There have definitely been some awesome, terrible uniforms through the years — the San Diego Padres' camouflage quickly comes to mind and just for my buddy Miami Dave over there I'll throw out the bright orange jerseys of the NFL's Miami Fishes, but the most awesome, terrible uni comes from another football team in the Gator State. We're talking the Tampa Bay Buccaneers from 1976-1996.
Head to toe, there is no jersey that tops it, so let's start with the helmet. From afar, perhaps it looks like your usual white helmet with a burnt, yes burnt orange facemask, but let's face it: there was no reason for the Buccaneers to be seeing those helmets from the bleacher seats, so they also had to deal with the pirate that would have made a "Pirates of the Caribbean"-esque Johnny Depp look like Prince Charming. We're talking the feather-in-cap pilferer of the world, winking at his lady friends while clutching a razor-sharp dagger between his teeth.
If you need a visual, just imagine my former point-counter point foe Tom Ziemer wearing a feathered cap — he's already got the charming wink and dagger, you've just got to imagine the hat.
As for the actual jerseys, how can you not love these unis? The terrible orange which the best quarterback in league history, Steve Young, donned to begin his career, transferred from the helmet down to a straight burnt orange jersey coupled with some bright white pants. I tell you what, just play Tecmo Super Bowl once — it really doesn't matter if you see the whole jersey or not, just look at it in Nintendo mode. Obviously for the helmet, you've just got to see that up close.
Perhaps the worst thing about these jerseys is that they were replaced by some terrible digs, and not of the terrible, awesome variety. Let's be honest Tampa, you upgrade from burnt orange to pewter? Give me a break.