Natalie Saar: NFL’s “A Crucial Catch” – Who Wore Pink Best
During the month of October, you may have seen your favorite NFLers wearing pink on their gloves, wristbands, cleats, coaches’ hats and officials’ whistles. Of course this is because the NFL partners up with the American Cancer Society to help raise money during Breast Cancer Awareness month.
DeAngelo Williams, running back for the Carolina Panthers has been very outspoken with his support of breast cancer research. His mother, Sandra Hill, diagnosed with the disease in 2004, is currently in remission. Williams saw the toll it took on her and set up his own foundation to help raise funds for people who cannot afford treatments on their own. It was also his idea for the cleats to be added to the pink ensembles. Williams said, “If you have a great cleat, and a firm foot in the ground, you can do anything.”
The NFL’s “A Crucial Catch” campaign promotes women getting regular mammograms to catch breast cancer early on. The pink equipment that is worn by the players in the games will be auctioned off at www.NFLAuction.NFL.com. The proceeds will be donated to the American Cancer Society and the various team charities.
While we all know that women pull of pink beautifully, there are few NFL players who can pull this off with style, especially when you factor in the colors of their jerseys. This means that some definitely wore it better than others. Here are the top five:
Tom Brady
Men and women alike are envious of Brady’s hair. How he plays an entire football game, then takes off his helmet and looks perfect with no helmet-hair is beyond me. During October, Brady chose to wear the pink cleats, and they looked goooood. How he made pink look good with red, white and blue is only explainable by the fact that he is Tom Brady (and Gisele may have had something to do with it too).
Aaron Rodgers
He’s as good looking as Tom Brady, but in a tough mountain-man way. Rodgers somehow looks great in Forest Green and yellow. These colors alone are bright and eye-catching, and hard to make look fashionable at times, but when he added the pink wristbands, it took the uni to another level. It takes a certain person to pull off three very unique colors, but Rodgers did it well.
DeAngelo Williams
Blue and white are easy to match with pink, but Williams chose to wear as much pink as the league would allow. Gloves, cleats, wristbands (which he doesn’t usually wear) and the tape on his wrists, ankles and cleats. Williams was out there makin’ mama proud and raising lots of money for the cause.
The Oakland Raiders and New Orleans Saints
Both of these teams have perfect colors to match with pink, so it’s a tie. Their one dark, one metallic color complemented by the bright flashes on pink on the field are eye-catching to anyone. This means their uniforms as a whole, more than a specific player, earned them a tied spot on the list.
Yeremiah Bell
The Miami Dolphins went all out when supporting the cause. Even their chin straps were pink! Bell wore the pink possible, including the chin strap and his skull cap. You saw him on the sidelines, helmet off, rocking the bright pink head gear, but when he puts his helmet back on, the cap still peeks out. He may get the award for most visible pink. The colors look pretty good together too. Well done Bell!
Honorable Mentions- Every red team (Buccaneers, Cardinals, Redskins, and Chiefs)
Whether they knew it or not, by sporting pink with their red, they were following a popular fall trend: red and pink. This trend is not for everyone and can be hard to pull off, but in the spirit of the month, these men did pretty well.
Until next October.
