Redesigning the College Snuggie

Let’s face it. There’s been a lot of talk about Snuggies in pop culture this year. “The blanket with sleeves” came out of nowhere and gripped the nation. From themed bar tours to the Washington Post’s annual Peeps diorama contest, you’re never far from Snuggie’s influence.

And if that weren’t enough, the brains that brought you the outstanding three-color collection have upped their game and expanded their product line to include… collegiate licensed Snuggies!

If you haven’t seen them in their full glory, take a gander:

Picture Source: Blanket Wars (Even better, this picture is from a blog post entitled “OU Will Choke Versus Texas.”)

How does one make an eyesore like the Snuggie even more hideous? Make it look like it was made from the contents of the clearance rack at the fabric store. That fabric ain’t just for pajamas anymore!

Though I’m not (yet) a member of the cult of the Snuggie, I understand why people would buy them. Who doesn’t like being warm? And being able to eat whilst wearing a blanket? Or the ability to change channels without exposing bare arms to the draft of a room?

I also understand why people would want collegiate Snuggies in particular. Every sports fan relishes the opportunity to show off a little team spirit. I mean, if I got a Snuggie, you’d be darn sure I’d get a college team one. (Looks like I’d have to get Texas though, because the makers of Snuggie don’t offer a UVA one. Good research on that one, I must admit. They know their audience, and UVA alums likely wouldn’t bother with a Snuggie: it would clash with their ties or pearls.)

Well, instead of continuing to mock Snuggie, I’ve decided to turn over a new leaf and offer a design suggestion: K.I.S.S. (Keep it simple, stupid.) Good design should be minimalist, simple and straightforward. Not cluttered.

How should Snuggie go about this? Pretend to make team sweatshirts, just with tons more fabric. Like this:

Or this:

Yes, UVA can have its own Snuggie after all!

Texas should prominently display the Longhorn logo on burnt orange. Carolina the interlocking NC on its signature Carolina blue hue. Virginia Tech would use the interconnected VT. Florida: the Gator. The Jayhawk for Kansas. You get the picture. Make it simple. Make the primary team color the star, not the blinding repetition of several logos.

How would you redesign the collegiate Snuggie? Would you make them like replica jerseys with the ability to personalize a name and number on the back? Add a belt in a contrasting color? Build in a foam finger at the end of one sleeve? Share your ideas in the comments section!

Final two pictures edited from this image.

One Ugly Tree

California may have a lot of strong impressive trees, but the Stanford Cardinal mascot is not one of them. A state known for its beautiful, slender, sky-scraping redwoods and massive, daunting sequoias, one would think its best university would have a better tree representative. Nonetheless, Stanford University chooses to unite behind this ridiculous mascot:

Source: Kramer’s Site
http://kramer-walker.tripod.com/index.html

Today’s basketball action featured the #3 Stanford Cardinal against the new hometown, #2 Texas Longhorns. Even though the Cardinal suffered a 20-point drubbing by the Horns, the camera always seemed to be pointed at this ridiculous-looking, floppy, dancing tree going into commercial breaks. Do fans actually unite behind this absurd, wobbling faux plant?

One would think after all these years of watching sports I would have seen this eye sore before, but this was actually a first. I can see why. Stanford probably wants to keep this unfortunate representative a secret so as not to deter their brilliant future applicants.

Also, what’s up with Stanford being called the Cardinal? Why does this school have to be so weird that they can’t pick a normal team name? I didn’t even know that Cardinal was the color of red (and not the bird) until about age 18. Of course, up until that time my question was, why can’t they be plural like everyone else?

In other news, Davidson clobbered #3 Wisconsin by 17. They now march on to the Elite 8 to play the winner of #1 Kansas-#12 Villanova. Kansas was up by 10 “at press time.”