With the exception of fanciful Oregon, or when the Packers reprise the ugliness of their 1940s uniforms, there isn’t much about football-wearing apparel that draws special attention.
But if the great Red Grange is on your side, if there’s a tad of latent magic there, why not bore into the mystique of Grantland Rice’s famous: “A streak of fire, a breath of flame ... a gray ghost thrown into the game.”
Most ghosts I’ve known emerge in late October and use their opaque grayness to spook the folks.
And when the Illini first wore gray against Minnesota at homecoming last season, they sprang from the shadows to a 28-24 surprise.