Here at Uni Watch, we don’t usually concern ourselves with specialty jerseys or uniforms that will never be worn on the field/court/gridiron/ice/pitch, since they’re basically all just merch dumps.
But every once in a blue moon, a team will unveil one of these retail-only jerseys that is so good it deserves a few hundred words of praise. Such is the case with the Washington Capitals, who earlier unveiled today a special 50th Anniversary Cherry Blossom Capitals jersey. Feast your eyes on this:
The specialty jersey is a part of the Capitals 50th Anniversary celebration and the return of the team’s “Screaming Eagle” jerseys. The new design features the Screaming Eagle grabbing a cherry blossom branch and a color scheme that matches the petals. The design continues into the numbering, which displays full color blossoms and stems. The shoulders feature the Capitals 50th patch in pink with additional cherry blossoms.
While it won’t be worn on ice, the specialty jersey will be auctioned off. Capitals players will wear the jerseys during arrivals ahead of the Capitals March 18 game versus the Detroit Red Wings.
But the gorgeous design doesn’t end with the crest and sleeve patch, rear numbers will also feature an additional cherry blossom design within the rear numbers.
The cherry blossom crest is a true work of art.
And while Washington D.C. is known for many things (many of them not good), the annual blooming of the many cherry trees in the city has been celebrated for more than a century (The National Cherry Blossom Festival is a spring celebration in Washington, D.C., commemorating the March 27, 1912, gift of Japanese cherry trees from Mayor Yukio Ozaki of Tokyo City to the city of Washington, D.C. Ozaki gave the trees to enhance the growing friendship between the United States and Japan and also celebrate the continued close relationship between the two nations.) This year’s National Cherry Blossom Festival begins on March 20th (with peak bloom of the cherry trees expected between March 28-31).
Naturally, the team announced the arrival of the jerseys with a video.
Our golden anniversary in bloom!
Introducing our special 50th Anniversary edition Cherry Blossom jerseys, designed by @tkopaintings. These specialty sweaters will be auctioned off in support of @MSEFndn starting March 18.#ALLCAPS pic.twitter.com/nDlSCFpi9Q
— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) March 4, 2025
The Capitals aren’t the only DC sports team to celebrate the annual cherry blossom bloom. The Nationals unveiled a City Connect uniform (which they retired after last season) back in 2022 which also plays off the blossoms. Of course, those were actually worn in real games.
This is actually the second specialty jersey the Caps have designed around the cherry blossoms. Last year, the team introduced a light blue sweater rendered in the Caps’ primary uniform design.
But in honor of their 50th Anniversary (and as a way to sell more merch), this year they’ve designed a new jersey in the team’s Screaming Eagle alternate design.
More photos here:
What do you think of the look/design? If you’re into fashion jerseys, is that one you’d be considering buying?
One thing that is nice about the warmup jerseys: no ad patches
Wearing the blue screaming eagles uniform before a Red Wings game warms my heart. 1998 feels! Only MLK Jr. marched on DC harder! LGRW!
What’s it going to take to send this team back to the drawing board? Good grief. The capitals word mark is actually fine but ditch the washington. It’s too busy and not pro-level branding they’ve also had a couple alts/special event unis with just big bold Ws that were nice. But their main sets have been crap for decades. The Eagle W, the screaming eagle, the capitals (ironically rendered in lower case and yes I know they’re not the same thing) word mark unis all trash.
The swooping eagle is my favorite Capitals’ crest, with its “Cassiopeia’s W” written on the wing. These uniforms are fine, and I would wear one.
I want them to go with a Weagle jersey with sleeves on the stars in the next s design.
I like this design a lot, but it seems the cherry blossom theme for DC area teams is on the verge of becoming derivative. Can any DC people speak to how culturally relevant, and city celebrated this is? I know it is certainly “a thing” and a seasonal event in the city, but is there any fatigue, specifically with branding DC with cherry blossom themes, like “hey we have other interesting culture here”.
Being Philly metro adjacent I related it to if suddenly all Philly teams had cheesesteak or mummers themed alternates.
The Cherry blossoms are a big deal here. Part of the reason the Nats city connect uniforms are popular is probably because it celebrated something about DC not directly associated with the federal government. The Cherry blossoms are on e of the shared cultural experiences across generations and socio-economic categories.
Thanks, yeah that definitely makes sense given how much DC is normally just associated with the federal government and all related things/people.
And it’s worth noting DC people often don’t want to be associated with the government. The average person doesn’t like politics, and the government is a job they don’t want defining them.
Cherry blossoms are a point of pride.
The cherry blossoms are a big deal! I’ll echo William F. Yurasko to say I LOVE that the Capitals and Nationals have highlighted something so completely DC-centric that doesn’t fall back on references to government or politics.
Since you’re so close to DC, I highly encourage you to come down and see the Tidal Basin during peak blossom season. It really is quite spectacular.
Forgot to mention – I don’t buy jerseys, but if the Capitals adapted that design to a hat, I’d buy one in a heartbeat.
This is done just enough across sports that the cherry blossom isn’t over used IMHO. And I love it. The flowers are just enough of a change that it’s nor overwhelming and it doesn’t need the tired story telling elements that accompany alternates now a days.
I also love when teams playing in the Rose Bowl add rose elements to their uniforms.
Is there another flower as strongly associated with a city as roses with Pasadena and cherry blossoms for DC? Kansas City with sunflowers? I could look it up, but, nope, going to let others spout off in the comments.
Roses in Portland, Oregon?
RCTID!
It’s more likely than you would think
We love them because they’re not “red white and blue = America!” themed, which really is nothing special, if not alienating to most Washingtonians. Even the Caps and Wizards 90s-00s “federal” color scheme (blue, black, and bronze) felt more uniquely DC than red, white, and blue. The defenders use of only red and white was also nice, as it mimics the DC flag.
Kinda looks like the eagle is going berserk in Grandma’s living room.
It’s a pretty good sweater, overall. I don’t like the little black shoulder panels, though.
I. NEED.
DC Utd also had a cherry blossom kit…
The crest is great but the rest of the sweater…ugh. What’s with the eye of Sauron on the sleeves?
You caught that too?
These are putrid. Looks like the screaming eagle threw up all over the front of it.
I like this sweater, too bad the team will not play in it or even warm up in it. Cherry blossoms are huge in DC but I agree that it is becoming a too much trodden path as a theme for DC sports uniforms.
I’d be astounded if these are ever actually made to be put on sale, so I don’t think this is really a merch-dump situation. Most one-off specialty warm-up jerseys are just made for the team (and auctioned off, fair enough). Never really a retail version.
One of the worst hockey jersey’s I have ever seen. This is embarrassing to the Capitals organization and the NHL overall. That thing should never be worn on the ice, it is befitting of a jersey design one might see in the United Hockey League…and that league hasn’t existed for years. Total garbage.
“That thing should never be worn on the ice”
I’m guessing you probably didn’t read the article.
Specifically the part where I say “Here at Uni Watch, we don’t usually concern ourselves with specialty jerseys or uniforms that will never be worn on the field/court/gridiron/ice/pitch” in the first sentence.
or perhaps you missed the fourth paragraph where I said “While it won’t be worn on ice, the specialty jersey will be auctioned off. Capitals players will wear the jerseys during arrivals ahead of the Capitals March 18 game versus the Detroit Red Wings.”
I apologize if this wasn’t clear in the article.
My apologies to you Phil, I should have read the entire piece, my bad.