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Colts New Uniform is an Attempt at an April Fool's Day Joke

The Indianapolis Colts unveiled a new uniform this morning, but it appears to be an April Fool's Day "joke."

By Josh Wilson
Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

April Fool's Day is the worst.  It's basically a day where you can lie and have it be somewhat acceptable because it's all in good fun on this made-up holiday.  Just sounds great, doesn't it?

The Indianapolis Colts conveniently choose April Fool's Day to unveil their new uniform - unless, of course, they needed to choose today because it's all a joke.

Earlier today, the Colts tweeted out pictures of their new "Whiteout" uniforms that, according to Carlie Irsay, the team will wear on Thursday night games.

The release of the uniforms has gotten a lot of fans talking, and many are excited to see the team unveil the new all-white uniforms for some games in 2015.  But, of course, remember what day it is and be skeptical.

So we consulted the NFL rulebook as it pertains to the uniform policy.  Here is a part that is particularly interesting given the Colts' most recent design (emphasis is mine):

Numerals on the back and front of jerseys in accordance with Rule 5, Section 1, Article 2. Such numerals must be a minimum of 8 inches high and 4 inches wide, and their color must be in sharp contrast with the color of the jersey. Smaller numerals should be worn on the tops of the shoulders or upper arms of the jersey. Small numerals on the back of the helmet or on the uniform pants are optional.

So, the Colts unveiled all-white uniforms that include white jerseys and white uniform numbers.  That seems to be a direct violation of the NFL uniform policy, and I'm pretty sure that it's not going to fly with the league by saying that the Colts just want to be one team and not a bunch of individuals like they said this morning.   For the Colts to actually be able to wear this uniform on the field, either they will have to make the numbers stand out more (thus defeating the "whiteout" purpose) or the NFL will have to make an exception on their uniform rules, which seems unlikely and could set a precedent for other teams wanting an exception as well.

It's also interesting that owner Jim Irsay hasn't said a word about the news, as he's usually one of the most excited people on twitter to announce whatever news he can, and it would seem like a new uniform would be a pretty significant announcement.  Furthermore, it appears as if the only Colts player who has tweeted about the uniforms is tight end Dwayne Allen, who is seen modeling the jerseys in the promotion and therefore seems to be a part of the joke.  And Kevin Bowen, who is the lead writer on the team's website, has been quiet on it as well.  The silence of the owner, the players, and the team's top writer lead to further questions about the validity of this uniform unveiling.

Simply put, it strongly appears as if the Colts' new uniforms are just an April Fool's Day joke.  And while we can't say for sure just yet, it seems like this is nothing more than an NFL franchise deceiving its fanbase all in the name of April Fools.

UPDATE (2:55 p.m. ET): April Fool's, indeed.

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