Facemasks

[aubiefifty 17,103]

The story behind Auburn's white facemasks; are they here to stay?

ByNathan King

6-8 minutes

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AUBURN, Alabama — The assumption was, of course, that Auburn’s white facemasks last week were added to embrace Penn State’s White Out game, and give Auburn a clean, white look of its own.

But that wasn’t the driving force behind the uniform change, which have been rare for Auburn in its history. Auburn had been planning to make some sort of alteration for the Penn State game to add to the excitement. White just happened to fit the theme.

“A lot of people think we did it for the White Out game — that’s really not the reason behind it at all,” Dana Marquez told Auburn Undercover. “It was a big game and we just wanted to do something different.”

Marquez, associate athletic director and head equipment coordinator for Auburn, said that, a couple weeks before the game, Bryan Harsin and Auburn chief of staff Brad Larrondo approached him about doing something special with the uniforms when the Tigers traveled to Penn State for a marquee nonconference matchup.

“It was a conversation between Coach Harsin and Brad Larrando, our chief of staff, and me — just seeing, is it possible?” Marquez said. “And I’m like, ‘Yeah, anything’s possible.’ Really just getting the sign-off from the administration, I think, was the first thing. Obviously, we’re a tradition-based school; we don’t want to change our uniform and upset the fan base. We wanted to make sure we’re following the protocol and the university feels good about it. Once we got the approval, it was pretty straightforward.”

That conversation was early in the week after Auburn’s season opener against Akron. Marquez said AU higher-ups approved the change Wednesday, and his team got right to work to get the facemasks altered in time to leave for Happy Valley. The next day, Auburn sent off extra facemasks already in Marquez’s inventory to be redipped.

“We sent them to our manufacturer that does our navy, chrome masks,” Marquez said. “The reason we had to that and not just order white masks is that all the helmet manufacturers use different materials and different color whites, so we wanted to make sure the masks were the right color.”

The facemasks were prepped over the weekend by the company. On Monday — the start of Penn State game week — they were shipped back to Auburn, now pearly white. Marquez’s team received them Tuesday morning and worked to attach them to the Tigers’ helmets over the next day. Auburn’s equipment truck left for Pennsylvania at 6 a.m. Thursday.

“You always take a gamble,” Marquez said. “If we hadn’t gotten them in time, obviously, we would have waited. Especially now — supply chain is broken, manufacturing is unpredictable, everything’s broken. So you really take the gamble, but everything paid off.”

When Auburn knew the masks were en route and confirmed for the game, Harsin revealed the change with a hype video in a team meeting Thursday.

“It was pretty cool,” Marquez said. “There was a lot of hype behind it in that room. The players loved it. … The overall look was phenomenal, and we had overwhelming, fantastic response from it. And the players had a say in that, as well.”

So, will the Tigers immediately revert back to their standard, blue facemasks the next time they wear their road uniforms at Arkansas this season, or is the white look here to stay?

Marquez, who came to the Plains in 2006 after working at the University of California-Berkeley as director of equipment operations, said he gave Harsin the option to shelve the white facemasks for the rest of the season, and Auburn’s first-year head coach said, despite the loss, he wants to keep them around, just in case.

“I asked Coach Harsin, ‘Hey, are we going to do this again?' If not, I’m going to send them back and redip in the navy,” Marquez said. “But he said we’re going to hold onto them. And if we do it again, we’re ready to go and we have them; if not, we’ll send them back this summer and blast them back to navy.”

When Harsin asked if the Tigers could do something special for Penn State, Marquez presented a number of options he’s considered during his time at Auburn — including a fan-favorite facemask from the late ‘70s and early ‘80s.

“We thought of the orange facemask at one period in time (for the Penn State game),” Marquez said. “We always try to do something different every year. Sometimes it works; sometimes it doesn’t. You have to look at the tradition of Auburn and stay within that palette. But we’ve never worn white facemasks, so it was a leap forward with that. But you try to keep your options open while also trying not to create uproar in the fan base.

“This was a baby step for us. I don’t ever see us going retro anything; we’re going to stay true to Auburn and that palette.”

At Auburn, Marquez said, it’s a fine line between staying sleek and modern, while also embracing the rich tradition of the program. He doesn’t envision the team ever switching the look of its jersey, or even adding an alternate one.

But there are small changes Marquez and his equipment team like to have on the table each season to keep the Tigers’ uniforms fresh and interesting. It’s apparent Harsin is already intrigued by them, and isn’t afraid to make a minor alteration now and then.

Yes, that could include orange facemasks — and maybe even a completely alternate helmet at some point.

“Yeah, of course,” Marquez said when asked if orange facemasks are a possibility in the near future. “I tried to change the helmet to blue one year. You have to stay on top of recruiting and stay cutting edge. … But again, here at Auburn, you have to stay true to who you are; you don’t want to go way out of bounds. We’ve worn orange facemasks before. So if we wear them again, it’s like hey, we’ve done it before.

“We’re staying within a tradition and bringing back an old look and something within our style, and not necessarily trying to make something new. This time, it was something new, but it felt and looked really good inside of our palette.”

[Quietmaninthecorner 1,949]

If this happens will someone that knows someone in the athletic department PLAESE  tell them to paint the inside of the masks FLAT BLACK.   It is so much easier to see through.  Tell them to hold up and aluminum window screen  and a black nylon window screen and see how much easier it is to see through a black screen and how much more detail you can see.    

 

I know it sounds nit picky,  but in hunting blinds  It makes a HUGE difference in the ability to see out and see details.    Similar to how it is easier to see out your windshield with the dash light  dimmed compared to fully bright dash lights.  The way light reflects off the screen/windshield  (or mask) back towards to eyes is bright and draws attention  (changes eye dilation) to the mask.   

I know facemasks are not as dense as a widow screen,  or the intensity of light reflecting back towards the eyes would not be as strong,  but every little bit counts.  It could mean the difference in at least one dropped (important) pass during the season.

Edited September 24, 2021 by Quietmaninthecorner

[AuCivilEng1 11,046]

This should be the look when Georgia rolls in and I don’t care what anyone says! 

[gr82be 14,509]

1 hour ago, Quietmaninthecorner said:

If this happens will someone that knows someone in the athletic department PLAESE  tell them to paint the inside of the masks FLAT BLACK.   It is so much easier to see through.  Tell them to hold up and aluminum window screen  and a black nylon window screen and see how much easier it is to see through a black screen and how much more detail you can see.    

 

I know it sounds nit picky,  but in hunting blinds  It makes a HUGE difference in the ability to see out and see details.    Similar to how it is easier to see out your windshield with the dash light  dimmed compared to fully bright dash lights.  The way light reflects off the screen/windshield  (or mask) back towards to eyes is bright and draws attention  (changes eye dilation) to the mask.   

I know facemasks are not as dense as a widow screen,  or the intensity of light reflecting back towards the eyes would not be as strong,  but every little bit counts.  It could mean the difference in at least one dropped (important) pass during the season.

The viewing window of a facemask is pretty large and I can't recall anytime that I noticed seeing my facemask while wearing my helmet. It was gray so maybe that had something to do with it but I just don't see the color affecting the players vision. Maybe I'm wrong. 

[Quietmaninthecorner 1,949]

27 minutes ago, gr82be said:

The viewing window of a facemask is pretty large and I can't recall anytime that I noticed seeing my facemask while wearing my helmet. It was gray so maybe that had something to do with it but I just don't see the color affecting the players vision. Maybe I'm wrong. 

Color of Facemask would not  make  much difference,  but every bit counts.   Same with eye black on cheek bones.   It may only make a difference in one play all year,  but that could  happen during an important play.   It can ONLY help.  It will not hurt at all.

You don't notice facemask color effects viewing unless you have something to compare it to in real time.   The viewing widow of a windshield is pretty large also.   You don't notice the difference in your car windshield  by dash light power, either unless you test it.    Tonight while driving turn your dash lights down all the way  for a while,  then crank the dash lights to max.   which can you see out of more clearly?

you always want the outside to have more light than the inside when looking through something.   The bigger the  difference in light,  the better you can see out.   nothing reflective or white on the onside..   

 

Look at your reflection in a glass window.  Wear a white shirt,  then wear a black shirt.  Which  shirt allows you to see through your reflection better.  

 

It is just a thought from my experiences.   It is the only disadvantage of a light colored facemask I can think of,  and it's not that big of a  difference.   I just like to make sure every detail is covered.   

 

 

  

  

Edited September 24, 2021 by Quietmaninthecorner

[homersapien 11,513]

I actually liked the white masks with the away uni. 

But, keep the home uni facemasks navy and please, go  back to black shoes and navy stockings with it.

As for any addition of more orange on our current unis?    We are not Clemson.

 

Edited September 25, 2021 by homersapien

[SRBautigerfan 1,040]

6 hours ago, homersapien said:

I actually liked the white masks with the away uni. 

But, keep the home uni facemasks navy and please, go  back to black shoes and navy stockings with it.

As for any addition of more orange on our current unis?    We are not Clemson.

 

After watching some of the the Syracuse vs Liberty game, I definitely don't want to see anything that resembles Syracuse's unis.  Orange helmets or pants or jerseys... hell to the no but orange face masks would be cool looking to me.  And please no more orange shoes either. 🤢

[gr82be 14,509]

2 hours ago, SRBautigerfan said:

After watching some of the the Syracuse vs Liberty game, I definitely don't want to see anything that resembles Syracuse's unis.  Orange helmets or pants or jerseys... hell to the no but orange face masks would be cool looking to me.  And please no more orange shoes either. 🤢

I'm probably in a minority of very few with this but as an alternate helmet, I wouldn't mind this. Navy needs to replace the black of course. This is the only reason I ever watched the Bengals. 

[auburnphan 6,050]

When the reason to not do alternate uniforms is you don't wanna piss off part of the fan base..................

that part of the base is a lot smaller than they think, they just have big mouths and will get as much air time as possible to bitch.

the white face masks seemed to pump most everybody up.  

I think it is an easy balance to respect tradition and to have a little bit of fun once in a while too.

[around4ever 4,139]

42 minutes ago, auburnphan said:

When the reason to not do alternate uniforms is you don't wanna piss off part of the fan base..................

that part of the base is a lot smaller than they think, they just have big mouths and will get as much air time as possible to bitch.

the white face masks seemed to pump most everybody up.  

I think it is an easy balance to respect tradition and to have a little bit of fun once in a while too.

That part of the fan base is small but very rich and they donate a lot of money to the school and to athletics.  So, you don’t want to piss them off.   I liked the white facemasks and am not completely opposed to an alternate uniform for a game. 

[Hank2020 3,226]

On 9/24/2021 at 8:25 AM, AuCivilEng1 said:

This should be the look when Georgia rolls in and I don’t care what anyone says! 

I like that too!!

[Quietmaninthecorner 1,949]

14 minutes ago, Hank2020 said:

I like that too!!

I like that too.   I am not a big fan of all the fancy s*** some teams are doing.   It would suit me fine if we show up in jorts and dirty Tee-shirts with the numbers painted in  blood.

[Beaker 2,457]

3 hours ago, auburnphan said:

When the reason to not do alternate uniforms is you don't wanna piss off part of the fan base..................

that part of the base is a lot smaller than they think, they just have big mouths and will get as much air time as possible to bitch.

the white face masks seemed to pump most everybody up.  

I think it is an easy balance to respect tradition and to have a little bit of fun once in a while too.

And  it seems everyone is all about the fan.   Sorry, but recruiting is the lifeblood of the program, and if an alternate helmet goes a long way with recruiting or the current players, give them one or two games and let them play in a snazzy, alternative helmet.   I say quit listening to us old timers and give the players some input or they will look at more lucrative NIL deals  and alt unis and such and choose other programs.   

Auburn needs to look at things holistically. 

[homersapien 11,513]

45 minutes ago, Beaker said:

And  it seems everyone is all about the fan.   Sorry, but recruiting is the lifeblood of the program, and if an alternate helmet goes a long way with recruiting or the current players, give them one or two games and let them play in a snazzy, alternative helmet.   I say quit listening to us old timers and give the players some input or they will look at more lucrative NIL deals  and alt unis and such and choose other programs.   

Auburn needs to look at things holistically. 

Yeah, that's undoubtedly the reason Bama does so lousy in recruiting - tradition w/ their unis. 

[AUwent 3,778]

On 9/24/2021 at 9:25 AM, AuCivilEng1 said:

This should be the look when Georgia rolls in and I don’t care what anyone says! 

Do it for auburn4ever! And I mean that completely unironically.

[Dual-Threat Rigby 8,819]

Truly hate how restrictive Auburn is. Some really amazing things you can do with white and that shade of orange. Can do some different finishes to make that navy blue pop. Go crazy one game 

[Dual-Threat Rigby 8,819]

15 minutes ago, homersapien said:

Yeah, that's undoubtedly the reason Bama does so lousy in recruiting - tradition w/ their unis. 

Literally no point where he compared how it’d affect us to how it does for anyone else, nor that it’d be the sole, or even primary, reason recruiting would be affected (I’d think boosted).

Alabama has actually done quite a few uniform shifts, and have allowed the company they trust (Nike) to represent their brand. That’s what the big boys are doing across the board. Experimenting 

Edited September 25, 2021 by Dual-Threat Rigby

[Beaker 2,457]

On 9/25/2021 at 12:04 PM, homersapien said:

Yeah, that's undoubtedly the reason Bama does so lousy in recruiting - tradition w/ their unis. 

You think they are winning recruiting battles because of their uniforms?      Is that what you are thinking?   No of course you do not.     Then you must be inferring our programs are on equal footing if we never allow a helmet change or facemask change.    Huh...ok, you think that. 

 

If we want to be like bama, we have to do everything they do?    silliness