How Do The 1990s Patriots Feel About Now-Iconic Jerseys?

"I thought our uniforms were great," former linebacker Marty Moore, who spent six seasons in New England, told Patriots on SI. "I thought the changing of the logo was good and it was definitely a fresh start for the team. There's an old saying that says you look good, then you play good, and we definitely had that."

They did play good. Once Bill Parcells had come to coach the team, the style of play (and the equipment styles) all became a lot more legitimate. By the end of the season, the 1996 Patriots had become just the second team in franchise history to make it to the Super Bowl. Some of those players who later won a championship in the updated navy blue colors of the 2000s were holdovers from the royal blue era.

Parcells, who was coaxed out of his media job to be the head coach in 1993, changed the culture in New England. He demanded respect, and in turn, gave it to his players — "At the end of the day, it's respect, and coach Parcells had all of our respect," former tight end Mike Bartrum told Patriots on SI. "He treated me differently than he treated Drew Bledsoe or this guy or this guy. He knew how to relate to men."

"Those years kind of get overlooked," Lane said. "Everyone goes back to the throwbacks, the (red) Pat Patriot throwbacks. ... (Our) era kind of built the foundation for what was to come, and I think the fans would receive it unbelievably."

The Patriots have yet to bring back the 1990s uniforms into the current rotation. Most players feel like it's time to bring them back. This past offseason, Patriots owner Robert Kraft announced that, along with Julian Edelman, "Tuna" would be inducted into the team's Hall of Fame. His induction also comes one year before the 30th anniversary of that 1996 team — a perfect time to bring the uniforms back, Lane and Bartrum agreed.

Instead, New England has decided to go in other directions with their alternate uniforms. When the NFL released its "Color Rush" themes a decade ago, the Patriots broke out a new navy uniform. When the league reversed course on the rules surrounding alternate helmets, the team dusted off the red Pat Patriot jerseys.

And ahead of the 2025 season, the Patriots announced their "Nor'easter" uniforms as part of Nike's new Rivalries initiative. According to the team, the new threads honor the 1990s in a small way. "Jersey numbers pull their vertical striping and mesh-like design from the iconic 1990s Patriots uniform, evoking memories of Bledsoe-era battles," the team announced.

The Patriots from three decades ago don't want their laundry shoved in the proverbial closet, but instead back on the field.

"I'd even be happy with a one-off type of deal next year," Lane said. "Next year will be the 30th anniversary of that AFC Championship team, and that would be a perfect opportunity to bring them out. ... It would definitely be better than the jerseys they just came out with."

But why do Patriots fans feel so connected to this era of uniform? After all, it was just italic numbers over striped pieces of clothing, right?

"I think there's like a certain connection to the 90s in general, but also the 90s uniform, because at those times, a lot of the attendance was a lot of blue collar people," former Patriots linebacker and Fall River, Massachusetts, native Marc Megna told Patriots on SI. "There is this unbelievable relation between these gritty, hard working teams that are much like the people that come to the games, which are blue collar, hard working people."

Because of that, the gritty Patriots of the 1990s felt required to represent the region and the uniform on their backs.

"There's a certain amount of respect we have for those jerseys in that era, because we know we don't want to let the fans down who are hardworking people from from Massachusetts, from the New England area," Megna said. "That's why I think the bond and the connection is so strong to those uniforms, because that was such an iconic time."

In the team's Pro Shop at Gillette Stadium, the throwbacks from that era are still on the racks. Navy blue Drew Bledsoe and Ty Law uniforms hang up next to the white ones of Tedy Bruschi and Curtis Martin. The adoration from New England fans hasn't left the building when it comes to the nostalgia, and the players from that era still find pride — not just for the uniforms they wore, but the bonds they formed.

"The uniforms grew on me and I think those of us who previously played in the old uniforms, the bulk of the pride comes from playing an incredibly difficult spot," former linebacker Vincent Brown, who's final season in New England was in 1995, told Patriots on SI. "I'm most proud to call guys like Bruce Armstrong and Ben Coates not teammates, but brothers."

Linebacker Dana Cottrell said that he recently just acquired his home uniform from an individual at an auction. He told Patriots on SI that to get it back, he had to trade a signed Lawyer Milloy jersey.

"Those jerseys for me held a lot of tradition, growing up in the New England area, those royals were the second uniform I could remember as a kid, away from the classics," Cottrell said. "I think it's, for sure part of the long tradition of Patriots nation."

After Parcells left the Patriots and joined the rival Jets following the team's Super Bowl loss to Green Bay, in came Pete Carroll to coach. The team remained somewhat successful and laid down the groundwork for the championships that soon followed. Once Carroll was fired following the 1999 season, so too were the royal blue uniforms.

"That was a unique era up there with coach Parcells and, and then Pete Carroll," Bartrum said. "We had a really good run up there, (I) really enjoyed my time."

That didn't mean that the players from the 1990s didn't respect or admire the red uniforms that were on the field for the first 30 years of the Patriots' existence.

"Growing up as a southeastern Mass kid and playing for the Patriots, you could have given me any jersey, and I would have said 'Yeah, this is the greatest jersey I've ever worn in my life,'" Megna said. "My dream was to wear that red jersey."

Lane still has his Super Bowl XXXI jersey hanging up in his home, and although it's the white road one (he prefers the home blue because it "has more pop"), he still finds attachment to that special era of Patriots football.

"As time went on and you get old, you miss the era you played in," Lane admitted.

If you ask the fans who grew up watching those Patriots, they'd certainly agree as well.