One half of a potentially vibrant uniform matchup has been set. The Bengals will be back in black.
Cincinnati announced its uniform choice Wednesday via Twitter:
The black jersey is the Bengals' standard home top, one they have paired with both sets of white pants as well as their black pants. Cincinnati is choosing the white set of pants with orange stripes and matching orange socks for a look that is reminiscent of the uniform the Bengals wore in their first-ever Super Bowl appearance, Super Bowl XVI, in the 1981 season.
Cincinnati's choice makes for an aesthetically pleasing pairing with the Super Bowl LVI logo, which almost perfectly matches the Bengals' orange. But uniform history might not be on the Bengals' side. The Bengals have worn black in one Super Bowl and white in another, and lost both of them to the San Francisco 49ers, meaning the choice didn't matter much based on the franchise's history.
But when it comes to all Super Bowl participants, those donning traditional road uniforms have an advantage. Teams wearing white jerseys have won 14 of the last 17 Super Bowls, with the only victorious colored jersey-wearing teams being the Packers (XLV), Eagles (LII) and Chiefs (LIV). Tampa Bay elected to wear white as the home team last season in Super Bowl LV and emerged victorious in their home of Raymond James Stadium.
Fans who wanted the Bengals to go with their all-white look will have to be content with seeing them play in that uniform in last weekend's AFC Championship Game. As the designated home team in Super Bowl LVI, the Bengals had the first choice of uniform. Cincinnati's selection of black means the Rams will have to deviate from the royal-and-sol combination they've worn in each of their three playoff wins, but it does put them in the historically advantageous position of being the team wearing white.
In a perfect uniform world, the Rams would be permitted to wear their modern throwback introduced prior to the start of this season with the intent of honoring the lone Rams team to win a Lombardi Trophy: the 1999 St. Louis Rams, known as the Greatest Show on Turf.
It turns out, Wednesday was one of those perfect days in L.A.
Los Angeles had a choice between giving a nod to Kurt Warner, Marshall Faulk, Isaac Bruce and Co., or sticking with their off-white Bone uniforms that pair nicely with their blue pants. They chose the set that brought them the most Super Bowl magic.
The Rams have worn white in three of their four Super Bowl appearances in franchise history, winning XXXIV in the white, blue and yellow duds worn by Warner and the rest of those memorable Rams. They lost their next two appearances, first falling to Tom Brady's Patriots in white jerseys with navy-and-metallic gold trim in the 2001 season, then losing to Brady and the Patriots again a full 17 years later in their royal-and-yellow throwbacks (which were previously designated as their primary set, allowing the Rams to wear them in the Super Bowl).
No matter the uniform, the Rams are 1 for 4 in Super Bowls. The Bengals are 0 for 2. There's little luck in clothing choices for these two squads. They'll each hope to create their own magic in whatever they wear on Feb. 13.
