MLS Teams Showing Off Redesigned Jerseys

No MLS team is in a position to turn down lucrative shirt sponsorship, and I’m in no way suggesting the Crew could afford to be picky, but there had to be a better way to showcase the sponsorship that block, black lettering on a yellow background. These look like they just put the sponsor on with electrical tape.

via p.twimg.com

Sure, many of the changes will be in the details, as that’s something Adidas has done in the past. But even in comparison to the other teams that unveiled new kits this year, these embrace a certain conservatism. As you’ll see, though, that’s basically been the MO with this team.

Here’s what they replaced:

Somehow, the Galaxy have managed to create a jersey that is both boring and ugly all at the same time. That’s something that few teams are able to do.

The sash seems to be a nod to the United States men’s national team, but it is worth noting that the Galaxy have used sashes before. I’m not a fan of the sash there, either, but this one is made all the more awkward because the sponsor ship runs right through it. It also has a waffle-like pattern that seems a bit out of place, at least to me. At the very least, they are different than anything else out there. Anyway, here they are:

The shirts themselves aren’t bad either. The primary shirt will be red with a dark blue stripe across the chest where the sponsorship will go. It will include a collar, continuing a recent MLS trend. The secondary shirts are dark blue with light blue pinstripes.

All of the authentic jerseys are made from 100% recycled materials and are manufactured in Portland. Only 2,012 kits will be available for purchase by fans as part of a limited edition run that comes as part of a numbered box set with an exclusive Timbers scarf. Replicas will be available in early 2012 if you’re interested.

The Timbers will play in the new jerseys during select matches in the 2012 season which will be announced at a later point.

There’s really nothing wrong with the redesigned shirts, but there’s certainly nothing particularly interesting about them either. Say what you will about the other jerseys that have been unveiled so far, but most of them had something that was worth some kind of commentary.

The Revolution added a little more red and removed their collar. That’s it. End of story. There’s very little that differentiates these new kits from a generic one you could buy off the shelf. For a team that is in such bad need of a injection of life, it’s a curious decision.

Pictures of the shirt via the official store of the Montreal Impact, where you can purchase the shirt.

The colour scheme follows the classical historical colours of the Montreal Impact since its beginnings. Both home and away jerseys come in a short sleeve and long sleeve version in a simple straight-forward adidas design. The home jersey is a classic blue colour and the away jersey is a pure white with patches of blue on the sleeves.

While the collars were really the only significant change for United, who retained the general feel of their existing shirts, the Crew made a change that was a little more substantial. Columbus has ditched the black kits with yellow pin-striping that they had used as their secondary kit in recent years and replaced that with one which will have a white stomach area and alternating black and yellow vertical stripes across the chest.

The United shirts follow the same color scheme as they have ever since the team was launched in 1996, but the changes will certainly be noticeable. United’s secondary white jersey will feature collars for the first time since 2002.

It’s an audacious name for an audacious choice, but is hardly shocking. The Sounders entered the league with an outrageous color scheme and have continued to push the envelope of taste basically every year. After opening with a lime green color they called “Rave Green” and following that up with a yellow kit they called “Electricity,” this is merely a continuation of that theme.

The reaction from around the league has been entirely predictable. Almost no one outside of the Sounders fanbase seems to like it at all. Heck, even Sounders fans are pretty well split on whether this is an acceptable move or one that makes them want to hide their heads in shame.