United States of College Basketball 2021-22: Where every team ranks in each state, from top to bottom

Sports Jerseys Are The Latest It-girl Trend — But There's A Catch

Girls and gays around the world are trolling straight blokes by appropriating a sacred item of stereotypical masculinity: the sports jersey.

Touchdown! Score! Dummy-half!

Thanks to It girls like Bella Hadid, Hailey Bieber and Julia Fox who've all adopted the jersey trend, bloke-core aesthetic has jumped off TikTok feeds and onto the streets.

Around Paris this Euro summer, fashionistas have been strutting the sidewalk in their finest soccer shirts, football guernseys and baseball tees.

"I think appropriating straight man culture is another step in the gay agenda," says London tourist Alex Gilbert, 31.

The latest trend is wearing sports jerseys for fashion looks. Getty Images

He's wearing a mesh basketball-style shirt while op-shopping at the Saint-Ouen flea markets in the French capital.

"I think gay stuff has proliferated everything. So I think it's more chic now to look heterosexual and kind of masculine but in a slightly gay-ish way. It's a queer play on straight clothes."

It begs the question: what other stereotypical male accessories can we co-opt? G-shock watches? Threadbare Tradie briefs?

Blokes, take this as a sign to do a thorough stocktake of your wardrobe immediately before whacking a padlock on the door.

Top It girls have been spotted wearing the sporty look. Getty Images

Zoya Suinin, 17, says she had to turn to petty crime to keep up with the trend.

"I stole it from my little brother," she says of the red soccer shirt she started wearing two months ago.

Other people are paying big bucks for sweaty old guernseys.

Eric Cossart who owns Fripe Vintage in the trendy Paris suburb of Le Marais says he had to increase stock after last year's Euro Cup and now sells at least five jerseys a day to fashionable ladies.

Online Aussie retailer The Iconic says sales of soccer jerseys from sports brands like Adidas have spiked 97 percent year-on-year while more "fashion-esque" jerseys have soared 328 percent. Getty Images

Vintage System assistant manager Mahara Diarte says the shop has been able to hike up the prices since the style took off. A red Italy World Cup jersey on display in the store has a price tag of $140. The yellow and green colour combos of the Brazilian and South African teams are also proving popular.

"Some girls are tailoring them and making them super girly," she says. "It's a sexy boyish look."

Online Aussie retailer The Iconic says sales of soccer jerseys from sports brands like Adidas have spiked 97 percent year-on-year while more "fashion-esque" jerseys have soared 328 percent.

Meanwhile, men's underwear brand Teamm8 has just released a range inspired by sexy football gear, complete with cropped midriff guernseys.

Of course, there's one rule about the trend. Under no circumstances are you to wear the jersey within a sporting context. Getty Images

"The combination of mesh, crop and sports jersey has been a huge hit for us, and although we offered some safer color options, the dusty pink has certainly been a standout," says the brand's creative director Michal Nicolas.

Of course, there's one rule about the trend. Under no circumstances are you to wear the jersey within a sporting context.

Charlie Trapp, 18, is a student at Parsons fashion school and has collected five jerseys over the past few months.

"I'm not sporty, I don't play sport," he says. "So me wearing a jersey is funny."

Co-opting sportsball has never been more fabulous.

NFL Uniforms: Who Has The Best Look In Each Conference?

There are plenty of good uniforms in the NFL, but only eight teams can claim they have the best uniforms in their division.

Last week, we asked readers to pick the best uniforms in every division. After receiving at least 9,000 votes for each, we came up with eight big winners.

Voting in the divisional round was relatively close. No team had a vote share of 50% or higher. Only three teams had a vote share below 10%. So, there was a good amount of respect given to most uniforms.

Now, it's time to move on to the conference round.

Similar to the divisional round, we'll put up the four division winners in the AFC against each other, and also do the same in the NFC. The winner of each conference will move on to face each other in our "Uniform Super Bowl." Unlike this season's actual Super Bowl (which airs on FOX on Feb. 9), Tom Brady won't be on the call for this vote.

Still, we're asking for your help to determine which team has the best uniforms in the NFL! Scroll below to check out each team's uniform, then vote on which team has the best look in each conference.

Who has the best uniforms in the AFC?

AFC East: Miami Dolphins

AFC East results: Dolphins 42%, Buffalo Bills 35%, New York Jets 13%, New England Patriots 10%

The fight for the best uniforms in the AFC East looked similar to how the division race unfolded on the gridiron the last two seasons, with the Dolphins and Bills separating themselves from the pack. Unlike last season, though, Miami was able to fend off Buffalo to advance to the next round.

The Dolphins updated their logo and look in 2013, ditching the dolphin wearing an "M" helmet for an aqua dolphin swimming in front of a sun outburst. Their home uniforms are aqua with white pants, while their away uniforms are the inverse. There is some orange outline involved in both uniform sets. Miami has also worn its aqua uniforms from the 1970s for some games since 2015, a look that seems to be popular among its fans.

AFC North: Cincinnati Bengals

AFC North results: Bengals 36%, Baltimore Ravens 32%, Pittsburgh Steelers 26%, Cleveland Browns 6%

After all four teams in the AFC North finished with a record above .500 last season, the battle for the best uniform in the division was hotly contested. The top three finishers finished within 10% of each other, the closest of any division. Cincinnati's 36% vote share was the lowest of any division winner. While the top three teams were close in the vote, it's clear that the voters don't like Cleveland's uniforms. The Browns' 6% vote share was the lowest among all 32 teams.

The Bengals have worn orange helmets with black tiger stripes on them for decades, but they actually underwent a uniform redesign just a few years ago. They simplified their jerseys in 2021, creating a new stripe pattern along the sleeves. The primary home jerseys remained black while their primary away uniforms are white. Cincinnati also frequently wears orange alternate jerseys, introducing orange pants to wear with them for its season opener this year. It also has an all-white uniform set to go with a white helmet that has black tiger stripes.

AFC South: Houston Texans

AFC South results: Texans 40%, Indianapolis Colts 24%, Jacksonville Jaguars 21%, Tennessee Titans 15%

The Texans' new uniforms were an instant hit among the voters. Of the four teams that changed their primary uniforms this offseason, they were the only ones to win their division vote. 

Houston unveiled a complete redesign of all four of its uniforms (home, away, alternate and color rush) for the first time since the franchise's inception in 2000 over the offseason. Its new home uniforms carry a similar resemblance to its old ones, which are dark blue with red numbers and nameplates. The away white jerseys have a bullhorn-inspired stripe on the shoulder pads. 

The Texans also introduced all-red alternate uniforms, which also include an all-red helmet with a new logo. There was also a color rush uniform that was unveiled as part of the set, which has dark blue jerseys and pants to go with a blue helmet that also has a new logo.  

So far, the Texans have only worn the away uniforms from their new set in the regular season. 

AFC West: Los Angeles Chargers

AFC West: Chargers 43%, Las Vegas Raiders 40%, Kansas City Chiefs 9%, Denver Broncos 8%

The closest battle in the division came in the AFC West, with the Chargers edging the Raiders by three percentage points. The Raiders were the only runner-up to receive a 40% vote share. Meanwhile, the Chiefs and Broncos joined the Browns as the only three teams to receive fewer than 10% of the vote share in the divisional voting round. At 8%, it's clear that the voters weren't fans of the Broncos' uniform redesign from the offseason. 

The Chargers have tinkered with their look over the years, but they reverted back to their classic look in 2020. They made an updated look of the powder blue jerseys they wore in their early seasons as a franchise in the 1960s a part of their primary home uniforms. They also reconfigured the bolt in the logo, making it sunshine gold with a powder blue outline. Their helmets also include each player's jersey number, while the jerseys have the lightning bolt on the shoulder pads. 

Los Angeles also has a pair of alternate looks, one that has a darker shade of blue uniforms and pants, while their color rush look has all-navy uniforms and pants.

Now it's time to vote for the best uniform in the AFC …

Who has the best uniform in the NFC?

NFC East: Philadelphia Eagles

NFC East results: Eagles 46%, Dallas Cowboys 28%, Washington Commanders 15%, New York Giants 11%

The race for the best uniform in the NFC East looked similar to how some might view the talent in the division this season. The Eagles and Cowboys were a clear 1-2 in the vote, with the Commanders and Giants falling at the bottom. Philadelphia's green look beat Dallas' iconic look, though.

The Eagles' uniforms have mostly remained the same since 1996, when their primary home jerseys switched from Kelly green to a darker midnight green to go with an updated version of the logo. Philadelphia's main helmets notably have a main color of green to go with the eagle wing on each side. However, they have black helmets, jerseys and pants as part of their alternate uniforms. In 2023, they also made their Kelly green uniforms a part of their collection again, updating the classic look. 

NFC North: Minnesota Vikings

NFC North results: Vikings 41%, Detroit Lions 30%, Green Bay Packers 18%, Chicago Bears 11%

The Packers and Bears own a pair of the most classic-looking uniforms in the NFL, but the voters weren't huge fans of their looks. Instead, voters flocked to the Vikings and Lions, with Minnesota winning the NFC North. 

The Vikings have had the same primary uniform collection since 2013. Their home jerseys are purple nearly all over, having small white and yellow stripes at the end of the sleeve to go with the white numbers and nameplates. Their away uniforms have white jerseys with purple numbers, nameplates and pants. In 2024, the Vikings introduced an all-white "Winter Warrior" uniform, with the purple numbers, nameplates and stripes along the sides being the only different color seen in the look.

NFC South: New Orleans Saints

NFC South results: Saints 45%, Atlanta Falcons 25%, Tampa Bay Buccaneers 19%, Carolina Panthers 11%

There was a pretty clear winner in the NFC South. New Orleans received 45% of the vote, which was the third-largest vote share among the division winners. Its 20% margin over second-place Atlanta was also the largest for any division. It's clear the voters like the Saints' classic look over the rebrands the Falcons and Buccaneers have made in recent years, while the Panthers finished a distant last, like they have on the gridiron. 

As for New Orleans's uniforms, the fleur-de-lis has been a part of the Saints' logo since their inception, but the uniforms have changed in multiple instances. Their jerseys have mostly been the same over the last couple of decades, wearing black jerseys that have old gold numbers and nameplates at home and white jerseys with black numbers and nameplates on the road. They also primarily wear old gold pants, no matter where the game is played.

NFC West: Seattle Seahawks

NFC West results: Seahawks 48%, San Francisco 49ers 29%, Los Angeles Rams 13%, Arizona Cardinals 10%

The voters either really like the Seahawks' look or believe their uniforms are clearly superior to their NFC West rivals. Seattle received the largest share of votes among the eight division winners at 48% and had the second-largest margin of victory.

It could be the number of uniform choices that enticed voters to select the Seahawks for the team with the best uniforms in the NFC West. The Seahawks have a handful of uniforms in their closet. Their home uniforms have jerseys that are primarily college navy, but also include a wolf grey stripe across the top of the chest that's also in the numbers and nameplates. There's also a hint of action green on the sleeves. Their away jerseys are white with college navy numbers, nameplates and a stripe across the top of the chest. 

Their alternate uniforms are primarily action green jerseys and pants, which have college navy numbers, nameplates and stripes. They also brought back a throwback uniform set inspired by the team's look from 1983-2001.

Now it's time to vote for the best uniform in the NFC …

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How Many Substitutions Do Teams Get In Soccer?

Every soccer game, teams get limited opportunities to bring on substitutes who can change the course of a match in just one magical moment.

A substitute in soccer is a player eligible to come into a game from the bench in place of a teammate already on the pitch. Although the substitutes did not make the starting lineup, they have the power to impact a game's final score. When a team needs a spark, fresh legs, or simply to waste time, they turn to substitutes.

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, teams were only allowed three substitutions in 90 minutes. However, the extreme circumstances in 2020 encouraged new rules to manage players' health that still exist today.

Here's a breakdown of how substitutions work in soccer across all major leagues and tournaments.

Substitutions generally occur late in matches / Yukihito Taguchi-Imagn Images

Teams get five substitutions in a soccer match, but they only have three total opportunities to bring on the new players in 90 minutes. Therefore, managers often sub on multiple players at once to maximize the allotted number of substitutes.

If a game goes into extra time, then teams can make one extra substitution. Unfortunately, if a team has already used all their substitutions, and a player must come off the pitch due to injury, the club will have to finish the match with 10 men.

Also, a player who gets subbed off the pitch is not allowed to later be brought back on. A substitute, though, can be ushered back to the bench if necessary.

Although a manager can utilize their five substitutes whenever they please, they typically bring most subs on in the second half, around the 60th or 70th minute. If a team needs a drastic change, new players will enter the game at the start of the second half.

Ultimately, if a manager opts to use all their eligible substitutions, then five of their 11 original playerswill end the game on the bench.

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