About the Chrome Helmets
This is all speculation and rumor, but since it comes up a lot, let’s talk about it.
We’re 4 games into the 2021 season, and it has been almost 2 full years since Purdue took the field in the downpour against Illinois wearing the Brohm Special — Gold Chrome helmets.
In 2013, Western Kentucky started their turn on the Bobby Petrino roller coaster with plucky offensive coordinator Jeff Brohm. A team that planned on being flashy on offense opted to show that in their uniforms and they added a Silver Chrome shell to their load outs.
This helmet has become a staple of the Western Kentucky Identity. As Brohm continued to draw attention from the P5, the helmets flashed across national television — bowl games, big games, any game — all the way to a top 25 ranking for the Hilltoppers as Jeff bid the team adieu.
Bringing Jeff to God’s Country meant a return of a lot of hope and excitement, but it also brought the question if he would bring his flashy helmet.
That question wouldn’t last very long given that in his first game at Ross Ade, Purdue took the field wearing a unique Gold Chrome Helmet — what a way to celebrate a new Head Coach and new permanent stadium lights.
After a convincing win against Ohio, the helmets went on the road against Missouri. I personally had lower expectations on the road against an SEC team, but with a 32 point road win, everyone had to stop and take notice of the team lighting up the scoreboard and doing it in a unique gold chrome.
The 2017 Michigan Game is when Purdue football and the fans first boiled over into unbridled confidence. Tyler Trent would travel to Indy for a chemo treatment and then return to camp out at the student gate to make sure he was first in line. His effort became a call to rally and the rest is history.
Purdue would go on to wear the Chrome lid 6 times total in 2017, including the Foster Farms Bowl. In 2018, Rondale Moore introduced himself to the world in Chrome
The Chrome lid would be worn just 1 more time at home in 2018 against Iowa and twice on the road- including the “Brohm Bowl” where Purdue secured the 3 B’s against IU — Bucket, Bowl, and Brohm extending his contract with the Boilermakers.
2019 the helmet went on the road twice late in the season before making it’s home debut in the previously mentioned week 8 matchup against the Illini. While everyone in attendance had a horrible time in the rain and in a blow out, no one thought it would be the last appearance of the Chrome helmet, possibly ever.
So what’s going on?
The chrome helmet finish is incredibly fragile and just doesn’t hold up to the abuse like the Satin and Matte finishes do. in 2017 when the helmets were worn 6 times, there was a huge gap in time between the final use of the regular season (week 8 against Nebraska) and the bowl game against Arizona. That would have allowed time and reason to recondition them, not necessarily that they did, but it would have been possible and given Jeff’s history of flashy helmets for big games, I wouldn’t be surprised if he requested it.
The helmets need to get recertified and reconditioned annually for player safety and appearance. Talking with RedZone Recon earlier in the year, the Matte and Satin finishes may cost between $100 and $200 for a really busted helmet, while the Chrome finish may cost up to $450 to refinish and prepare.
Knowing this, and knowing the fiscal conservative history of the athletics department, it is not a stretch to believe that the team did not want to earmark the funds to recondition the flashy Gold Chrome in the middle of a time where people were getting laid off across campus and gate revenue was obliterated.
We didn’t see them at all in 2020. But does that mean they are gone forever?
Given the fact the 2019 season ended well before the pandemic took hold and that the university was designing the Throwback kit in March of 2020, it is safe to say they have been reconditioned from the 2019 years and are somewhere in the equipment room.
They were not publicly given as donor perks, so unless they were sold as a lot to help cover costs, they are somewhere waiting to take the field.
If they are going to be seen this year, I would expect them for Homecoming. We already saw the Throwbacks, so Chrome would be the last surprise they have for the stadium.
The last homecoming game Purdue wore Chrome? The 2017 Michigan that made the entire fan base ready to go to war. Bring that same energy and sell out the stadium against the Gophers and look for the best start for Boilermaker Football since 2007.
Get your tickets at https://purduesports.com/.
UPDATE: After the article was posted, I was made aware of a helmet shortage. The materials used to create the shells is constrained along with a fire at Riddell’s production facility causing delays in deliveries. Because of that, schools may have had to cannibalize other sets to make sure they had full line ups available.
This could mean that the Chrome lids were repainted Gold or Black to ensure each player had the right gear for this year.
We believe it is impacting UCF in the sense that they only have shown white lids through 7 games.
UPDATE 2: As of Game 3 2022, No Chrome Helmets have been seen yet. The team has not shown any additional options/colors. The team did have one last surprise for 2021 homecoming — the Gold Jerseys.
