Sabres white vintage jerseys to be worn at the Winter Classic?

As scooped on the Sabres board there is an interesting link being passed around to a store selling what they call the January 1st, 2008 special edition jerseys for the Winter Classic. It's from a company called GreatSkate. Check it guys and email me @ info@SabresNotSlugs.com or comment if you have any more info. Thanks!!

Sabres Winter Classic Jersey?



Product Information:

Special Edition for January 1st, 2008
Winter Classic Clothing Line From RBK
Cheer on the NHL and watch the Buffalo Sabres VS. the Pittsburgh Penguins in this onetime outdoor game.
Order now for November Delivery. Make a Great Holiday Gift!
RBK Vintage Sabres Jersey - White
Buffalo Sabres Logo on front and Shoulders - As Pictured
Air Mesh w/Poly knit neck trim
Tackle Twill Applique w/emb.
As Pictured Above
Sizes Small - X-Large

Of course and as usual, there has been no confirmation by either the NHL, the Buffalo Sabres, or RBK International.

The only thing I didn't ask if Pittsburgh would be wearing a throwback as well. There is no indication of that on their products list on the website either...

****UPDATE****

The company's customer service told me when I asked about the uniform for the game "Absolutely yes...white vintage."

And he replied when I asked about an official announcement from any organization and he replied "They haven't announced it yet but we definitely know about it...wanna get in your pre-order today?"

He also said that the jersey is made by RBK but is NOT in an RBK Edge cut uniform. It will simply be the same style cut as our alternate thirds from last year. According to them, there will be no NHL emblem on the neck. It is a replica jersey that they are selling as well, NOT the authentic.

***************

Well I hope this is true because for me, this may be the big step and finally a hint that the Sabres got the clue that the vintage is the more visually appealing and more profitable look long term jersey to go with. Hopefully they will realize that, get smart, make the vintage the primary logo again and keep the slug as the third to not generate dissent among fans who spent good money on the current look.

This is the organization's chance to make right and make the vintage jersey the number one selling NHL jersey in the league for next season when it comes back. Which I hope they already thought of...using the slug in the old bait and switch move in favor of the vintage.

People have an emotional connection to that vintage look way more than for the slug. Even non-Sabres fans respect the vintage look of the Sabres. Just like buying a new car, if you get emotion involved, you get higher sales and more profit.

Now then...just a thing for the Sabres owner, Managing partner, Creative Services Director, and Marketing department to keep in mind as they are now in the process of "modifying" the third jersey for its re-introduction next season.

DO NOT DARKEN THE BLUE OF THE JERSEY. Don't be cheapskates and just buy some lighter blue pants and helmets that match. The rumor out there is that there are inconsistencies in the blue fabric that require the change...well if Vancouver can wear a royal blue color with their new Edge jerseys, then the Sabres' version of that shouldn't be hard to match.

If you darken the jersey anyway, please don't use that color fabric inconsistency line as an excuse. If you want to darken it to make it the primary uniform and logo again and match the outfitted color scheme of the HSBC arena and it makes that transition back to the classic logo more cost effective, then I'm all for it!

We are all Sabres fans no matter which logo you love.

In all of this and I never wanted to categorize people in different levels of "fandom" in this whole logo dispute nor should anyone be slapping ultimatums on each other and labeling those as bandwagoners...there are slug haters, slug lovers, indifferent fans, and those on the fence. But we are ALL Sabres fans and shouldn't be trying to undermine someone by which version of blue and gold they prefer...but more for me I take issue with the logo and it's poor representation of the team and was only trying to outline there are better alternatives both from the past and potentially in the future if fans who dislike the logo actually extend beyond a message board and do something about it.

Instead of buying slug crap, I spent my time and money and tried to inform others of a pracitical and potentially more profitable and long term solution for the Sabres. A logo that offers an updated throwback look to it, designed by a guy who loves the team. And this has been available since 2003 and somehow is still very popular to this day.

I look at the slug and see no inspiration or emotional connection when I try to imagine the donkey or donkeys who drew it up. It was just an account dropped in some design firm's lap thousands of miles away. Maybe I shouldn't have brought John Slabyk back into the limelight because now all of these people call him some egomaniac. He is a talented man who doesn't need the Sabres logo for his big break. He is very successful on his own accord and I would consider his New Blue and Gold project as his passionate shot at rebranding the team during it's transistion from Adelphia into it's current ownership because he cared and had the talent to try to bring back blue and gold to Buffalo before anyone else. No one solicited me to do this, I was motivated by the lack of insight the Sabres gave fans in this whole process, John's work no doubt, and also offended that his work or a likeness was not used by the Sabres in the update. Drew Celestino as well had over 30,000 people in collective agreement early on with his petition. And while I enjoyed every win, a 10-0 start to the season ignited everyone's amnesia about the issue. Drew stepped back and let people enjoy the season, I enjoyed the season but Larry Quinn said it was alright to yell at him if we didn't like the logo identity he slapped on the team and more or less shoved down your throats. I gave it a year and still didn't like it, I didn't get used to it, or bought it even though I hated it. And so I am yelling now. Politely and constructively.

Besides deep down, how is the managing partner of the team so truly confident in the "new" look that he is quoted last season as saying that they would wear the vintage uniform in a Stanley cup clinching game situation?

I suppose my fatal flaw is that I happen to hold a little more weight that no matter how good or bad a team plays, they have a right to look good whether they play poorly or not. What is a team to do for extra revenue from merchandise if they play like crap and look like it too?! I feel that way about all pro sports teams.

What has always bugged me about the logo is that I hear all the time how fans either hate it and feel helpless about it, don't like it but bought slug merchandise anyway, and those who naysay and offer no constructive comments to the discussion other than, "give it up" or "I hate it but it's here to stay"...only because you LET IT STAY.

Big picture...think about what that logo will mean to the team 10 years from now...look around, our own team and other teams' fans don't even call us Sabres anymore. We are only one year deep in this thing. This RBK Edge Uniform system leap of faith the NHL and RBK Executives are bridge jumping also are expecting a robust shelf life for their new love child. Remember that the Sabres uniform design and logo was the NHL's initial guinea pig for this new uniform "innovation".

The logo draws an embarassing association. We already have folks calling out for the vintage during the Winter classic at the Ralph. I totally agree. Anything with "Classic" in the title should be handled appropriately in my opinion. The current logo is a yellow Bills logo ripoff to me. Can Marshawn Lynch skate and man the crease? Can Ryan Miller run a 65 toss power trap? The current Sabres logo absolutely sucks and ruins what to me is a otherwise fantastic uniform! Whether you agree or not in my eyes does not make people any less of a Buffalo Sabres fan. And whether or not if you choose to buy the slug or vintage gear you can still support the team with or without your wallet.