The Redbox Bowl Totally Misfired With Their Official Merch

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After having a 7-6 clunker between Oregon and Michigan State in their first season as a bowl game sponsor — that was also less than half-full — Redbox followed up with a few gaffes in the merchandise department for this year’s game between Cal and Illinois.

First off, the design used on the Redbox Bowl shirts and hoodies is as garish as it gets, and when you compare it to the stylish designs used for the New Era Pinstripe Bowl, it makes it even worse. That’s not the worst of it, though; the Redbox Bowl design calls for a game between Illinois and Cal State, not Illinois and Cal, or even Illinois and California.

The design was “released without approval,” according to John Lemein, brand manager for Cal Athletics.

Since people started speaking out, the official Redbox Bowl shop pulled the design. Now, they offer a design for Illinois individually, as well as a strange design featuring helmets from the conferences Illinois and Cal represent (Big 10 & Pac 12).

As for the game itself, I actually expect it to be a good matchup and extremely watchable. Illinois is a great story, after all, and will be appearing in their first bowl game under former NFL Coach of the Year Lovie Smith.

Kickoff for Illinois-Cal is set for 4:00 P.M ET on December 30th from Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, which reminds me, the landmarks featured on the design are San Francisco landmarks (Golden Gate Bridge, Alcatraz, etc.), about an hour away from where the game is actually being played.

Fox will broadcast the Redbox Bowl.

You can shop for Redbox Bowl gear here, if you dare. They ask you to allow 25 days for your order to be processed.

(h/t Awful Announcing)