The Terps opened their 2011 season at Byrd Stadium against Miami on ESPN on Sept. 5, 2011. After warming up on the field in a look from the fashion show, they changed in the locker room and debuted the Maryland Pride uniform. The state flag-inspired uniform drew reactions from fans and critics all over the country and brought national attention to the Terps’ new garb.

Two years ago today, the Terrapins football team came out of the locker room for warm-ups in white jerseys, red pants and white, shell-printed helmets before its Labor Day season-opener against Miami. But quickly after warming up, the Terps returned to the locker room, changed and emerged in the loud and brand new “Maryland Pride” jerseys.

The Terps’ flag-themed jerseys ignited a social media firestorm — even NBA star LeBron James chimed in — and were backed up by a 32-24 win over the Hurricanes. It was a loud start to coach Randy Edsall’s coaching tenure, and though it hasn’t been as successful as the Terps would have liked to hope so far, it did signal a change around the football program.

Some current and one former Diamondback staff members have taken the time to write about their memories of that night. And it looks like we could be writing about uniforms again in the future.

Daniel Gallen, Sports editor & Terps football beat writer

The Miami game stands out the most to me in terms of football games during my time in College Park. No one really knew what to expect, with all of the hype and intrigue surrounding the opener: What would the offense look like? What were the new, special uniforms the team was going to unveil? What would Miami look like with all of its suspensions?

But the game lived up to the hype, and then some.

I still remember standing, cold and rain-soaked, in the west end zone watching the Terps run bubble screen after bubble screen and marching down the field against the Hurricanes. I’d read all the emails about “Operation 54K” and the request for the students to wear white, but I showed up in a red shirt (with a big green rain jacket in tow). After all, Terps fans didn’t really do that type of thing, right? We’re supposed to leave games early and scan our tickets to get points to the Duke game and leave. I was wrong, and I felt incredibly out of place in the sea of white in the student section. This was something new. This was a change. The Terps were going to take the national stage by storm. The season fell apart, but it gave Terps fans a little taste of what life was like on the big stage.

I’ve lived in Maryland my entire life, but with parents from Oregon and Philadelphia who met in San Diego, I never felt a distinct connection to the state. I wasn’t a big Terps fan growing up, even though I hated Duke and the stuff you’re supposed to do as a kid. But seeing the Maryland flag emblazoned on those uniforms and cheering that team on, I realized that, hey, this was my state. There’s nothing that will change that, even if Oregon was my first-choice college and I love the Ducks’ 2010-2011 uniform set. Sure, you can accuse me of buying into some corporate branding scheme, but I felt proud to be from Maryland and proud to be going to this university on that night two years ago.

Much has changed since then, both for me and the Terps, but it’s a distinct moment that will stand out, and it’s something I’ll probably tell my kids about when they see the Maryland flag.

@danieljtgallen

Aaron Kasinitz, Terps football columnist

The atmosphere at Byrd Stadium on Labor Day 2011 was something this school hasn’t seen at a football game since. If you were there, you know what I mean.

The Terrapins football team’s season opener against Miami was nationally televised on ESPN. It was only the second week of class — for me and my fellow freshman it was our second week ever in College Park — and there was an unbridled optimism surrounding the game. Sprinkle in the surprise unveiling of the nationally recognized (and widely panned) Maryland Pride uniforms and the place was insanely electric.

Still, the most stark memory regarding that game came two days later.

I was walking to class with a friend when we saw then-Terps quarterback Danny O’Brien, who was 31-of-44 for 348 yards through the air in that 32-24 victory over the Hurricanes, step out of Tawes Hall. My friend freaked out. “That’s Danny O’Brien, he could win the Heisman!” I recall him saying.

Looking back, the scary thing was that I didn’t think he was crazy.

The Terps were, after all, in the national spotlight after a big win and shocking wardrobe choice. So why couldn’t the Terps be considered among the country’s most prominent teams? Why shouldn’t their best player be in the running for the Heisman?

Of course, those questions were quickly answered. O’Brien threw three interceptions in a loss the next week to West Virginia, he eventually lost the starting job and the Terps stumbled to a 2-10 record. They haven’t been nationally relevant since, outside of injury talk.

But for a moment, and one so early during my time in College Park that I didn’t know any better, Terps football mattered. And even if it was just because of the uniforms, it’s a moment I won’t soon forget.

Jeremy Schneider, Former Terps football columnist

I really came into my own as a uniform nerd while at Maryland, and I had heard something special was coming for the Miami game. I saw pictures and had an idea of what the uniform would look like, but there was still this sense of shock in the press box when they ran out onto the field wearing them. Not only did they look cool, but they were one of the big topics in the sports world for days. People that didn’t care about college football, or sports for that matter, were talking about them. No one ever talks about Maryland football, but all of a sudden they were. Chris Eckard wrote a sidebar on the uniforms and was asked to be on Outside The Lines before eventually getting bumped for Randy Edsall. A lot of people said they were ugly, but anybody who was associated with the state loved them. That was our state flag all over our players, beating Miami on national television in the first game of the Randy Edsall era.

I remember walking back to the car after the game with Chris Eckard and Conor Walsh and we thought about how special the night was, how it could be the start of a really big year for Maryland. They would win only one more game that year, to lowly Towson of all teams, but it didn’t change how I felt about the uniforms. Maryland will never be a football school, and there’s a long road to relevance for the program. But we’re proud of the school and the state, and those uniforms perfectly personify that.

Josh Vitale, Former co-sports editor and former Terps football beat writer

I was in the student section for the Terps’ season opener against Miami two years ago, and never in my four years in College Park was Byrd Stadium more energized for a game. It was a Monday night primetime game on ESPN, the football team was coming off a 9-4 season and Randy Edsall — fresh off a Fiesta Bowl appearance with Connecticut — was making his coaching debut.

The Terps warmed up in their regular home jerseys before the game, and when they changed prior to kickoff and ran out onto the field wearing the Maryland Pride jerseys, the place erupted. I actually just got a little chill thinking about it. The pride jerseys are loud, garish and ridiculous, but they’re ours, and there wasn’t a person in College Park that night who didn’t think those uniforms were the coolest thing ever. 

Going beyond that game, those jerseys made national news. The Terps don’t often get national media coverage, and their 2-10 performance that season pulled them even further away from the spotlight. But for the next few days after that game, those jerseys were all over the news. Talk show hosts did segments on them and Twitter blew up about them. Whether people loved them or hated them, at least they were talking about the Terps.

Daniel Popper, Staff writer 

I was a freshman when I attended the best college football game played in College Park in recent memory.

Coach Randy Edsall was in his first season with the Terrapins football team and his first game in Byrd Stadium was under the lights against ACC foe Miami. All my new friends and I wore white, as the school had requested, beyond excited to support our university on national television.

And for once, the Terps lived up to the hype and the high expectations of the student body with an inspiring performance. Not to mention, they did it in style.

There was a buzz around the stadium during warm-ups when the Terps were rocking their turtle-print helmets, but when they emerged from the tunnel in the full Maryland Pride attire, Byrd went absolutely nuts.

The energy from the uniforms and the players transferred to the crowd and continued from the opening kickoff through the final whistle — which wrapped up a 32-24 Maryland victory.

As a fan, it was the perfect atmosphere. The student section was cheering as one cohesive unit and we were a force to be reckoned with. Miami wanted no part of Byrd Stadium after those 60 minutes.

But the rest of that season paled in comparison to that first game. The Terps went on to lose 10 of their next 11 games and Danny O’Brien — who shined against the Hurricanes with 348 passing yards — lost his starting job to C.J. Brown.

Those uniforms ended up defining the Terps season.

But now on the two year-anniversary of the Maryland Pride unveil the Terps are starting to turn heads for their performance on the field instead of what they are wearing.

What a thought.

Dan Appenfeller, Managing editor

Rain droplets dotted my glasses. “Who was wearing those yellow — or maybe brown — helmets? Those aren’t Miami colors,” I thought. I wiped them frantically and squinted some more. What’s going on? And before I put my spectacles back to my face, I heard it. “This is your Armour.”

What unfolded was something I thought would live on in Terps lore for decades. An intense and high-production two minutes of Under Armour advertising showing off new Maryland Pride uniforms was followed by an energized bunch of Terps zipping out of Gossett football Team House before a captivating back-and-forth 32-24 Terps win over Miami, the first of coach Randy Edsall’s career.

The helmet-bearer was then-Terps quarterback Danny O’Brien. He had trotted from Gossett football Team House for the coin toss after leading his team in warmups — in which they wore “plain” white helmets and jerseys — wearing the now ubiquitous Pride jerseys. The Terps and Under Armour mogul Kevin Plank duped us, and they flashed some crazy threads.

I was in love.

The Terps were primed to pick up where previous coach Ralph Friedgen left off — winning bowl games; the uniforms would be the talk of the nation; we were going to be the Oregon of the East. I was fired up.

I was also wrong on just about every front. The Terps went on to a combined 6-18 in the next two seasons, often looking like clowns doing it.

Sept. 5, 2011 should be a celebrated as the beginning of a new era in College Park. But it should also be a solemn reminder of just how much dignity the mighty Terrapins have sacrificed since.