Ugly Sweater Party: Rodeo? How About NO-deo!

Worst Jerseys

In early November all of the SBN NHL sites were approached by Winging It In Motown to participate in a series of articles about the worst jerseys in our respective team’s franchise history. We here at M&G gladly jumped on board because anytime we can interact with our fellow teams and make fun of some ugly sweaters, we are in!

This was a very scientific and well thought out polling of our staff here to come up with what we thought was the worst jersey the Flames have ever put on. After Mark threatened to fire everyone who voted for Old Blasty or the 2011 Heritage Classic jersey, we came an a decision and it was close.

Below are the jerseys the Flames have worn over the years and who voted for what and why! Enjoy.

Classic

Pedestal

Old Blasty

Return To The Cup

Reebok Years

2011 Heritage Classic

Rodeo/Cowtown Alternate

Retro Red Alternate

Current Uniform

2019 Heritage Classic

So there’s a snap shot of the Flames throughout the years and as a fan base we are pretty lucky. Calgary has never had a truly hideous uniform over the course of the franchise’s history, though there were a few “questionable choices.” And with all that said and the votes added up, the winner for the Worst Uniform in Calgary Flames history, as determined by the M&G Staff is……The Rodeo alternate.

That uniform debuted in 2013 and was packed away in moth balls in 2015, never to be seen again. They certainly were a different look for the Flames, with the shoulder patch being the clear highlight of the jersey. With a 4-3 vote the Rodeo/Cowtown Pride jersey has been selected to go down in Flames history as the ugliest thing they’ve ever put on.

Voting Results:

Classic: 0

Pedestal: 3 (Mark, Renu, Milhouse Firehouse)

Old Blasty: 0

Return To Cup: 0

Reebok Years: 0

Rodeo/Cowtown: 4 (Michael, Maddie, Gordie, Flash)

2011 Heritage Classic: 0

Retro Red: 0

Current Uniform: 0

2019 Heritage Classic: 0

Why?

Mark: I own many of these jerseys above, but something about the pedestal jerseys were always “meh.” Yes, I own one (German Titov), but it’s the Flames jersey I wear the least. And while I didn’t vote for the Rodeo/Cowtown jersey, I do own one of those as well (Monahan) and it’s another that hangs in the closet. Maybe I need to be less of an impulse shopper?

Renu: I went with Pedestal as the worst Flames jersey. I prefer the lines down the side of the jersey. I like the work horse shoulder patches on the Return to the Cup jersey. I don’t mind the Cowtown Jersey – with laces and still a Flaming C on it. My favourite is the 2011 Heritage Classic.

Michael: I ultimately voted for the Rodeo jersey simply because the Flames have a beautiful crest and I thought the written Calgary really took away from it. While I actually do own one of these jerseys, I just think they don’t have that charm that the other jerseys had. My favourite jersey has to be either the current retro or Heritage Classic jerseys and I’m counting the days until they go back to them full time.

Milhouse: My first impression of the Rodeo jersey back in the day was “Wal-Mart Special”. Wordmarks are hard to pull off and they always wind up eliminating or shrinking the actual crest and looking very simplistic. That said, I’m a sucker for white lettering on a colored sweater, and with the memories of the 2015 “Find-A-Way Flames” tied to that one I’ll give it a pass. I went pedestal because it absolutely screams “bad 1990’s hockey decision” along with stuff like the PIT Robo-Penguin, the BOS Winnie The Pooh, and 1/3rd of the teams in the league wearing black alternate sweaters at some point. You and the 90’s St. Louis Blues can keep your wacky diagonal lines, thank you very much.

Flash: Nothing more in the history of the Flames franchise has screamed cheap ripoff quality than the Flames Rodeo Jersey. Do I still own one? Yes of course, and I t’s not without its positives as it brought a beautiful shoulder patch with it, but still, oof. I’m beyond thankful for our retro reds and our 2019 heritage jersey to make up for this nightmare. Also, a sidenote, #BlastyForever

Do you agree with our staff? Vote in our poll below!

by Mark Parkinson