Fresh threads keep football teams modern

National Football League Hall of Famer Deion Sanders once said, “If you look good, you feel good. If you feel good, you play good.” If ‘Prime Time’ was right in his assesment, then the North Branch and Chisago Lakes football teams could be primed for some good seasons. Both the Vikings and the Wildcats will be sporting some new threads this year on the football team, and although they don’t play each other on the field this year, they will be competing for the best looking team in Chisago County. The company Both teams also have another thing in common with their new duds. They both ordered American-made products from Tag Team Uniforms in Licking, Missouri. “We considered some of the popular or trendy companies like Under Armour or Nike, but we decided on Tag based on price and service,” Chisago Lakes head coach Bill Weiss said.

“They will take our jerseys and pants at the end of the year and make any necessary repairs since rips and tears are inevitable.” Weiss also apprecitated the American made quality of Tag Team Uniform. “We picked an American made product for a number of reasons, but primarly because we felt that this was our little way of helping the economy during this recession,” he noted. “It's hard to find jerseys that are made in the U.S. Most companies have outsourced their jobs to foreign countries for cheaper labor. The players understand that times are tough and that if we can do something to assist jobs and the economy in our country, we should.” Weiss mentioned a few other perks of Tag Team Jerseys, from the speed of their delivery to the no minimum for reorders -- Weiss said most companies require minimum orders of six to 12 jerseys -- to the lower prices of the jerseys.

The jerseys The Wildcats went with a classic look for their new jerseys. After going a bit modern a few years ago with their black jerseys with green and gold shoulder stripes, they moved to an all-green get-up this year for the home kit. As seen in the picture, the dominant color is the traditional Wildcat green on the jersey and the pants. The jersey has a simple gold three stripe design on the sleeves, as well as a gold ring around the neck. Also changed up is the fact that there is numbers on the shoulders now, also. The pants remain simple. After previously using an all gold pant, the Wildcats move to a solid green pant with gold piping down the side, accentuating the three arm stripes. Weiss said the uniform was selected by coaches and players. “We wanted to pick a classic look similiar to some of the old Chisago Lakes jerseys from the 70s and 80s,” he explained. North Branch also went with a bit of a throwback, simplified look. Their home kits feature all white pants and socks, along with red belts and jerseys with just simple, white block letters and a white collar.

Where do the old ones go? The Wildcats will be keeping their away white jerseys, so those will still be visible. Weiss said the old pants will now be practice pants, which creates a trickle down effect for the younger football teams, as the varsity’s old uniforms and equipment are typically still in better shape than the freshmen squads. As far as the old black jerseys, Weiss said that the school would probably be selling them to recoup some of the cost of the new jerseys. The Vikings passed their varsity jerseys down to the younger squads, improving the whole program’s look as a whole.