform connoisseur, trashing Cincinnati for what he will likely call the worst uniforms of all time. Only time will tell whether the Bengals are forced to wear neon orange jerseys.
Here's a reminder of what the uniform combos looked like last year. Again, I want to be the first to say that I really hope that the NFL is kidding. What do you think?