Big Updates for the ChicagoBacon Channel
If you've been following me for a while, you know I used to create NFL uniform rankings and review videos. I dropped huge videos in 2020 and 2021 that I’m really proud of, but the amount of time and energy that goes into these kinds of videos just isn’t sustainable for my workload. I even wrote a full script for 2025, but just didn’t have the bandwidth to actually make the video. So when I sat down to write my 2026 uniform video script, I realized that I was just setting myself up for failure and that I hand to change things up.
I really make these videos because I love talking about uniforms and what does or doesn’t make them work. It was never really about the rankings and more about design. I’ve decided to change things up because of this, and format my uniform videos differently. I also have many different interests and passions that I like to create videos about, so I’m going to give myself seasonal guardrails that will hopefully let me focus on just one thing at a time.
The Offseason: Focus on Film
During the spring and summer, I’m stepping off the gridiron and focusing entirely on movies. If you enjoy my non-football content, you're going to love this block of the year. I’ll be putting all my offseason energy into my movie series "These Two Idiots" and "Cut Up," where I dive into the interesting, weird, and fascinating things about films.
I already have three more Cut Up videos about Robin Williams planned: The Crazy Ones (TV Show), Seize the Day (TV Movie), and the best Robin Williams Cameos. The plan is to start releasing these in March 2027.
The Football Season: Introducing "Uniform Showdown"
Once that cold autumn air starts to blow, the channel is pivoting to the NFL. But instead of just making a one off uniform ranking video, I’ve decided to look at uniforms in a completely different way. I'm officially retiring the standard "worst-to-best" individual uniform rankings. Why? Because I think I’ve been too focused on individual sets in a vacuum. When you watch a football game, you never see a uniform by itself, you see it going head-to-head with another team's colors.
That is why I am launching a brand new series called Uniform Showdown.
Instead of just ranking uniforms, I’m going to focus on Uniform Matchups. Every week during the NFL season, I will go through the slate of games and talk about the most interesting visual matchups on the field. I’ll touch on every team, but I’m going to spend the most time breaking down the most fascinating combinations and explaining exactly why they work so well together (or why they completely clash).
We are still keeping my golden rules for judging uniforms: they need to look good on all body types, they have to look good from a distance, and they need to stand the test of time. But I'm adding a brand new metric for Uniform Showdown: Contrast.
There are a lot of big dudes running very quickly around a giant open space, so I need to know immediately who is who. How well does a team's look adapt to playing opponents with similar colors? We are also going to judge these based on how they actually look on the field during a game, not just how they look in stylized marketing promo photos.
A Heavy Focus on Divisional Matchups I will be talking a lot about how divisional teams match up against each other. This is crucial because you play your divisional opponents twice a year, meaning it's the look your fanbase sees the absolute most. Divisions like the NFC North are a perfect example of this. They have established, distinct design identities that create amazing visual contrast every time they share the field.
The Weekly Schedule & Monday Night Shorts
My plan is to review all the game matchups from the week in one main video, with one exception. I won't be including the Monday Night Football game in the main breakdown because waiting for it puts me too far behind on my editing schedule.
Instead, the Monday Night Football matchup will be turned into a dedicated YouTube Short. I think this is a great way to make a different style of short-form content that gives that single primetime game all the exclusive focus it deserves.
Make sure you're subscribed to the ChicagoBacon channel so you don't miss the ultimate Uniform Showdown.
