Running counter to our human instinct to fundamentally resist change, our society embraces it. Demands it, in fact. Whether it be apparel, technology, furniture or music, the updates and alterations to what we consume and enjoy are a constant. This obviously stems from a desire to avoid blandness and sameness, so we can expand our creative senses. Even though a common and often unintended result of trends and change is homogeneity. It's one of the seemingly endless ironies in our culture it would seem, that we both seek and fear stability.

This also holds true for sports. More specifically, I'm referring to uniforms. Especially NFL garb. I don't know what it is but for some reason football fans seem to most passionately identify with their teams' look more than with the other major sports. Perhaps it's the compressed intensity of the season and the few times (only 16 most of the time) that a fan can witness their team in battlefield regalia. Whatever it is, the uniforms of football players are greater symbols of their teams than in other sports.

And interest in uniforms, both current and vintage, has never been higher. Over the last several years NFL fans have been treated to an eye-pleasing - or disturbing, depending on one's taste - parade of throwback uniforms of the original AFL teams. As a recent New York Times article pointed out, this is having a positive effect on those merchandising the classic outfits as their business is experiencing something of a boom even during this all-encompassing recession that has beset the country.

So I started thinking why have NFL teams changed their uniforms so frequently (and this obviously applies to not just the NFL as teams in all sports have frequently altered the look of their clothes)? Aren't logos supposed to be eternal identifiers?

After all don't most companies strive to maintain a standard image - think Coke or IBM or Apple. These are all iconic logos which have changed very little through the decades. We live in a country where instant brand recognition is one of the most highly sought after aspects of commerce. Isn't the goal to not confuse the consumer - or fan in this case? It's mystery that so many teams have significantly changed or altered their uniforms. That is, unless they were truly ugly to start with.

There are those teams that have had minor changes and then there are those who for some reason made wholesale alterations for the worse, much worse.

Two teams that I would have qualified for the classic category but now just merit inclusion in the good level are the Dallas Cowboys and San Francisco 49ers. The Dallas uniform was once the standard for the NFL. But the change to a brighter blue back in the 90's away from a duller blue/gray/silver look didn't enhance it. Also, the fabled away uniform (which teams used to force Dallas to play in on occasion back in the 70's) also went for a stronger color. Just remember how great those 70's Cowboys looked.

The 49ers had an even worse fashion moment. The Joe Montana-led Niners looked iconic in their red and gold, with thin numbers. But again, management disobeyed the axiom of "if it ain't broke don't fix it" and decided to block the numbers and shine up the colors too much. Thankfully, this year's 49ers decided to return to something approximating their old threads and are now once again one of the better uniforms in the league.

Perhaps there was no worse disregard for esthetics when changing uniforms than with the two New York teams, the Giants and Jets. Though they don't' fit into the "classic" category, both teams did have solid uniforms before the late 70's. But in came the 80's - a bad decade for many things - and a futuristic, plain lettering and they looked awful. But to their credit, both squads returned to their vintage look and are now upstanding members of the good class. The San Diego Chargers have returned to their 1960's look as well but the Chargers' foray into change was not nearly as reprehensible as the Jets or Giants.

And then there were those teams that succumbed to what I call the "Raiderization" of sports uniforms. Black became the in color and teams like the Eagles and Falcons traded their bright colors - green and red, respectively - for the more menacing look of black tinges. But it doesn't look good. The Rams, while not going black, also exchanged a brighter color pattern for their new look and with it, took away a part of their identity.

But without question, the ugliest and most offensive change was that of the New England Patriots. Though their original uniform may not have been all that stellar - the patriot in a center position, ready to snap the ball on the helmet, with a red jersey - their current wardrobe choice is awful. In fact they are up for worst uniform with five other teams. All teams in the ugly category look like they're wearing homely college football or USFL jerseys and helmets.

So with all this in mind, here's one fan's categorizing of all 32 NFL teams. They fall into one of four classes -- Classic, Good, Bad and Ugly. Most everyone will take issue with some of these choices. Though I suspect that a few at the top and bottom can be universally agreed upon.

Classic: Chicago Bears, Indianapolis Colts, Cleveland Browns, Oakland Raiders, Green Bay Packers.

Good: Dallas Cowboys, San Francisco 49ers, Pittsburgh Steelers, Kansas City Chiefs, Miami Dolphins, Buffalo Bills, Detroit Lions, Minnesota Vikings, New York Jets, New York Giants, New Orleans Saints, Arizona Cardinals, San Diego Chargers.

Bad: St. Louis Rams, Philadelphia Eagles, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Denver Broncos, Cincinnati Bengals, Washington Redskins, Seattle Seahawks, Atlanta Falcons.

Ugly: New England Patriots, Baltimore Ravens, Tennessee Titans, Houston Texans, Carolina Panthers, Jacksonville Jaguars.