The color discrepancy is caused by the lighting at the Coliseum and various other stadiums, football equipment coordinator Tino Dominguez said. Halogen stadium lights appear almost blue, which, when hitting USC's cardinal helmets, distort the color and turn them almost magenta. Dominguez said the effect is also magnified because the Trojan helmets feature metallic cardinal paint, which combines with the halogen lights to further skew the original color.
USC's helmet and jersey, shown on tailback Allen Bradford in a recent home game, can often appear as different colors because of the halogen lighting at certain stadiums. [Photo courtesy of Getty Images]
