Haha! I don't see how they could have liked it either! What did other teams like Manchester United/Barcelona/Juventus uniforms look like at that time?
There is no way we can explain to the newbies how huge a hurdle that has been to overcome. Every single detractor of MLS for about its first decade could boil their argument down to, "Aw, that shit's going to fold anyway, soccer leagues always do. Nobody cares." And we couldn't really object to that because, in our heart of hearts, we knew that was a possibility. We constantly did the equivalent of sleeping with the lights on for weeks after a break-in. We're past that now. The league's got too much infrastructure and too many actual people who care about it for it to fold. It's a relief for those of us who remember 1985. Meanwhile, the kids who think soccer was invented very early one June morning in 2002 don't know what we're talking about.
I think MLS paycheck/financial stability is a more signifanct drawing point then many might think (including myself, until I heard it over and over in new player interviews). Two recent SKC examples (not Latin American, but Europeans from European leagues): Aurelien Collin came to the USA partly because "I was playing in Portugal and I had [a] very serious problem [getting paid] and Peter Vermes got in touch with me" "I was tired of being in clubs where you always have to fight to get your salary and always have to worry," he said. "I wanted stability, to worry about football and nothing else." (He didn't specify clubs, but he played in France, Spain, Scotland, Greece, England and Portugal prior to MLS) http://espn.go.com/sports/soccer/ml...areer-wild-personality-finds-home-kansas-city Neven Markovic: “In many countries, you have to think if you get your salary or not,” he said. “They delay the payments two or three months, you get nervous. You must think of your family. You must think of everything else. But here, everything is fine.” (referring to Greece, he also played in Romania and Croatia) http://www.mlssoccer.com/news/article/2012/07/06/new-skc-signing-markovic-looking-little-stability I'm a 96er myself, and I remember Mo Johnston in the early MLS years saying he loved the United States because he could be anonymous. Having played at both Glasgow Celtic and Rangers (and having received death threats from both for being a "traitor" playing for the other side), he was in awe of being able to be a "regular person" again in Kansas City.
I was 19 when MLS kicked off. It's hard for me to wrap my head around the idea that there are people old enough to vote who were in diapers when this all got started. And there are fifteen year old kids who watch MLS who don't understand how new the league is, because there's never been a day in their lifetime where it didn't exist.
Wait, I thought MLS was born in 2009 with the promotion of the Sounders! You're saying there's another 13 years of history before that?!?!? [/RivalryWeek]
Every time I see it I think "Say what you want about how ugly their play has been, the Rapids at least have never been stuck with some of the truly horrible uniforms in this league".
Don't lie, you know you'd tune in to see all original 9 teams at home on the same weekend to see those glorious uniforms one more time. In HD!
You're assuming the sponsors would want to be associated with those jerseys. (Actually, if you really wanted to do it "old school", you could put the sponsor underneath the number on the back.) ------RM
The thing about those 90s uniforms is that really, only one of them would be associated with the best era in team history, that team being DC United. So if anyone should do a 96 throwback, its them. The other kits just don't hold as much meaning to be worth bringing back. Thankfully.
True, but you did invent the current horrid Timbers look: ... but I think the Caribou jerseys have stayed the uniform Gods for a good 50 years or so. There were these though:
You summed up my thoughts exactly , I thought I was the only one whose interest dropped off thru the Dark Ages you described....I am concerned that once the scensters disappear, will attendance drop somewhat. There are people who like to think they like something, especially new and different and then there are those who truly love the league.....
And I miss those great naps I took during a Rapids or Mutiny home match on sundays....you could literally count the fans in cavernous Mile high and the old sombrero.....oh and the running penalty kick shootouts....
Does anyone remember the Monday edition of USA Today in 96' that would have player rating box scores for MLS? I remember being excited to analyze them during my first college classes of the morning..
I actually thought the old black and blue vertical stripe Rapids' kits were the coolest MLS kits I've ever seen.
While on their own, some individual uniforms might not have been too bad, but as a whole....... of course, this is just my opinion; it carries no real importance.
This should bring tear to many an eye. Obafemi Martins arrival in Seattle was not just the top sports story of the day but the top NEWS story of the day on the 6 o'clock news on every local station Friday night. Coverage of baseball, the NFL offseason and college basketball all had to take a back seat to an MLS story involving a player who was not exactly a household name. Martins was met by throngs of local and international media and greeted fans at the airport marking the end of a transfer which until now was unprecedented in MLS. The first time an MLS team basically pushed around a team in the #1 league in the world to getting a player they didn't to let go - smack in the middle of their Europa League campaign. Has MLS arrived? In some places, it has.
I was one of those people as well. After religiously watching games in 1996 and 97, I would even record the games on TV on tape so I could watch them later if I missed them live, I lost some interest. From about the 1999 season to the 2003 season I only watched the final and maybe 3 or 4 games on TV all year. I truly love this league but I too worry that some of the people, scenesters like you say, will drop in the next 2 years or so.