[Deputy Editor’s note: Our own Anthony Emerson has stepped up to review the seven MLS jerseys unveiled yesterday afternoon and evening. MLS will release the final four jerseys for 2024 later today, and I’ll have coverage of those either later today or tomorrow. — Phil]
Major League Soccer and Adidas continued their slow-roll of new kits. As Jamie said yesterday, each team gets one new design annually, either a new primary or a new secondary, and new releases are continuing into today. The only thing I don’t like with FC Cincinnati (splash photo and below) is the blue Adidas stripes on the shoulders — I think they should be orange.
FC Cincinnati (secondary)
Make your mark 🎨
Inspired by our diverse and thriving arts community, the Canvas Kit represents all the creatives, dreamers and superfans that make #AllForCincy special.
🔗 https://t.co/iURwLeeHfE pic.twitter.com/COlD6kKTFx
— FC Cincinnati (@fccincinnati) February 16, 2024
We’re starting off with what is easily my favorite of Friday’s batch of kits. Cincy hasn’t gone with a white secondary kit since 2021, but white’s returned in style. I love the design used on the sleeve trim, collar, and side striping, which is just wild enough for a secondary kit. I find the painting motif a little forced, but what can you do.
Colorado Rapids (primary)
Dubbed the “One Flag Kit,” the design is supposed to evoke the burgundy-and-white checkered flags flown by Rapids ultras. I would like this more if the flag design extended to the shorts, and if the Rapids were consistent about which flag they mean, because the flag of Colorado is on the back collar. On top of that, I’m not digging the collar trim, which is thicker around the back than it is in the front.
Columbus Crew (primary)
A club and a city at the heart of American soccer
And we welcome everyone Home. pic.twitter.com/tmVONHiCDk
— The Crew (@ColumbusCrew) February 16, 2024
Good grief. Let’s get this out of the way: the Crew are going to look like a bunch of Charlie Brown fanboys all season long. And I can’t help but think that the stripe is only meant to draw the viewer’s eye to the advertisement. I do like “The Heart of American Soccer” Ohio logo on the back collar, but this whole jersey feels a little blasé. It leaves something to be desired. Peanuts fans should be lined up around the block to pick it up, though.
LA Galaxy
Believe it or not, there is a sash on this jersey. I didn’t notice it at first, either, but the Adidas marketing team actually brings it up as the primary design element: “The sash is a reimagined modern take on negative space. Addition by subtraction.” This is a few lines below where the same marketing material called the Galaxy sash a “globally recognized, foundational design element.” It’s globally recognized, but it’s also addition by subtraction. Clear as mud.
On the back collar is a faux-handwritten “Los Angeles,” which I actually dig. It’s not often we get handwriting fonts on sports uniforms.
Minnesota United (primary)
I dig the idea of the design, which “evokes the majestic panorama of the Minnesota night sky,” according to Adidas, but I’m not sure I love this as the primary shirt — I think it might work better as an alternate rather than the week-in-week-out strip. The side stripe features the sublimated Minnesota state motto, “L’étoile du nord,” or, “The North Star.”
St. Louis City (secondary)
The sublimated wave design is meant to represent the confluence of the Mississippi and Missouri rivers (hence the name “Confluence Kit”). The wave motif also “represents the unstoppable energy that flows through the city and the supporters who come together at CityPark.”
Vancouver Whitecaps (secondary)
I will admit, I am a sucker for gold design elements. Celebrating the club’s 50th anniversary, the Whitecaps have gone with a “modern interpretation” of their original crest and gold accents to celebrate the club’s golden anniversary. The faux V-neck collar is also a callback to the Whitecaps’ original look. Not all accents are gold, however, as Adidas’s current template has caused the jersey to have white splotches under the armpit and up onto the back.
I get a kick out of the Vancouver Whitecaps celebrating the club’s 50th anniversary. The reason the kit has gold. They let the fans assume it’s been 50 years without filling in the details. It is the anniversary of just the NASL Whitecaps starting in 1974.
After NASL packed it up in 1984, pro soccer did not take the field again in the city until the Vancouver 86ers hit the pitch in 1987 as part of the Canadian Soccer League. The 86ers bounced around secondary pro leagues and changed their name to the Whitecaps in 2001. The current Whitecaps are essentially a 2011 MLS expansion team.
This sentence is 100% agreed with by this Cincinnati fan. Editing-wise, seems like it should go in the FCC team’s space, not the intro section.
“The only thing I don’t like is the blue Adidas stripes on the shoulders — I think they should be orange.”
I edited the text to add context. Thanks.
Peanuts fans should be lined up around the block to pick it up, though.
Fans of Lucy might…
“Look, Charlie, let’s face it. We all know that
Christmassoccer is a big commercial racket. It’s run by a big eastern syndicate, you know.”But fans of Charlie Brown would bemoan the commercialization of soccer with that ad in the stripe.
I wouldn’t wear that.
Could the Colorado Rapids please make up their minds? Back when I went to their games 20 some odd years ago in Denver, they were blue and green. Then they shifted to try and look like Aston Villa. Now???
I like how Minnesota’s advertiser uses a logo that isn’t obviously an advertisement. The ones with giant wordmarks that are far bigger than even the team’s logo look terrible in comparison.
Also I wish we had more looks at uniforms with the numbers visible. The recent league-wide MLS number font has a fine *shape*, but the optical-illusion elements are something I wish they would drop. Or, better yet, let each team choose its own number font so that they can fit it with the rest of their uniform.
What really strikes me is how bad the first wave of reveals was across the board, how consistently OK the second wave was and how mixed this one is.
This wave is a mixed bag for me. Some lazy/uninspired jerseys, some decent. Can’t even begin to imagine that nobody working with the Crew pointed out the Charlie Brown look. Whitecaps always look sharp in white and light blues. this navy(?) and gold look doesn’t do it for me.
The Crew kit Charlie Brown stripe is supposed to be reminiscent of Lower.com’s roofline. At least that’s what I’ve heard. I don’t care what they look like as they are fun to watch anyway.
FYI – that URL for FC Cincinnati’s promo can be shortened by removing everything after the “?” (and the “?”). All that extra text is just for tracking clicks across the internet :(
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