I hate these new Fresno State football jerseys. They made themselves look like the Jolly Green Giant.

Admittedly, I am not the biggest fan of Fresno State Athletics. I wrote a column saying that athletics can’t compete in bigger markets; however, one thing that I love is the uniforms.

The color combinations work so well across the board, especially for football. Our red pops on black and white jerseys and, while not unique to Fresno State, the color is iconic for the Valley’s best football team.

Adidas provides Fresno State’s jerseys, and they use 186C for their shade of red. This specific color gives the Bulldogs a loud color to make the other team feel their presence. It’s tailored with navy blue, again, to make that red pop.

Even when they just wear plain white jerseys with that red, you know it’s Fresno State.

So it surprised me that, for Senior Night, they would be celebrating their most dedicated players with lazy, ugly and uninspired green jerseys. Using their whiteout jerseys as a base, they are fully embracing a valley green; the same green used in the “V” on the back of their helmets.

The jersey is meant to celebrate agriculture in the Valley. I don’t think this is a bad idea at all. In fact, that is a good idea in practice, but execution is everything, and it failed hard.

I’m still trying to wrap my head around the fact that this is the best athletics could come up with to represent agriculture. I would have thought that some effort got put into the uniform that represents the thing the Valley is known for.

It looks like an advertisement for some brand of chip in a green bag that you would see on a commercial break during an NFL game. It’s dull and lacks life.

The most noticeable thing about the jersey is the numbers, which have switched from red to green. The numbering has crops embedded into it — a cool design if it doesn’t take a magnifying glass with 20/20 vision to see it.

The green is so dark, and the design is black, so unless you are looking at a still image, you won’t notice the actual best thing about the design.

Maybe I could give these jerseys a pass if it wasn’t for a special night.

These jerseys are meant to highlight seniors on the team. These players have given so much to the team and to the Valley.

I remember being a senior in high school and being celebrated on our football senior night. I felt seen, and I felt respected because I was wearing a jersey for a team I gave everything to. It made me feel like I made the right choice for the past four years up to that point.

This is just a lazy excuse to do something different.

Seniors on the team deserve to have their time to shine and wear something that represents the university they choose to play for and to wear something that captures the spirit of what this team is, not a cutesy nod to the region.

You could wear this on any other day for any other game. But you choose to give your best and most loyal players an ugly jersey.

Not to mention, this game is vital to keeping the Bulldogs’ season alive for a chance at a Mountain West Conference championship. The moment could not be bigger, and the sentiment behind the game is also huge, given who is being celebrated.

In a moment this big, in its last season in the Mountain West, I want to see my school represented by its colors, not a theme.

I mean, we are called the “Red Wave.” We hear it everywhere, we see it everywhere. I go into the bookstore, and I’m surrounded by red. I feel like I’m in a blood bank.

But I expect it to be. I never come onto campus and think the school is missing green.

Maybe we can focus on winning our games and celebrating our seniors instead of making an agricultural public relations stunt.