I’ll admit that it has been some time since I gave a great deal of thought to team uniform colors but it was fun to think about it again in the context of the New Orleans Saints and their success on the playing field this year.

Below are excerpts from Susan Langenhennig’s article ‘Power colors: Black and gold are tops on the red carpet – and this season – on synthetic turf’ that appeared in today’s New Orleans Times Picayune.

As a power statement, black outranks blue. It’s the de facto color of intelligence and achievement. A black judge’s robe commands respect, as does the mortarboard at graduation.

Unlike red, its cohort in aggression, black is less brash, more confident, signalling “authority and prestige, ” said Kate Smith, a Virginia-based color strategist and creator of SensationalColor.com.

Perennially fashion’s favorite color, black never goes out of style. Think Chanel’s little black dress, Yves St. Laurent’s Le Smoking, James Bond’s tux. Nothing compares on the red carpet — or, this season, on synthetic turf.

The black-and-gold combination “brings the thought of prosperity, ” said Smith, who attended the recent Color Marketing Group convention in New Orleans. “Black and gold are thought of as top shelf. Whether it’s on chocolate bars or liquor bottles or football players, it signals higher quality.”

In the case of the Saints, the quality, perhaps like fine wine, just took some time to be fully realized.

See the article on The New Orleans Times Picayune…

By the way, if you believe in trends, then Loaiza pitches miserably for any team associated with the color blue: On team’s with the predominant color as blue (so not Washington), Loaiza is 43-49 with an average 5.51 ERA over those seven seasons. Tossing in Washington (just for the sake of argument) Loaiza ends up being 55-59, with an ERA average over those seasons of 4.64.

“Paint tends to flake off white balls and we have asked (manufacturers) Kookaburra to produce a batch of pink ones because these show up so much better,” MCC’s head of cricket John Stephenson told Tuesday’s edition of the Times newspaper. “The challenge is to produce a ball which retains its colour.

Former England captain Mike Gatting, the ECB’s managing director of cricket partnerships, said: “We have tried white and orange balls and perhaps pink ones will last longer. This is a very interesting and very wise development and a colour may have been found that is easier on the eye.”

Read the entire article…

It may soon be time to add cricket balls to my list of items showing the trends for the color pink!

Today the green jacket continues to send the message that those wearing it are “part of the club”. A club of winners that is. An elite group of “the masters” of the game and the green jacket has come to symbolize a pinnacle of success for professional golfers.

Around the world the green jacket is associated with “The Masters Tournament” and the prestige of the brand.

Last year Phil Mickelson, left, got the Green Jacket from Tiger Woods after winning the 2006 Masters at the Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Ga.

A year earlier the roles had been reversed. Tiger Woods got the Green Jacket from Phil Mickelson after winning the 2005 Masters.

On the final day of The Master two questions come to mind:

Who will walk away with the green this year?

What colors and symbols does your brand have that signal being “part of your club”?

India’s cricket team is an aggressive and hard working team but the wins don’t add up to the amount of losses.

Could the key to a more constant and spectacular performance be in changing the team color from blue to another more helpful color?

Read the article…

If not blue then what color should India’s cricket team be? How do colors affect the ways people perform and interact?

Can a simple color choice or change enhance the outlook from just okay to amazing?