Contrary to widely held belief, uniforms serve a larger purpose; not only are they considered a mechanism to alleviate class differences; they often function as an ideological tool. Take, for instance, the example of uniforms in schools, students, especially girls, do not like them, since they bar them for donning their trendy, fashionable clothes. But the school administration presents the argument that uniforms give the students a sense of identity as well as decrease the financial burden on parents.
While the argument of wearing a uniform in school makes sense, the question now arises, why are custom uniforms necessary for sports teams?
The answer to this question is not too different from the school uniform, but we will explore its various dimensions.
Easier to Recognize Teams From Afar
Most sports require a uniform, apart from golf, tennis, table tennis, boxing, or any ground activities such as exercise, yoga, etc. Most sports are played in large stadiums with at least a two-dozen people. Take football, for instance, and at least eleven people are playing on each side. Now, if players on both the teams wore the same uniform, and did not don a uniform at all, for that matter, would it be possible to recognize them for afar? Not easily, right?
Therefore, apart from giving the players a sense of group identity, sports uniform is practically useful for recognizing players from some distance.
Also, sports jerseys are designed in such a way that the player’s name appears in bold letters at the back, which makes it easier to recognize the players on and off the field. The fans find it easy to look at their favourite players, the coaches shout at the players from a distant, and the commentators give a minute-by-minute action report by calling-out players. You can wear beginning level uniform as well when you play in small tournaments like best BJJ Gi for beginners or other sports jerseys.
Sports Format and Timings
In some sports, cricket, and baseball, for instance, sports clubs and teams have different kits (uniforms) for varying formats and daytime. That is, in cricket, teams have an all-white uniform for the four-day long test matches and a colored uniform for one day and T20 format. The purpose of having two uniforms is that Test matches tend to take place at night, colored uniform screws-up the light, which distracts the players.
Therefore, if matches are taking place at night, uniforms tend to be light-colored.
Promotes A Sense of Unity Among Team-members
Put yourself in this situation, how did you feel when you went on a trip with your class-fellows in school? Amongst other students and people, did not wearing the same uniform give you a sense of security, unity, and oneness? The same logic can be applied to athletes donning sports uniform.
A single uniform transcends socioeconomic and cultural differences among different peoples, and it brings everyone on the same level, thus, giving the players a sense of unity that they play on the same team for the same goal.
A uniform sport kit also minimizes, at times, removes the racial and ethnic divide that exists among players due to the societal norms, for example, in the recent protests against the horrendous murder of George Floyd by the police in Minnesota, almost all players in every sporting event, regardless of their race, color, ethnicity, and nationality, bend their knees in support of the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement. A custom uniform for every team unified their efforts against systematic racism against Black (the African American) people across the globe.
Give Each Team A Unique Identity
There are certain colours, things, or ornaments that are associated with institutions, countries, and ideologies for instance, the Golden Eagle is associated with the United States, since it appears on the president of the US’s official seal. Or the rainbow flag is considered a sign of diversity and acceptance for the LBGTQA+ community. In the same way, a unique uniform or a sports kit gives an identity to each sports team in every sport.
In other words, the team uniform is often used to identify one’s teammates from afar and also comes in handy when distinguishing each player from the other. In addition, sports shirts also carry the names of the players on the back, which also helps to recognize players by their names. Moreover, a unique uniform allows members of each team to find their team members as well as rivals, which helps them to play their game more effectively and strategically. It also allows their fans inside and outside of the stadium to keep track of the players’ performance.
Symbolic Representation
Uniforms, including sports uniform, are often infested with symbols and cultural euphuism. For example, the English football team has white and red in its uniform, and the same colours can be found in the English flag, which is a representation of Saint George’s cross.
Thus, in a way, when players don their sports uniform, they not only stand tall for their teams but also bring in the culture and rich histories of their countries.
Conclusion
In short, a unique sports kit for every team gives the players a sense of group identity, which is an integral part of sport and allows them to be recognized easily from great distances, it has both practical and ideological utilities.
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