St. Louis Post Dispatch, June 24th 1994

It's official: The Blues have gone goofy on us.

The Blues unveiled their new uniforms Thursday afternoon in a strange, wind-blown ceremony held at 14th and Clark streets, across from the Kiel Center.

Blues chairman Mike Shanahan said a few words but could not be heard over the sound of rumbling trucks and screeching cars.

About 2:15, a van pulled up at the curb . . . and out hopped ticket-sales VP Bruce Affleck, sweating as he modeled the new look. He was followed by promotions man Rick Meagher and players Brendan Shanahan and Curtis Joseph.

Startled construction workers dropped their hammers at the Kiel site and gawked at the spectacle. There was a murmur in the crowd.

The bottom of the road jersey is red. The sleeves are predominately red.

The home jersey is lined with red, diagonal stripes. Red, diagonal stripes around the sleeves. Red, diagonal stripes around the waist. Red, diagonal stripes on the socks.

Don't adjust your vertical hold, folks. The problem isn't in your TV set.

Ladies and gentleman, introducing your St. Louis . . . Reds?

When the Reds go marching in?

Perhaps the Blues should have traded Maxim Bets for Calvin Klein.

Is there any way I can blame this one on Jud Perkins?

Hello, may I speak to Ruth Ornest?

My favorite section of the news release was this explanation of the new shoulder patches: "A word mark which incorporates an original design on a musical staff and the treble clef (a musical symbol centered on the second line of the staff to indicate the position of G above the middle C)."

Got all that? I'll put a call into Leonard Slatkin.

With all this red, at least the blood stains will blend in.

"I like them," Joseph said. "Kind of flashy. The red is drastic. But it's a bold color in an aggressive sport. I think it's cool. We've really gone to red, eh?"

The St. Louis Reds.

A New York firm is taking credit for this design. How can a guy in New York appreciate Blues ancestry?

I'll never forget the first time I saw the Blues in person. I was 15 and a Washington Capitals season-ticket subscriber. When the Blues skated in wearing those majestic blue-and-gold sweaters, with the prominent and proud bluenote, I thought they were the greatest uniforms in the National Hockey League.

You don't tear apart the fabric of that beautiful tradition. The Blues had one of the most unique uniforms in sports. A tribute to the wonder of simplicity.

And now . . . blue . . . gold . . . red stripes . . . red sleeves . . . gold stripes . . . red jersey bottoms. Brett Hull will demand a trade once he sees this gear.

Perhaps I'm becoming a grouchy sportswriter, set in my ways. Maybe the kids will go wild over this new look, and the Blues will sell a ton of merchandise. I may like the home uniforms once I get used to them, and the trumpet on the new shoulder patch is cute.

"I still have my old sweater," Blues legend Bob Plager said. "My memories are all with the old sweaters. But then again, things change and you'd better change with them or you won't be around long. Sure, it's going to look strange seeing the red out there. But again, it's the new crowd, the new building a new direction."

Brendan Shanahan?

"I think they're very, uh, I think they're nice," he said. "I like the lines, to tell you the truth. Look a little jazzy. I feel jazzy."

What about the red?

"Maybe because they're seeing red this summer," Shanahan said.

Brendan: If you hated them, would you admit it?

"No," he said, smiling. "But I do like them. I like them a lot. You always ask the toughest questions."

Then B. Shanahan made sense of this fashion show.

"This is a cool little side note," he said. "But the most important thing is the product on the ice."

And that's the only artistry that matters.

If the St. Louis Reds play exciting and successful hockey at the Kiel next season, we will forgive them for how they look.

Scott Stevens? Forget about it. Right now, this franchise needs Armani.