The American Hockey League’s Grand Rapids Griffins tipped their cap to a fellow Michigan sports team with special edition jerseys worn earlier this week.
Though the Griffins never actually mentioned them by name, the sweaters worn on Sunday, December 22, were clearly a tribute to the NFL’s Detroit Lions. With their Honolulu blue and black colour scheme and double stripes around the waist and sleeves, the resemblance to the Lions’ recently redesigned uniforms was obvious.
Like the Lions’ alternate jersey, the base of the “Gridiron Griffins” jersey was black, with the player’s number writ large on the chest in Honolulu blue with a mesh pattern and a silver outline. A blue “GRIFFINS” wordmark styled to match that of the Lions sat between the Honolulu blue collar and the chest number.
Blue numbers with silver outlines also appeared on the shoulders of the jersey. Below them were Griffins wordmarks recolored in Honolulu blue, silver and black. Double blue stripes with silver outlines ran around the waist and sleeves.
The jerseys were paired with the Griffins’ usual black helmets, gloves and pants. The socks were also black, with the same Honolulu blue and silver stripes found on the sleeves. Captains’ letters on the left chest were also Honolulu blue with the mesh pattern and silver outlines, and the sponsor patch on the right chest was recolored in blue and black.
Some of the game-worn Griffins jerseys were auctioned off live following Sunday’s game, while others were auctioned off online. There was no indication from the Griffins that these would be more than a one-off sweater.
While the Lions are currently atop the NFC North standings with a 13-2 record, the jerseys didn’t confer those winning ways to the Griffins. Grand Rapids lost Sunday’s game to the Texas Stars 3-2 in overtime.