Sometimes technology advances, and we forget what was impacted by the older technology.
When TV broadcasting of professional sports began, leagues adopted a convention: the concept of home and away jerseys. Prior to this, the leagues used primary and alternate jerseys.
This was because when broadcasting began, it was all black-and-white - something that became obsolete by the 1970s. Watching grey team versus grey team didn't work well in black and white, so teams generally used white at home and colours on the road. Before, teams would wear their primary jerseys, with the road team using alternate jerseys when the colours were too similar.
The CFL should revert to the primary/alternate format for the following reasons:
Tradition - returning to how things were 70 years ago. The need to change that tradition - black and white broadcasting - is irrelevant.
Uniqueness - the CFL would be the only North American league to use this system. It would make the games more visually appealing, and it would stand out.
CFL 2.0 - European audiences might find the primary/alternate uniforms familiar with their soccer leagues.
Even if teams like Hamilton and BC didn't want to adopt yellow and orange uniforms, respectively, the primary/alternate system still works.
Any thoughts? Or do we act like somebody who keeps installing a screensaver on their laptop?
A few seasons ago I watched a pre-season game between BC and CGY. I don't remember who was the home team but their jerseys looked so similar that I had a hard time telling them apart. The away team’s “white” jerseys had so much black and orange/red that it was hard to spot the white. Even in this age of color TV it is still important to have a very obvious difference in the appearance of each team.
The current CGY jerseys with striped shoulders and no black are very easy to recognize, but I must admit I believe THAT is a retro style that should stay in the past.
There was a period decades ago that the Dallas Cowboys and the L.A. Rams NEVER wore their blue jerseys. I believe it might have been an option for the home team in those days, or maybe just a special situation for those teams.
In 2019 the Blue Bombers decided to wear their white jerseys even though they were the home team for the Grey Cup. Their reason was that they won the semi and the final on the road and didn’t want to change jerseys for the Grey Cup.
Another possibility would be to allow a team to wear a gold/yellow jersey on the road, and Toronto might be allowed a road jersey that’s predominantly their light blue with dark blue numbers and trim.
There may need to be some limitations. For example BC in orange and Hamilton in yellow could be a problem.