Patrick.Bahr@gjsentinel.com

Any football aficionado would say Chicago Bears Hall of Famer Dick Butkus is one of the toughest, meanest football players of all time.

He prowled the middle of the Bears’ defense in the 1960s, just looking for someone hit — hard.

Butkus was the definition of a tough football player.

But even Butkus wore elbow pads and arm wraps.

Additional equipment has always been a part of the game, but as the sport has evolved, and with more money flowing into it, the question becomes, are players more worried about looking good than making tackles? When does it become too much?

The equipment required by the National Federation of State High School Associations for high school players is a helmet, shoulder pads, two hip pads, thigh pads, knee pads and a tailpad.

Any additions are up to the individual player.

If you want to go all-out, you could wear an Oakley clear eye shield (dark visors were banned unless doctor prescribed), a Brain Pad mouthpiece, an Under Armour chinstrap with a Nike chinstrap cover.

That’s an extra $103 dedicated only for the helmet.

“I think that if you are really into it and (the coaches) don’t address it, it can get pretty stupid,” Palisade coach John Arledge said. “It can become a hindrance to what you are trying to accomplish.”

Arledge added a lot of the time, the way a team dresses reflects the coach. And for a blue-collar team like Palisade, Arledge said don’t expect too many forearm pads on his players.

“I am the head coach and I am old-school, so we are old-school. We are never going to do the traditional ‘trying to look pretty,’ ” Arledge said. “We are anti-pretty at Palisade, no arm pads. If you get bruises, you get bruises.”

In every part of the nation, the way a high school football player dresses is different. A style that might be popular on the East Coast may not be the same on the West Coast.

First-year Grand Junction coach Robbie Owens had the opportunity to witness fashion in football first-hand. Owens spent one year coaching in Miami and said kids there were looking for attention.

“It was 100 times worse in Florida,” Owens said. “They wanted to stand out, so it was tape on the belt or wristbands, and you have to explain to them that it has no bearing on the game.”

The Colorado High School Activities Association follows the equipment guidelines of the NFHS rule book.

Harry Waterman, an assistant commissioner with CHSAA, said young players have attempted to follow in the professional players’ footsteps.

“I think there is too much of it going on in the pro ranks and kids see that on television and want to model it,” Waterman said. “They are doing what they can to push it.”

Waterman said the rulebook takes care of some of the trends, banning such things as armbands around the biceps in high school.

Regardless, an attorney wouldn’t show up to the courthouse wearing flip flops and an outdated suit, so why shouldn’t football players be able to dress to impress? With more companies getting into the football equipment business, options are endless.

With Nike, Reebok, Adidas, Under Armour and New Balance as the main horses in the race, players and coaches more clothing and equipment options than ever.

“With all the advertisements, it is huge,” Central coach Vern McGee said. “They have stuff out there everywhere and kids want to look good.”

From a player’s standpoint, Grand Junction quarterback Tyler Stanford said most teams have at least a few players who look to dress flashy, but for the most part, they don’t pay much attention to fashion.

“We have a few people like that who wants to look good out there with the flashy stuff, Under Armour and tape on the shoes,” Stanford said. “Overall, we just want to go out there and play.”

Players and coaches are the consumer, but what about the producer?

Derek Dokken has been a sales associate at Gene Taylor’s Sporting Goods for two years and said players traditionally come in looking for specific items.

“I get a lot of kids looking for a certain brand,” Dokken said. “And there are a lot of different brands. With cleats, we carry Nike, but there are at least half a dozen options.”

Although appearance will always matter in the game, the thing that will never change is what is truly important to the coaches and players — winning.

“Football isn’t based on how pretty you are,” Arledge said. “I don’t give a damn how good your uniforms look. Your mom might, but nobody else cares.”

What to Watch
Paonia at Grand Valley
Friday, 7 p.m.
• What’s at stake: A chance for Paonia to not only knock off the former 1A power, but also start the season 3-0.
•  Fanfare: Grand Valley is coming off a 61-8 victory over Manual; Paonia hasn’t allowed more than 13 points in its first two games.
Rifle at Moffat County
Friday, 7 p.m.
• What’s at stake: An important conference win. Both teams are looking to regain their spot at the top of the Western Slope Conference.
• Fanfare: Both teams are coming off of tough first-week losses. Moffat County lost to defending state champion Berthoud 40-7, Rifle lost at Silver Creek 35-7.
Nucla at Dove Creek
Friday, 7 p.m.
• What’s at stake: Nothing but bragging rights for this go-round. The teams are both in the 8-man WSC, but this contest won’t count against their conference records; that comes in the final game of the regular season.
• Fanfare: This is Nucla’s season opener; Dove Creek defeated Mountain Valley last week 50-0.