Bye Bye Stripes
The new DC United uniforms for 2008 have been released. They are available for pre-sale through DCU Merchandise, who is a DC United employee and completely legit. As you can see below the three stripes that were a United tradition are gone. According to reports United officials wanted to work out a way to incorporate the stripes and a jersey sponsor, but Adidas officials would not allow their three stripes to be broken up by another sponsor. So we are left with a very minimalist approach to a United jersey. Especially until a sponsor is signed, which according to Nathan the Merchandise Guru has not yet happened.
I can understand why some people would be underwhelmed by these uniforms. The lack of the three stripes is disappointing to say the least and without anything in the middle they look a little bit like training jerseys rather than game day kits. But I happen to like minimalism, so I like these jerseys even without the stripes. At the very least I think most people can agree that they are better than the 2007 giant thumb jerseys. What do you guys think?
posted by Kinney @ 10:30 PM
23 Comments:
I like the new kits. Why should DCU be a free advertisement for Adidas anyway when they will certainly be able to sign a good sponsor with their tradition.
Although it wouldn't happen, AIG would be a good looking sponsor, like Man. United's Away jersey.
Ehhh...
I'm not really impressed. I feel like they should not have made the change until the sponsor was signed. I'll miss the stripes, as it was unique to United and made them easily recognizable. Now... eh.
Well, it could be worse. It could be the Crew jersey.
just dont feel right at all :(
The three stripes were an Adidas advertisement? I always thought it was just coincidence...
I did hate last year's jersey, so I kind of like the new clean look, maybe it's just in comparison. 2004 was my favorite.
I've been thinking about buying a new one. I'll wait to see if they get a sponsor first.
that looks better than last year's to me, too. it'd look better with another star on it, though...
I like these kits. It's a very clean, classic look for United. I like that we've gotten away from the thumbprints, the cutouts, etc. I disagree that they look like training shirts. Think about the classic teams -- Manchester United, Real Madrid, Barcelona -- they've always had a clean classic shirt. I think this look fits into that line.
Will 2008 shirts start selling with sponsors regularly now? Other than the LA and Toronto, teams with sponsors (Houston, Chivas, Salt Lake) don't seem to be selling sponsored shirts.
I love the new shirts. I always thought I would be sad if the three stripes disappeared, but I'm actually relieved. I particularly like the relegation of the red to the ends of the sleeves. I'd be happy if the red was left out altogether.
Clean is good.
Re: the three stripes, weren't they around when Nike was the kit manufacturer for MLS?
I didn't post them but be sure to check out the long sleeve versions of the jersey's in the BigSoccer forum I linked to as well. I think they look really nice, both the black and the white versions. Now I just have to lose some weight to fit into an athletic XL without it accentuating my rotundness.
AT-
Adidas has always been the kit supplier for United.
Me no like. Bring back the stripes, for the love of Harkes.
"Re: the three stripes, weren't they around when Nike was the kit manufacturer for MLS?"
Nike was never THE kit manufacturer for the league. The original suppliers were Nike (LA, Dallas, Tampa Bay, NY/NJ, SJ), adidas (KC, Columbus, DC), Puma (Colorado), and Reebok (New England).
I've never liked the idea of shirt sponsorship, but I understand that this is the way things are done in soccer, and MLS could definitely use the revenue. As long as the sponsor is something that looks good on a shirt, this will be okay.
Are the shirts really going to say "tradition" on the back? That seems lame. If you have to spell out "tradition" on the back of your shirt, doesn't that imply that the name of your team itself doesn't invoke the idea of tradition? I'd rather it just say "DC United" on the back, or, failing that, "Beggin' Strips" (every penny helps!).
Courtesy if the The Offside Rules... http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2412/2203163581_b9af65688d.jpg
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2182/2203163805_b8fc20eec1.jpg
You can see most of the league jerseys... if I was a Crew fan, i'd be pissed!!
Could be worse I guess.
the three stripes could've worked with a sponsor just look the (home)Bayern Munich kit. they have three stripes across with the sponsor . Why didn't look at those jerseys unless they're gonna have a freaken huge sponsor logo on the front. I think they giving a lot of excuses just like the last two years of why they keep falling short of a championship.
Have to say, these look pretty boring. I did a little Photoshop work though, and with a Verizon logo plugged in, I can see why they made their choices.
As much as I hate to see a walking billboard for a company I have a mixed relationship with, the Verizon black-and-red is an awfully nice fit, especially on the away kits.
(I have no inside knowledge, of course, but Verizon is the rumored sponsor that I keep hearing about.)
- rke
I have seen worse, but I wish they had kept the traditional three stripes. The three stripes set them apart from other uniforms and you knew a DC United Jersey from far away. Hopefully, they will add them before the season starts.
Thanks for setting me straight w/ the adidas/nike thing.
So what got adidas upset was the idea of a sponsor interrupting their stripes? I think that's kind of a lame excuse on their part. As far as Bayern Munich, I think those are more hoops than our type of stripes, and the sponsor fits nicely into one of the hoops, rather than crossing multiple stripes.
You may think that Glidden (or whatever other corporate sponsor/jersey sponsor) may be lame. Fine. The larger issue is that the more corporate sponsorships MLS gets and the more diverse those sponsors are, the better it is for the long term viability of the league and the individual clubs.
I routinely wish for the Columbus Crew to burn up and disappear but of course I don't really want that; I want MLS to be as popular as a pastime and as competitive as a international athletic league as possible. The fact is that Glidden is headquartered in Cleveland, OH so this sponsorship makes a lot of sense. Hopefully Glidden employees, currently forced to support that bumbling group of fatties known as the Cleveland Cavaliers, will embrace soccer where they might not have before.
First of all Bayern Munich Home Jersey DOES NOT HAVE ANY HOOPS! if you pay attention you would see that those lines are only on the front of the jersey. and either way there are 6 total stripes on the front of that jersey which means that there are three white one which could've worked with the sponsor.
MY KID'S HIGHSCHOOL TEAM WEARS SIMILAR JERSEYS FOR WARM-UPS!!!
those jerseys are soon to have a verizon logo in place of the old 3 stripes.
BB
william chang is a snake oil salesman
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